Mangera Attorneys's replyOfficial
25 May 2021, 06:00
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
OUR TRANSFER FROM EZE & MOTSEKI TO MAKWAKWA ERF 1707 & ERF 1709 HIGHLANDS NORTH EXT (OUR REF: E279/20)
Kindly note that our offices were instructed to attend to the above transfer to Ms. ON Makwakwa (the purchaser) whose complaint above refers.
Firstly, we wish to advise that our offices welcome all and any feedback from our clients even though this complaint on Hello Peter is without merit or substance as will be displayed below.
We note that the purchaser has bought the above properties from Mr. Eze and Mr. Motseki (the seller) who purchased the said properties on auction by the Sheriff of the High Court.
Property is usually sold by the Sheriff of the High Court, when a bond holder (usually a bank) forecloses on the property. Foreclosure arises when a debtor, under a mortgage loan agreement falls into arrears with his/her debt to the bond holder. The bond holder obtains a judgment from the court declaring the property specifically executable to recover the debt or a portion thereof from the debtor. Once this order is obtained, the property is thereafter put up for auction by the Sheriff of the High Court.
Registration of this property from the sheriff to the seller, and from the seller to the purchaser was to be effected simultaneously. Our transaction is linked to a sheriff transfer i.e. the first transfer and therefore it stands to reason that unless the first transfer registers, our transfer cannot register as we are the second linked transfer.
Our transaction had been progressing smoothly until the debtor brought an application to rescind the judgment of the court in terms of which the property was declared specifically executable. The sheriff transferring attorneys placed a hold on the first transfer, and given that our transfer is linked to this first transfer, we can therefore not proceed. Please note that the transfer has only been placed on hold and has not been cancelled. This is crucial.
The purchaser in our matter has paid a substantial deposit for the property. This deposit is being held by us in trust pending registration of the transfer. As the money is being held in trust, we cannot of our own accord release or refund the money back to the purchaser unless the seller agrees or if the purchaser obtains a court order to this effect. We are bound by our seller’s instructions.
The purchaser has communicated her intention to withdraw from the sale agreement (also commonly referred to as an offer to purchase) by virtue of the delay in transfer. Our seller has not agreed to the mutual termination of the sale agreement. As a result, the purchaser has to follow the sale agreement which will prescribe the procedure for the purchaser to follow in order to cancel it.
Our offices cannot act on behalf of the purchaser who must instruct another attorney to assist her in this regard if she so wishes. We represent the seller in the transfer and would therefore have a conflict of interest.
Having set out the above, we are certain that you will agree that it does not assist the purchaser to disparage us on any platform, public or otherwise in taking steps to enforce any of her alleged rights against the seller. Rather, it is advisable for the purchaser to obtain legal representation in the present instance to take appropriate legal steps on her behalf. The seller will undoubtedly also be vested with rights to defend such legal steps should they so choose.
We trust that this brief explanation above suffices and provides a better, broader understanding of the issues at hand, including our duties as the attorneys attending to the transfer.
For more information, kindly do not hesitate to contact our offices on (011) 837-4596.
Kind Regards.
Best regards,