Tour drivers point out Hotchin's egged mansion

Photo / Janna Dixon

Failed financier Mark Hotchin's derelict mansion is so ghastly it now attracts commentary from tour bus drivers.

Stains spatter the walls where eggs have been thrown at the multi-million dollar Paritai Drive home, a lightning-rod for anger about Hotchin and his failed finance company, Hanover.

Tour operator Ian MacDonald said: "Everyone knows the Hotchin one, so it gives you something to talk about, basically."

MacDonald said one driver had a personal connection to the mansion. "He got done over by Hanover and he tells everyone."

Nearby resident Christie McClure said the house had shown no sign of improvement since spring. "It should be completed but I don't think [Hotchin] should have it.

"It could be made into apartments. Who can afford $30 million?" she asked.

Workmen were carting debris around the site this week.

"We're not allowed to talk to you guys," one man said.

Ads for home improvement firms dotted the mansion's front wall - but none would comment this week.

Neither would Hotchin.

The Securities Commission froze his assets in 2010.

The mansion's official owner is now the KA 4 Trust.

Justice Helen Winkelmann said last month KA 4's assets were often treated as Hotchin's.