Tractor with bonus farm still up for auction

A tractor with bonus 8.1ha farm is still for sale on internet auction site Trade Me after the top bidder failed to muster the cash.

Lower Hutt man Lance Karanga assured Trade Me officials his offer was genuine, but after winning the auction on Sunday said his bank had pulled the plug on his finance.

"This guy confirmed to us twice that he was 100 per cent committed to buying it at the price he had bid, and he had the wherewithal to do so. What the guy did is known as a spoiling bid," Trade Me head of business Mike O'Donnell said.

Staff had been on the phones yesterday trying to track down those who had been offering top dollar to see if they were still interested, and a note had been sent to all bidders asking if they wanted to enter private negotiations.

Gore-based vendors Shelley and Allen Holland had received a couple of offers yesterday but they were for a lot less than the $250,000 final bid from Mr Karanga.

Mrs Holland said they had not yet heard from the next highest bidders who had offered around $230,000.

She said the failed auction had been very upsetting but they were now looking ahead.

"Yesterday I was absolutely just stoved in. It took a little while to sink in. I know Allen was very, very angry. We had some very good, genuine people that were interested in it.

"(But) Allen made a comment yesterday, he said we were no worse off than we were a week ago. And I have to admit, he's dead right. We've still got our farm."

However, she was concerned about a pledge to give $10,000 to charities, made after bids climbed on the back of the auction's publicity.

"That's probably been the hardest thing to deal with. Where we come from, when you say something you follow it up. If we get considerably less it sort of puts us in a very awkward predicament with the money we promised."

Mr O'Donnell said there were a couple of legal options open to the Hollands if they wanted pursue Mr Karanga.

"Firstly they've got access to the disputes tribunal, which has a ceiling on it of $7500 for remedies. But if they wanted to pursue a nuisance, or an expense or a time wasting payment, they could do that.

"Secondly, if they wanted to, they could pursue him for breach of contract where potentially the remedies could be a lot higher."

Mrs Holland said they weren't very experienced with the legal side of things, "because we don't normally take people to court down here".

In any event, if Mr Karanga didn't have the money there was "no point flogging a dead horse", she said.

Mr Karanga told the Southland Times yesterday he did not blame the Hollands for feeling angry and was "really pissed off" himself.

He said his bank approved finance on Saturday but reneged on Monday.

"I feel like s**t now," he said.

- NZPA