Africa Estate Farm Tools

Investigate a farm: what must I check before I make an offer?

Before an offer, a buyer asks for documents in six pillars: title and legal status, water, land and boundaries, infrastructure, law and regulation, finances and tax. Mark each item confirmed, assumed or missing as the documents arrive; the summary shows what is still missing and prints for your attorney.

For each item press Confirmed when you have seen the document, Assumed when it was said but not shown, Missing when nobody can produce it. Press again to clear.

1. Title and legal status (0 confirmed, 0 assumed, 0 missing of 9)

Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937; Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act 70 of 1970; Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994

Latest title deed (from a current Deeds Office search)
From Deeds Office; your attorney provides it.
Registered owner matches the seller on the Offer to Purchase
From Deeds Office; your attorney provides it.
All mortgage bonds disclosed; bondholder consent obtained where the seller is selling
From Deeds Office, the bank; the seller provides it.
All servitudes (right of way, water pipelines, power lines) identified on the diagram and deed
From Deeds Office, Surveyor-General; your attorney provides it.
Restrictive conditions and conditions of title noted and understood
From Deeds Office; your attorney provides it.
Land-claim status verified with DALRRD under the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994
From Land Claims Commission (DALRRD); your attorney provides it.
Current zoning confirmed in writing from the local municipality (agricultural vs. other)
From Municipality; you provides it.
Any prior subdivision under the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act 70 of 1970 confirmed and registered
From DALRRD, Deeds Office; your attorney provides it.
Mineral rights and any prospecting or mining right over the land (MPRDA 28 of 2002) disclosed
From Department of Mineral Resources, the seller; the seller provides it.

2. Water rights and entitlement (0 confirmed, 0 assumed, 0 missing of 7)

National Water Act 36 of 1998, section 25 (transfer); WARMS registration

Category of water-use entitlement (Schedule 1, Existing Lawful Use, General Authorisation, or Water Use Licence) confirmed at the Department of Water and Sanitation
From DWS (WARMS); the seller provides it.
Volume registered (cubic metres per annum) matches the area under irrigation
From DWS (WARMS), the farm; a specialist provides it.
Point of abstraction, season of use and any conditions on the entitlement
From DWS; the seller provides it.
Water entitlement is transferable with the property (section 25 of the National Water Act; the attorney confirms the route)
From DWS, the attorney; your attorney provides it.
Water User Association membership and account standing (no outstanding charges or infrastructure levies)
From Water User Association or scheme; the seller provides it.
On-farm water-pipeline servitudes and shared infrastructure identified
From Deeds Office, the farm; the seller provides it.
Boreholes registered (where applicable) and yield-tested
From DWS, a pump test; a specialist provides it.

3. Land, soil and production potential (0 confirmed, 0 assumed, 0 missing of 8)

Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act 43 of 1983, regulations 10 and 11 (grazing capacity)

Soil types and depth verified against soil maps and pit-test results
From ARC soil maps, a soil laboratory; a specialist provides it.
Carrying capacity (large stock units per hectare) realistic for the district; the grazing capacity certificate or the provincial map value
From DALRRD, the Act's map; you provides it.
Salinity testing (especially Lower Orange and other long-irrigated regions)
From A soil laboratory; a specialist provides it.
Visible erosion, gullying, bush encroachment and degraded patches mapped
From The farm (inspection); you provides it.
Grazing condition and historical stocking rate confirmed
From The farm, the seller's records; the seller provides it.
Historical yields per hectare for the last three to five seasons
From The seller's records; the seller provides it.
Permanent crops (vines, citrus, pecans, olives) age and condition assessed
From The farm (inspection); a specialist provides it.
Boundaries and the Surveyor-General diagram match the fences and the camps
From Surveyor-General, the farm; your attorney provides it.

4. Infrastructure and movables (0 confirmed, 0 assumed, 0 missing of 8)

Electrical Installation Regulations (Certificate of Compliance)

Homestead and outbuildings: condition, age, structural integrity
From The farm (inspection); you provides it.
Boundary fencing walked in full and condition recorded
From The farm (inspection); you provides it.
Stock or game fencing condition (heights, gauge, gates, repairs)
From The farm (inspection); you provides it.
Internal roads, river crossings and access
From The farm (inspection); you provides it.
Electrical supply capacity, connection agreement, three-phase or single-phase, and recent accounts
From Eskom or the municipality; the seller provides it.
Pumps, motors, mainlines, filters, drip and pivot systems inspected with someone who knows irrigation
From The farm (inspection); a specialist provides it.
Storage: sheds, silos, cold-rooms, packhouses, balancing dams
From The farm (inspection); you provides it.
The list of movables, equipment and livestock included in the sale, with condition
From The seller, the Offer to Purchase; the seller provides it.

5. Law and regulation (0 confirmed, 0 assumed, 0 missing of 6)

ESTA 62 of 1997; NEMA 107 of 1998; National Veld and Forest Fire Act 101 of 1998; Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019

Farm workers or their families living on the farm: names, tenure and any ESTA (Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997) rights disclosed
From The seller, the attorney; the seller provides it.
Environmental compliance: any conditions under NEMA, fire-management compliance under Act 101 of 1998, biodiversity stewardship agreements
From Provincial environment department, Fire Protection Association; the seller provides it.
Leases, grazing agreements, off-take or supply contracts that bind the land
From The seller; the seller provides it.
Outstanding fines, court orders or pending litigation against the property or owner
From The attorney; your attorney provides it.
Property practitioner mandate in writing, signed, under the Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019
From The agency; the seller provides it.
Gas, plumbing and other certificates of compliance where applicable
From A registered installer; the seller provides it.

6. Finances and tax (0 confirmed, 0 assumed, 0 missing of 7)

VAT Act 89 of 1991, section 11(1)(e); Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000, section 118; Municipal Property Rates Act 6 of 2004; FICA 38 of 2001

Seller's VAT status and whether the farm is sold as a going concern (zero-rated under section 11(1)(e) of the VAT Act) or with transfer duty
From SARS, the seller, the attorney; your attorney provides it.
Rates and municipal services account current and a rates clearance projection obtained (section 118 of the Municipal Systems Act)
From Municipality; your attorney provides it.
The property is rated as agricultural (ratio at most 1:0,25 of the residential rate) and any farming rebate applied
From Municipality; you provides it.
Three to five years of production financials (income, input costs, gross margin per hectare)
From The seller's accountant; the seller provides it.
Sale records (auction results, off-take agreements, contract pricing) and fertiliser, chemical, fuel and labour cost records
From The seller's records; the seller provides it.
Crops in the ground and stock on hand at transfer: who owns them and how they are priced
From The Offer to Purchase; the seller provides it.
FICA documents complete (identity, proof of address, proof of source of funds) under Act 38 of 2001
From The buyer, the attorney; you provides it.
Assumptions used
  • The list: Africa Estate, Farm Due Diligence Checklist (5 June 2026); Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, due diligence on agricultural land (27 July 2022).
  • The counts are counts, not a judgement: no item weighs more than another on this screen; your attorney decides what matters.
  • Nothing is sent anywhere: the marks stay in this browser and in the link you share.

Where the investigation stands

Mark each item as you receive the document: confirmed (seen), assumed (said, not seen) or missing.

Confirmed
0
Assumed
0
Missing
0
Not marked
45
PillarConf.Ass.Miss.Open
Title and legal status0009
Water rights and entitlement0007
Land, soil and production potential0008
Infrastructure and movables0008
Law and regulation0006
Finances and tax0007
Ask Africa EstateRead: Farm due diligence checklist

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What this does not tell you

  • This does not replace a conveyancing attorney's investigation; it organises what the buyer must ask and shows what is missing.
  • A count is not a risk score: one missing water document can outweigh forty confirmed items.
  • Confirmed means you have seen the document, not that the document is in order; the attorney reads it.
  • Everything stays on your device and in the link you share; nothing is sent to Africa Estate unless you press Ask.

Sources

Estimate, not advice. Confirm every figure with your bank, attorney and tax practitioner before a decision.