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Two buyers of 122 Flat Bush properties have expressed concern after receivers said the construction sites remained "dormant".
A total of 122 Auckland properties in four projects are with receivers of an Ormiston developer at Flat Bush and they have issued an update to the buyers of properties at 397Ormiston Rd.
The sites were "dormant building sites" but there were still associated hazards, Calibre warned, alluding to buyers trying to get to their places and inside to see what work needed to be done.
All up, 79 apartments were under construction, 26 townhouses were largely complete but work was yet to begin on 17 residential sections or sites. The four projects are Maison D'Ormiston, Ormiston stage 2, Mission Heights and Ormiston Heights.
Maison D'Ormiston housing development Ormiston, Flat Bush. Photo / supplied
One buyer said the updates left him worried while another said remedial works were unfinished on a house due to settle with a DDL business which remains solvent.
Settlement is in just five days and he is worried about what will happen to faults with his new home and if those will be finished.
"For the last three weeks they are repeating the same thing: deposits are safe," said one buyer.
"We know the deposits are safe but we want to know whether they will honour the contract or not. They are playing mind games with poor gullible people," he said.
The buyer says his home is finished but he is worried about whether defects agreed to be rectified will be fixed.
Other buyers are worried about when and if homes will be finished, who might do that, if they will have to pay more to get homes completed and what their legal situation is.
They don't want to escape the contracts struck about two years ago.
Calibre thanked house buyers for their continued patience.
Vandals attacked a new $675,000 house last year. Photo / supplied
It has appointed project managers and consultants "who we are working with to complete our review of the current status of the projects. As you can appreciate, this is a large and complex task. The outcome of this review will inform our overall strategy for the receivership.
"If you are a purchaser of one of the 26 townhouses or the bare land sections located at 397 Ormiston Rd, work is considerably advanced on these properties. We are aiming to provide further information in respect of these properties within the next week," Calibre told buyers.
Conveyancing and legal work for sale and purchase agreements had been moved from Steindle Williams which DDL was using to Calibre's lawyers, Chapman Tripp.
"This does not affect your contract or your deposit. Your deposit remains in the law firm Steindle Williams' trust account," buyers were told.
Lawyers acting for home buyers had now been told to direct any questions about contracts to Chapman Tripp.
The sites remained "dormant" but there were still associated hazards, Calibre warned.
"Everyone's health and safety is our number one priority so please do not attempt to access the site. We have a security team in place on-site to ensure that only approved persons have access. This also assists to ensure the security of the construction works already in place," the accountants warned.
One buyer asked what laws apply to give the buyers rights to settlement and if the Consumer Guarantees Act applied.
Nick Kearney, special counsel of Davenports Law, told the buyer: "The receiver does not have to honour the contract because they are acting for the party that is owed money and takes instructions from them.
"The receiver does not have a contract with you. Having said that, they cannot unilaterally increase the price [of your house] and force you to pay it."
If the receiver asked for more money for the house because it was needed to pay the security holder and other creditors, they would negotiate with the buyers about that, he said.
If buyers decided not to pay more and demanded settlement on the original contract price, they might not be able to because the security holder has a mortgage over the land and if there were insufficient funds to repay them, they could refuse to release their mortgage, the lawyer advised.
Some buyers might agree to pay more, others might not.
Kearney said the Consumer Guarantees Act did not apply because that did not apply to the purchase of homes.
