Herron family home trashed after mortgagee sale
The family home of bankrupt Merlot Homes director Stuart Herron, which recently sold at mortgagee auction, was completely trashed before the new owners could move in.
The Devonport property was purchased by Jay and Moira Taylor-Innes, who have three small children.
In the four weeks between the auction hammer falling and their moving in date, the house was torn to shreds.
Mr Taylor-Innes said the damage included:
>> 10 architraves (the wood around doors) ripped off the walls
>> carpet, light fittings, oven and hob removed
>> an entire upstairs deck ripped out, including wooden planking and the steel substructure underneath
>> carved “X” marks into the living room floor
>> two trees drilled with holes and poisoned with Round Up.
An electrician deemed the house unsafe due to damage to the wiring and, although the planking of the downstairs deck was not taken away, about 2000 screws holding it down were removed.
Even the showerhead and toilet roll holder were taken from the master bathroom.
“When you buy a house at mortgagee sale, you work in a factor because you know that there’s a potential for this,” said Mr Taylor-Innes.
“But when that risk materialises, it’s not just the financial costs, it’s the emotional and mental and physical strain.
“Even now we’re not fully sorted out, a month later.
"The damage has cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair, and “the chequebook’s still open”.
Merlot, which collapsed last year, was a major player in the residential property investment market. Mr Herron was a director and shareholder.
His wife Christine now owns and directs a company called Lakov, which in turn owned the home on Devonport’s Rutland Road.
The vandalised home was built for the couple as a family home. It has a rateable value of $1.25 million.
Mr Taylor-Innes, a naval officer, said it had been a long-time dream to own a property in Devonport.
“We did nothing wrong here,” he said.
He would not buy another home at mortgagee auction.
The sale and purchase agreements at mortgagee auctions typically do not cover the chattels.
The Taylor-Innes’s asked to inspect the house before settling, on the recommendation of their solicitor, but were told it wasn’t possible.
Mr and Mrs Herron’s property was sold by Harcourts at the behest of mortgagee Westpac.
The listing photos of the house can be seen here, but here is a couple of examples of 'before' shots:
Below are a selection of 'after' photos taken by Jay and Moira Taylor-Innes after taking possession of the house:
Most Popular
NZ Market Snapshot
NBR Services
.jpg)
Latest
- New Zealand sharemarket up after strong lead from offshore
- Apple Touch gets HD video, Nano a stamp-size screen
- Time for fear, not panic
- Financial adviser code approved
Back to the futures – dairy derivatives due - NZFSU advises shareholders to accept Olam offer
- Deutsche bank to advise Fonterra on share trading
- NZ gets two Sony e-Readers, but not the top dog
- Top ten legal aid lawyers revealed
- Manawatu businessman must pay up, court rules
.jpg)
.jpg)
Comments
OMG! unbelievable! what
OMG! unbelievable! what rotten hearts the previous owner had!
Did they not get insurance
Did they not get insurance at the fall of the hammer like everyone is told to do ?
WOW
Surely the neighbours would of heard banging and all sorts going on next door. Is this legal? Where will all the items turn up? Trademe? I'm off to have a look.
Pissed off Contractors
I would suspect this recovery of fittings and materials would be by some of the suppliers and contractors owed a lot of money by the previous owner/developer
halo@woosh.co.nz
Hmmmm ....... all a bit dodgy. The fact that an X was carved into the floor indicates some sort of Malice, which i imagine the Owners were responsible for. There is however a 'duty of care' that the mortgagee will do all that they can to mitigate this type of occurence.
'Caveat Emptor' perhaps?
Landlords beware!
Landlords beware if you come across a Stuart Heron as a potential tennant...because he'll be surely looking for a place to rent.
After 5 years, nobody will
After 5 years, nobody will remember who is bankrupt Merlot Homes director Stuart Herron unless there is a better NZ system in place.
Insurance
You generally can't get insurance on a mortgagee sale that covers malicious damage by the occupier. It's a much riskier proposition than most people realise.
mortgagee sale
Its easy to be wise after the ship has grounded but I suggest the buyers' solicitors were totally remiss in allowing settlement to proceed without the prior inspection.
the Police need to get involed
this is truly shocking behaviour. Shame on who-ever did this.
Lenders & Debtors blame others, not themselves
People who cannot count and therefore lend or take on more debt than can be repaid, generally blame everyone but themselves. Shame on the Heron family. Look out for them, they will no doubt be looking to borrow again.
I feel very sorry for the new owner, but it is a very real risk when buying mortgagee property. My view - arrange to settle with vacant poseesion on the auction day. Make it the lender & selling agents problem not yours. With nearly three pages of mortgagee auctions in the paper last week it is clear there are going to be many spiteful debtors out there.
I do not feel sorry for them or the lenders, they are part of a group that is behind the sub prime lending that set off the world wide collapse of the banking sector which followed into this very deep recession.
No Vendors Warranties
In reply to 'mortgagee sale' : You have to settle. All the usual warranties are taken out of the normal Sale & Purchase contract.
So the vendor (the mortgagee) doesn't warrant that the place will have any chattels in it, or be in a good state or even vacant when you settle.
So as the purchaser you buy knowing all of this in advance and take your chances. Normally people just go, leaving behind some rubbish etc. But every now and then they barricade themselves in or trash the place.
Merlot
This is not surprising the way Merlot and its directors "Ran" this company. They should all be in jail.
Herron house destruction
Thank you Arthur Murray for your comment re settlement and possession on the day of auction. I personally never attend house auctions, just cannot envisage buying such an important asset in that type of atmosphere but this is very useful advice should it ever come to that.
I can well imagine though how angry unpaid subbies are: they have done the work and supplied the kit and then get left high and dry by wideboys like the Heron bloke.
Its actually well-known in
Its actually well-known in the Realestate industry that properties sold via mortgagee auctions are often trashed prior to settlement.
They should never have settled without an inspection, and additionally asked for security guards between the auction and settlement dates
Sure, auctions sales are meant to be free of conditions, but this is just rediculous.
The Realestate industry need to sort this sh*t out and allow the winners of mortgagee auctions to contract in more conditions of sale.
herron house
As a real estate person I need to poiint out that the conditions of the sale are entirely controlled by the Bank and not the agent. Don't blame the agent.
My records show that these people paid 40% less than the last recorded sale. They seem to have forgotten that they were trading on other people's misfortune and got precisely what they deserved. It's called Karma
Cut & Run
This certainly puts a new spin on the cut and run brigade. The guy is dodgy and should be locked up like others have suggested.
DODGY
People who have a vocabulary that is so limited that they have to use the term "dodgy" should also be locked up and made to read more widely.
Bob's yer Uncle
Each home is a castle into which the King's writ does not seek to run nor do his officers seek to be admitted - relevence ? Naught !
However , allocation of blame below to real estate agents , bankers , lawyers , subbies , insurers , etc somehat delusional I would have thought - kinda like " oh , your artery is severed - here is a band -aid " . Perhaps this sort of conduct is just what we need to get the construction industry moving again ?
To another 5,000 mortgagee sales in the winter of discontent then !
Dodgy
Dodgey, dodgery, dodgeridoo,
Trading in others misfortune
Anonymous @ 12:09 - you say that "They seem to have forgotten that they were trading on other people's misfortune and got precisely what they deserved. It's called Karma"
Not so - the buyer paid more than anyone else on the day, reduced the debt by more than anyone else would. The buyer is the good guy.
Karma
I disagree with the person above who comments that the buyers deserve this because they bagged a bargain. Sure, there are some bargain hunters out there at mortgagee sales, but these people could have just been a nice family with three kids who fell in love with the house and so bid at auction. They got it for a good price - but that doesn't make them bad people. Are you suggesting they should have kept bidding after others stopped just so they paid more? Lucky they didn't! Their 40% discount just got wiped out.
ACtually you have it wrong
Why on earth blame the real estate industry (everyone's favourite scapegoat) for conditions that are imposed by law?!
Agents CANNOT change the criteria for a mortgagee sale - and cannot even guarantee people will even be able to enter the property. To suggest security guards be posted at the home of someone who has just had their home forcibly sold from under them by their finance institution is naive to say the least.
"It's actually well known" by people who know what's involved that there is NO guarantee of the property's condition in a mortgagee sale, that's why people expect to get them CHEAP. Geddit?
Real Estate person -- Kama
You haven't got the 'balls' to put your name on such comment.
Yes, it is a crime, and the police should deal with it
It is "wilful damage" to do that to someone else's property and it was someone else's property when the mortgagee took posession. It is about time the police did something before we all pay for this in higher lending charges.
Real estate person
A real estate agent talking about Karma...is that the next Tui billboard?
"My records show that these people paid 40% less than the last recorded sale. They seem to have forgotten that they were trading on other people's misfortune and got precisely what they deserved. It's called Karma"
If you don't believe in market value, you have no business being in real estate. The house is worth what the people paid, regardless of it being a mortgagee sale. The buyers have done nothing wrong.
yup! totally agree with
yup! totally agree with everyone that disagreed with that Karma person... Cameron you are so true.
Your version of Karma is warped
With an agents attitude like the one who is commenting on Karma no wonder the industry has such a bad rep!!
An auction campaign is run to promote competition amoungst buyers and produce solid bidding at auction. This is true whether it is a mortgagee sale or not. Often mortgagee auctions produce the most intense bidding and result in better outcomes than a regular sale. The new owners where the best buyers on the day of auction and in good faith purchased in accordance with the auction terms set by the lending institution. The only ones at fault here are the owners (or third party) that caused the damage to happen. They should be made accountable for these expenses and also for all the heartache caused to the new owners.
If the agent cannot understand the principles of buy and sell get the hell out of the industry, you are not doing a service to anyone.
http://jdo.justice.govt.nz/jd
http://jdo.justice.govt.nz/jdo/GetJudgment/?judgmentID=120785
http://jdo.justice.govt.nz/jd
http://jdo.justice.govt.nz/jdo/GetJudgment/?judgmentID=120785
Post new comment