Real estate agent Peter Coker, who owns Kohimarama Lodge, in Auckland\u2019s Kohimarama, listed the property for sale in May last year.<\/p>\n
He found a buyer a few months later, who made an offer that was conditional on finance and due diligence. After a lengthy back and forth, the deal went unconditional, and a significant deposit was paid. <\/p>\n
But the buyer never followed through, and Coker and his wife, Sheryl, are now having to repeat the marketing and sale process. <\/p>\n
He told OneRoof that the buyer lost his deposit after pulling out of the deal.<\/p>\n
Coker said in his 25 years as an agent, he had sold over 500 properties, but he had never encountered a scenario where a buyer walked away after paying a deposit. <\/p>\n
![\"Kohimarama](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/e23c5a1b40a85ce43304e99bd7b42fbf.jpg\")
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Real estate agent Peter Coker and his wife, Sheryl, poured their hearts and souls into the renovation of the tired motel. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
![\"Kohimarama](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/f1f3ca821b4451c8fb0e7451a14785af.jpg\")
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Each unit has a different theme, and is a showcase for Coker\u2019s passion for art and design. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
\u201cSettlement was supposed to be the 30th of September, but they extended that a couple of weeks, so we got into October, and then they never settled.\u201d<\/p>\n
As per the law, a notice was served to the buyer, but Coker and his wife heard nothing back. \u201cWe never heard anything. They just disappeared, so the lawyers and everybody, we all kind of sat around waiting to find out whether anything was going to happen,\u201d Coker told OneRoof.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing did. We got to Christmas, and then we decided, in conjunction with the lawyer, let\u2019s put it back on the market again and start again, so that\u2019s what\u2019s happened. We\u2019ve just put it on the market a couple of weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the ordeal had left the couple out of pocket. He and his wife had moved the furniture out of the property ahead of the settlement date and had rented a property they never used. <\/p>\n
Discover more:<\/p>\n
– Real estate agents hit the viral jackpot with Bohemian Rhapsody parody<\/a><\/p>\n – Hamilton Zoo snaps up neighbouring property for $2m, spends $340K over RV<\/a><\/p>\n – ‘Must be sold’: Overseas owners auction off vacant mansion ‘as is where is’<\/a><\/p>\n Last month, OneRoof featured a report<\/a> that involved another buyer who had also lost their deposit.<\/p>\n \u201cWhitianga\u2019s fanciest beach shed\u201d was relisted within months of selling for $571,000 at a tense $1 reserve auction after the South Island buyer paid the deposit but failed to pay the remaining sum by the agreed settlement date. <\/p>\n Bayleys listing agent Belinda Sammons said she had never experienced that before in her 24-year career in real estate. That property went on to resell for the same amount three months later.<\/p>\n Coker hopes the market has improved since the couple first listed the leasehold motel, which is for sale for $1.275m plus GST. <\/p>\n He said the lodge was a revenue-generating business, so the leasehold was like paying rent. \u201cIf you were opening a cafe down on the corner, you wouldn\u2019t go and buy the building and the land, you just open the cafe and pay rent and hopefully make enough money to pay the rent. This is no different.\u201d<\/p>\n 5 Carina Way, in Whitianga, fetched $571,000 this month – the same amount it got at a $1 reserve auction in October. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n The motel had the ability to gross $500,000 a year, he said, and had a lot of repeat customers. <\/p>\n![\"Kohimarama](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/9c289ee6247e180311277dbf87a3fd51.jpg\")
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