- Kim Dotcom is living in a Dunedin mansion for stroke recovery but denies purchasing it.
- Dotcom confirmed he is staying until June, with the property’s title remaining unchanged.
- The mansion, valued at $3.3m, is one of Mosgiel’s most admired properties.
Kim Dotcom has moved into one of Dunedin’s “most-admired” mansions to recuperate from his stroke, but denies purchasing the property, which had an asking price of $3.3 million.
Start your property search
Stuff reported earlier today that it understood the internet entrepreneur had bought the Mosgiel property, which had been on the market for sale for more than two years.
However, Dotcom told OneRoof via text message that he did not own the property.
“I have not purchased a property in Bush Road, I just live there for my stroke recovery,” the text said.
Kim Dotcom told OneRoof that reports he had bought a mansion in Mosgiel, Dunedin, were incorrect. Photo / Greg Bowker
The Dunedin property linked to Dotcom was built in the 1980s and described as one of city’s finest. Photo / Supplied
OneRoof asked Dotcom about claims he had the right to occupy the property until June, when full payment was required.
He said the claim was incorrect. When asked if he was renting the property, Dotcom said: “You got one thing right. I’m there until June.”
Sources told OneRoof that Dotcom had been living at the mansion for weeks, noting that tradespeople had been seen coming and going from the property.
OneRoof can confirm the property’s title has not changed hands. The mansion’s owner, a local businessman, declined to comment when approached by OneRoof, adding that it was “commercially sensitive”.
Discover more:
- Hut owned by NZ's 'greatest painter' for sale - will secrets inside send price sky high?
- ‘Just bloody do it’: $1 reserve mansion sells for $3.5m after heartwarming twist
- OneRoof’s Need to Know: Netflix star’s secret mission to buy her grandparents’ home
OneRoof also approached the listing agents for the property. They too declined to comment.
The property is a four-bedroom US-style home that sits on more than two hectares in the upmarket Dunedin suburb of Mosgiel.
It has an RV of $2.91m and was listed for sale with a price tag of $3.3m. OneRoof records show it hit the market with Property Brokers in November 2022 and was withdrawn as a live listing in March this year.
The listing photos showed a double-size garage and an inground covered pool. The listing said the double-storey house was “crafted with meticulous care and attention and constructed to endure the ages”.
The Mosgiel home was withdrawn from sale in March after more than two years on the market. Photo / Supplied
The property sits on two hectares and had a price tag of $3.33m. Photo / Supplied
The listing agents also described the house as “one of the most admired properties in the Mosgiel/Dunedin area” and that it had been “designed by award-winning architects Mason & Wales in the American Georgian style”. OneRoof records showed it was built in the 1980s.
Dotcom and his young family have lived in Glenorchy in recent years, but Dotcom has increasingly spent time in Dunedin since suffering a stroke in November last year.
The 51-year-old is fighting an extradition order signed by the Justice Minister last year. The internet mogul is facing charges in the US.
He posted on X in January that he had serious health issues after suffering a stroke late last year.
“Sorry, I have some memory loss and speech impairment issues,” he wrote. “I’m working on my recovery from my stroke. Please pray for my family and I.”
Dotcom has been linked to some of New Zealand’s most expensive homes.
Dotcom with his wife Elizabeth. The pair are linked to trophy homes in Queenstown and Auckland. Photo / Supplied
In 2012, his rented Auckland house, dubbed the “Dotcom Mansion” was raided by the Police Special Tactics Group as part of a worldwide FBI operation to take down Dotcom’s Megaupload file-sharing website, which was claimed to be at the centre of a massive criminal copyright operation.
He was previously living in the exclusive Queenstown enclave of Wyuna Preserve, with reports from 2021 claiming he bought a home there for around $12m.
OneRoof records show that Dotcom owns a multimillion-dollar lifestyle block in Auckland’s Coatesville, near the “Dotcom Mansion”. The property has an RV of more than $6m. Dotcom is also linked to a company that owns a mountain retreat in Queenstown, which changed hands in 2021 for $15.1m and has an RV of $15.63m.
Mosgiel is home to some of Dunedin’s most expensive homes, with a lifestyle block in the suburb setting the price record for the city in 2022 with a sale of $4.5m.
Dunedin agent James Columbs, of Columbs & Co, said that in the last 12 months, there had been an uptick in activity at the top end of the city’s housing market, which was anything north of $1.8m.
Columbs said buyers with big budgets were either moving there to accept job opportunities at Dunedin Hospital or local buyers trading up.
“Interest rates are coming back. In terms of the build costs or the replacement costs of these properties, it’s still really good value, so it’s certainly made a lot more sense to trade up , and the changeover hasn’t been as hard as probably what it was back in the peak of the market.”
Columbs said Māori Hill, Roslyn, Saint Clair, East Taieri were the most desirable Dunedin suburbs, while North Taieri attracted those after small farms or lifestyle blocks.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Dunedin
