Your Legal
It’s a good idea to have a solicitor ready to put on your sale and purchase agreement when making an offer. They will handle the transfer of the property ownership, and also make the payment of all funds on your behalf. The solicitor will look through the Land Information Memorandum (LIM) and Title for you also and make you aware of any issues as well as any particular quirks of the property.
I recommend Anthony Corcoran who does a great number of Christchurch’s property transactions. If you’re using KiwiSaver it’s really important to have a solicitor that does lots of these and is familiar with the documentation and process. Getting these documents in on time is essential to confirm your agreement on time.
Insight Building Inspections Ltd
Building Inspections are vital when purchasing any property particularly if purchasing in an earthquake prone area. Here it’s a case of having the inspector check that any earthquake repairs have been completed to professional standard. An inspector also checks the weather tightness of the building and can highlight any building defects as well as small defects like the oven not working properly.
I recommend Nick Brownlee who completes a very comprehensive report. These reports include digital floor level readings and moisture reading tests in the standard price. Often these reports can be requested by lenders. If the property you’re interested in has a report that’s been ordered by the vendor often you can’t rely on it as the inspector has no obligation to you a client. We’d suggest getting these re-addressed to you.