Online lender Rhino Solutions was among the more recent financiers to advance Gao funds and is the one who appointed receivers to sell off his Remuera home.<\/p>\n
Rhino, like most lenders looking to recoup funds, has used these near-identical words in the public records, stating that if necessary to recover its debts, it would take action against the developer\u2019s \u201cpresent and after-acquired personal property, land and all other property\u201d.<\/p>\n
A company controlled by Jeff Gao had assembled 420 and 422 Don Buck Rd in Massey \u2013 along with the vacant block next door \u2013 as a development site but the properties are now up for mortgagee sale.<\/p>\n
An experienced developer, Gao said he\u2019d been battered by the property market downturn but hoped to bounce back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been involved in property investment and development in New Zealand for many years, employing numerous local staff and contractors along the way and making a positive contribution to the New Zealand economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike many others in the industry, I am currently navigating the challenges arising from the downturn in the property market. My focus remains on responsibly managing through this cycle while positioning for the next phase of market recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sell-off opens a window into a world of non-bank financiers, where loans often come with higher interest rates.<\/p>\n
Property records show Gao had spent more than a decade building and trading property across Auckland through 13 companies \u2013 involved in dozens of homes, sections and developments, from Massey to the North Shore.<\/p>\n
For years the banks backed him: property records show BNZ, ANZ and Westpac all lent against properties he or his companies owned.<\/p>\n
However, the same records show a shift from around 2024.<\/p>\n
The banks began to be replaced by second-tier financiers \u2013 and some of the refinancing on properties took place in quick succession, with mortgages swapped between lenders within weeks.<\/p>\n
Auckland developer Jeff Gao said he is trying to responsibly navigate the current downturn cycle as he loses a Remuera home to a forced receivers’ sale.<\/p>\n
A subdivision in Karaka, South Auckland, left the following in land records.<\/p>\n
When Gao\u2019s company Pinecrest NZ bought lots in the subdivision in April 2025, it financed the purchase through a non-bank lender.<\/p>\n
The records show the mortgages then churned, with a new financier every few months, until the lots passed out of Gao\u2019s company entirely this year. <\/p>\n
Some of those homes, on Karaka\u2019s Tebaga Gap Rd, are on sale now \u2013 but with the proceeds due to go to a company that isn\u2019t controlled by Gao.<\/p>\n
Lenders registered a total of 20 claims over everything Gao owned, while another held security over his firm\u2019s Rolls-Royce, giving them the right to force his assets to sale if needed to recover their debts.<\/p>\n
Records only show when a security is registered, not released when a debt is paid back, meaning not all 20 claims would have been active at the same time.<\/p>\n
163-167 Rodney St in Wellsford was sold as a mortgagee sale in May this year as creditors circled developer Jeff Gao.<\/p>\n
Then, early this year, multiple lenders made a grab on his assets.<\/p>\n
On one day \u2013 February 2 \u2013 two separate lenders lodged caveats over six of Gao\u2019s properties at once, indicating they claimed a financial interest in them. <\/p>\n
Weeks later, another financier moved on three Massey development sites that a Gao-controlled company had assembled on neighbouring properties.<\/p>\n
Those three sites, at 418, 420 and 422 Don Buck Rd, are all zoned for business and are now being sold as two separate mortgagee sales.<\/p>\n
Then a separate Don Buck Rd home Gao owns personally hit the market this month \u2013 a three-bedroom house being sold by receivers, where offers to buy closed on July 8. Listing agent Harcourts has not revealed whether it sold.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, it was Rhino Solutions that moved on his Remuera home so it could be pushed to auction, property records show.<\/p>\n
Rhino Solutions advertises online that it lends loans of up to $20,000 \u2013 charging rates between 21.9% and 29.2%, and default interest at 47.45%.<\/p>\n
15 Tebaga Gap Rd, Karaka, is now for sale and had been connected to a company run by developer Jeff Gao.<\/p>\n
The Herald understands it lent more than that to Gao and it is listed as the second mortgage lender on his Remuera house, land records show.<\/p>\n
Gao did not respond to questions about how much he or his companies owe. <\/p>\n
But with Gao\u2019s Remuera home going to auction on July 22, Adam Botterill from Waterstone Insolvency, the receivers appointed by Rhino Solutions, is hopeful creditors can get cash back.<\/p>\n
\u201cFingers crossed we get a good result at the auction and manage to get as much back to pay people what they are owed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
SEE 17B WARRINGTON RD\u2019s ONEROOF FOR SALE LISTING HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n SEE 418 DON BUCK RD\u2019s ONEROOF FOR SALE LISTING HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n SEE 420-422 DON BUCK RD\u2019s ONEROOF FOR SALE LISTING HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n SEE 424 DON BUCK RD\u2019s ONEROOF FOR SALE LISTING HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n