KEY POINTS:
A registered valuer is facing complaints over valuations of apartments bought through Blue Chip companies.
Two complaints against Tony Kidd, of PRP Auckland Ltd, have been made to the Valuers Registration Board.
The offences carry a maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine plus costs or being struck off.
Kidd's valuation company, was set up as Axiom Advisory Ltd in 1999 before becoming Axion Rolle PRP in 2004 and PRP Auckland Ltd in October 2006.
In addition to numerous other properties, his company has valued hundreds of Blue Chip properties in the past five years.
Martin Dunn, of City Sales, laid one of the complaints against Kidd over a Blue Chip apartment in Auckland's Halsey St (Lighter Quay).
The other complaint involves a valuation on an apartment in Blue Chip's Hudson Brown development in Quay Park, in March 2006.
The second complainant is unknown.
In a statement through his lawyer, Kidd said both valuations complained about were prepared in accordance with the New Zealand Property Institute's Code of Ethics and Practice Standards.
"The company is confident that the valuations reflect market value at the particular time that they were undertaken."
Twenty-one Blue Chip-related companies are in liquidation, with losses so far totalling more than $72 million.
Some investors, facing enormous financial pressure and the threat of losing their homes, are having to sell apartments bought through Blue Chip.
A separate case that has not been the subject of a complaint to the Valuers Registration Board involves retired Kawerau couple Lesley and Charles Rouse.
They bought a one-bedroom Parnell apartment through Blue Chip for $365,000 based on a $395,000 valuation done by Axiom Rolle PRP in March 2006.
The Rouses need to clear $316, 000 in mortgages on their Kawerau home and the apartment and both are on the market.
They are moving to a one-bedroom pensioner council unit in Cambridge and all they are taking is their bedroom furniture and chairs for the lounge.
They hope to get $250,000 for the apartment but realise it could go for considerably less if they are forced to go to auction ormortgagee sale. "We will never again own our own home," Lesley said.
About 25 complaints are lodged each year with the Valuers Registration Board, a Government body based in Wellington, after they have been investigated by the New Zealand Institute of Valuers.
The process can take up to two years and, in the past eight years, only one valuer has been struck off.
The sector is governed by the Valuers Act 1948 which the industry has been trying to update for 20 years. A new Registered Valuers Bill proposes industry standards, making it easier for members of the public to lay a complaint and to speed up the process.
Valuers study between three and four years at university and complete three years practical experience under a registered valuer before applying for registration.
Institute of Valuers president Blue Hancock said the institute laid down strict guidelines and encouraged people with concerns about a member to complain to the institute.
Valuers should consider resales in property nearby, or similar developments, rather than value from plans and one-off sales in new developments, he said.
Property Institute of New Zealand president Chris Stanley said many valuations were done from plans and specifications well in advance of the property being built.
In the two to three years it could take for the development to be completed, the market could change markedly and the possibility of that change needed to be communicated openly. The definition of good practice was a willing buyer, a willing seller and fully informed purchasers, he said.