A North West man was dismayed after learning that his ex-wife organised an auction where their over R1.5 million house was bought for R1,000 by her attorney in his absence.
The former couple, Makgothu Rudolph Mosothoane and Moela Flora Mosothoane were married in community of property, and were divorced in July 2022.
During their divorce, they entered into a settlement agreement which was made by the court where it was decided that their property in Riviera Park North, Mahikeng was to be sold to the highest bidder and the proceeds to be divided equally between the parties.
The ex-husband obtained a municipal valuation of the property, which was valued at R1.5 million. He found buyers for the property and approached a firm of attorneys, who also handle conveyancing, to assist with the sale and transfer of the property.
He then informed his ex-wife that he had secured buyers for the property; however, she told him that she was not interested in selling the property.
In March 2023, he was served with a writ of attachment on the property. Sometime in July 2023, he found documents regarding the auction of the property in the front yard of the premises.
The auction was to be held on October 5, 2023.
On the day,ex-husband took leave from work in anticipation of the auction which he thought would be held at the property, but it never happened.
The same day, he went to the office of the sheriff to make enquiries. He was informed that the auction was held at the sheriff's office and that the property was sold for R1,000 to the highest bidder between the two people who attended the auction.
The property was bought by the attorney representing his ex-wife, who had a power of attorney to act on her behalf.
Makgothu sought relief at the North West High Court in Mafikeng where he wanted the auction to be set aside, he also wanted an order prohibiting his ex-wife from taking transfer of the property into her name.
Through her attorney, who bought the house, the ex-wife opposed the application on the basis that the sale of the property was properly and lawfully done, saying there was no basis in law upon which the relief sought could be granted.
The ex-wife added that the auction was advertised in the local newspaper, Mahikeng Mail, and it was stated, in the fine print, that the sale would be held at the Sheriff's office, and the address was provided.
Moreover, she said the ex-husband was served with a notice of sale and the documents were left at the main gate of the premises, however, it was locked, and nobody was present.
In addition, the notice of sale was placed on the notice board in the foyer of the High Court in Mafikeng.
Judge President of the North West High Court, Ronald Deon Hendricks presided over the matter and said there was history regarding the sale of the property where the ex-wife proposed to the ex-husband that he should ‘buy her out', at an amount of R700,000.
Judge Hendricks said after the proposal, there was no response from the ex-husband and that’s when the ex-wife suggested that the property should be auctioned.
The two potential buyers that the ex-husband said he had, never officially made offers to purchase the house for R1.5 million.
There were also attempts made by the ex-wife to place the property in the market through an estate agent that was also unsuccessful.
The judge said the ex-wife knew that the settlement agreement indicated that they should both benefit 50% share from the proceeds of the house hence she made a proposal to the ex-husband to buy her out for R700,000.
Having this knowledge, Hendricks asked why the ex-wife thought it was fair to buy the property through the assistance of her attorney for only R1,000 while there were only two bidders, including her attorney, who was acting on her instruction.
He said the ex-wife wanted R700,000 for the property but why did she allow her attorney to buy it for R1,000.
The judge said this was unfair as the ex-husband was only going to benefit R500 from the sale.
As a result, the judge cancelled the sale of the property and prohibited the ex-wife from registering the house in her name.
The ex-wife was ordered to pay costs of the application.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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