How the JVs Were Structured
I was approached by property owners who wanted to become developers themselves — to profit from building on their own land rather than just selling it. They didn't invest money with me. They didn't hand over funds. They contributed their properties as equity, retained ownership of their land, and were effectively the developers.
I was a joint venture partner contributing expertise, management, and funding connections — with a transparent validation system giving every party and their lawyers real-time visibility into every dollar spent. No corruption. No hidden margins. Just a shared project on their own property, where everyone could see exactly where the money went.
What Went Wrong: The Caveats
In both projects — Yates Road in Māngere East and Triangle Road in Massey — the landowners placed caveats on their own titles, in breach of the joint venture agreements.
Funders require the right to sell as security. A caveat makes funding impossible. This is not a minor procedural issue — it stops everything. No security means no loan. No loan means no construction. No construction means no profit for anyone.
I have months of emails pleading with the JV partners to remove the caveats. They were advised by their lawyers to place them. That decision — not my management, not the market, not anything I did or didn't do — killed the funding.
The media narrative implied that people "invested with me" and I lost their money. This is false. They didn't give me money. They blocked the funding on their own development, on their own land, on the advice of their own lawyers.
What I Put In
When the funding collapsed at Triangle Road, I didn't walk away. I put $700,000 of my own money into the project trying to bridge the gap. I offered to personally underwrite all JV partners' land positions from my future profits. Five of the six partners called to thank me for that offer. They understood the situation.
But $700K wasn't enough to replace the funding that the caveats had blocked. The projects stopped.
What Property Investors Should Know
If you're entering a joint venture for property development in New Zealand, here's what the news doesn't tell you:
- Caveats are fatal. A single caveat on title blocks all funding. Your JV agreement must explicitly prohibit partners from lodging caveats, with immediate remedies if they do.
- Your partners' lawyers are not your friends. In both my projects, the landowners' own lawyers advised them to place caveats — in breach of signed agreements. The lawyers were protecting their clients' perceived interests while destroying the project.
- You can lose more than your equity. I put $700K of personal funds in trying to rescue a project where I had already contributed management, systems, and funding connections. JV exposure isn't capped at what you initially commit.
- The media narrative will blame you. When a JV fails, the partners with nothing to lose go to journalists. You'll be the one named. Document every email, every request, every refusal — because you'll need it.