Deeds office move ‘a worry’

Function for Eastern Cape to be handled by King William’s Town deeds office from December

NELSON Mandela Bay real estate professionals are apprehensive at the news that the transfer of properties in the Eastern Cape will soon be the responsibility of the King William’s Town deeds registry office.

This function, which was previously handled by the deeds office in Cape Town, will be shifted to King William’s Town on December 4.

The move follows Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti’s decision to approve changes in the jurisdictional areas.

Nkwinti’s spokeswoman, Linda Page, confirmed the news.

“Eastern Cape properties that were previously registered in the Western Cape are now being moved to King William’s Town,” Page said.

“This means [where people] had to travel to Cape Town to register before, the process will now be brought closer.”

While some estate agents were optimistic that the move would expedite the process of transferring properties, others were unsure this would be the case.

“I believe the change will [mean] huge transitional delays and associated problems,” Talana Foot, of Talana Foot Real Estate, said.

“There are many deeds that are being held in the deeds office, many deeds that still need to be released, and many other documents that will have to be transferred from the one deeds office to the other.

“New systems will have to be put in place and the attorneys who are used to following the practice guidelines of the Registrar of Cape Town will now have to follow the guidelines of King William’s Town.”

Foot also questioned whether the King William’s Town office would be properly equipped to deal with the influx of new work.

“New staff will most probably have to be appointed for the deeds office in King William’s Town which alone will [bring] headaches.

“On a more positive note, I do believe the economy of the Eastern Cape will receive a boost as the funds payable to correspondents and deeds office fees will become part of the province’s income.”

Ian Olivier, of Pam Golding Properties, said efficiency would be key in ensuring a smooth transition.

“Having a deeds office that is closer and accessible is obviously a good thing, but efficiency will be the main thing,” Olivier said.

“Local attorneys had good correspondence with the Cape Town office. It won’t necessarily speed things up unless results-orientated people are appointed.

“If you have the right people with drive, the deeds office can be anywhere.”

Seeff Port Elizabeth manager Vanessa Dicks, along with IPC Properties manager Jeanne Willemstein, believed the move brought good news and faster turnaround times for the Bay,

However, Tracey Watson-Gill, director of the property law and conveyancing department of law firm Goldberg & De Villiers Inc, said it was too early to predict how fast the processes would be from December.

“It is too soon to say whether it will be good or bad news in the long term, but we do anticipate some challenges in the short term, as the volumes will be far greater than the KWT deeds office is used to,” Watson-Gill said.

“At the moment the turnaround time at the Cape Town office is about six to eight working days, but it usually increases after holiday periods when the deeds office staff go on leave.

“At the moment the turnaround time in the KWT deeds office is faster than that of Cape Town, but their volume is much less.

“Time will tell how the KWT deeds office will cope with the large volumes that they will be dealing with from December.”