Auckland Property Lawyer – An Insight Into Their Work
Buying a house is the Kiwi dream. In fact, it goes beyond that for many people as New Zealand is “a property market with some dairy tacked on,” with many people buying rental properties too. In all of this most real estate buyers in Tāmaki Makaurau, however experienced they might be, tend to hire an Auckland property lawyer. Below we look at some of the reasons why they do that.
What Are The Key Actions Of An Auckland Property Lawyer?
On the surface it looks like a relatively simple legal task transferring and registering the name of anew owner of a house. However, there is much more behind that simple action.
Conducting Title Searches
Before you can buy a piece of real estate from someone, you need to know that they are the legitimate owner of that land or house. To ascertain this, your Auckland property lawyer, will conduct a Title search to verify the details shown on the Title Deed. This includes the exact address and location, the Lot number, and the precise name of the current registered owner.
Reviewing The Contract
Most real estate transactions use a standard contract from the Real Estate Institute and Auckland District Law Society. This keeps things on an even footing however, some buyers or sellers may have special conditions they want completed prior to the final exchange of contracts. This might be fixing some work on the property to a satisfactory standard. Others may be more complex and if you do have any other requests, ask your lawyer to draft the wording for you.
The lawyer will at this stage match the seller specified on the contract with the Title Deed. If there are any discrepancies, this may enable the buyer to withdraw from the agreed offer.
Other common conditions include finance and a satisfactory valuation being obtained. However, buyers cannot simply withdraw from an offer if they change their mind by using a financing clause. Your lawyer will advise you, but to get a finance-based withdrawal, you must show evidence from your lender.
Checking With Auckland Council
Your lawyers will verify with the Council that any renovation works are fully consented. These days, for newer renovations, this is not often a problem but for older works, when the consent rules were not as stringent, this can be a problem for the seller.
The buyer might also want to get a LIM (Land Information Memorandum) report. This explains all of the information that the Council has about that property. This includes any knowledge about land movement or slippage.
Going Unconditional
When all of the conditions are met, they buyer’s lawyer will inform the seller’s lawyer. From that point, there is no way out of the deal without significant cost.
After Confirmation
When the deal is unconditional, the buyer’s lawyer will adjust the details on Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) database to show the details of the new owner.
If you are selling the property, your lawyer will draft a settlement statement which will include any other costs to be met such as a pro-rata share of any rates that have been paid.
Mortgage Documents
Most people buy property using finance from a mortgage company or bank.
The lender will send documents and instructions to the buyer’s lawyer. This will include a note about them holding security over the property until all mortgage finance is repaid. This is also included on the LINZ database to show the bank’s interest in the property.
The lawyer will receive the finance transfer from the lender and then transfer that to the seller’s lawyer.
Building Insurance
Your lawyer will instruct you and check that you have arranged building insurance to cover the house from the time of the settlement date. You are responsible for repaying the mortgage from that date. If there is a fire or other major incident, the buyer is liable for that loan amount, so insurance cover is essential from the time that you become the owner.
Post Settlement
After the buyer takes ownership, their details will be confirmed on the LINZ system and a new Title Deed will be produced showing the new owner.
The lawyer will also notify the Council and Quotable Value of the new owner.
Choosing A Good Auckland Property Lawyer
As we can see, it is essential to pick a qualified and experienced property lawyer. There are many steps, accuracy is essential, and for most people, it is the biggest transaction of their life. There is no room for error.
McVeagh Fleming is a bigger law firm in the CBD where you can find an Auckland property lawyer.
You can find more details about on their website https://www.mcveaghfleming.co.nz/personal/separation-and-dissolution-divorce