How do I sell my Hermanus holiday home from abroad?
By Simon Andrew | rare erf seller advisory
About the author: Simon Andrew is the founder of Rare Erf, a seller advisory service for property owners in Hermanus and the Overstrand. A property consultant for Fine & Country, the international real estate agency network specialising in upper-bracket properties, Simon brings over three decades of international marketing experience and a background in psychology and negotiation to his work. He helps sellers prepare, position and market their properties, make informed decisions and achieve the best possible outcome.
Note: This article provides general information. Signing requirements, tax treatment and overseas transfers depend on your circumstances and the rules applicable at the time. Obtain advice from your conveyancer, tax adviser and registered property practitioner before committing to a transaction.
A practical guide to managing the sale, signing the paperwork and receiving your proceeds abroad.
Perhaps your Hermanus holiday home gets fewer visits than it used to. The children have grown up, travel plans have changed, or maintaining a house from another continent has become more work than pleasure.
You are ready to consider selling. But how do you prepare the property, assess offers and complete the paperwork when you cannot pop round to check on things?
You can generally sell your Hermanus property without returning to South Africa. The practical requirements are a dependable local team, a clear preparation and marketing plan, correctly signed documents and early advice on your tax position and the transfer of your proceeds overseas.
Much of the work can be coordinated remotely. Some documents require specific signing and authentication procedures, so it helps to involve your conveyancer before the property goes on the market. FHA Conveyancers explains the distinction between signing a sale agreement and signing transfer documents abroad.
1. Start by confirming your ownership and tax position
Living overseas does not automatically make you a non-resident for South African tax purposes. Nor does holding a South African passport necessarily mean that you remain tax resident.
Your status depends on the applicable residence tests and, where relevant, a double-tax agreement. SARS explains these distinctions in its guidance on tax and non-residents.
Before marketing, ask your conveyancer and tax adviser to confirm:
Who legally owns the property: you personally, joint owners, a company or a trust?
Who must authorise and sign the sale?
What is your South African tax-residency status?
Are your SARS registration details and tax returns up to date?
What will your bank require to transfer the proceeds abroad?
If the house belongs to a deceased estate, tell the conveyancer immediately: the executor’s authority and estate-administration requirements will affect the sale.
Resolving these questions early gives you a more useful picture of both the process and the money you can expect to receive.
2. Put a local team in place - with clear responsibilities
For an overseas owner, good local representation includes rather more than opening the front door for viewings.
You need an estate agent who can assess the property, recommend preparation work, coordinate marketing and report honestly on buyer response. Your conveyancer handles the legal transfer. A tax adviser and your bank deal with their respective parts of the transaction.
If you already use a caretaker or holiday-rental manager, bring them into the planning too.
Agree who will:
Hold and control access to the keys.
Obtain quotations and supervise approved repairs.
Prepare the house before photographs and viewings.
Arrange access for inspections and compliance work.
Check the property between visits.
Coordinate the final inspection and handover.
Set spending limits in writing. A useful arrangement is to approve a defined preparation budget, with additional work requiring your consent.
Your agent should also offer a predictable reporting routine. A short weekly update covering enquiries, viewings, feedback, expenditure and next steps is more useful than occasional messages saying that everything is “looking positive”.
3. Assess the house as it is today
Your memory of the property may be several summers out of date.
A holiday home can look much the same in photographs while developing problems that are more obvious in person: a musty bedroom, swollen doors, tired outdoor furniture or corrosion around exposed fittings.
Ask for a live video walkthrough and a written condition report. Where there are concerns, commission the appropriate professional inspection.
For a coastal home, pay particular attention to roofs, damp, external metalwork, timber, drainage and signs of prolonged vacancy. Check that pools, gardens and outdoor living areas look cared for.
The aim is to agree which work will help the sale and which spending is unlikely to pay its way. Cleaning, maintenance and modest repairs often deserve consideration before a large renovation.
Our practical pre-sale checklist for Hermanus homeowners provides a useful framework.
Ask your agent and conveyancer to address the property-disclosure requirements as well. If you do not know whether something works or has been approved, investigate rather than guess.
4. Price for the Hermanus market
It is natural to calculate what you would like to receive in pounds, euros or dollars. Buyers, however, compare your home with other properties available locally.
Start with recent comparable sales, the property’s condition and position, and its current competition. A home in Voëlklip may appeal to a different buyer from an apartment near the town centre or a house in Vermont.
Request a written pricing recommendation that explains:
Which completed sales support the assessment.
How your property compares with those homes.
What competing properties buyers can view now.
The proposed asking price and likely selling range.
When the strategy will be reviewed.
Our guide to pricing a property for sale in Hermanus explains this approach.
You can then calculate what a realistic rand outcome might mean in your preferred currency, after costs and taxes.
5. Decide what happens to furniture and holiday bookings
Holiday homes often come with a second layer of decisions: furniture, linen, appliances, personal belongings and future guests.
Before photographs are taken, decide which items will remain for presentation and which you want removed. If furniture is included in the sale, use an agreed inventory that makes inclusions and exclusions clear.
Be particularly specific about artwork, outdoor furniture, appliances and sentimental pieces. “Sold furnished” leaves plenty of room for two people to imagine different things.
If the house is let, give your conveyancer the rental-management agreement, any leases and the forward booking schedule. Ask how existing commitments affect viewings, occupation and handover. Do not assume that selling automatically cancels them.
Agree when to stop accepting new bookings. The income from one additional holiday stay may be less useful than the flexibility needed to prepare the home or accommodate a buyer’s occupation date.
6. Plan how you will sign from abroad
There are two separate matters to organise: signing the sale agreement and signing the documents needed to register transfer.
The sale agreement
Arrange the signing method with your conveyancer. A sale agreement can generally be signed by hand overseas and then scanned and emailed back. Do not assume that typing your name or using an electronic-signature platform satisfies the formalities for selling South African land.
Transfer documents
Documents signed abroad for use in the transfer may need authentication. Depending on the country and document, the route may involve an authorised South African consular official or a notary and, where required, an apostille.
An apostille is an official authentication certificate. It is not required in every situation.
Ask the conveyancer for country-specific instructions before booking an appointment or signing anything. Also confirm which original documents must be couriered to South Africa.
A power of attorney
A properly prepared power of attorney may allow a trusted person to sign specified documents on your behalf. Have the conveyancer draft it for the intended purpose and confirm the signing requirements.
Give this work a place in the timetable. An appointment, missing stamp or courier delay should not become a last-minute surprise.
7. Understand the tax withholding for non-resident sellers
If you are a non-resident for South African tax purposes and the property sells for more than R2 million, section 35A generally requires the purchaser to withhold an amount from the purchase price and pay it to SARS.
| Seller | Withholding rate |
|---|---|
| Individual | 7.5% |
| Company | 10% |
| Trust | 15% |
See the SARS guidance on non-resident sellers of immovable property.
For example: on a R10-million sale by a non-resident individual, the standard withholding would be R750,000, unless SARS issues a directive allowing a reduced or nil amount.
Once the threshold is exceeded, withholding applies to the full purchase price, rather than only the portion above R2 million.
This is an advance payment towards the seller’s tax liability, not necessarily the final tax bill. A reduced or nil directive may be available depending on the circumstances. Ask your tax adviser about this early, using the SARS withholding-tax guide.
8. Calculate the likely tax and net proceeds
South African immovable property remains within the scope of South African capital gains tax for non-residents. Living abroad does not, by itself, remove that liability. See the SARS capital gains tax overview.
A property used only as a holiday home generally does not qualify for the primary-residence exclusion. If it was previously your main home, or had mixed private and rental use, ask your adviser to assess the ownership and use history.
Gather your original purchase documents, acquisition costs and invoices for improvements. Your adviser can determine which amounts form part of the property’s tax base cost.
Also obtain advice in your country of tax residence. Reporting obligations or tax may arise there, with any double-tax relief depending on the applicable rules and treaty.
For budgeting, request a proceeds estimate covering commission, bond settlement, cancellation charges, municipal payments, applicable levies, compliance work and other selling expenses.
Our guide to the costs of selling a house in South Africa explains the usual categories.
9. Arrange the overseas transfer before the money is ready
Sale proceeds can generally be transferred abroad, subject to your status and the bank’s documentary and compliance requirements. The South African Reserve Bank explains the framework in its financial-surveillance FAQs.
Contact your bank’s foreign-exchange team or an appropriate authorised dealer before transfer. Ask for a written checklist tailored to your circumstances.
Have your purchase records, evidence of funds originally brought into South Africa where available, sale agreement, tax information and receiving-account details ready. Confirm which documents the bank actually needs.
Do not assume that a foreign national who bought with overseas funds and a South African who subsequently moved abroad will follow identical procedures.
When comparing currency-conversion quotes, look at the amount that will reach your overseas account after the exchange-rate margin and fees. Avoid committing the proceeds to another purchase on the assumption that registration, tax administration and international payment will all finish on the same day.
10. Keep control through to handover
Before accepting an offer, assess the buyer’s ability to proceed, the finance conditions, deadlines and proposed occupation date. A higher price with uncertain conditions may be less attractive than a credible offer with a workable timetable.
Once the sale is underway, request a shared progress checklist covering documents, buyer finance, bond cancellation, clearance requirements and registration.
For payment instructions, agree a verification process with the conveyancer. Confirm bank details through a known telephone number, especially if an email announces a change.
Finally, arrange a documented handover: meter readings, keys, remotes, access codes, included contents and the property’s condition. Coordinate the end of insurance, security and other services with the conveyancer and providers so there is no unintended gap.
A local sale, managed around your life overseas
Selling from abroad works best when responsibilities are clear and information arrives before you have to chase it.
You should be able to see the property’s condition, understand its market position and assess offers with confidence—even if your nearest beach is several thousand kilometres away.
If you are considering selling a holiday home in Hermanus or the Overstrand, contact Simon Andrew at Rare Erf to discuss the property, your timing and the local support you need. We can start with a conversation and build a practical selling plan around your circumstances.
Simon Andrew authors the Rare Erf Sellers Advisory - and works for international premium property specialists, Fine & Country in Hermanus.