NZ Herald
Property specialist lawyer Adina Thorn acts for many property owners facing land acquisitions under the Public Works Act. She often sees land owners presented with prices lower than their true value.
Amount public bodies pay to buy properties for infrastructure and roading projects is below true value, says one lawyer
A lawyer has warned Auckland property owners about selling their real estate to public bodies, saying “low-ball” valuations are depriving people of the real estate’s true worth.
But a chief at Auckland Council Property, where about $100 million has been spent on real estate this year, says it is dealing with people in a frank and fair manner and is neither paying too much nor too little.
Adina Thorn, principal of her own inner-city law firm, said many private properties were needed for big infrastructure and roading projects and she cited the Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative, Central Rail Link and Te Atatu Rd, Lincoln Rd and Dominion Rd upgrades. But she contends prices offered for properties were often less than their true value.