$10m of homes, some falling apart, off market
Long-suffering neighbours of a series of Wellington homes, including a crumbling $4 million home above Oriental Bay, thought their nightmare was over – until they were yanked from the market after tenders had closed.
Now the properties were destined to stay “derelict and dangerous”, said Paula Comerford, who lives next door to the $4m one at Oriental Pde. She faced the threat of falling roof tiles whenever she caught her cable car home.
The eight homes, with a combined value of more than $10m, went on the market in late-2023 after the company owning them, Shazwal Investments, went into liquidation.
But Tommy’s agent Jason Lange said, with just a home on Frederick St, Avalon, sold, the liquidator pulled the others from sale for unknown reasons. Tenders for each of the remaining properties had closed with offers on each, he said.
Comerford – who has spent years calling for the Wellington City Council to take action about what she said was a dangerous house and fire risk – said she and other neighbours were now back to “square one” and faced with a council saying it could not take any action because the house was not deemed unsafe. “We were hopeful we would get a decent neighbour,” she said.
Shazwal Investments is listed as being solely owned and directed by Sharon Scaife, who also goes by Sharon Woodley, but High Court documents from December show that ownership was being challenged by Warren Scaife, her former husband, who said he owned at least half the company.
When approached for comment yesterday, Scaife said he knew why the houses were pulled from sale but would not talk about it yet.
Court documents show a lawyer for Scaife said he had a double hip replacement in 2011 and “the complications from the failed surgeries and life-threatening infections have affected his health very seriously and his ability to carry out works”.
But he had improved and was renovating the properties – particularly those on Mitchell St, Brooklyn, which were almost ready to sell or rent, the lawyer said.
The documents also show Westpac had loaned Shazwal Investments $3.18m and a default notice was served in October when there was almost $104,000 in arrears.
The judge said Heath Gair from Palliser Insolvency was validly appointed as a liquidator and any sale proceeds – after costs and creditors except Woodley, were paid – should be held in trust pending resolution of the property dispute.
People who lived near the Mitchell St properties said yesterday they had not recently seen workers there and the last tenants moved out about a year ago. It appeared that the kitchen had been removed.
Westpac, Woodley, and Gair were approached for comment.