An unfinished home on one of New Zealand’s wealthiest streets is being sold in a private mortgagee sale.
The owner bought the property at 1027 River Road, in Queenwood, Hamilton, in 2018 for $990,000 and bowled the existing 1980s house to make way for a new four-bedroom home.
But work stopped three-quarters of the way through the build, and the multi-million-dollar property is being sold “as is, where is”.
Bayleys agent Michael Parker told OneRoof all the structural work had been completed and – as far as he was aware – signed off.
Start your property search
Bespoke cedar joinery had been used and there were designated areas for a gym and reading nook.
An estimated $500,000 was required to make it liveable, with the property lacking a kitchen, bathrooms, lighting and flooring.
Discover more:
- ‘Expect to see more of them’: Lifestyle block with $2m RV to be sold at mortgagee auction
- House sales on the verge of collapse due to finance delays, claim brokers
- ‘Queen of property’ Nikki Connors hits out at bank over mortgagee sale of her $2m apartment
“It’s all painted on the inside and is ready for final fit-out,” he said.
“Someone could go in now and choose their tiles, flooring, and tapware, knowing the house is completely waterproof and structurally sound.”
The build also included an outside swimming pool, and a large deck, but finishing touches were needed on both.
Parker said the property had a price indication of about $2 million in its current condition, but believed it could fetch more than $3m once completed.
The inside of the house is an empty shell and needs a complete fit-out. Photo / Supplied
“It could be a cool upmarket home. Very unique and certainly in the higher price bracket for Hamilton,” he said, noting that an executive home several doors down had fetched $2.63m.
“It sounds a bit corny but all the hard work has been done. If people have a bit of time up their sleeve and are used to project management, they will capitalise on it.”
Parker said he had received more than 30 enquiries about the property since bringing it to market last week.
The agent has experience with mortgagee sales, but this one was unusual. “This would be the first where a private lender is essentially exercising their right under the terms of the mortgage to call in their funds.”
The sale was “amicable”, he said, and all the stakeholders supported it being sold by mortgagee sale.
While most mortgagee properties go to auction, the tender process was being used to allow people to make conditional offers and complete any due diligence that may be needed to help them ascertain what was required to complete the property.
EasyStreet Mortgages adviser Gareth Veale said private funders often had close relationships with the borrower such as family, friends or associates.
The property is in a coveted location with views of the Waikato River and across to the St Andrews Golf Course. Photo / Supplied
“There are people there that have cash that are called on to be private funders for deals that may not meet the banking mould or even a non-bank space.”
But just like when a bank foreclosed, he said private lenders could also instigate a mortgagee sale if the borrower was unable to fulfil their obligations and they wanted to recover their money.
However, Veale said selling a property as a project significantly reduced the buyer pool.
“You need cash or you’re looking at a situation where you are having to provide a lot of information to the lender to be able to give them comfort that the project can be finished.”
The latest mortgagee listing comes as Hamilton real estate agents told OneRoof last week that they were seeing an increase in the number of properties being sold at auction ranging from cheap to high-end.
There are five Hamilton properties currently listed as mortgagee sales on OneRoof including a lifestyle property at 239 Houchens Road, in Glenview, which has an RV of $2.23m, to be auctioned early next month.
Lodge managing director Jeremy O’Rourke told OneRoof last week that mortgagee sales would rise in coming months – not just in Hamilton, but across the country.
“It’s really sad when you start to see a rise in them. It’s just the nature of interest rates moving from 3% to 7% and people who have fallen on harder times are unable to afford them.”
- 1027 River Road, in Queenwood, Hamilton, is being sold by way of tender, closing July 11
