Seeff properties undisclosed defects

We are busy purchasing a home in Silvertree Estate, Cape Town through Seeff (Western Cape Southern Suburbs Real Estate (Pty) Ltd) Reg No. ***. The agent we are dealing with is Sonya Garish and her principal is James Lewis. We have had extremely poor service from Seeff, and they have been blatantly dishonest and did not disclose defects that they were fully aware of and have simply reneged on all their duties and promises thus far and have been highly unprofessional.

We were initially told that the pool had a leak and that there was also a leak in the bathroom, and that all this would be remedied before transfer. Sonya told us to contact the current tenant so that he could show us how to work the borehole system. The tenant had been occupying the home for just short of 5 years, and the rental contract was also through the same Seeff agency. When we met the current tenant at the time, he explained that the pool water was dropping by as much as a foot per day and that it has been a problem since day one and required unusually high volumes of chemicals just to maintain but was effectively a decommissioned pool. He went on to explain he was extremely frustrated with his dealings with Seeff over the years and that all repair work carried out thus far had been sloppy and ‘slap dash’ and none of the repair work that Seeff’s maintenance crew did was lasting or up to standard. He also made us aware of the leaking patio roof, leaking kitchen roof, another bathroom leak, defective alarm, defective intercom, defective irrigation system, defective garage motors and rotting garage doors, which were just painted over to conceal the problem. Seeff was fully aware of all this, and simply chose not to disclose any of it.

I sent Sonya an e-mail, but she misread it and thought I was another client of hers which also had an unresolved pool issue, so her reply to me made no sense whatsoever. I then called her telephonically to enquire regarding all of this and wanted details particularly concerning the pool, but she got very defensive and condescending and even put the phone down when I got irritated and started to press her for answers. I was eventually told that the pool was scheduled to be repaired and re-fiberglassed on the 1st of June 2023 and that all other repair work would be attended to timeously. However, nothing was done! We then met with the conveyancing attorney who advised that they would be soon ready to lodge and that there were 2 options… we hold back transfer until all repair work is done satisfactory or an amount should be held back to cover the cost of the repairs. I e-mailed Sonya and was surprised to learn that she was overseas and unavailable. I then phoned Seeff to schedule an appointment with the principal. When I arrived at the meeting, I met with a Seeff’s maintenance representative and the rental manager (not the principal as I had hoped) but was assured that everything would be taken care of. I asked who had been appointed to do the pool contract work and was given a name. I looked up the contractor and was horrified to find out that it was a ‘bakkie brigade’ contractor that began less than 2 years ago, with no accreditation and didn’t even list pools in his line of work but rather specified only home improvement type work. When I questioned this, I was told that they were a breakaway of another reputable pool company but the pool company they mentioned had their membership withdrawn from the NSPI and appeared on Hello Peter. So, I insisted that a reputable pool company be tasked with the work and that I be given a proper guarantee. I was told that I should obtain quotes for everything, which I dually did. Subsequently the garage roof began leaking very badly and it appeared as though the ceiling could even collapse.

I requested a meeting with the principal at Seeff (James), but by this time Sonya was now back from overseas and insisted that she handle everything. A meeting with Seeff’s maintenance crew was set up at the property, which I agreed to, but I advised that I still wanted to discuss everything after that meeting with the principal at Seeff, as I firmly believed it was time to escalate the issue as the rental contract had now been terminated and all repair work had failed to be carried out by Seeff as agreed. I also e-mailed the principal requesting a meeting but had no response from him, as is typical with Seeff. Then Sonya called me telephonically to advise that the meeting they had scheduled, they themselves were cancelling, and that they now intended on reneging on their agreement and that I should instead liaise with the conveyancing attorney regarding all these matters. I find this all very disappointing and distasteful! I have a record in writing of correspondence detailing most of this and much of the commitments that were made and reneged on.