Please let me know and I will complete the paperwork to withdraw your Kiwisaver savings. You will need to apply for the First Home Grant online at https://hera.power-business.co.nz/kaingaora/First_Home.nsf. Once you have received your pre-approval letter, please email it to me.

You will need to make an application to Kianga Ora, who will determine whether you are in the same position as a first home buyer. This application is separate from the application you need to make to Kianga Ora if you also want to apply for the First Home Grant. If you want to apply for approval as a previous home owner and for the First Home Grant, you need to make TWO separate applications online with Housing New Zealand. Please also email your approval as a previous home owner to me.

You are responsible for ordering the LIM from the Council. There will be a fee which will range from $150.00 to $300.00. It takes 10 working days to receive the LIM from the date of request. Some Councils will provide an urgent LIM for an extra cost, which only takes 5 working days. Once you receive the LIM I am happy to help you review it and answer any queries you may have.

You should be wary of LIM’s supplied by the Real Estate Agent (“Agent”) or the Vendor as it could be out of date or have important information removed. Further, the Council only has a duty of care to, and contractual relationship with, the person who requested the LIM.

One of the main reasons for obtaining a LIM is to check that all building consents have been obtained for any work undertaken on the dwelling, particularly for dwellings built and work completed after 1992. Building consents came into force with the Building Act 1991 (effective July 1992). Building work carried out before 1992 did not require a Code of Compliance Certificate (“CCC”). It is not unusual for dwellings built before 1991 to have no building permit as records prior to 1991 may have been destroyed or damaged by fire or flood. If there is a fire in the property you should pay particular attention to whether it has consent. Depending on the nature of work undertaken, it may also be necessary to check the scope of a CCC. If you are concerned about the absence of a CCC or permit, please contact me to discuss further.

Please refer to my initial Letter of Engagement, which sets out the possible consequences of not obtaining a LIM.

Again, you are responsible for arranging and reviewing the Builder’s Report. Should any issues arise, I will discuss your options with you. If you intend on nominating another entity as the purchaser, the Builder’s report should be addressed to that entity. This will allow the purchasing entity to rely on the report findings should weathertight or other issues arise after settlement.

You are responsible for arranging insurance from the settlement date. If the property was purchased at mortgagee sale, you are responsible for arranging insurance from the date of confirmation of the conditions. You should obtain confirmation from an insurance company that you can insure the property prior to confirming any of the conditions. Some insurance companies may require an electrical inspection to be carried out before they will agree to insure the property, particularly for older properties.

In most cases, the deposit is paid to the Agent when you confirm the conditions. In some cases, the deposit is paid when you sign the Agreement. If it is a private sale, you pay the deposit to my Trust Account and I pay it to the Vendor’s lawyer.

What happens once the Agreement is unconditional?

Once the Agreement is unconditional, in other words, you are satisfied with all of the conditions in the Agreement, I will receive your loan documents from your Bank. I will then meet with you to go through the loan documents and discuss any questions that you may have. It is important that you are available to sign the paperwork before the settlement date. If you will not be available for the days leading up to settlement please notify me well in advance. Please bring your current drivers licence or passport (in your correct name, if you have recently married please bring your marriage certificate), IRD number, bank details for balance of surplus funds to be paid to (if any) and insurance. 

Once the Agreement is unconditional, in other words, you are satisfied with all of the conditions in the Agreement, I will receive your loan documents from your Bank. I will then meet with you to go through the loan documents and discuss any questions that you may have. It is important that you are available to sign the paperwork before the settlement date. If you will not be available for the days leading up to settlement please notify me well in advance. Please bring your current drivers licence or passport (in your correct name, if you have recently married please bring your marriage certificate), IRD number, bank details for balance of surplus funds to be paid to (if any) and insurance.

You have the right to inspect the property on one further occasion prior to settlement, this is called a pre-settlement inspection. Contact the Agent the week of settlement to arrange this and complete it at least three days prior to the settlement date. If any issues arise from the pre-settlement inspection, I must contact the vendor’s lawyer before the settlement date.

Yes, it is important that you are easily contactable on the settlement date. I can then notify you immediately if any issues arise.

You must ensure that you have enough funds available to cover your cash contribution (if any), an adjustment for rates and our legal fee (even if your Bank is contributing towards your legal fees). I will generally let you know the exact amount required from you to settle when you meet with me to sign your loan documents, if not earlier.

Please transfer the amount required to settle to my trust account at least two workings days prior to the settlement date to ensure it is received in time for settlement. Your Bank will advance your mortgage funds direct to me. If you are using your Kiwisaver savings and/or the HomeStart Grant to assist with the purchase, these funds will also be deposited directly into my Trust Account a few days prior to the settlement date.

If your Bank is contributing towards your legal fees, you pay your legal fees direct to me. You will be reimbursed by your Bank immediately following settlement.

Settlement will occur any time between 9am and 4pm on the settlement date. Unfortunately, I cannot give you an exact time but I will endeavour to settle as early as possible. If you wish to book movers we recommend that you book for later on in the day (unless you are also selling on the same day). Most settlements take place between 11am and 3pm. If any issues arise preventing us from settling in a timely manner, I will immediately contact you.

If you are selling and buying on the same day, the purchaser of your property is entitled to keys as soon as they have paid me the settlement funds. Accordingly, you may wish to book your movers for earlier in the day. There may be a delay between your sale settling and your purchase settling. Again, I will keep you informed on the day.

When I call you to advise that settlement has been completed, I will confirm where you can collect the keys from.