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Nhlanhla Ncaca

IT SEEMS that would-be home owners are being fleeced of thousands of rands in mortgage repayments for houses they have no access to.

At least three readers have reported an apparent scam in which estate agents sell houses and finalise the transfer of the property but fail to deliver keys.

This leaves the buyers stranded, with the financiers refusing to nullify the mortgage commitments.

) In September 2006, Gloria Mtolo responded to a newspaper advertisement placed by Mbucan Property Brokers. She wanted to buy a house in Soweto and the owner of the agency, Herbet Lazarus, provided her with a list of houses on sale in Soweto.

Mtolo chose a house in Protea but later discovered that it was registered in Lazarus’ name. Lazarus told her that he had purchased the repossessed house at an auction.

After the house was evaluated, Mtolo was granted a mortgage loan by Standard Bank. The house, valued at R162 000, was transferred to her name in May last year.

Attorneys appointed by Lazarus facilitated the transfer. She has been paying between R1 500 and R2 100 in bond repayments.

In June last year, a bitter battle ensued between Lazarus and Mtolo about the handing over of the house keys.

Mtolo says Lazarus explained for the first time that the present occupants of the house were resisting being evicted.

“He started avoiding my calls and he was never available in his office.

“I eventually got hold of him in September and he claimed the property was now vacant,” she says. “However, he failed to hand over the keys. Instead, he gave me the run-around.”

When she found it continually hard to get hold of Lazarus, Mtolo reported the matter to the attorneys who had attended to the transfer of the property.

In a meeting between Lazarus, Mtolo and the attorneys, Lazarus admitted that the occupants at the house were resisting eviction.

He then offered to buy the property and promised to refund Mtolo all the monies she had already paid towards her bond repayment.

But Lazarus failed to buy the property, claiming the bank had refused to grant him a loan. He promised to resolve the matter within three months but failed to do so. When she contacted Standard Bank, Mtolo says the bank refused to cancel the mortgage account and insisted she was liable for the repayment.

“Legally the house is mine but I cannot force my way into the house. Lazarus has received his estate agent’s commission and he does not seem to care,” she laments.

Lazarus has confirmed to Hotline that the people occupying the house he sold to Mtolo were resisting eviction.

“I instructed my attorneys to secure an eviction order against those people . . . let me check on the progress and then call you back,” said Lazarus.

He never called back.

)Johan Phaleng bought a house in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, but, like Mtolo, he cannot occupy it.

In August last year, Phaleng engaged the services of Constallation Properties and Marketing estate agents to assist with the purchase of the house.

The following month, Phaleng signed an offer to purchase at the estate agents’ offices in Boksburg. However, when this was done, the seller of the house was not “present”.

Phaleng acquired finance to buy the house, which was valued at R220 000. The estate agent explained to him that the house was a bank-repossessed property but assured him the occupants of the house knew about the sale.

The agent further claimed that he was helping the occupants to secure alternative accommodation.

The sale went through and the property was registered in Phaleng’s name.

Trouble began when the estate agent failed to deliver the house keys to Phaleng. A representative for Constallation Properties and Marketing informed him that the occupants were refusing to vacate the property.

“I sensed that something was wrong when he suggested that I should sell the house, even offering to assist with the sale,” he says.

“I think the estate agent deliberately withheld important information and, from what I have gathered, this scam is run by three individuals. The company is registered in their names and they are notorious people.”

In January this year, Phaleng agreed to the agent’s suggestion to sell the house for R250 000 – a price set by the estate agent.

But Phaleng realised that he would lose more money in the sale. The bank demanded a settlement of R230 000 and he was also expected to pay R21 375 in agents’ fees.

“On realising the shortfall, I decided to cancel the offer to sell,” says Phaleng.

“The estate agent explained that I would still be responsible for all the agent’s fees.”

Phaleng is now stuck with a mortgage bond account for a house he cannot occupy.

He has lodged a complaint against Constallation Properties and Marketing with the Estate Agent Affairs Board (EAAB).

The EAAB confirmed that a complaint against the estate agent has been received by its office.