Chaplog said, “Consumers should ensure they seek legal advice as they will probably be making the biggest investment of their life when purchasing a home.”
A case in point was Bramley View resident, Fortunate Khanye who was served with an eviction order from a house she allegedly bought from seller, Emmanuel Shabangu. Khanye showed North Eastern Tribune documents of payments she had made to Shabangu and a memorandum of agreement she entered into with him.
The agreement that was signed in 2007, states that Khanye would buy the house for R460 000 and Shabangu would renovate the property within three months of entering into the agreement. Part of the deal was that Khanye would settle a R40 000 City Power bill, “I gave that money to him and I later learned that he didn’t settle the entire bill,” said Khanye. “At some stage I was paying R7 000 a month just for electricity.”
Khanye said the house had since deteriorated. The electricity had been cut off, the roof leaked and water pipes were damaged, She alleged that Shabangu had removed all the doors and broke the floor tiles.
Khanye said she met with Shabangu in 2010 in an attempt to recover her money. “He couldn’t pay me back, instead he claimed to have never met me or entered into any agreement whatsoever with me,” she said.
Shabangu refused to comment when asked about the situation. “I don’t know what you are talking about, no comment,” he said. He also declined to confirm whether he knew anything about the alleged purchase of the house.
Chaplog advised that the purchaser should never pay money to the seller, or the seller’s agent without obtaining a receipt. “In dealing with an estate agent, for example, any moneys so paid will generally be paid into a trust account which is protected against theft or misappropriation by the Estate Agents Fidelity Fund, which is managed and controlled by the Estate Agency Affairs Board.”
Chaplog said Khanye could approach the consumer court for assistance. “The purchaser has rights in terms of the Consumer Protection Act and may also approach the National Consumer Commissioner for advice.”
