New Zealand’s corrupt REAA in the spotlight yet again

Earlier today Kiwi blog Whale Oil ran a new story on New Zealand’s Real Estate Agents Authority. In essence the story is a continuation on a theme, a theme started by team LF back in 201o when we were first handed evidence of serious criminal fraud that had been committed over a sustained period by one of New Zealand’s Ray White franchisee’s Martin Honey and his partner Rohan Thompson, aka Pure Reality Limited, aka Martin Honey Ray White and Ray White Kelston.

LF have reported extensively on these clowns and there often criminal antics, we’ve also provided our readers with extensive evidence of this mobs offending and the role played by the New Zealand authority responsible for policing the behaviour of agents in attempting to cover-up that criminal offending in the past.

This mornings article by Whale Oil investigative journo Stephen Cook exposes yet another incident where this same group of agents, seemingly acting with complete impunity, courtesy of National Party insiders such as Nathan Guy and Jackie Blue, have been at it yet again. Stephen Cook opines;

EXCLUSIVE: Suspended real estate agent busted hosting an open home

by Stephen Cook on October 7, 2015 at 8:00am

THE REAL estate agent accused of unethical conduct following concerns about his personal ties to the sale of a west Auckland property is still working despite claims from his employers that he’s currently under suspension.

The Weekend Herald report on Saturday 26 September says that Kelston agent Ronald Hachache and South Auckland agent Ashwin Nand had been stood down while Ray White investigated their links to a Henderson property, which sold four times in just three months.

Suspended Ray White agent still working selling houses

However, despite the suspension being in place Hachache has continued to work in clear breach of undertakings provided by Ray White Kelston and Pure Realty Limited head Martin Honey to the Real Estate Agents Authority, who are now investigating the matter.

Covert video provided to Whaleoil shows Hachache discussing the purchase of a Glendene property with a prospective buyer – just days after a NZ Herald article supposedly confirmed Hachache’s suspension.

The 1023 square-metre three-bedroom property at 12 Blythe Place is listed with Ray White Kelston with Hachache as the agent. The suspension should have seen all of these listings going to another agent, but only after the clients had been told of the allegations against Mr Hachache, and were prepared to stay with Ray White.

Hachache is also still listed in the Ray White Kelston website as a member of “Our Team” with Pure Realty Limited. Pure Realty has five offices mostly situated around the Royal Oak, One Tree Hill, and Mt Albert areas.  

In the video, Hachache discusses the overheated Auckland property market and the prospective buyer’s plans to seek an independent valuation for the three-bedroom house.

Hachache then advises the prospective buyer there are still some good deals to be had in south Auckland.

“Auckland as a whole is getting out of hand. You can still get some good deals in south Auckland, though. The market is a bit stagnant, though… you can buy good-sized sections… but they are not going to retail for much,” Hardache says in the video.

Neither Honey nor Ray White chief executive Carey Smith were willing to discuss why Hachache was still working despite assurances to the REAA he was currently under suspension. This is the most recent allegation of duplicity against the Ray White brand. Just weeks ago TV programme “Story” reported another agent informing an undercover journalist that she was prepared to arrange for the undersale of a property, if she could get the extra commission at sale at real value.

Open Home sign filmed on Sunday despite Ronald Hachache being suspended

Honey is currently the subject of a long-running legal dispute with real estate agents from Property Bank Realtor Limited. Those agents have successfully alleged in the High Court that a prima facie case of “duplicitous business practices” exists against Martin Honey.

The dispute between Honey, who through Pure Realty Ltd was the former owner of the Re-Max franchise in Royal Oak, and Property Bank Realtor Ltd flared up back in 2009 after the upset agents bought a Re-Max franchise previously operated by Honey.

The three men claimed Honey continued to operate a website with Re-Max branding from February 13, 2009 through to April 18, 2010.

As a consequence, they say they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions because potential buyers were diverted to Honey’s fraudulent website.

Phillip Nottingham claimed the actions of Honey in dealing with Hachache was a likely breach of section 153 of the REAA Act.

“I cannot understand how the directors of the company and the CEO of Ray White can so blatantly deceive the REAA as to the agents being suspended when they were clearly not suspended, but were acting to sell vendors properties that were unaware of their suspected significant dishonesty,” Nottingham said.

Nottingham added: “A REAA investigation is underway, and Carey Smith, Martin Honey, and Rohan Thompson, have all given the media, and the REAA, a caste iron undertaking that the agents under suspicion would be taken out of the market, [until and if cleared], when this statement must have been known by them to have been untrue.

“ It seems to me that Martin Honey and his Pure Realty Limited team cannot operate within the law let alone operate within the REAA’s Professional Conduct and Client Care Rules 2012, and they have free reign to break the rules at their whim leaving clients upset and possibly out of pocket.

Mr Nottingham points to their numerous wins in the High Court against Mr Honey, and the fact he is also likely is to face serious professional charges of dishonesty before the Real Estate Disciplinary Tribunal.

This is expected to lead to numerous criminal charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, misrepresentation in trade, and trade mark fraud.

“I am surprised that Pure Realty Limited still has its licence given this latest deception of the REAA.  It seems the REAA is not capable of policing Pure Realty Limited, let alone an entire industry,” said Nottingham.

In July this year the Henderson property in Bruce McLaren Rd was sold to Kappa Crucis Ltd, which purchased the property for $522,500 on August 18, before reselling it the same day for $559,000.

Company records show the director of Kappa Crucis is Ashwin Nand, and the agent acting for the person who sold it to that company was Ronald Hachache.

Kappa Crucis sold the property to another real estate agent, Barfoot & Thompson’s Xin Hu, who sold the house another seven days later, for $628,000.

Real Estate Agents Authority guidelines recommend that an agent should not act for a vendor if they are personally or professionally linked to anyone interested in buying a property.

The rules state if they continue to act, the relationship must be disclosed to the seller, who must also give written consent and be provided with an independent registered valuation.

Nottingham said “this type of duplicitousness, and recklessness was the very stuff that consumers should be made aware of – but more importantly, should not be occurring.

He believed there should be an inquiry into the competency of the REAA senior management as a matter of some urgency.

“It appears to me, and to a growing number of agents, that the REAA was supposed to have cured the growing level of criminality in the industry, but it appears more to be a skin-coloured bandage concealing, through its lack of competency, the real position as to the industries health.”

UPDATE: Mr Hachache called our source yesterday to confirm their 2.30pm appointment, so he is clearly still working as at yesterday.
Note: Stephen Cook is a multi award winning journalist and former news editor and assistant editor of the Herald on Sunday.

Source: http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2015/10/exclusive-suspended-real-estate-agent-busted-hosting-an-open-home/

Stephen Cook’s Whale Oil article included evidential video footage proving the allegation to be truthful, beyond any doubt whatsoever;

Of course Team LF  had suspected that there was more to this story than met the eye, that is in fact why we tweeted an earlier story that Kiwi newspaper the New Zealand Herald, the online version NZME had run. At the time it was our view that the Herald story had been run for reasons that were far from honest.

More Ray White New Zealand corruption? Estate agents suspended: inquiry into disclosures http://t.co/Trepib4sI0 via @nzherald

— Lauda Finem (@Laudafinem) September 25, 2015

The fact that this agent was likely bent, that the movers and shakers behind an earlier New Zealand Herald story had been doing little more than attempting to cover their arses, at least publicly, giving their friends at the REAA a little breathing space to quietly bury it, the old now you see it and then you don’t sleight of hand trick….which seems to be par for the course with the REAA, at least if the many complaints that LF have received over the past few months are anything to go by.

The Herald on Sunday’s article, penned by NZME journo Lane Nichols makes for interesting reading, particularly if you are looking for a lesson in the art of real estate fraud Kiwi style, blaming the Asian invasion as the county’s leftist labour party has just recently:

Estate agents suspended: inquiry into disclosures

5:00 AM Saturday Sep 26, 2015

By Lane Nichols

Two real estate agents have been suspended while their company investigates whether their professional links were properly disclosed during the sale of a West Auckland home.

Industry watchdog the Real Estate Agents Authority is also making inquiries, amid suggestions by Labour that “unethical practices” could be widespread among agents in Auckland’s booming housing market.

Kelston agent Ronald Hachache and South Auckland agent Ashwin Nand have been suspended after inquiries by the Weekend Herald, Ray White New Zealand chief executive Carey Smith confirmed yesterday.

Their suspensions relate to the July sale of 1/161 Bruce McLaren Rd in Henderson. The Herald revealed last month that the modest 90sq m property had been sold four times in just three months, with its price escalating by more than $150,000.

The house has sat empty since July, with no improvements made except for professional staging.

Mr Hachache acted for seller Xiaoli Zhen, who sold the house due to a “change in circumstances” just two days after his July 10 settlement date for $522,500 – nearly $50,000 more than he paid to the previous owner of three years, Sue Wilson.

CoreLogic data shows the purchaser was Kappa Crucis Ltd, which on-sold the property on August 18 – the same day it took possession – for $559,000, a $36,500 mark-up. Companies Office records show Mr Nand is a director of the company.

The property was sold to Barfoot & Thompson agent Xin Hu. She immediately relisted the house, which was sold within seven days for $628,000 – a mark-up of $69,000. Barfoot director Peter Thompson said full disclosure about Ms Hu’s industry links was made to the latest buyer.

Real Estate Agents Authority guidelines recommend an agent no longer acts for a seller if they are personally or professionally linked to anyone interested in buying a property. If they continue to act, the relationship must be disclosed to the seller, who must also give written consent and be provided with an independent registered valuation.

Asked this week whether his relationship with Mr Nand had been properly disclosed, Mr Hachache said: “It’s not what you think it is. Whatever was disclosed, everything was done properly, but I can’t comment because I’m not allowed to talk to media.”

Mr Nand confirmed his company had bought the property for a family member but subsequently on-sold it due to a change in circumstance.

“We were forced to sell it and Ronald [Hachache] was part of that process.”

Mr Nand said he was confident appropriate disclosures were made.

“I’ve checked everything with my lawyer and everything seems to be all in tact, so as far as I’m concerned we’re holding our integrity with everything we did.”

But in a statement to theWeekend Herald yesterday, Mr Smith said the Ray White head office was not yet satisfied appropriate disclosures had occurred, and had suspended the two agents from undertaking real estate work while the matter was properly investigated.

“It would be incorrect to comment on circumstances surrounding the matters you raise as we have not gathered all the information to provide a correct view; hence the view why we have notified the agents of Ray White’s position and commenced the investigation.”

Though not exhaustive, internal records did not show any other transactions involving the two licensees.

Labour’s housing spokesman, Phil Twyford, has previously said the quick-fire sales of the Bruce McLaren Rd dwelling indicated property speculation was rife across Auckland.

Ray White had done the right thing by standing down the agents, Mr Twyford said yesterday.

“But it is a pity it took the Herald’s investigations to expose this. It raises questions about how much of this is going on in Auckland’s overheated market.”

REAA chief executive Kevin Lampen-Smith said agents were required to disclose any conflict of interest to ensure relevant parties knew if the realtors stood to gain financially from a sale.

“We are keen to hear from anyone who feels that their agent has not met their conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements.”

The authority was looking into the Ray White case.

Real Estate Institute chief executive Colleen Milne said disclosure rules were clear and Ray White had taken the necessary steps.

“We are confident that there is compliance across the real estate industry as a whole.”

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11519114

The Real Estate Agents Authority, better known in the industry as the REAA, is no novice when it comes to corrupt or duplicitous skullduggery. Kristy McDonald QC, the governments go-to-gal in all things crooked, headed up the REAA when the new legislation came into effect, and soon after was seen working tirelessly to bury a jobs-for-the-boys scandal one she’d created when she recommended and obtained a position for an good mate, corrupt ex cop Jonathan Moss, via the backdoor.

Jon Moss won a high-paying management job in the justice sector investigating complaints against real estate agents. He was formerly the national head of police professional standards, overseeing the agency responsible for investigating complaints against officers.

He resigned in September, shutting down a just-launched internal police inquiry into accusations against him. He had previously lied about the 4 1/2-year affair with a constable.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3872364/Disgraced-cop-faces-criminal-inquiry

Of course, somewhat ironically, McDonald worked with Moss whilst both were working on police corruption complaints at the IPCA. On the occasion of Moss’s appointment the newly appointed registrar Janet Mazenier was hung out to dry, the sacrificial scapegoat, when in fact Kristy McDonald herself had been behind the whole affair.

This was corruption at its worst, in that the ensuing cover-up wasn’t even well executed, corruption that involved various other bent cops including Dean Winter, better known for the role he played in the unlawful disclosure of private customer information held by online classifieds Trade Me, Winter handing the information to bent cop, Detective Sergeant Aaron Pascoe, during the Urewera scandal. New Zealand, it’s such a small world when it comes to coincidence – yeah right.

Dean Winter and John Duffy arranged for Mr Moss to travel to Wellington for  an interview on Saturday 6 March. – John Edwards (source: Edwards REAA/Moss Report)

Dean Winter was again caught engaging in corrupt practice at the REAA, as with Jonathan Moss it was also quietly buried and Winters was shifted to another area of the Department of Justice, where he now holds a more senior position, that of “Team Manager” at Crown Laws Public Prosecutions Unit

Public Prosecutions Unit (Team Manager: Dean Winter)

The Public Prosecutions Unit (PPU) was established in 2012. The Unit was formed as a result of recommendations of the ‘Review of Public Prosecution Services’ which was completed in 2011, and which reviewed all public prosecutions conducted by Crown Solicitors, government departments and entities with a prosecution function.

The goal of the PPU is to provide the Solicitor-General with greater oversight of all public prosecutions. Initial work has involved the development and implementation of a new bulk funding model for the Crown Solicitor Network, enabling it to work within reduced funding from 2013/14 onwards. With the funding model complete, the Unit is now focusing on the development of a reporting framework, from which comparable information across the entire sector will be collated in order to identify best practices for prosecutions, including those related to costs and quality of service.

The ultimate goal is to identify where efficiencies can be gained while ensuring that a high quality of service is delivered.

Source: http://www.crownlaw.govt.nz/pagepub/docs/about/organisation.asp

The corrupt behaviour on the occasion of Jonathan Moss’s backdoor appointment, as an REAA investigator was ultimately, and very conveniently, laid to rest by another of the National Government’s Mr fix-it’s, John Edwards, apparently a particular favourite of the Prime Ministers Office, with a seriously dodgy report exonerating every one of the co-conspirators, and who then, within a matter of weeks, was subsequently handed the very cushy job of New Zealand’s Privacy Commissioner…..yet more job-for-the-boys?

Now that Kristy McDonald has very quietly retired from the REAA The current board is an interesting mix; John Auld (Chairperson), Denese Bates QC, Aaron Bhatnagar, Marion Cowden, Elizabeth Nidd, David Russell and Anthony Stack. Their arrival however seems to have done very little to curb the REAA’s clearly systemic corrupt behaviour, as is further evidenced to some extent by the article on Whale Oil.

What is also further evidenced is the duplicitous behaviour of Ray White New Zealand’s CEO, Carey Smith. LF also suspects that the Herald on Sunday might just have been in on the motivation behind their article of September 26th.

But in a statement to theWeekend Herald yesterday, Mr Smith said the Ray White head office was not yet satisfied appropriate disclosures had occurred, and had suspended the two agents from undertaking real estate work while the matter was properly investigated.

Of course as the video evidences the agent does not appear to have been suspended at all. In fact we doubt that it was ever Ray Whites intention to ever suspend the agent in question.

Nevertheless Carey Smith made a very public claim that the agent had in fact been suspended, a claim that the REAA were obviously aware of given that the Herald on Sunday had obviously been in touch with the REAA’s corrupt media spin-doctor Ngaire Van der hoof who then cobbled together some comments purporting to those of REAA registrar Kevin Lampden-Smith;

REAA chief executive Kevin Lampen-Smith said agents were required to disclose any conflict of interest to ensure relevant parties knew if the realtors stood to gain financially from a sale.

“We are keen to hear from anyone who feels that their agent has not met their conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements.”

The authority was looking into the Ray White case.

Whilst the REAA might have claimed to have been keen, we doubt that was the case. The REAA knew full well that they themselves were being investigated for their own corrupt behaviour in another matter that involved the key players, the principles, in the Ronald Hachache matter, that being Martin Honey and Pure Realty limited. The Herald on Sunday are also in the gun for their own behaviour surrounding the first investigation into Martin Honey, Pure Realty, Carey Smith and Ray White New Zealand; APN, as it was at the time, accepting a large Ray White advertising campaign at the same time that New Zealand Herald on Sunday ran a number of articles designed to smear the complainants, despite being handed irrefutable evidence of Honey’s criminal behaviour.

Given that Hachache was supposed to have been suspended just why was it that he was allowed ,and clearly continued, to work as an estate agent despite Ray White CEO Carey Smith’s very public assurances? There are of course two other questions that need to be answered. Given the Herald on Sunday and parent NZME’s likely civil liability for the defamation that occurred in their reporting of the REAA case against Martin Honey and Pure Realty why did they then start investigating another case and reporting it in the manner they have?

Frankly, we find it highly unlikely that the Herald journo Lane Nichols conducted any investigation whatsoever into Hadache, at least beyond a simple NZ Companies office check, that would have been enough to set of the alarm bells. LF suspects that the Herald on Sunday have then acted to assist with damage control for Ray White when they realised others, more honest, had also been sniffing around the deal following the New Zealand Herald’s first article in August. The fact is that the first New Zealand Herald article had nothing to do with fraudulent behaviour, rather it was all about West Auckland investment properties skyrocketing in price.

Martin Honey however would have know that the first NZH article would have created interest from a sector other than real estates so-called greedy Asian investors……that being the justice sector. The NZH’s first article”

The West Auckland home has been empty since Sue Walker, who bought it for $291,500 in 2012, moved out on July 10 this year.

House sells four times in three months — price jumps $153,000.

August 24th 2015

By Lane Nichols

An Auckland property agent is the latest beneficiary of a series of sales of a modest West Auckland house which has rocketed in price by $153,000 in 13 weeks.

Barfoot and Thompson managing director Peter Thompson says he understands the three-bedroom home was sold at the weekend for a negotiated price of $628,000.

That makes it the fourth time the property – which has a CV of $340,000 and was listed by his company just last week – has changed hands since late May.

Mr Thompson said the sale had yet to go through his company’s system, but he confirmed that the vendor was a member of its sales force.

That was “a hundred per cent disclosed” to the latest buyer, he assured the Herald this afternoon.

“My understanding is that the person who sold it is a member of our property staff,” he said.

But Mr Thompson said that person had a genuine reason to sell the vacant property, in wanting to raise funds for a family member who had bought a larger home, in Epsom.

The property was staged for the latest sale, but potential buyers were turned away from a scheduled open home yesterday, after an unconditional offer was received for it.

A woman who owned the house for three years before selling it on May 24 for $475,000 said earlier that the quick-fire action since it left her hands “beggars belief.”

Sue Wilson paid $291,500 in 2012 for the property.

“I was horrified,” she said of two subsequent sales, which rocketed the price to $559,000 on July 16, ahead of the latest deal.

“What annoyed me most as we’re trying to get young people into houses and this sort of thing is going on with them bumping up the price.”

Neighbours say the property has sat empty since July and no improvements have been made on the house except for professional staging.

The quick-fire sales – blamed on “changing vendor circumstances” – have renewed warnings rampant property speculation is shutting first-home buyers out of the market, sparking calls for a crackdown on speculators and ban on non-resident buyers.

CoreLogic data shows the 90sq m house was on-sold by new owner Xiaoli Zhen just two days after the July 10 settlement date for $522,500 – nearly $50,000 more than he paid to Mrs Wilson.

It was then sold again four days later by a trust for $559,000 before being relisted last week by Barfoot & Thompson.

Ray White agent Ronald Hachache sold the property last month on behalf of the initial purchaser, Mr Zhen. He said his client was not a speculator taking advantage of the market. He had bought it for his in-laws to live in but decided the area had too many state homes. “He just wanted to sell it and move on.”

He added that desperate first-home buyers shut out of auctions because of due diligence costs were prepared to pay a premium for properties with listed asking prices to secure a starter home.

“There’s a bit of desperation … especially for that entry-level stock.”

Mrs Wilson said she felt her initial $475,000 sale price was fair.

She realised Auckland house prices were on a steep trajectory but felt rapid sales of unoccupied homes with huge mark-ups meant young couples couldn’t afford a first property. “No wonder people can’t get in.”

Neighbour Joanna Pou said no one had lived in the house since Mrs Wilson moved out on July 10 but the property kept going back on the market.

“They’re all investors. It’s just constantly being flicked over.”

Labour’s housing spokesman, Phil Twyford, said the Auckland housing market was “beyond a joke”.

“The market is gripped by rampant property speculation. Speculators are making a killing at the expense of Generation Rent.”

Tell us your story. Email us here.

A government-backed building programme was needed to increase the supply of homes, plus regulatory reform and a crackdown on speculators “including a ban on non-resident foreigners buying existing homes”.

Capital gains

In May, the Government unveiled a new “bright line” test designed to force speculators who buy and sell investment properties within two years to pay tax on capital gains. The new rules will apply from October 1. They assume anyone buying and selling a property within two years, other than their residential home, is doing so for profit. Prime Minister John Key has said the measures do not amount to a capital gains tax but are simply a tougher enforcement of existing rules applying to income from property trading. QV says it has seen a jump in activity by investors trying to beat the October 1 deadline.

Going, going, gone …

May 24: Sue Wilson sells her three-bedroom Henderson home at auction for $475,000.
July 12: Purchaser Xiaoli Zhen sells his new home for $522,500, only two days after settlement date.
July 16: A trust sells the property to a new purchaser for $559,000 – an overall capital gain of $84,000 in less than two months.
August 23: The staged, vacant property sells for an undisclosed price within a week of being relisted for the fourth time in three months.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11501777

In fact back then Whale Oil had also taken the NZH article to have been about all about greedy “Asian” investment, whingeing vendors and the money to be made in real estate’s so-called “boom”.

At the time Cameron Slater, just like the Herald, had got it all very wrong;

Who is really getting rich from the Auckland housing market?

Here’s a delicious beat-up that tries to reheat the nasty Asian house buyer feelings.  Not surprising, it’s from A newspaper.

A modest West Auckland home has just sold for the fourth time in three months with its price escalating by at least $84,000 in nine weeks.

Neighbours say the property has sat empty since July and no improvements have been made on the house except for professional staging.

The quick-fire sales – blamed on “changing vendor circumstances” – have renewed warnings rampant property speculation is shutting first-home buyers out of the market, sparking calls for a crackdown on speculators and ban on non-resident buyers.

“It beggars belief,” former owner Sue Wilson [said]. “How many times is this happening to how many other properties? It’s a big loophole that needs to be closed.”

Really?  Former owner Sue wants to stop people from selling their homes.   A loophole?  Seriously?  Methinks Sue is somewhat sore about the fact she missed out on all that money and has run to the papers with a sob story.  

Mrs Wilson was shocked [ SHOCKED! ] after selling her Henderson home of three years by auction for $475,000 on May 24, only to see it relisted weeks later with an asking price in the mid-$500,000s.

She paid $291,500 in 2012 for the three-bedroom cross-lease property at 1/161 Bruce McLaren Rd, which has a current CV of $340,000.

“I was horrified. What annoyed me most was we’re trying to get young people into houses and this sort of thing is going on with them bumping up the price.”

Shocked.  Horrified.  It should be illegal to sell homes you only just bought for more money than I got.

But then A newspaper goes to town and makes it all about Dem Asians again

CoreLogic data shows the 90sq m house was on-sold by new owner Xiaoli Zhen just two days after the July 10 settlement date for $522,500 – nearly $50,000 more than he paid to Mrs Wilson.

It was then sold again four days later by a trust for $559,000 before being relisted last week…

Ray White agent Ronald Hachache sold the property last month on behalf of the initial purchaser, Mr Zhen. He said his client was not a speculator taking advantage of the market. He had bought it for his in-laws to live in but decided the area had too many state homes. “He just wanted to sell it and move on.”

Mr Hachache confirmed the property had been relisted with a mark-up, but declined to discuss how much it subsequently fetched, citing controversy over speculators driving up Auckland house prices.

And yet we know.  The headline in A newspaper reads, “House sells four times in three months — price jumps $84,000.”

If you’ve ever sold a home, then you’ll immediately pucker up at the thought it only realised $84k over four sales.   That would barely cover the real estate agents’ fees, let along the incidental marketing costs that fall outside of it.   And judging by this table, nobody made any money on these sales, except for…?

…the real estate agents.

Mr Zhen was lucky enough to come out of his 4-day ownership with just about the same money he put into the property.  Any “capital gain” went straight to the real estate company.

Typical A newspaper story:  1) greedy disgruntled bint is the Cry Baby of the Day, 2) hit the Government for an out-of-control housing market,  3)  promote their real estate clients (mostly redacted by me),  4) reheat the Chinese bashing,  5) fail to completely note that the ‘capital gain’ has been effectively ZERO due to the cost involved.

What a stellar piece of journalism.

Source: http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2015/08/who-is-really-getting-rich-from-the-auckland-housing-market/

“Going, Going, Gone”? Now does that phrase really belong in serious piece investigative journalism? No? That could be because it wasn’t a serious piece of investigative journalism. The truth is that the journalist responsible for both the New Zealand Herald and Herald on Sunday articles, Lane Nicholls, is not an investigative journo’s arsehole. The missing additional facts are that Martin Honey, his wife and a contractor are now facing serious criminal charges that flow from a commercial fraud committed by the trio and the REAA’s own corrupt behaviour in attempting to conceal the fraud.

That corruption, which also relate’s to another of the Herald on Sunday’s so-called “investigation’s”, should surely have been noted for readers, especially given that Honey is a principle and director of the same company that continues to employ Kelston estate agent Ronald Hachache….Pure Realty Limited.

In fact most of the material Nichols has penned of late seems to have been all real estate industry and REAA related hype, spin and cover-up. What’s also clear is that NZ Herald Journo Lane also has a very cozy relationship with the REAA’s master of spin Ngaire van der Hoof, reporting for the Herald on almost everything the REAA wants publicised.

Team LF is in absolutely no doubt that the NZME editors responsible for this crap were aware of the facts, that Hadache had not in fact been suspended, that Honey et and New Zealand’s Ray White brand, aka Carey Smith, had all been at it again.

This criminal cabal may be able to rely on NZME to print their propaganda, but having said that, they can also rely on the fact that they’re also now unable to take a crap without LF eventually hearing about it.

Slater did get one thing very right in his first attempt, as fas as NZME, the New Zealand Herald and the Herald on Sunday, it was all about promoting their real estate clients, those same clients representing a huge proportion of NZME’s ever shrinking advertising revenue. A fact that should cause every NZME reader to be wary of any story either of the company’s two papers promote.

As for the origins of this particular NZME story there needs to be further investigation. For example what was it that prompted the Herald on Sunday investigation? Had Sue Wilson provided more information that created a concern? Why did Carey Smith publicly lie, claiming the agent had been suspended, when he clearly hadn’t? What has happened to Ray White’s so-called internal investigation? What has Real Estate Agents Authority registrar Kevin Lampden-Smith and the REAA board done satisfy the public assurance they made to NZME journo Lane Nichols that they would investigate the matter further.

As far as we can see the agents behaviour was dishonest, a clear breach of the Act? In fact it seems to us that the behaviour of Martin Ray White and their agent mirrors that of a case that the REAA dealt with back in 2012, at around the same time the REAA first started attempting to bury the criminal behaviour of Martin Honey Ray White, aka Pure Realty, the firms principle’s and employees.

In that case the Herald on Sunday also did a hatchet job on the agent, Marnie Adams, aka Million Dollar Marnie, again at the behest of the REAA and Adams ex employer, big NZME advertiser, Bayley’s Real Estate;

Disgraced agent’s drink-drive history

By Celeste Gorrell Anstiss

5:30 AM Sunday Feb 19, 2012

The high-flyer dubbed “Million dollar Marnie” who had her real estate licence suspended for six months this week also has three convictions for drink-driving and appeared to lead a life of privilege while working for her former employer, Bayleys.

But Margaret “Marnie” Adams says she was only reported to the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal by Bayleys because they knew she intended to leave them.

The tribunal this week suspended her licence and fined her $10,000 plus $5000 costs for not disclosing she was part of a group buying a property she marketed. She pleaded guilty.

But as details emerged in the past couple of days of a drink-driving history and unique working arrangements with Bayleys, Adams has hit back.

“The reality is there was no vendor complaint, there was no purchaser complaint. I shouldn’t even have been in front of the [tribunal] because they are there to protect the vendor and the purchaser,” Adams says.

But her former boss, Mike Bayley, says he was bound by mandatory rules to report the offence. “You have to inform the REAA. If Bayleys hadn’t done that we would have been breaching the laws.”

Adams says her partnership with Bayleys had become strained in the months before she left to join rival firm, Sotheby’s International.

“I wasn’t respected at work. It was a culture thing. There were a lot of things going on there that were very detrimental to me.”

But sources say Adams, 57, who has three drink-driving convictions, the latest in 2009, had a chauffeured car supplied by Bayleys, regular international travel and was even allowed her dog in the company’s waterfront offices.

Court documents show she drove through a police checkpoint on Shore Rd in Remuera, without stopping, on a Wednesday night in April 2009. She was pulled over by an officer and registered 160mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood – more than twice the legal limit.

The convictions were something the woman who sold many millions of dollars of real estate was not keen to talk about. “You don’t have to mention what you were talking about there,” she said before hanging up the phone.

A public relations consultant acting for Adams later rang to say she was “extremely distressed”.

Adams was widowed at age 34 when her husband died of cancer, and was left with two children – six and four – and a mountain of debt.

Former owner of Bayleys St Heliers, Eric Chase, introduced Adams into real estate in 2003.

“Sure she’s got an ego, a high performer is high maintenance. I’ve trained people from zero to hero and I’ve seen some enormous egos develop. Anyone earning a million bucks a year is going to have an ego.”

Another former colleague, who does not want to be named, says he liked Adams – although she threw frequent tantrums and displayed diva-ish behaviour.

“She was quite hot tempered, she’d be upset or angry and she’d be screaming and shouting. She doesn’t take anything lying down, she goes for the jugular.”

Adams’ business profile says she has sold $400,000,000 worth of property in her career and Bayleys’ website once called that performance “truly unparalleled in the industry”.

But that was then. Adams’ suspension comes into force next month. Fourteen properties were listed for sale under her name yesterday. Five open homes were booked to take place today and she fronted at an open home in Karaka yesterday.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10786484

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