Dan O

House of Realtors Unethical Business Practices by Agent Charl Viljoen

Really bad service and unethical business practice by agents of House of Realtors. On moving in at Sirrocco Village *****nce , Bellville, we where not allowed to preview the flat before we had to completely pay the deposit and first months rental. When we finally where allowed to see the flat, I noted many things out of place. Walls in bad condition, flat was dirty, doors and handles broken , light bulbs not working, Built in Oven unit filthy. Curtain Railings broken etc. When I asked Charl about it, my inquiry was met with indifference. We refused to move in until all the basics where fixed. He kept us waiting for a week, for which he said we still had to pay. Even although the flat was not handed over in the conditions stipulated in the rental agreement. Charl then had the flat painted but, nothing else was fixed. I sent a message and called to which there was no reply. I referred the matter to Danielle Coetzee , she in turn basically just referenced Charl Viljoen in the email and left it at that. Charl never did an ingoing inspection with us. He kept the second key to the property which we where very uncomfortable with. When we did see him , it was randomly when he was showing other flats. I approached him to assist and address the issues but he said he has hundreds of properties to attend to he doesn't have time for all of them. We notified him that our taps were leaking, and that the downstairs neighbors complained about a water leak in the walls through their electrical light fittings in theor lounge , kitchen and Bathroom. Very little effort was made on Charls part to ensure these issues where addressed. A plumber was sent out to assess the damage but, nothing was done about it still. We contacted Charl about security access to the complex and had to message our details through 3 times which there was no reply to. I then by chance met one of the members of the body corporate which gave me the direct number of the security operator. I contacted them and they said they could not help me. in short it took 8 months for us to get security access to our own complex. Charl Viljoen has made many empty promises, meeting times not honored. Unprofessional communication with us as clients, hurrying us along saying he has other clients to attend to as well. This is definitely not a company that treats their clients with respect and dignity. On exit of the property, we gave the standard TWO months notice but was told that if they didn't find someone to buy or rent that unit we would still be liable for the thirds months rental. This is illegal and unethical practice. We still received an updated invoice for December and January indicating as such. Why would this happen if we followed the notice procedure exactly? We are still awaiting our Security deposit and are fearing that the amount owed to us will not be honored. After all the decency of us fixing the flat ourselves due to such bad communication and unethical business practice on Charl Viljoen and House of Realtors part I hope that people think twice and thrice about trusting these people with their home situation and hard earned money.