Property deal gone wrong

After paying R130 000 in cash for a property on 12 July, the Phanyane family’s house-hunting venture has turned into a nightmare.
Jacob Phanyane told Polokwane Observer that his family, after deciding to move back to Mankweng, saw a property listed on an online platform and contacted the estate agent who placed the advertisement.
An offer to purchase was made, and he paid R130 000 in cash, but the deal went sour after Jacob was told that the seller decided to take the property off the market.
The estate agent, Primrose Tsheoga, told Polokwane Observer that she subsequently engaged the Phanyane family, offering to assist them in finding another property, which she then did.
The second property was priced at R100 000 and an agreement was made that Tsheoga would refund the R30 000, which she said included commission of R20 000 she was willing to waive. An offer to purchase was made on 2 August, but after hearing very little in terms of the transaction progress in the following weeks, the family opted to contact the principal of the estate agency Tsheoga said she was working for.
It was then that Johannes Ramalatso of JayDee Property told them the agency had no record of the transaction, Phanyane said.
According to Ramalatso, Tsheoga was employed as an intern – a prerequisite for her registering as an independent estate agent.
“She wanted to register her own agency, but first had to intern at an agency for a year. The sale was not made under JayDee Property. Had it not been for the family who enquired about the transaction, I would not have known about the sale.”
Feeling sorry for the family at this point, he also offered to assist them as the first property was advertised in the name of his agency, he told Polokwane Observer.
JayDee Property has since removed all of Tsheoga’s listings and she is no longer attached to the agency, he confirmed.
An investigation into the transaction showed that the Phanyane family’s cash was paid into the account of Moreteadi Properties and Projects, which the CIPC website lists Tsheoga as the sole director.
The company, however, is not registered with the Estate Agency Authority Board (EAAB). Although online search records seem to indicate that Tsheoga is registered as a real estate agent, the board indicated that her registration is invalid, which renders her unable to practice.
Polokwane Observer contacted Tsheoga, who maintained that she is practising legally. She ascribed the delay in the progress of the transaction to the unavailability of the tribal council. The council, according to Cogta Spokesperon Matupa Selomo, owns all land under its authority and must issue property owners a certificate of permission to occupy.
Tsheoga maintains she went the extra mile to assist the Phanyane family.
“I used my own money to drive to the council to get the documents and even after they were misplaced I used my own money to re-apply on their behalf. When I received the documents the family said they did not trust me anymore and that they prefer dealing with Johannes (Ramalatso) from that point on.”
According to Phanyane, his family is still awaiting the outstanding R30 000 owed to them by Tsheoga.
She told Polokwane Observer that she agreed to refund them, “but that they are not taking into consideration my expenses and the commission I am losing out on”.
“Now they are calling me a bogus agent because of R30 000, while I have sold houses worth more than a million Rand, legally.”
In the meantime, the family is taking loans from friends and family, Phanyane said.
“At this point we only want our money back. We opted not to open a criminal case because we are afraid that if we do that, we will never see our money. No one has R30 000 lying around and that is all we ask of her.”
In the meantime, Ramalatso confirmed that he is in possession of the documents and the keys to the house.

Story: Umpha Manenzhe