Is the luxury bay lodge on sale?
by Luxury.Net
Fantail luxury Lodge in Katikati has joined the growing list of Bay properties advertised as a mortgagee sale despite the owner saying he had an unconditional buyer for the property.
Harrie Geraerts told the Bay of Plenty Times that he had undergone many financial difficulties after sales fell through on three of the 10 Tudor-style villas built on the property. It forced Harrie to put Fantail Lodge on the market, a business that started with only one guest room more than 20 years ago entered a new era in the previous year.
Geraerts was caught in the bitter blow decision by the finance company to advertise the lodge.
Not only did he have an unconditional sales agreement for the lodge but his financial difficulties had overlapped with a bang in the business. Before the opening of the villas, the international bookings had gone from 9.4 per cent of business to 34 per cent now.
Fantail Lodge was described as a “golden opportunity” by the advertisement offering 3.1 hectares of park-like grounds and a Tudor-style lodge with restaurant, conference venue and 10 guest rooms. When they borrowed to build the villas it was done conservatively and there was 70 per cent security on the debt. The villas were a stand-alone body corporate and not part of the mortgagee sale.
The purchaser, Daryo Gahleb of Auckland bought one of the villas a few years back and said that he had spent a lot of money getting to an unconditional contract.
