Can the Buyer Choose the Transfer Attorney? 

You find the right property, sign the offer to purchase, start budgeting for transfer costs, and then one detail catches many buyers off guard. The attorney handling the transfer may not be someone the buyer chose. 

That raises a fair question. If the buyer is paying transfer costs, can the buyer choose the transfer attorney? 

In an ordinary South African property sale, not as a default right. The transfer attorney is normally appointed on the seller’s side because the seller is the registered owner who must pass transfer. The deed of transfer is executed by the owner or by a conveyancer authorised by the owner, and deeds of transfer for registration must be prepared by a conveyancer.

A buyer does not automatically get to choose the transfer attorney in a standard sale. 

The seller is the party transferring ownership. For that reason, the transfer process is ordinarily handled by the conveyancer appointed to attend to the seller’s transfer. The buyer can ask for a preferred firm, and the parties can agree on that arrangement in the offer to purchase, but the buyer does not get that choice simply because the buyer is paying the transfer costs. The transfer still moves from the seller’s title to the buyer’s title through the seller’s act of transfer.  

Why the seller normally appoints the transfer attorney

The reason begins with ownership and the structure of transfer. 

Under the Deeds Registries Act, ownership of land is conveyed by deed of transfer. That deed is executed by the owner or by a conveyancer authorised by the owner. The same legal framework also provides that deeds of transfer and similar registration documents must be prepared by a conveyancer.  

That legal structure supports the ordinary practice followed in property sales. The seller is the registered owner. The seller signs the transfer documents. The seller’s transfer has to move through the deeds office. So the transfer attorney is usually appointed from the seller’s side to attend to that work. 

This does not leave the buyer outside the transaction. The buyer must provide FICA documents, pay transfer costs, sign transfer papers, and cooperate with financing requirements and deadlines. Even so, taking part in the process is different from holding a built-in right to appoint the conveyancer handling the transfer. 

If the buyer pays transfer costs, why does the buyer not automatically choose?

Because payment and appointment are two different issues. 

In many ordinary sales, the buyer pays the transfer costs because those costs relate to registration of ownership in the buyer’s name. But the work itself still concerns the seller’s transfer of title. The transfer attorney is not appointed by following whichever party pays one category of costs. The attorney attends to the legal process that moves ownership from the seller to the buyer. 

That is where many buyers get caught out. In daily life, people often assume the person paying chooses the service provider. Conveyancing works differently. Property registration follows title, authority, supporting documents, linked transactions, and deeds office procedure. The conveyancer’s role includes managing the transaction process, preparing the deeds, linking transactions where necessary, and attending to lodgement and execution in the deeds office.  

The transfer attorney is not the only attorney in the transaction

Part of the confusion comes from the fact that one property sale can involve more than one attorney. 

The transfer attorney handles the transfer of ownership from seller to buyer. A bond attorney may be appointed to register the buyer’s new mortgage bond. A bond cancellation attorney may be appointed to cancel the seller’s existing bond. The registrar’s statutory functions include deeds of transfer, mortgage bonds, and cancellations of mortgage bonds, which reflects that these are separate parts of the wider transaction.  

So a buyer may not choose the transfer attorney by default, but the buyer may still deal with a separate bond attorney if a bank loan is involved. These roles should stay distinct, because confusion about one often leads to confusion about the others. 

When can the buyer influence the choice?

The buyer can influence the choice, but only through agreement. 

If the parties agree in the offer to purchase that a named conveyancer or firm will attend to the transfer, that term can govern the appointment. That is a matter of contract, not a built-in right that belongs to the buyer in every sale. 

So there are really two different questions here. The first is whether the buyer has an automatic legal right to choose the transfer attorney in an ordinary sale. The answer is no. The second is whether the parties can agree that the buyer’s preferred conveyancer will handle the transfer. The answer is yes, if the seller agrees and the agreement is recorded in direct terms. 

What should buyers check before signing?

A buyer should read the appointment clause in the offer to purchase with care. 

If the agreement already names the transferring conveyancer, that often settles the issue from the start. If the agreement says nothing, the buyer should not assume the choice will later fall to the buyer. If the buyer wants a particular conveyancing firm, that should be raised before signature and written into the agreement in express wording. 

Leaving it until later can create friction that was easy to avoid at the beginning. By the time the argument starts, the seller may already have instructed attorneys and the process may already be moving. 

Can an estate agent choose the transfer attorney?

An estate agent may recommend a transfer attorney or work often with one particular firm, but that does not give the estate agent a free-standing right to impose the appointment. 

The better view is that the agreement between buyer and seller comes first. If the contract names the transfer attorney, that is usually the starting point. If it does not, ordinary practice tends to point back to the seller’s appointment. An estate agent can influence the discussion, but the agent’s preference does not replace the agreement between the parties. 

That is why buyers should focus on the wording of the offer to purchase rather than assume a recommendation from the agent settles the issue. 

Why this question causes tension

This point often creates unnecessary distrust because each side starts from a different assumption. 

The buyer may think, “I am paying the transfer costs, so I should choose.” The seller may think, “I am the owner transferring title, so the appointment is mine.” The estate agent may work from standard practice without explaining the reason behind it. 

Once the structure is understood, the issue becomes easier to follow. The seller normally appoints the transfer attorney because the seller is the registered owner who must pass transfer. The buyer can still negotiate for a preferred firm, but that must be done by agreement, not assumption. 

Final thought

In an ordinary South African property sale, the buyer cannot insist on choosing the transfer attorney as a default rule. The transfer attorney is normally appointed on the seller’s side because the seller is the registered owner who must pass transfer, and the deed of transfer must be prepared by a conveyancer for registration. If a buyer wants a say in that choice, the right time to deal with it is in the offer to purchase before the transaction starts moving.  

Need guidance before you sign?

If you are buying or selling property and want the appointment of the transfer attorney dealt with from the start, speak to a conveyancing attorney before you sign the offer to purchase. Early advice can help you understand who is likely to appoint the transfer attorney, what the agreement says, and where that choice can be negotiated without slowing down the transaction. 

Frequently Asked Question

Can the buyer choose the transfer attorney if they are paying all the registration fees? No. In an ordinary South African property transaction, paying the conveyancing fees does not grant you the automatic right to appoint the professional handling the ownership shift. The choice rests with the seller because they are the registered owner divesting themselves of a real right. Under Section 15 of the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937, deeds of transfer must be prepared and executed by a conveyancer duly authorized by the property owner. Because the seller faces the primary legal risk if the transfer fails or falls into non-compliance, statutory practice firmly favors their choice of attorney. The financial obligation of the buyer is simply a standard term of the sale contract rather than an appointment mechanism. While you can negotiate to insert your preferred legal firm into the initial contract documents before signing, the default legal framework remains anchored to the seller’s mandate. Why does South African property law favor the seller when appointing a conveyancing professional? The system favors the seller because the entire legal process relies on the owner’s explicit authority to pass title. Property registration is not a mere consumer service. It is a highly regulated statutory mechanism overseen by the state. Section 20 of the Deeds Registries Act dictates that deeds of transfer must execute ownership changes directly from the registered owner to the new recipient. If a technical error occurs, or if fraud breaches the transaction chain, the seller risks losing their asset without receiving the corresponding purchase price. To manage this liability, the law ensures the individual relinquishing the title selects the neutral shield who will draft the official preparation certificates. The conveyancer owes a strict professional duty to both parties, but their appointment protects the person whose name currently sits on the state register from structural transaction failures. Can a buyer negotiate the choice of the transferring conveyancer inside the offer to purchase? Yes, you can absolutely negotiate the appointment, but this adjustment must be explicitly written into the contract before any signatures touch the paper. The choice of a transfer attorney is a negotiable term of a private contract rather than an unalterable piece of legislation. If you want your trusted legal firm to manage the documentation, you must insert a specific clause into the offer to purchase naming your preferred conveyancer. If the seller agrees to this term and signs the document, the contractual mandate overrides the standard industry practice. However, if the signed contract remains silent on the matter or already specifies the seller’s chosen firm, you cannot demand a change later. Trying to contest the appointment after the transaction begins only causes friction at the waterhole, delaying bond approvals and pushing back your eventual moving date.

This article is part of Role Players in a Property Transfer.