The Offer to Purchase is the most important document in the whole journey — and it's binding the second it's accepted. It's usually the seller's paperwork, put in front of you in one evening, with another buyer supposedly waiting. So slow down. This is the point to get it right.
Four clauses decide almost everything about how this deal goes — and how much it costs you. Here's what each one really means before you put your name to it.
The dates that protect your exit if your bond isn't approved in time. Usually set by the seller's agent — and almost always too tight. This is your single biggest escape hatch, or your biggest trap.
'As-is' puts every hidden defect on you. A seller's compliance certificate is not a condition report — it certifies a moment, not the house. Your only real protection is an independent inspection, before you're bound.
What stays is a legal test, not common sense. With no inventory and no photos taken at signing, handover disputes over the stove, blinds or pool cleaner have nothing to arbitrate against.
Who occupies when, and who pays whom until registration goes through. Dates that don't line up cost real money every month — and are easy to miss under signing pressure.
Everyone else in the room is paid by the seller, or paid only when the deal closes. These are the two moves that put someone on your side — and both only work before you sign.
Before you sign
The person who drafted your Offer to Purchase is paid by the seller, and only if the sale closes. An independent review is the one point where someone reads every clause on your side — flagging deadlines, gaps and risks while they can still be changed.
The highest-return R3k–R8k you'll spend
The one document that tells you what you're actually buying is optional, unusual, and usually skipped. Commissioned as a condition of your offer, it turns a R150k+ surprise into a decision you make before you commit.
OTP review and inspections are provided by independent, appropriately registered practitioners who contract with you directly. We'll always tell you when a recommendation involves a referral partner, and any Scetra fee is agreed with you upfront, in writing.
Independent OTP review · R500
Send us your Offer to Purchase before you sign. For a once-off R500, we read every clause independently — the deadlines, the suspensive conditions, the voetstoots exposure, the fixtures — and come back with plain-language flags while there's still time to change them.
Request below and we'll reply with banking details and how to send your OTP. As soon as payment reflects, we turn your review around against your signing deadline.
Independent inspection · the R150k question
The one document that tells you the real condition of the house is optional, unusual, and almost always skipped. We'll connect you with an independent inspector so a hidden R150k–R220k defect becomes a decision you make now — not a betrayal you discover after transfer.
Book it as a suspensive condition of your offer. Request below and we'll share availability and a quote — the fee is paid to the inspector directly.
Work through this before you put your name to anything. It saves to your device, so you can come back to it right up until the moment you sign.
0 of 7 done · saved to this device
You still have 4 high-stakes items outstanding. These are where six-figure mistakes happen — sort them before you sign anything.
Once your offer is accepted, the finance loop begins — bond applications, the bank's valuation, and a suspensive deadline you agreed to. This is where deals bounce. Let's make sure yours doesn't.
Go to Stage 4 — My offer's been accepted