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Housing company hit by slowdown
By NIKKI PRESTON - Waikato Times | Thursday, 24 July 2008
Award-winning Hamilton building firm Rutherford Homes is one of the first Waikato casualties of the property slump, but more could follow.
Waikato Registered Master Builders Association confirmed Rutherford Homes was the first of its members to go into liquidation as a result of increasingly tough trading conditions.
The building company, which is based in Hamilton and Tauranga, went into liquidation on Monday, with the exact amount owed by the company not yet known.
Owner David Nell, who did not return calls from the Times, started Rutherford Homes in 2000 and opened a branch in Tauranga at the end of 2005.
The company built mid-range to high-end homes, and has been recognised at the Registered Master Builders House of the Year Awards in recent years.
The company has three sections on Durham Estate on River Rd and a property in Papamoa listed with real estate agents which have not been sold.
Liquidator Tom Rodewald, of Tauranga-based accountancy firm Rodewald Hart Brown, said property developers were getting into trouble because they were unable to sell the properties in order to pay their debts.
In June, Hamilton Building Solutions also went into liquidation owing $119,800 to 30 companies. The liquidator's report pointed to a lack of work, along with a failed arrangement with a business partner and legal suit with a former franchisor.
Rodewald Hart Brown is working with about four property developers in Hamilton to see how they could meet their financial obligations. Mr Rodewald said it was touch and go whether these companies would be able to keep afloat.
However, he said not all developers were struggling and those with good reserves were finding it easier.
By NIKKI PRESTON - Waikato Times | Thursday, 24 July 2008
Award-winning Hamilton building firm Rutherford Homes is one of the first Waikato casualties of the property slump, but more could follow.
Waikato Registered Master Builders Association confirmed Rutherford Homes was the first of its members to go into liquidation as a result of increasingly tough trading conditions.
The building company, which is based in Hamilton and Tauranga, went into liquidation on Monday, with the exact amount owed by the company not yet known.
Owner David Nell, who did not return calls from the Times, started Rutherford Homes in 2000 and opened a branch in Tauranga at the end of 2005.
The company built mid-range to high-end homes, and has been recognised at the Registered Master Builders House of the Year Awards in recent years.
The company has three sections on Durham Estate on River Rd and a property in Papamoa listed with real estate agents which have not been sold.
Liquidator Tom Rodewald, of Tauranga-based accountancy firm Rodewald Hart Brown, said property developers were getting into trouble because they were unable to sell the properties in order to pay their debts.
In June, Hamilton Building Solutions also went into liquidation owing $119,800 to 30 companies. The liquidator's report pointed to a lack of work, along with a failed arrangement with a business partner and legal suit with a former franchisor.
Rodewald Hart Brown is working with about four property developers in Hamilton to see how they could meet their financial obligations. Mr Rodewald said it was touch and go whether these companies would be able to keep afloat.
However, he said not all developers were struggling and those with good reserves were finding it easier.
