South Auckland Residential Property Lawyers Unplugged
The Kiwi dream – owning your own home. It’s not as easy as it used to be, but many thousands buy a new home each year. Others buy more than one piece of real estate, either as a second home or for a rental property. For the vast majority of these people, they will turn to the services of South Auckland residential property lawyers to carry out the legal aspects of the transaction. But what does a property lawyer do? Below we take a look at some of the tasks involved in buying or selling property.
Title Search
When the real estate agent sends the signed Sale and Purchase agreement to your South Auckland residential property lawyers, the legal team start their work. They will star by doing a Title Search a Land Information NZ (LINZ).
This will verify that the seller stated on the Sale and Purchase Agreement is the rightful owner with authority to sell the property. If there is any discrepancy this can delay the process. Sometimes it can totally derail the sale.
The precise naming of the entities is vital which is why it is a good idea to use a lawyer for registering the transaction details.
Reviewing The Sale And Purchase Agreement
The vast majority of property sales in New Zealand use the Real Estate Authority document which was developed by the Auckland District Law Society. Given that, the contract review is relatively simple. However, often vendors or buyers will insert additional clauses.
Discuss these options with your lawyer who will then draft the clauses to meet your needs.
Common clauses are finance related or where Certificates of Compliance are needed, or some repair works have to be completed.
Your lawyer will check the correct details of both sides are correct on the S and P Agreement.
Check Information With Auckland Council
This often refers to the Certificates of Compliance for relevant renovation or construction works. If works are not consented, the lender is very unlikely to agree to the finance.
Buildings Insurance
A buyer is responsible for the mortgage as soon as the transaction is settled. That means they are responsible for the security backing the loan i.e. the property. Therefore, it is essential that the property is properly insured from the time of the settlement.
Your lawyers will chase you to make sure that this is in place and will want to see the insurance document prior to settlement.
Being Unconditional
Once all of the conditions, certificates, and documents are accepted, the buyer’s lawyer will notify the seller’s lawyers that the offer is unconditional. At that stage, it is simply a matter of time until the deal is settled. That means that there is no going back so it is imperative that all details are confirmed to the buyer’s satisfaction before agreeing to go unconditional.
Preparing Data for LINZ
When the transaction is declared unconditional, the lawyer will prepare the data about the new owner ready to submit to LINZ. It will confirm the name or the owner and the date of settlement.
Mortgage Documents
Most residential property transactions are financed by a mortgage loan, generally from one of the major banks.
If this is the situation in your case, your lawyers will make contact with the lender to prepare the mortgage documents. This will state that the lender will have security on the property until the mortgage is fully repaid.
Your lawyer will make sure that you have signed the loan documents in advance so that the papers can be transmitted to the mortgage provider.
For settlement, the lender will send the money to your lawyer who will then transmit to the seller’s lawyer.
If you are the seller, part of your contract with the real estate agent will state that their commission must be settle upon completion. This fee will be sent directly by your lawyer to the real estate office of lawyers.
The Last Steps
The lawyer for the purchaser will notify both Auckland Council and Quotable Value that there is a new owner, and give them the details.
They will also submit the details to LINZ.
South Auckland Residential Property Lawyers – Which One?
There are lots of residential property lawyers in South Auckland, so how do you know which one to pick?
A good way to start is by asking friend or family members if there is a lawyer they would suggest. If anyone has a suggestion, check Google reviews to see what other people say.
McVeagh Fleming in Manukau city centre has a good reputation. You can contact them to meet one of their South Auckland residential property lawyers to discuss your potential sale or purchase.