KEY POINTS:
Investors in residential real estate business Merlot are complaining about missing rent payments.
Vicki Walsh of Palmerston North said she was owed more than $700 rent on a property she bought through the Auckland-headquartered Merlot three years ago.
Other Merlot investors have also complained to the Herald about missing rent after Merlot said last month it was having problems.
Merlot investors are saying their rent has not been paid, leaving them to cover mortgages out of other earnings.
Vicki Walsh said rent stopped flowing last month and since then she has not received any money nor any explanation from Merlot.
The house she owns in South Auckland's Tuakau is rented for $350 a week and Walsh bought it new, borrowing $300,000 from a bank.
She is paying $75 a week to have the property managed and said she believed Merlot when it promised her trouble-free investment.
Fortunately, she said she was financially secure but she is worried about where the rent has gone and concerned for others who invested with Merlot.
She complained that a sales representative from Merlot had tried to sell her another Auckland property just before Christmas.
In late June, Merlot told clients it was having problems with rent payments because of the difficult econ-omic environment.
"Life is pretty difficult at present for all of us and some investors have had rental payment instability and this has meant that rent has been paid on different days of the week over recent times," Merlot said.
"We appreciate your support through this period and assure you that it is our commitment to you, that we will be making up these payments as soon as is practicable and intend to return to weekly in advance payments shortly."
Merlot has about 300 investors owning about $100 million of houses.
In 2005, it paid more than $6 million for 62 sections in Counties Manukau.
Merlot management could not be reached for comment yesterday.
MERLOT PROPERTY
* Bought land where houses were built.
* Sold those houses to their investors.
* Also managed many of those properties.
* 300 investors have $100 million of houses.
