A property portfolio previously owned by investment mentor
Don Ha has been put on the market for mortgagee sale.

Receivers took control of Don Ha Real Estate’s properties and
assets in March when he was unable to repay a $7 million loan
from Kiwibank.

The property portfolio, including several 2 to 4-bedroom
houses and two 10-bedroom boarding houses in south Auckland
were listed by Bayleys this week and will go up for auction
at the end of the month.

It’s a remarkable turnaround for Mr Ha, who featured on the
2007 National Business Review Rich List with an estimated
fortune of $60m.

The property mogul and thoroughbred horse owner rose to
wealth through his real estate business and investment
coaching. His 12-month Elite Academy mentoring programme cost
$25,000, with each class containing 40-50 clients, a staff
member told APNZ.

Mr Ha rose to prominence in the racing industry in 2007 when
he paid $2m for a yearling filly from star stallion Zabeel.

But in 2010 he lost a Court of Appeal bid to overturn a
ruling that he had to pay New Zealand Bloodstock Finance
$2.2m after a horse sale wrangle with two prominent trainers.

Mr Ha was bullish today (Monday), saying the setback was an
opportunity to “restructure” his business plan and would
make his advice more valuable.

Although his mentoring programme had ended and he was focused
on buying and selling real estate he had plans to develop his
coaching _ and his experience made his advice more valuable,
he said.

“I have something big for mentoring in the new year but I
can’t say what it is _ it will be worldwide. The experience
is everything.”

But Property Investors’ Federation president Andrew King said
the mortgagee sales served as a warning to potential
investors seeking advice from people who advertised as
mentors.

He said a mentor is “someone who helps the individual achieve
the results they want to achieve” and didn’t think many
people would want to be in Mr Ha’s position.

“I wouldn’t think it’s ethical for someone being forced to
sell rental properties to continue (mentoring).”

But Mr Ha disagreed: “I’ve got more people coming to me now
for advice now that I’ve been through it. I would say I’m
more sought after.”

Bayleys residential mortgagee manager Hayden Butler said the
listing was “one of the city’s biggest residential portfolios
to be brought to the market in recent years”.

It had been accumulated over several years and Mr Ha had
looked for homes close to parks, reserves, sports amenities
and employment and transport infrastructure.

Eight of the homes have tenants and one is vacant.

It was difficult to put a value on the properties, said Mr
Butler.

“We’re asking for the purchaser to tell us what they’re
worth. As part of the mortgagee process, all tenancy rentals
have now been benchmarked against the market _ and have been
shown to be delivering solid returns,” he said.

Mr King advised people wanting to learn about real estate to
read relevant books, join an investors’ group and, if paying
for mentoring advice, to look for someone with extensive
experience in the industry.