Pretoria - Potential homeowners in Mamelodi have become wary and cautious when buying property.
The name of Thabiso Serage, of Serage Properties in Centurion, has been mentioned by at least four people who claim to have been conned when trying to buy homes through the company.
According to victims, Serage advertised houses to prospective buyers, signed all the relevant documents and then disappeared with their money.
Four victims approached the Pretoria News to complain about Serage, saying they experienced problems when they wanted to occupy their properties.
They claimed that Serage persuaded them to pay the full purchase amount of the houses then disappeared with their money.
Serage allegedly told them the properties were in demand, said Thabang Monyamane.
Monyamane says he bought a house Nellmapius through Serage for R180 000 in March. “In my quest to buy a house I found an estate agent in Mamelodi to help me find property. The agent was from Serage Properties,” Monyamane said.
He alleged that after signing the offer to purchase, Serage told him he would occupy the land in a week. “But when the time came, he told me that the previous owners had left their belongings in the house and needed to get them.” More excuses followed after that.
Though he cancelled his contract and demanded his money back, Serage ignored him, he claimed. Later, he was promised a refund within 30 days, but six months on, Monyamane has still not been reimbursed.
This prompted him to seek legal advice. When he explained his woes to Chiloane attorneys, he was told of four more people who had complained about Serage Properties, among them Smangele Nkosi, of Mamelodi.
She was also in the market for a house when she was approached by an agent only known as Sfiso from Serage Properties.
Serage meanwhile told the Pretoria News he was dealing with the allegations and would rather speak to their complainants’ legal representatives than the media.
He acknowledged the name Monyamane and said he was sorting out the misunderstanding.
Pretoria News