Eviction triggers review

DONNA WALSH/Waikato Times

COMPLAINT: From left: Roy Harlow (not pictured), Paul Hogben and Joe Hardinge are all going to the Real Estate Agents Authority about a non-disclosure issue from a real estate agent

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Waikato's first case before the new Real Estate Agents Authority will be a dispute over a Rukuhia lifestyle block.

A Hamilton couple evicted from a Rukuhia lifestyle block after losing a High Court dispute with the owner, who was also the real estate agent, will have their case reviewed by the newly formed Real Estate Agents Authority.

Roy and Nancy Harlow will have their case against Ray White agent Ivan Sherburn reviewed by the authority's complaints assessment committee on Friday. It is believed to be the first Waikato case to come before the new authority, established in November last year.

The dispute centres on whether Mr Sherburn told the couple about the proposed Southern Link road, designed to service the Peacocke area.

Two other potential buyers have come forward saying Mr Sherburn also did not tell them about the road.

Paul Hogben considered buying a section beside the lifestyle property on Raynes Rd, but pulled out.

He has shown the Waikato Times a letter from Mr Sherburn's lawyers, dated April 2008, acknowledging Mr Sherburn did not tell him about the state highway.

The letter said: "We do need to record that it was an innocent omission on his part and not an attempt to mislead your clients." Mr Hogben got his $30,000 deposit back.

Joe Hardinge said he considered buying the lifestyle property before the Harlows moved into it. He has written a statement saying he was not told about the road and neither was he told that Mr Sherburn owned the property.

Mr Sherburn says he has never met Mr Hardinge although the Waikato Times has a copy of a sale and purchase agreement signed by Mr Hardinge and Mr Sherburn.

In the Harlows' case, they signed an agreement to purchase the property in November 2007 with a settlement date of April 2008.

Mr Sherburn allowed them to move into the $622,000 property before the settlement date, but the Harlows never settled as they entered into the dispute over the proposed road, air traffic from Hamilton Airport and covenants the couple claimed Mr Sherburn never told them about. They were evicted after about 18 months having paid no rent in that period.

Mr Harlow said the dispute had cost them about $70,000.

"There are three of us. The first time it could be an innocent mistake but why would you omit to tell three people within the space of 12 months about the road?"

Mr Sherburn has said there were a number of proposals for roading in the Peacocke area and that Transit had said the one which affects his property was not likely to go ahead.

He declined to comment but in a letter he circulated to his Ray White clients last year, in Ray White envelopes, said he "had been portrayed in an unjust matter" and needed to "share a few facts".

He said he allowed the Harlows possession of the property before settlement because he felt sorry for them. "I didn't know then but their `landlord from hell' had bought their property at mortgagee auction."

Prior to settlement, he said, they raised the issue of the road in a bid to drive the price down. He said the contract was eventually cancelled and he undertook legal proceedings to get them evicted. He said the judge ruled entirely in his favour.

In the letter he said the Hogbens were given their deposit back after expressing concerns about the proposed road.

Mr Harlow said his previous property was sold at mortgagee auction after he was injured overseas and defaulted.

The Harlows are also appealing the High Court decision.

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