My daughter is a South African doctor on the Isle of Wight and she decided to make a life-changing decision.

She accepted a position on the mainland and put her very quaint sea-facing property in Ventnor up for sale.

After the second viewing it was sold in what is known in the UK as a “chain”.

An elderly retired couple had sold their Ventnor property to an overseas investor and were overjoyed to replace it with my daughter’s property.

In the interim, she made three trips to London looking at many options that were for sale.

When she finally made her decision, she was not expecting a bombshell that was about to devastate all the parties concerned.

The international real estate company that had “sold” the elderly retired couple’s property had overlooked the fundamental, first step in real estate of knowing your client — drawing a deed search to ascertain that the property is registered.

It now transpires that the property was acquired in the will through a deceased estate and was never transferred into their name.

A chain of people’s lives have literally been broken by a selling agent representing a reputable international company.

In my 25 years of being a professional realtor in South Africa, I have never been aware or heard of such a travesty.

There are far too many checks and balances for this to happen at such a late stage.

Our home is where our heart is, our sanctuary, our family nest.

Nothing means more, nor is worth more, in our lives.

How is it then possible that one person can leave such a path of destruction?

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