Pretoria - The highly anticipated auction of one of the city’s mega mansions ended before it even started – when a buyer closed the sale with just one phone call.
The mansion in Laudium, dubbed “The Palace”, was being auctioned off as owners Farhaad Gani and his wife had decided to downscale as all their children had long moved out.
The house – estimated to be worth R65 million – had been in the Gani family for 10 years. It took two years to build the 2 500m2 mansion.
The house has six spacious bedrooms with walk-in closets, an indoor pool with a water feature, gym, massage room, sauna, indoor theatre, private office and a prayer room. The home has religious verses on some of the walls and entrances.
Viewing of the home – held on March 15, 22, 23 and 24 – is said to have raised more than R5 000 for the Wingz of Change charity as entrance was pegged at R100 per person viewing.
The starting bells of the auction had not even begun, when one of the representatives announced to the few buyers who had arrived that the house had been bought by an anonymous caller for R45m.
Stonehenge Auction managing director Danny Moss said the price did not include the furniture. The buyer would be given another viewing to decide which pieces of custom-made furniture he would want to buy at a separate auction.
However, the sale left a sour note with some who had come to bid.
“A few people had come to the auction hoping to get the place at a lower price. When we told them about the bidder’s price they decided to leave,” Moss said. “We are ecstatic with the price.”
Some of the couple’s children were there to witness the family home being auctioned off.
Pretoria News