Mandates, Agreements of Sale and the CPA

The entire Real Estate Industry is presently bombarded by opinions and views pertaining to the effect of the CPA and the validity of agreements of sale as well as mandates.

There is a clear divide between the one school of Attorneys and Academics who believe that they can argue that the CPA will not be applicable to mandates as well as deeds of sale in cases where the seller does not fall within the ambit of the CPA and others who have compelling arguments as to why the act will apply to all mandates as well as reasons as to why all deeds of sale presented by estate agents must comply with certain conditions of the CPA.

Only time and case law will provide us the correct interpretations.

We believe that it is better to err on the side of cautiousness and have developed a generic deed of sale which we believe comply with the CPA. This deed of sale will be available on the Institute of Estate Agents – Eastern Cape's website as well as the Greyvensteins' and Du Toit Strömbeck Inc's websites.

We also believe that it is advisable to ensure that your mandate complies with the CPA and that agents who act for purchasers must provide a list setting out the condition and defects attached to the property. As many transactions in Port Elizabeth are shared deals we believe that it is the duty of the purchaser's agent to provide such list, hence our advice to obtain such list at the time of conclusion of the mandate.