Property pullout leaves owners 'gutted'

American Joy Stockwell has walked away from a $1.687 million agreement to buy the Blue Heron Holiday Park on Whangarei Harbour, 48 hours before the deal was due to be settled.

Owners Maureen Ross and Peter Smythe say they are "gutted" at the 11th-hour withdrawal and have put the property back on the market.

They have almost completed moving to a new property near Whangarei and most of the tenants of the camping ground have left after being advised that Ms Stockwell -- former wife of Hollywood movie star Dean stockwell -- would be charging a significantly higher rental.

Ms Stockwell, speaking from California where she is staying for a while before returning to Whangarei, confirmed she had pulled out of the deal but would not comment on why for legal reasons.

Ms Ross said she received formal notice from Ms Stockwell on Tuesday night last week that she would not settle on the due date of March 31 and was withdrawing from the agreement altogether.

Ms Ross said she was legally unable to make public the reasons Ms Stockwell cited for withdrawal, because of possible litigation.

Ms Ross said a contributing factor could have been that she and Mr Smythe had stopped Ms Stockwell's visits to the camping ground on February 1.

They had originally allowed her free access to the property to discuss issues with tenants, including a possible rent increase.

But, the couple say, she had "created mayhem and misery with her demands and her treatment of tenants".

Ms Ross said they had been informally forewarned that Ms Stockwell was not going to settle about two weeks ago.

She said the community had been "fantastically supportive" through the couple's planned move from the park, assisting with packing and bringing food and presents.

Ms Ross said there had been tremendous interest in the property and sorting out a buyer had been a long gruelling process, as was the six months spent waiting for Ms Stockwell to obtain permission to buy from the Overseas Investment Commission.

"We have found ourselves in an incredibly high-profile position because of the rocketing value of coastal properties and the debate on the loss of camping grounds but we thought we were finally through it," she said.

"Looking on the bright side, there is now a window of opportunity for buyers because the property is back on the market right now."

Ms Stockwell said she too was disappointed that the sale did not go through as she had invested six months of work into the "dream project".

However, she still intended to make two other land purchases in Whangarei -- a 100-hectare property at Waikaraka, in two titles, for $826,000, and a 2.9ha property between Riverside Dr and Punga Grove Ave, also in two titles, for $582,000.

"It's a beautiful area and it feels like home already and I'm looking forward to coming back," Ms Stockwell said.

She was impressed by the people of Whangarei, particularly the district's youth.

- NZPA