Council ready to auction off 849 stands

Date: 16 September 2021 By: Anton van Zyl

The Makhado Municipality intends to sell 849 vacant residential and business stands by public auction. The stands are in two newly established townships, just south of Pretorius Street in Louis Trichardt and adjacent to Tshikota Extension 1. The auction is scheduled to take place between 24 September (09:00) and 27 September (09:00).

The sites will be sold via an online auction, and Tirhani Auctioneers has been appointed to handle the entire process. Among the stands on auction are 10 sites already zoned for business, as well as five sites zoned as Residential 2, which would be suited for higher-density units such as flats.

Dr Tirhani Mabunda, the director of Tirhani Auctioneers, explained that an online auction is a transparent, auditable and convenient method to sell such stands. “The online auction platform enables prospective buyers to bid online against each other from the comfort of their offices or homes,” he said. The system acts as an invisible auctioneer and regulates the bidding process, with each lot sequentially closing at a given time. “Bid prices are updated in real time as bidding progresses and the highest bidder wins at the close of the bidding process, subject to pre-determined reserve prices,” he added.

Assistance will be provided to first-time online auction users (including those who are computer illiterate) through information booths, workshops, and selected estate agents. Bidding centres will also be established in the vicinity of Makhado Municipality to assist members of the public wishing to participate in the online auction.

Mr Kent Nemaname, Makhado Municipality’s acting municipal manager, said that the auctioning of the vacant stands will be based on open-market values. “Apart from raising much-needed funds for engineering service projects within the newly established townships, the disposal of the vacant stands will create opportunities for people in and around Makhado Municipality to build dwellings and establish businesses,” he said.

The auction will be conducted over two consecutive rounds. Buyers will be restricted to buying one stand per registered natural or juristic person during the first round. No restrictions will apply during the second round for properties unsold during the first round.

Properties purchased during the auction must be developed within three years from the date of signing the Deed of Sale, with the provision that the council may allow an extension of a further two years. If the purchaser fails to complete the development within the prescribed period, the property will revert to the council without compensation to the purchaser for any improvements on the property.

Persons interested in bidding will have to register and pay the registration fees (which are refundable). These fees are R10 000 for residential stands and R50 000 for business stands. The registration forms must be submitted before close of business on Thursday, 23 September.

The stands on sale will have reserve, or minimum, prices. “Although you may be the ‘High Bidder’ for a Lot, note that if the reserve is not met, there is no commitment from the seller to sell. The sellers shall be entitled to instruct the auctioneer to accept a lower bid,” says Mabunda.

The unsold lots from the first auction will be disposed of during a second auction, scheduled for between 28 Sept (09:00) and 30 Sept (09:00).

For more information and to register for the bidding process, please visit https://www.tirhani.co.za/auctions/detail/bw68383.

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Anton van Zyl

Anton van Zyl has been with the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror since 1990. He graduated from the Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg) and obtained a BA Communications degree. He is a founder member of the Association of Independent Publishers.

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