[Source: Business Daily, by John Mutua]
The planned auction of houses in Athi River’s Sunset Boulevard Estate over a defaulted loan has been stopped amid a court order handing reprieve to more than 200 home owners.
Leaky’s Auctioneers, appointed to oversee the sale of 204 houses 390 units on the estate said the principals — I&M Bank and Sunset Boulevard Limited — cancelled the auction planned for Wednesday July 31.
Sunset Boulevard, which built and sold the houses, is said to have failed to repay an undisclosed debt with I&M Bank occasioning the auction notice on Monday in the lender’s bid to recover the funds.
“It has been cancelled by our principals, the sale is not on and I do not have to give details,” Leaky’s Auctioneers said in response to queries.
The estate is valued at more than Sh2 billion and the move comes amid a High Court order issued last month stopping auctioneers from selling off the houses.
Ogola & Okello Advocates, acting for the developers, had on Monday written to the bank demanding suspension of the advert. They threatened to sue if it was not removed in a last-minute effort to save home owners from looming eviction.
The cancelled auction of the prime estate on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway underlines the struggles in the real estate sector in recent years.
[Full article: Business Daily, by John Mutua]
