In the Magistrate's Court, the general rule is that property is left on the premises until the sheriff receives an instruction to remove it. An attachment over movables is valid for four months, calculated from the date of attachment. The execution creditor's attorney must obtain a date for sale from the sheriff. The date of the sale must be at least fifteen days after the attachment. The property must be sold at or near the place where it was attached, or to which it has been removed. The property will then be sold by the sheriff through public auction, or with the approval of the magistrate, by an auctioneer or other person so appointed by the sheriff. Thereafter, it is the responsibility of the creditor, after consultation with the sheriff, to prepare a notice of sale, and to send two copies thereof to the sheriff, so that one copy may be affixed to the notice board or door of the court, and the other copy near the place where the sale is to take place. This must be done ten days before the sale. If the sheriff is of the opinion that the items are worth more than R3,000, the sheriff will require the creditor to publish the notice of sale in a local newspaper. The advertisement must be published at least ten days prior to the sale. A copy of the edition of the paper wherein the advertisement is published must be furnished to the sheriff at least one day prior to the sale. On completion of the sale, the sheriff must attach to the return a “vendue roll,” showing details of the property sold, the prices realised, the names and addresses of the purchasers (where known), and an account of the distribution of the proceeds. In the case of immovable property, the warrant of execution must be delivered to the sheriff of the district in which the immovable property is situated. The sheriff effects the attachment by serving the notice of attachment and the warrant of execution on   Unlike the provision in the HCR, which requires service by registered letter addressed to the intended recipient, the MCR require service in the same manner as a summons. The sheriff will then send the original warrant of execution, together with the return of service, to the creditor's attorney. After the attachment, the sheriff must ascertain and record whether the said property is subject to any claim preferent to that of the creditor. If that is the case, the sheriff must notify the creditor of the existence of any such claim. Having received such notification, the creditor is obliged, in terms of section 66(2) of the Magistrates' Courts Act, to cause a notice of the intended sale in execution to be served personally upon the preferent creditor; alternatively, the execution creditor must make application to the Magistrate's Court of the district in which the property is situated in order to obtain a direction as to what steps must be taken to bring the intended sale to the notice of the preferent creditor.