By Gabisile Ndebele
 
One of Gauteng's oddest houses is on sale for R14 million and interested buyers have to arm themselves with six months of bank statements just to get their feet in the door.

Roodepoort?s flying-saucer house has the owners battling to keep out the curious.

The 650m² home in Kloofendal was completed in 1992. Owners Harry Visser and his wife, Ria, say they are "ready to move on".

The house was first put on the market in 1994 for R3 million and again in 1998 for R4.5 million but, Visser says, he wasn't ready to sell it.

Now, with the price more than tripled, he says it is "a giveaway".

Estate agent Louise Loesch refused to allow anyone to contact the sellers directly because many viewers pretended to be potential buyers but were there purely to ogle the home.

"Dr Visser does not want any publicity about this house, that is why there are such strict criteria to even view the home," she said.

Just to be able to take a look around, potential buyers have to arm themselves with six months' personal and business bank statements, copies of their identity documents, auditor's letters and a copy of their latest financial statements.

Loesch says the Vissers have done this because they have had many faking their buying power just to get inside.

But for those without millions to spend, Metro provides a preview: held together by 10000 nuts and bolts, the house has three bedrooms, four bathrooms and an indoor garden with a waterfall.

None of the home's 76 windows open, for safety reasons it is perched high on a koppie; it has a climate-control system supplying fresh air.

The property has three garages, two lounges, a study and staff quarters, all with views of Roodepoort.

The house was shown on US TV channel HGTV, labelled Africa's most extreme home, in 2002.

The property's fame grew with appearances on local shows like Top Billing and in advertisements for an appliance company.

"This house has got many South Africans curious and, as a result, the Vissers have had to be strict on the buyers," says Loesch.

Sunday Times