Top agent denies he deceived over sale

Accused facing trial over claims he deleted references to leaks

A man accused of deliberately falsifying a LIM report when selling his own home by deleting reference to major moisture defects is now a top Auckland real-estate agent.

The man has been charged with knowingly using an altered document to defraud and could be jailed for up to 10 years if convicted of the crime.

Police say the altered report was uploaded to the listing agency’s website and relied on by the buyers, who paid nearly $1.2 million for the North Shore home in 2015. They only learned it might be leaky when they went to sell it years later and requested their own LIM from Auckland Council.

It’s understood the new report included the missing reference to weather tightness problems and they had to sell for less than expected. It’s estimated they suffered financial damage of up to $335,000 due to the alleged deception.

The agent, still listed as having an active licence to sell property, was jointly charged last year with his wife with knowingly using an altered document with intent to defraud.

The alleged offence occurred before he became a real-estate agent, coincidentally with the same firm he used to sell his house.

The couple deny the charges. The Weekend Herald has been fighting to name the man, arguing the public who have entrusted him to sell their biggest asset have a right to know he is facing a serious police charge linked to the falsification of property documents.

But a court has ruled he and his wife can keep their names secret until their trial next year, after they said significant health problems meant publicity could cause a relapse of cancer or potentially fatal heart attack.

The man also argued his job could be at risk and the charges were “not particularly serious”.

“The alleged offending . . . has some hallmarks of a civil matter given that the complainants clearly did not undertake a proper due diligence when purchasing the property,” the man’s lawyer, Ian Brookie, told the court.

The man told the Weekend Herald the case was a “storm in a teacup”.

“You’re wasting all your time on this. It’s quite ridiculous.”

He said the complainants were “hellbent on making life difficult for us” and had sold for “very near” what they paid. The case was “very complex and not as simple as you might think”.

Police documents obtained by the Weekend Herald say the nation’s leakyhome crisis is well documented as causing victims substantial financial losses, both in resulting purchase price and loss in capital gain. Victims often faced “ruinous financial stress” after learning their major asset was affected by weather-tightness issues and worth far less than they thought.

A police summary of facts alleges the couple listed with a leading realestate company in 2015 and obtained a LIM report from Auckland Council.

It contained a clause stating that a letter had been received by the council from the previous owner’s solicitor “informing of major moisture-related cladding defects”, the summary of facts alleges.

Four days later, the man’s wife allegedly sent an electronic copy of the LIM to an agent contracted to market the home, the summary says. The LIM was subsequently uploaded to the agency’s website for prospective buyers to view.

“In this copy of the LIM, the aforementioned [moisture] comment . . . was removed with a blank space now existing where the comment was on the original document.”

Two days after viewing the property, the victims learned the auction had been brought forward, according to the summary. It left less than two days to commit to the purchase or withdraw from making an offer.

“With no reasonable ability to access the LIM directly from the council due to the reduced timeframe, [the victims] obtained a copy of the LIM via [the agency’s] website and then forwarded it to their legal representative as part of their due diligence,” the summary alleges.

“Believing that the LIM was full and correct, [the victims] purchased the property . . . for $1,190,000 — a decision they would not have made

You’re wasting all your time on this. It’s quite ridiculous.

Accused

had they sighted the original LIM document.”

In 2019 the victims decided to sell and listed with the same agency. The summary of facts alleges a LIM report was ordered and the clause on moisture-related cladding defects was discovered. The victims then sold the home “as is” for $1.165m — $25,000 less than they’d paid.

A valuation estimated it would have been worth $1.3m to $1.5m if there were no issues with the LIM — meaning the victims suffered financial loss of between $135,000 and $335,000, according to the summary.

Police were alerted and charges laid in May last year.

The defendants told police they had no knowledge of the weathertightness clause in the LIM being removed and have pleaded not guilty.

During a suppression hearing this week at Auckland District Court, Crown prosecutor Pavee Patanasiri said the defendants were “alleged to have altered property documents to sell a property for significant profit”.

There was public interest in the defendants being identified.

A judge granted interim suppression on the basis of medical evidence provided to the court.

The Real Estate Authority would not comment on the case while it was before the courts.