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It's not unusual for a real estate agent to step inside a house before putting it on the market - but it is odd when she leaves it a smouldering wreck.
A bizarre and almost absurd series of events unfolded on Stewart Island after an agent from the upmarket Merivale Harcourts in Christchurch spent a night in a house she was engaged to sell.
Instead of taking a gander and returning home with a lively marketing campaign, agent Gail Hudson was aghast when an accident left the house a smoking ruin.
An estimated $500,000 has been knocked off the 54 Leask Bay Rd property after the early-morning fire wrecked the living and kitchen areas.
Although the place is listed by QV at $1.1 million, buyers may now pay only half that for the one-time luxury property so special that it featured on Campbell Live as the eco-friendly face of New Zealand's housing future.
So the marketing campaign has now become a fire sale.
"The owners have been left devastated by the destruction that has occurred to their dream and have no wish to return to reinstate this property, presenting an opportunity for a purchaser to take over what could well be an exciting and fulfilling project," says the ad calling for tenders by February 3.
A series of before-and-after pictures show the effects of the agent's stay, with parts of the interior uninhabitable.
"It's a wonderful site and it was a beautiful home," a regretful Gail Hudson said from Christchurch.
The cause of the 4am blaze had not been established but she suspected it started in the giant stone fireplace, once a major interior/exterior design feature.
Late last year, Manfred and Ulrike Herzhoff of Christchurch asked the agent to sell the house, where they had once hoped to retire. She estimated $600,000-plus had been spent renovating the 20-year-old house, installing eco-friendly features.
Electricity was to be generated on-site and sold to the local authority.
Mr Herzhoff said he had built a hybrid power-generating system including a wind turbine and solar panels.
"This was my baby," he said, although he was unsure about insurance and said his health had suffered after the fire.
Gail Hudson said she was initially thrilled to be involved. "The house was going to market and I had it listed for some weeks so I was going down to have a look.
"It's just so remote and we were having two nights there to get to know it and get the feel of the whole place.
"We flew over it and I was so looking forward to staying there. The next minute, zippidity-do! It's on fire and we're standing outside, quite shocked," she said.
A smoke alarm woke Gail Hudson and her companion, who escaped unharmed.
The fire brigade arrived within 12 minutes.
Breaking news of the calamity to the Herzhoffs was easier than expected.
"They said, 'We'd better have a drink', at 1pm so we had champagne," she said. They never blamed her for the fire.
She remains eager to drum up interest and is even willing to escort genuine buyers through the house.
