A Far North District councillor won't fight bankruptcy proceedings against him, saying he simply cannot afford to stump up the more than $800,000 he's been ordered to pay by the High Court.
The High Court at Whangarei is likely to issue bankruptcy orders against Steve McNally on April 9 after an earlier offer to pay only $50,000 of the $856,353 was rejected by FM Custodians, Fund Managers Auckland and Auckland Mortgage Trust.
Mr McNally, a former director of McNally Valuation (2000), which went into liquidation in 2011, valued a property in the Bay of Islands before FM Custodians lent about 70 per cent of the valuation price to the new home owners. FM Custodians owns more than 75 per cent of the debt while the rest is owned by Auckland Mortgage Trust and Fund Managers Auckland.
The homeowners could not keep up with the repayments and the lenders lost money after the house was later sold at a lower price because the housing market was down.
FM Custodians alleged Mr McNally overvalued the property and it obtained a High Court judgment against him of $856,353 in June 2012.