Two men who spent years locked in court battles with the same landowner over leasehold homes they purchased in Auckland are warning others of the risks of the leasehold model.
【澳纽网编译】两名男子花了数年时间与同一土地所有者就他们在奥克兰购买的租赁房屋进行法庭斗争,他们警告其他人注意租赁模式的风险。
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When John* found he and his best mate could buy a three-bedroom home in Auckland for $100,000 – well below the national average for 2013 of $466,000 – it seemed like a perfect way to get onto the property ladder.
当约翰*发现他和他最好的伙伴可以以100,000纽币的价格在奥克兰购买一套三居室的房子 – 远低于2013年466,000纽币的全国平均水平 – 这似乎是进入房地产阶梯的完美方式。
He knew the property on Canberra Avenue was a leasehold, but with rent of $250 per month and an option to buy as a freehold in two years, it seemed like too good a deal to pass up.
他知道Canberra大道上的房产是租赁产权,但租金为每月250纽币,并可以选择在两年内作为永久业权购买,这似乎是一笔不容错过的好交易。
“I showed it to my lawyer and they said it was a great deal and I should go for it.”
“我把它给我的律师看了,他们说这是一笔很好的交易,我应该去做。
Two years went by, and John said he gave the house a complete renovation, he approached Trust Management, a property investment company that landowner Neil Christian was using, asking if he could buy the land.
两年过去了,约翰说他对房子进行了全面翻新,他联系了土地所有者尼尔·克里斯蒂安(Neil Christian)正在使用的房地产投资公司Trust Management,询问他是否可以购买这块土地。
“At first things seemed positive, but they kept trying to talk to me about renewing the lease agreement which wasn’t what I wanted. I looked at valuations and saw the land was worth between $300,000 to $350,000.
“起初事情似乎是积极的,但他们一直试图与我谈论续签租赁协议,这不是我想要的。我查看了估价,发现这块土地的价值在 300,000 纽币到 350,000 纽币之间。
“But when I told them about these prices I was told it was worth $1 million and as land prices went ballistic my ground rent would increase to $1000 per week.”
“但当我告诉他们这些价格时,我被告知它价值100万纽币,随着土地价格的上涨,我的地租将增加到每周1000纽币。
John said he tried to fight the rent increase and hired a new lawyer, but in the end he had a discussion with Trust Management and was told if he walked away now he wouldn’t be pursued for rent arrears.
约翰说,他试图对抗租金上涨,并聘请了一位新律师,但最后他与信托管理公司进行了讨论,并被告知如果他现在离开,他就不会因拖欠租金而被追究。
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“I took it,” John said. “I still had the mortgage to pay off and was left massively out of pocket due to the money I’d spent renovating that house and I’d used my KiwiSaver buying it.
“我接受了,”约翰说。“我还有抵押贷款要还清,由于我花了翻修那所房子的钱,我用我的KiwiSaver买了它,所以我自掏腰包很多。
“During that time I was working seven days a week just to keep up. I had to just walk away for my own sanity”.
“在那段时间里,我每周工作七天,只为跟上进度。为了保持理智,我不得不离开”。
John said he’d driven past the house since leaving but tried to avoid it as he found it too upsetting.
约翰说,自从离开后,他开车经过这所房子,但试图避开它,因为他觉得这太令人沮丧了。
“I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it – I can’t buy another house because I used my KiwiSaver, it ruined my friendship with my best mate, I don’t know how I got through it actually.”
“我投入了很多鲜血、汗水和泪水——我不能再买房子了,因为我用了我的 KiwiSaver,它破坏了我和我最好的朋友的友谊,我不知道我实际上是如何度过的。”
John said he could not believe something like this was allowed in New Zealand and he would like to see the leasehold model stopped.
约翰说,他不敢相信这样的事情在新西兰是被允许的,他希望看到租赁模式停止。
Trust Management chief executive Rachel McDonald said Christian had been a client in 2013, but it no longer acted for him.
信托管理公司首席执行官雷切尔·麦克唐纳(Rachel McDonald)表示,克里斯蒂安在2013年曾是他的客户,但该公司不再为他代理。
“In respect of the situation, I understand we are permitted to act only with direct instruction from Mr Christian. I do not have any other information.”
“就这种情况而言,据我所知,只有在克里斯蒂安先生的直接指示下,我们才能采取行动。我没有任何其他信息。
Christian noted the property was “voluntarily surrendered” about 10 years ago as part of a resolution reached.
克里斯蒂安指出,作为达成的决议的一部分,该财产是在大约10年前“自愿交出”的。
“It’s important to appreciate the nature of a ground lease for both lessor and leassee,” Christian said, “ground leases typically have lengthy terms between rent reviews with rents remaining fixed, often for periods of 21 years.
克里斯蒂安说:“对于出租人和出租人来说,了解土地租赁的性质非常重要,土地租赁通常在租金审查之间有很长的期限,租金保持固定,通常为21年。
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“That had advantages and disadvantages for both parties at various times throughout the overall lease. Reviews are normally required to be resolved by independent registered valuers and processes are readily available to both parties to resolve disagreements, if that’s required”.
“在整个租约的不同时期,这对双方都有利也有弊。审查通常需要由独立的注册估价师解决,如果需要,双方都可以随时使用程序来解决分歧。
‘Disaster after disaster’
“一场又一场的灾难”
In his time in the industry, real estate agent and City Sales founder Martin Dunn said he had seen many issues with leasehold property.
在他从事该行业期间,房地产经纪人和City Sales创始人马丁·邓恩(Martin Dunn)表示,他看到了很多租赁物业的问题。
“I see disaster after disaster – there are some very cruel leaseholds out there, I’ve seen it cause marriage breakups and ruin families.”
“我看到了一场又一场的灾难——那里有一些非常残酷的租赁地,我看到它导致婚姻破裂和破坏家庭。
Dunn said there were a few leaseholds out there he would describe as “benign”, but as a general rule he would not advise buyers purchase one.
邓恩说,他会把那里的一些租赁权描述为“良性”的,但作为一般规则,他不会建议买家去购买。
“Leaseholds were made with no concept that Auckland would grown and the land value would become so disproportionate to incomes. Leaseholds were never a good idea, freehold is always best.”
“租赁权是在没有概念的情况下进行的,奥克兰会发展,土地价值会变得与收入不成比例。租赁业权从来都不是一个好主意,永久业权永远是最好的。
The leasehold money had allowed someone “on beer money” to “live in a champagne suburb”, Dunn said, but it was “dangerous territory for the inexperienced”.
邓恩说,租赁金让 “靠啤酒钱 ”的人 “住进了香槟郊区”,但 “对于没有经验的人来说,这是一个危险的领域”。
CoreLogic estimated there are about 15,400 leasehold properties, with more than 5400 located in Auckland.
CoreLogic估计,大约有15,400个租赁物业,其中5400多个位于奥克兰。
Ongoing court dispute 正在进行的法庭纠纷
John is not the only person unhappy with the leasehold model. Tim Smith – who bought a leasehold townhouse in Auckland’s Freemans Bay, which is also owned by Christian – has been in a court dispute for years.
约翰并不是唯一一个对租赁模式不满的人。蒂姆·史密斯(Tim Smith)在奥克兰的弗里曼斯湾(Freemans Bay)购买了一栋租赁联排别墅,该别墅也归克里斯蒂安(Christian)所有,多年来一直处于法庭纠纷中。
Smith and his former partner bought the Napier St property in 2015 for just $155,000 and he said at that point the rent was $31,000 a year.
史密斯和他的前合伙人在2015年以155,000纽币的价格购买了Napier St的房产,他说当时的租金为每年31,000纽币。
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But in 2018, the rent review ticked over and rent was put up to $81,375 a year, Smith said.
但史密斯说,但在2018年,租金审查结束,租金高达每年81,375纽币。
He said he was also under the impression he would be able to buy the site as a freehold at that point, but it was refused by Paros Property Trust, Christian’s company that own the site.
他说,他也认为当时他能够购买该地块作为永久业权,但被克里斯蒂安拥有该地块的公司Paros Property Trust拒绝。
The trust instead went to the High Court demanding Smith pay the money owed in leasehold fees which he hadn’t paid since the reset.
相反,该信托向高等法院提出,要求史密斯支付自重置以来他未支付的租赁费。
Paros wanted $237,625 in back-rent – money it said Smith had not paid the land owner for owning the townhouse. The court had ordered Smith and his former partner pay back the money, but Smith chose to appeal the decision.
帕罗斯想要237,625纽币租金 – 它说史密斯没有支付土地所有者拥有联排别墅的费用。法院曾命令史密斯和他的前合伙人偿还这笔钱,但史密斯选择对这一决定提出上诉。
“I’ve been to hell and back,” Smith said, and the court case was still ongoing, “I have no mortgage but I’m still having to pay the lease rent which is ridiculous as it is more than the place could be rented for on the open market.
“我去过地狱又回来,”史密斯说,法庭案件仍在进行中,“我没有抵押贷款,但我仍然必须支付租金,这很荒谬,因为它超过了这个地方在公开市场上可以租到的价格。
“I’m one of several lesees stuck in this situation – some had to abandon their leases and properties. It’s been a real struggle to fight against it.”
“我是陷入这种情况的几位承租人之一——有些人不得不放弃他们的租约和财产。与它作斗争是一场真正的斗争。
Christian said the matters regarding the Napier St leasehold remained before the courts, so Paros Property Trust did not “consider it appropriate” to comment further.
克里斯蒂安表示,有关Napier St租赁权的事项仍在法庭上,因此Paros Property Trust“认为不合适”进一步发表评论。
*Name changed to protect privacy
*为保护隐私使用化名
来源: RNZ
分类: 澳纽资讯
(即时多来源) 新西兰英语新闻 New Zealand English News
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