Brooklyn Rise & Lance James

[NzDuder]

Hello

Im interested in a lovely new property at Brooklyn Rise Wellington. The property has been put together by the developer Lance James. Im interested to know whether this person still uses the "Sunset Clause" to extend contracts on his properties ? Also if you've gone through this process and how it effected you ? Plus any other unknowns that may be worth knowning .

Thank you for your help, NzDuder .

[drelly]

You could just ask him?

[LondonKiwi]

Hello

Im interested in a lovely new property at Brooklyn Rise Wellington. The property has been put together by the developer Lance James. Im interested to know whether this person still uses the "Sunset Clause" to extend contracts on his properties ? Also if you've gone through this process and how it effected you ? Plus any other unknowns that may be worth knowning .

Thank you for your help, NzDuder .

Do I know him yes. Did I have a contract with him yes! Did I pull out of this deal yes! Did he use the sunset clause in just about all of his early contracts at Brooklyn Valley Rise so that he could void the contracts after 18 months then resell the properties himself and take advantage of the capital gains during construction rather than the investors that were relying on them yes!

If I was you ask around Wellington about this guys reputation. Ring any large building supply company and ask them whether they deal with him. Ramset would be a start! Also check the following link from a previous thread of mine

http://www.propertytalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=11161

Then again I have watched closely the development on the Net and also when I have been back in Wgtn and these townhouses do look the part. Haven't been in to check the finish article however.

LK

[spurner]

Developer camera-shy in court

Developer camera-shy in court


Wellington property developer Lance James, facing prosecution by Inland Revenue, has finally had his picture taken in court after trying hard to prevent it.

James, who is charged with 33 counts of evading tax payment, aiding and abetting lack of payment and failing to provide tax information, appeared before Judge Paul Barber in Wellington District Court yesterday and was remanded till November 11.

A company, Brooklyn Rise, also faces charges.

It was the fourth time The Dominion Post had arrived to take James's photograph in the court dock. Permission to take photos had been granted every time but it was only the second time James had come to court. Initially he had opposed the applications but failed to file submissions as required by a judge.

James tried to hide his face from the camera by holding up papers and, after he was remanded, hurried from the courtroom still covering his face.

He has not yet pleaded to the charges.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/4728710a23918.html

[LondonKiwi]

Classic

I guess it all comes around in the end!!!

Cheers

LK

[Wgtn PropertyWatcher]

About Time!!!

Have you ever had the misfortune to actually be confronted by this person.
He has two convictions for assault that I know of and has threatened me personally on more than one occasion.
I hope the IRD have done their homework and dug deep into his wheeling and dealing. If they have they will have unraveled a massive web of misappropriating funds which make company and trust structures more than just a farce. Spread the word and keep well clear.
Anyone got any little gems they would like to pass onto IRD then do the country and a lot of trampled, distress and disadvantaged people a favour and go ahead.

[exnzpat]

We crossed paths. I was not impressed. I've long thought that he might be lurking here on this board in the guise of "Commercial Dan." Am I right?

[spurner]

Well WgtnPropertyWatcher was right on the money!

A property developer is facing tax charges, with allegations he and related companies owe more than $5 million to Inland Revenue.

Most of the money is GST from the $40 million sale in 2007 of a subdivision in Brooklyn, Wellington.

Tax investigator Cameron Fraser told a depositions hearing in Wellington District Court yesterday that Lance James had told him that the financier, Lombard, effectively forced the sale of the Brooklyn project and another development and took the proceeds, leaving nothing to pay the GST liability.

Agents who prepared returns for Brooklyn Rise, the company that sold the development, did not have financial accounts, which Mr Fraser thought highly unusual in a development of that size.

James, who also works as a project manager, faces 44 charges relating to his income tax and aiding and abetting nine companies to commit tax offences of not filing returns or filing false returns, or misapplying money that should have gone to Inland Revenue.

Two justices of the peace are expected to decide today whether Inland Revenue has enough evidence to commit James for trial.

Inland Revenue lawyer Andrew Instone told the court in submissions that until 2006, when an investigation of the companies began, only one had filed tax returns. After analysing bank statements it was believed James had a "relatively high lifestyle" which would have needed a significant income.

It was alleged he had used four companies' income, and company borrowings, as if it was his own money. "The case is simply that [James] chose not to file his personal income tax returns and returns of his companies with the intention to evade the assessment and payment of tax," Mr Instone said.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post...5m-tax-charges

[spurner]

$4m repair bill recovery bid

Owners of a leaky apartment block in Oriental Pde have taken action against Wellington City Council and two developers after being forced to spend $4 million to fix their building.

Body corporate chairman Malcolm Brown said 166 Oriental Pde had been plagued with problems, including defects with the roof, balconies, glazing, cladding, waterproof membranes and inadequate ground clearances.

Mr Brown said the group was now looking to recover repair costs, general damages and other losses through the Weathertight Homes Tribunal.

Action is being taken against the developers and Wellington City Council because it issued the resource consent and its building inspectors signed off the work.

If the owners cannot reach a settlement, they will ask for an adjudication hearing in the Weathertight Homes Tribunal toward the end of the year.

The block of 14 apartments, valued at about $2 million each, was built in the late 1990s by property developer Lance James. He was a director of Tycorp but before work was finished the project was sold to Longford Holdings, though Mr James was kept on as head builder.

Longford director Wayne Wright is also cited in action being taken by the apartment owners.

Mr Brown said there were problems from the start when leaks were reported and fixed, but apartment owners were told these were one-off issues.

The full extent of problems was not known until about 2005 when experts, including an assessor from the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service, investigated.

The service's initial estimate for fixing the block ran to $500,000, but additional problems were found after the building was inspected by another assessor and after repair work began last year.

Contractors have now been working on the building for a year and the job is still not complete.

Mr Brown said it was fortunate owners had been able to pay for the work themselves rather than accepting a settlement on the basis of the original $500,000 assessment before the work was done, and then only to find the bills coming to much more than expected. He knew of other cases in Auckland where building owners had settled before work started, only to find they were lumbered with bills for another $5 million or $6 million.

Mr Brown said the owners were able to cope financially with funding the work.

Other apartment owners, including former National Party president Sue Wood, referred The Dominion Post to Mr Brown.

Council spokesman Richard MacLean said it was aware there were problems with the building and was working, in terms of its statutory responsibilities under the Building Act, with the owners and contractors on the repair project.
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Mr Wright, a Tauranga businessman, said he could not see how he could be held responsible for problems with the building because his involvement was only as financier, and Longford Holdings, the company through which he was involved, no longer existed.

He was unaware of problems until he received a lawyer's letter about 18 months ago, but his own lawyer had told him he could not be held responsible.

Mr James said he had only recently learnt of the claim and did not accept liability.

FLOOD OF TROUBLES:

Owners at 166 Oriental Pde claim:

* It had a leaking roof.

* It had water seeping into apartments off balcony decks because of design and construction faults.

* It was substandard because of the way balconies were connected to the building.

Initial assessment of costs: $500,000

What it has actually cost: $4 million.

Who pays: Apartment owners, but they are claiming against developers Lance James and Wayne Wright and Wellington City Council, which is responsible for building inspection.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post...l-recovery-bid

[spurner]

from Hutt News

An Eastbourne Glass company has successfully applied to have Jourdan Developments, run by Lance James into liquidation. The glass firm did $55,000 worth of work for Mr James's Eastbourne residence but says it did not receive payment for the final $5000.

Last week, it successfully applied to have Jourdan Developments put into liquidation. Mr James did not appear in court to defend the case. Mr James and his wife Irene Emily James are listed as directors.

Liquidator Barry Jordan told the Hutt News that since Jourdan Developments was placed into liquidation a number of other creditors have emerged. The case looks to be a complicated one and he said he could give no time frame for a settlement.

Mr James is involved with a high profile development in Kowhai St, Eastbourne, and also faces IRD tax charges.

[spurner]

New low at Brooklyn High subdivision

New low at Brooklyn High subdivision

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST: A partly built house is demolished at the Brooklyn housing development, which is in receivership.

What should have been a half-million-dollar home has been reduced to rubble, the latest victim in a troubled housing development that owes failed Lombard Finance $44 million.

The house had sat on the Brooklyn hillside unfinished for more than two years, but a large crane and a team of orange-coated demolition workers had it gone in an afternoon.

This is the second house in the Brooklyn High development to be destroyed. The house next door was more incomplete and more exposed, the receiver said.

The contentious Brooklyn High subdivision was intended to include 90 homes above Ohiro Rd and then rezone nearby rural land for another 500 houses.

The development was begun in 2004 by Wellington businessman Lance James, who is charged with evading more than $500,000 in personal taxes and aiding and abetting companies to commit tax offences. His trial is set down for February.

The development was placed in receivership in 2008 and has now been put up for sale by receivers, with six incomplete homes, not including the two destroyed, 25 sections and 7.4 hectares (18.3 acres) of land for sale.

Trade creditors say they are owed $1.1m in addition to the $44m owed to Lombard, but the sale of assets is expected to fetch just a fraction of what is owed.

Lombard chief executive Michael Reeves has said the $40m debt on Brooklyn was a "significant contributor" to its collapse. The finance company was placed in receivership last year owing $127m.

Brooklyn Developments receiver John Fisk of PricewaterhouseCoopers said the demolished house was not watertight when he was appointed receiver. "Given the length of time that it had been exposed to the elements, it was decided that it was more prudent to demolish it and bring it back to its foundations."

"We're taking it back to a position where someone can re-establish a building there."

He said had it been finished, the house would have been a similar value to others in the development, which now totalled about 30. Homes recently finished have sold for $400,000 to $500,000 each. But it was not viable to complete it given its state of disrepair.

The subdivision has had its share of controversy, including planning and consent issues and a council-imposed fine for discharging sediment into the nearby Owhiro Stream.

Mr Fisk would not say what the remaining properties might fetch on the market."We're going through a sales process at the moment, we're looking for the market to tell us what it's worth."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post...gh-subdivision

[spurner]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=268759157

Receivership Sale | Residential Development

Location: Brooklyn High
Brooklyn
Wellington
Wellington
Property use: Developmen*t
Land area: 31800m2
Price: Price by negotiatio*n
Property ID#: AYD348
The Property is a residential development opportunity located within Brooklyn, a central Wellington suburb. The Property comprises stages 2 and 3 of an incomplete development project including six near complete dwellings situated on approximately 1.9363 hectares of land.
Subdivision plans currently allow for the Property to provide for an initial release of 25 lots, with a balance 1.25 hectares available for future subdivision. Within these 25 lots are six near complete dwellings that can be presented for early sale once finished.
Sales of townhouse units within the development over the past three years have achieved prices of between $455,000 to $580,000.
Budget estimates obtained of approximately $1,800,000 plus GST provides an indicative cost to complete an initial development of the Property, although potential purchasers must undertake their own investigations into costs and required works. The budget estimates include allowances for infrastructure, consenting and construction works to provide for six saleable dwellings and an additional seven lots.
The Property presents an opportunity for a capable developer or builder to immediately capitalise on the nearcomplete townhouse units by finishing required works associated with Stage 2 of the project, with the balance land Stage 3 available for future subdivision as part of a longer term development plan.
In addition, Lot 32 from Stage One of Brooklyn High is also for sale.

[LondonKiwi]

I wonder what this has done for the values of the other purchased properties in this development. It can't be a good thing from where I am sitting!!!

LK

[spurner]

Property developer admits 11 tax charges, denies others

Property developer Lance James has pleaded guilty to PAYE tax charges but says he is not guilty of other tax evasion charges that are alleged to involve more than $1 million.

However, in Wellington District Court yesterday, Judge Chris Tuohy said he had to decide what James's intention had been, not how much tax, if any, was at stake.

The court has been told that Inland Revenue has already obtained a civil judgment against James for more than $1 million. James told the court he had wanted to fight the civil case but could not afford accountancy and legal fees to mount a challenge.

The Crown has said James evaded about $590,000 in personal income tax which with interest and penalties reached $1.3m. James, 50, of Eastbourne, has paid about $188,000 he agreed he owed.

One of the main issues at the trial is how a large sum taken from companies he controlled is treated for tax purposes. The Crown says it was taken for personal expenses so should count as income on which tax should be paid, but James says it was a loan which incurred interest. Only some of it was personal expenses and some went on business expenses, he said.

On the third day of his trial yesterday he pleaded guilty to 11 charges of aiding and abetting four of his companies to misapply PAYE deductions in 2007 and 2008.

The companies, now in liquidation, were all involved in a Brooklyn subdivision development which James said financier Lombard forced to be sold. He is still pleading not guilty to tax evasion charges for his personal income tax returns and aiding and abetting a company to evade tax through not making GST returns or giving false or incomplete returns.

The Crown says James had trouble paying tax while he maintained his lifestyle, so he made a conscious decision not to file returns. It was not a typical tax evasion case because there was no fraud in the sense of making up documents or hiding assets. The oldest charges go back to the late 1990s.

But James told the court that he never decided not to file returns. "I was always aware I was going to file tax returns and that I had tax to pay."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post...-denies-others

[CJ]

The oldest charges go back to 1990's

It is kind of annoying they dont stop these things happening sooner.