Battle to bring Joburg estate agent to book
To afford their dream home, Joanne and Edwin Welkin cashed in their inheritance and put down a R1 million deposit on a house they were buying through one of South Africa's oldest estate agencies.
Now, almost two years later, they have forked out more than R50 000 in legal fees to bring to justice the man they believe stole their money and turned their lives into a financial struggle.
Yesterday, Willem Roos, an attorney and director of three Huizemark franchises in Kempton Park, Bedfordview and Edenvale, appeared in the Germiston Regional Court in connection with the theft of R1m from the couple. Two co-directors of the franchises appeared alongside him.
A civil case is also under way against Roos by property developer Georgios Georgiou, who is trying to recover R800 000 lost during the building and selling of a Kyalami complex.
Roos' defence appears to be that he does not owe Georgiou money. A trial should begin within a few months.
Roos, a director of Orange Homes (which traded as Huizemark), declined to discuss the allegations against him.
"Everybody is entitled to make allegations, and those allegations will be tested in a court of law. And that's what I'm prepared to say," he offered.
He is yet to plead to the charge.
Joanne Welkin is a school secretary and her husband a pipes and fittings salesman.
"We are not Rockefellers. We are regular Joes," Edwin Welkin said at court yesterday.
To afford the R2.2m Edenglen, Edenvale, home, the pair sold a block of flats that Joanne inherited from her mother.
After finding the Edenglen house, they signed a contract with Roos's franchise that forced them to make the deposit into the company's account and give it sole mandate to sell their old home in the same area.
They claim Roos pushed them to sign the contract without their lawyer, Jannie Labuschagne, being present.
When the deal collapsed and they couldn't get their money back, they secured a court order to attach the estate agency's property to recover their debt.
When they arrived at the offices with a sheriff of the court, they discovered that the company had changed names and could not be touched.
They said they were determined to expose Roos and to recover their money from a special fund held at the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB).
Roos, 43, is still registered as an attorney with the Law Society, but records show he is not practising. An investigation is apparently under way against him by the society.
EAAB spokeswoman Portia Mofikoe confirmed an investigation was under way against Roos but declined to comment until the "internal process" was finalised.
Huizemark's joint director, Andre Hamman, said they had cut all ties with Roos. The franchise company was waiting for the outcome of the criminal and civil cases before making its next move.
The Star
Posted at 10:12AM Mar 05, 2010 by Editor in Residential |