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Blue Chip investors who borrowed money from Tasman Mortgages - itself 30 per cent owned by Blue Chip - are filing personal hardship claims to avoid forced sales and losing their properties.
Olly Newland, who is working with a large group of Blue Chip investors claiming millions of dollars, said many investors were preparing to file the grievance forms with Tasman.
The investors took out a mortgage for an apartment which in many cases was never built and were now faced with having to pay a mortgage on a non-existent property, Newland said.
The hardship forms demand details of investors' employment, income, expenses, liabilities, assets, bank overdrafts, credit cards, hire purchase deals, mortgage repayments, personal loans, cars, rates and entertainment expenses.
About 4000 Blue Chip investors bought about 2000 properties. Now 20 Blue Chip companies are in liquidation, one is in administration and collectively, the businesses owe $72.4 million.
A third of Tasman is owned by Blue Chip Financial Solutions Ltd, which is not in liquidation or administration.
Many Blue Chip investors got finance from Tasman and the Business Herald reported in 2005 that 80 per cent of Tasman's mortgage-broking business was obtained through its relationship with Blue Chip.
Jeff Meltzer, who is liquidating a string of Blue Chip companies this week, encouraged people in financial strife to approach their bank or financier and ask for clemency.
Newland asked for a show of hands at a large Auckland meeting of Blue Chip investors on Tuesday and dozens of people indicated they had borrowed from Tasman.
Mac Bycroft, Tasman Mortgages' chief executive, said it was company policy to help clients who were having problems with payments if borrowers were forthcoming about their problems.
"Our policy is to look at each situation individually and, as long as a plan is in place to resolve the arrears, assist the client in making an application to the funder for some sort of defined relief," said Bycroft, former general manager of Blue Sky Holdings, one of the 20 Blue Chip companies in liquidation.
Tasman is a securitised mortgage arranger and mortgage broking business which until last year was a wholly owned subsidiary of the ASX-listed Blue Chip Financial Solutions. But last May, NZX-listed Lombard Group bought 70 per cent of Tasman, with the remaining 30 per cent staying with Blue Chip.
Michael Reeves, chief executive of Lombard, said a number of changes had been made to Tasman since that acquisition. He estimated only about 10 per cent of Tasman's business was with Blue Chip clients. But, he stressed, any questions about Blue Chip should be directed to that company, not Lombard.
Tasman mortgages
* 70 per cent owned by Lombard Group
* 30 per cent owned by Blue Chip Financial Solutions Ltd
