0) Agreement & Priority
These Smart Offer Terms & Conditions ("Smart Offer Terms") form a binding agreement between you (the prospective "Buyer", "you") and Propworths Global Property (Pty) Ltd, trading as Propworths.com ("Propworths", "Platform", "we", "us"). They apply when you register for six-month Smart Offer access and when you submit, increase, or confirm any offer on a Smart Sell listing.
1) Nature of a Smart Offer
Important: An offer submitted on a Smart Sell listing is a genuine indication of the price and terms on which you are prepared to buy, but it does not on its own create a legally binding sale. A sale becomes legally binding only when both parties sign a deed of sale drafted by their attorneys after the seller accepts your offer. Do not submit an offer unless you are ready, willing, and able to proceed on the terms you set out.
1.1 Your Warranties
- You have legal capacity and authority to make offers and enter contracts.
- Your identity and payment details are accurate and verifiable, and your Smart Offer six-month registration is current (see Section 2A).
- You have performed your own due diligence on the property or business and will not rely on Propworths as a financial or legal advisor.
- You understand that properties may be sold “voetstoots / as-is” where applicable, subject to seller conditions and local law.
- You understand that the highest offer does not automatically win, that the seller may accept any offer, invite improved terms, or decline all offers, and that you have no automatic entitlement to the property even if your offer is the highest submitted.
2) How Smart Sell Works
2.1 Smart Sell Mechanics
- Start / End Times: Each Smart Sell listing shows its offer-window opening and scheduled closing time.
- Offer Increments: Minimum increments may apply and are shown on the listing page.
- Soft Close / Auto-Extend: If an offer is submitted near the end, we may extend the offer window to prevent last-second submission behaviour and to keep the process fair.
- Guide Price: Listings may show a guide price, an internal target price, or run open (no guide). Where a guide is published, it is a reference only and does not bind the seller.
- Live Offer Room: Where the seller enables a Live Offer Room, offers are visible in real time and you can improve your offer before close. Where a sealed window is used, you see only your own offer until close.
2.2 Technical Events
2A) Smart Offer Buyer Registration — USD 200 flat, 6 months, non-refundable
A flat USD 200 non-refundable registration fee gives you six months of Smart Offer access across every Smart Sell listing on the Platform. The fee covers Propworths’ FICA / KYC verification, buyer onboarding, and unlimited offer-making on any Smart Sell listing in any of the 185 supported markets, for six months from the date your registration is activated. After six months you must re-register and pay USD 200 again to continue submitting offers. The fee is non-refundable except in the specific circumstances listed in Section 2A.5 below.
2A.1 What the fee gives you
- Verified buyer status across every current and future Smart Sell listing on Propworths for 6 months from activation.
- Access to the full property / business pack (title documents, disclosures, viewing schedule, special conditions) for every open Smart Sell listing.
- The right to submit offers on any Smart Sell listing during your six-month window, in any of the 185 supported markets.
- Real-time offer log visibility for every Live Offer Room you enter, with notifications the moment your offer is overtaken.
2A.2 Currency & Payment
The fee is billed at USD 200, automatically converted to your preferred currency (ZAR, EUR, GBP, AED, SGD, AUD or other supported currencies) at the Peach Payments checkout rate at the time of payment. The fee is charged via Peach Payments using any of the payment methods listed in Section 7.5 below (cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Scan to Pay, Pay By Bank, or Money Badger crypto).
2A.3 When you pay & when your window starts
The fee is charged at the end of the Smart Offer registration flow, after your personal details and FICA / KYC documents have been submitted but before your buyer account is activated. Your six-month window starts on the date Peach Payments confirms successful payment and Propworths verifies your FICA / KYC submission — whichever is later. Offer-making rights are inactive until both steps complete. Failure of either step means your fee is refundable under Section 2A.5.
2A.4 Expiry, renewal reminders & re-registration
Propworths sends you reminder notifications at day 150 and day 175 of your six-month window that access is about to lapse. On the last day of the window, your access to submit offers pauses automatically. To continue making offers on Smart Sell listings, re-register and pay the flat USD 200 fee again for another six months. Your prior offer history and identity verification remain on file to speed up the re-registration flow.
2A.5 Refund exceptions (the only situations in which the fee is returned)
The registration fee is refunded in full only in these specific cases:
- (a) Every Smart Sell listing on which you were registered to offer is cancelled by Propworths or by the seller before the offer window opens, and no comparable replacement listing is available within 30 days of registration;
- (b) Your buyer registration is rejected by Propworths on FICA / KYC compliance grounds after you have paid;
- (c) A documented technical failure of the Propworths Platform prevented you from making offers throughout the six-month window.
In all other cases — including you deciding not to submit any offer, deciding after registration that you no longer want to buy, having every offer you make declined, or any personal, financial or circumstantial change on your side — the USD 200 fee is retained by Propworths in full.
2A.6 The buyer registration fee is the only Propworths fee you pay on Smart Sell
3) Seller Chooses Freely at Close
3.1 Highest Offer Does Not Automatically Win
At the scheduled close of the offer window, Propworths delivers the full offer log to the seller with the amount and terms of every offer. The highest offer is not automatically an “Accepted Offer”. The seller has 48 hours from close to review every offer and choose freely — taking into account price, deposit size, cash / bond conditions, occupation date, and any other terms — or to decline every offer.
3.2 Acceptance Process
- The seller (or their appointed agent) may accept any offer, invite two buyers to improve terms, or decline every offer, subject to local law and the seller’s mandate. You have no automatic entitlement to the property even if your offer is the highest.
- When the seller accepts your offer online, the Platform will notify you electronically (in-app + email / SMS where enabled).
- Upon acceptance, Propworths issues an Agreement in Principle recording the parties, the property, the amount and the terms. You must promptly comply with the post-acceptance steps shown (attorney appointment, deed-of-sale signing, deposit payment to the seller’s conveyancer, KYC evidence, providing supporting documents, etc.).
- If the seller declines every offer, no Agreement in Principle is issued, no sale results, and you receive no refund of your USD 200 six-month registration fee (see Section 2A.5).
4) Agreement in Principle & Deed of Sale
Smart Sell separates the online acceptance of an offer from the legally binding sale contract. Two distinct documents are involved:
Agreement in Principle: issued by Propworths on the seller’s online acceptance of your offer. It records the parties, the property, the amount and the terms. It is not a deed of sale and does not on its own transfer property, but it commits both parties to instruct their attorneys promptly and to progress the transaction to a deed of sale in good faith, on the terms recorded.
Deed of Sale: drafted by the seller’s conveyancing attorney from the terms of the Agreement in Principle, and signed by both parties at their attorneys. The sale becomes legally binding on both parties on signature of the deed of sale. Deposit, balance timing, and any bond conditions are recorded in the deed of sale and follow the timeline the parties have agreed — typically 10% deposit within 48 hours of signing, balance within 30 days cash / 60 days bond, unless the Agreement in Principle states otherwise.
The deed of sale and any special conditions recorded in it form your legally binding contract and prevail over marketing material. Where local law mandates a particular form of sale contract, that law applies.
5) Deed of Sale Signing, Deposit, Balance & Buyer Costs
- Attorney instruction — within 48 hours: within 48 hours of your offer being accepted online, you and the seller are expected to instruct your respective attorneys. The seller nominates the conveyancing attorney (who acts as the transferring attorney on the sale); you appoint your own attorney to represent your interests. Failure to instruct within a reasonable time may be treated as bad-faith withdrawal under Section 6.
- Deed of sale signing: the seller’s conveyancing attorney drafts the deed of sale from the Agreement in Principle. Both parties sign the deed of sale at their attorneys. The sale becomes legally binding on both parties on signature.
- Deposit — to the seller’s conveyancing attorney: the negotiated deposit (typically 10% of the accepted offer, but freely determined in your offer terms) is paid by you into the trust account of the seller’s conveyancing attorney within the timeline agreed in the deed of sale. The deposit is not paid to Propworths. Banking details are provided by the attorney at signing. The deposit is applied to the purchase price at transfer.
- Balance of the purchase price — per the deed of sale:
- Cash buyers: the balance is payable to the seller’s conveyancing attorney’s trust account typically within 30 days of deed-of-sale signing, or on the timeline recorded in the deed.
- Bond buyers: the balance is payable typically within 60 days of deed-of-sale signing, subject to bond approval by a registered financial institution and the specific timeline recorded in the deed.
- Bond decline: if a bond application is formally declined by your bank within the agreed window, treatment of the deposit is handled by the seller’s conveyancing attorney in accordance with the deed of sale. Your USD 200 Smart Offer registration fee remains non-refundable in all bond-decline scenarios (Section 2A.5).
- Buyer’s costs: unless stated otherwise, you as buyer bear transfer / stamp duty, conveyancing and registration fees, and VAT on the purchase price (where applicable in the country of sale). These are separate items and are not deducted from the purchase price paid to the seller. Propworths does not charge you any percentage commission on the sale — your USD 200 six-month registration is the only Propworths fee.
- Default: failure to instruct an attorney within a reasonable time, failure to sign the deed of sale where it is a fair reflection of the Agreement in Principle, or failure to complete within the applicable window is a default — the deposit may be forfeited under the deed of sale, the seller may re-list, you may be liable for the resale shortfall and costs, and your Smart Offer account may be suspended for bad-faith withdrawal.
6) Offer Withdrawal, Default & Non-Completion
6.1 No Withdrawal of an Accepted Offer
Once the seller has accepted your offer online and an Agreement in Principle has been issued, you may not withdraw without the seller’s written consent and compliance with these Smart Offer Terms. The Agreement in Principle commits you to instruct your attorney promptly and to sign the deed of sale where it is a fair reflection of the accepted terms. Bad-faith withdrawal after acceptance may be treated as a default.
6.2 Buyer Default Includes (non-exhaustive)
- Failing to instruct an attorney within a reasonable time after acceptance.
- Refusing or failing to sign the deed of sale where it is a fair reflection of the Agreement in Principle.
- Failing to pay the deposit or balance amounts due to the seller’s conveyancing attorney under the deed of sale.
- Failing verification / KYC checks due to inaccurate information provided at registration.
- Attempting to renegotiate material terms after acceptance outside a lawful process.
- Indicating you “changed your mind” after acceptance.
6.3 Consequences of Default
Consequences of default include forfeiture of your deposit to the seller under the deed of sale (where paid), potential liability for the seller’s resale shortfall and costs, and immediate suspension of your Smart Offer account — including forfeiture of the balance of your six-month buyer registration window with no refund of the USD 200 fee (see Section 2A.5).
7) No Commission on the Sale — The USD 200 Registration Is Your Only Propworths Fee
Smart Sell has no percentage commission on the sale. There is no buyer premium, no hammer commission, and no percentage of the purchase price payable to Propworths on acceptance or on completion. Your only fee to Propworths is the flat USD 200 six-month Smart Offer registration described in Section 2A.
7.1 What This Means in Practice
- You do not receive an invoice from Propworths on acceptance of your offer, on signing of the deed of sale, or on transfer of the property.
- The full accepted offer amount is paid by you to the seller’s conveyancing attorney — not divided with Propworths.
- The seller separately pays Propworths a flat USD 180 platform listing fee to publish the Smart Sell listing; that fee is not paid by you and does not affect the price you offer or the amount you pay to the seller.
- Where a listing was submitted by a registered estate agent on the seller’s behalf, any agent commission is a matter between the seller and their agent and is separate from these Smart Offer Terms.
7.2 Your Buyer Costs (payable to third parties, not to Propworths)
- Transfer / stamp duty in the country of sale.
- Conveyancing and registration fees (payable to the seller’s conveyancing attorney).
- VAT on the purchase price where applicable in the country of sale.
- Bond origination and bank fees where you finance with a mortgage.
- Your own attorney’s fees for reviewing the deed of sale.
None of these costs are collected by, or paid to, Propworths. They are paid directly to the relevant professional or authority under local law.
7.3 Accepted Payment Methods for the USD 200 Registration (via Peach Payments)
The USD 200 six-month Smart Offer registration fee is processed through Peach Payments, our SARB-approved, POPIA-compliant secure payment partner. The fee is billed in USD 200 and auto-converted to your preferred currency at the Peach Payments checkout rate at the time of payment. The following payment methods are currently accepted:
- Cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express — 3D-Secure enabled.
- Mobile wallets: Apple Pay, Google Pay.
- South African bank rails: Scan to Pay, and Pay By Bank (ABSA, FNB, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Investec, TymeBank and other approved South African banks).
- Cryptocurrency: Money Badger (Bitcoin, USDT and other supported stablecoins).
The current up-to-date list of accepted payment methods, together with any additional methods Peach Payments adds from time to time, is published at propworths.com/payment-methods. Payment via Peach Payments constitutes payment to Propworths for the purposes of Section 2A.
8) Offer Withdrawal & Manipulation Protection
Zero tolerance for offer manipulation: You may not submit offers (including high “spoof” offers) with the purpose or effect of inflating price, testing market appetite, blocking other buyers, shill offering, creating false demand, or later withdrawing to avoid completion after acceptance.
8.1 Integrity Monitoring & Digital Evidence
To protect Smart Sell integrity, you consent to reasonable monitoring and analysis aimed at detecting manipulation, including: device / browser identifiers, IP / geolocation signals, behavioural offer patterns, account link analysis, payment verification outcomes, and other technical indicators permitted by law and our Privacy Policy.
8.2 Manipulation Events (Examples)
- Repeatedly submitting high offers and then refusing to proceed after acceptance or near closing.
- Creating or controlling multiple accounts to influence Smart Sell outcomes.
- Coordinating with others to suppress competition or inflate prices.
- Attempting to move negotiations off-platform to avoid the USD 200 registration fee or to bypass the seller’s chosen offer window.
8.3 Contractual Remedies
If Propworths reasonably determines that you engaged in offer manipulation or attempted circumvention, you agree that Propworths may, subject to law and without limiting other rights:
- Immediately cancel offers, revoke an acceptance, or re-run the offer window to restore fairness.
- Suspend / ban your account and any related accounts, devices, payment methods, or entities — and forfeit the balance of your six-month registration window with no refund of the USD 200 fee.
- Recover losses caused by the manipulation, including re-run costs, seller claims passed to Propworths, investigation costs, and platform disruption losses, where lawful.
- Report suspected fraud to payment providers, verification partners, and / or relevant authorities where appropriate.
8.4 Anti-Circumvention (Off-Platform Deal Blocking)
If you contact a seller or agent introduced through the Platform and attempt to conclude the transaction off-platform to avoid the USD 200 Smart Offer registration fee or to bypass the seller’s chosen offer window, Propworths may treat this as circumvention and enforce its remedies to the maximum extent permitted by law.
9) Propworths’ Discretion & Offer Disputes
Propworths regulates the conduct of each Smart Sell offer window. Acting reasonably and subject to law, Propworths may:
- set, vary or waive offer increments on a listing;
- refuse or reject any offer (including one it reasonably believes is not genuine or is intended to manipulate the process);
- resolve any dispute over an offer or the order in which offers landed, including by re-opening the offer window; and
- pause, extend, restart or cancel a Smart Sell listing where there is a verified technical issue, fraud risk or integrity concern.
In the event of a dispute as to any offer, Propworths’ decision is final. Where two valid offers with equivalent terms are received simultaneously, Propworths determines priority (ordinarily the earliest received).
10) Caveat Emptor, Due Diligence & the Property / Business Pack
Properties and businesses on Smart Sell are sold on a “voetstoots / as-is” basis where applicable. You are responsible for your own due diligence before submitting an offer and you rely on your own inspection and professional advice — not on Propworths or the marketing description.
Each Smart Sell listing has a Property / Business Pack (title documents, disclosures, any body-corporate / HOA rules and levies, compliance certificates, and disclosed defects). The disclosures and special conditions in the Pack form part of the terms shown to you and, once you offer on those terms, are carried into the Agreement in Principle and the deed of sale. You confirm you have had the opportunity to review the Pack and to obtain legal advice before offering.
11) Sanctions, AML / KYC & Eligibility
You may not register or make offers if you are subject to sanctions or prohibited by law from participating. We may block users and transactions where required by sanctions laws, AML rules, or platform risk policies. Registration rejected on FICA / KYC compliance grounds may qualify for the USD 200 refund under Section 2A.5(b).
12) Foreign & Cross-Border Buyers
Propworths hosts Smart Sell listings across 185 countries. If you make an offer on a property located outside your country of residence, you are responsible for compliance with foreign-ownership restrictions, exchange-control and remittance rules, currency conversion, and any tax or reporting obligations in both jurisdictions. Purchase prices and deposits are payable in the currency stated on the Smart Sell listing page, or as agreed with the seller in your offer terms.
13) Governing Law & Disputes
Governing law, jurisdiction, and dispute process are described in Dispute Resolution & Arbitration, subject to mandatory consumer protections in your jurisdiction.
14) General Provisions
- Force majeure: neither party is liable for failure or delay caused by events beyond its reasonable control (including outages, natural events, war, or government action); affected offer-window timelines are extended accordingly.
- Electronic signatures & records: you agree that electronic acceptance, signatures and records are legally valid, binding and admissible (for example under the ECT Act, eIDAS or ESIGN, as applicable).
- Recording: offer sessions and related communications may be recorded and retained for integrity and evidentiary purposes, in line with our Privacy Policy.
- Entire agreement & severability: these Smart Offer Terms, together with the Property / Business Pack, the Agreement in Principle, and the deed of sale, are the entire agreement for Smart Sell offer activity; if any provision is held invalid, the remainder continues in force. These Terms supersede any prior auction-based bidding terms.
- No waiver & assignment: a failure to enforce any right is not a waiver of it; you may not assign your obligations without our written consent.
15) Contact & Notices
Official notices will be delivered via in-app notification and/or the registered email address on your account. You must keep contact details current.
Legal Notices: charl@propworths.com | Head Office: Propworths Global Property (Pty) Ltd (Reg No 2025/923396/07), P.O. Box 1023, Somerset West, Western Cape 7130, South Africa