Back to Blog

Can I go from listing with an agent to selling my property privately?

Can I go from listing with an agent to selling my property privately?Selling your property can be frustrating if you reach the end of your agency agreement without an offer. At the end of your agency agreement period if you decide to sell privately there are things you should check first.It is important to check the terms of your agency agreement and seek legal advice to ensure you understand the obligations that may apply after you stop working with that agent before you progress with selling p...

Land Covenants and Buying off the Plans

Recent planning legislation changes have seen many local councils define various areas of land that are now zoned for more intensive housing.If you’re looking at buying land within these zones with the intention of subdividing, then there’s one thing you will need to understand before making a commitment – land covenants.What is a Land Covenant?Land Covenants, also known as restrictive covenants, are generally applied to residential subdivisions. They are a form of contractual agreement th...

Lease Documents

Here are things to consider before you sign a lease agreement. Remember, a deed of lease is a document that sets out both a landlord and a tenant’s rights and obligations. They can be long and packed with legal jargon. It’s important to get professional help if you don’t have in-depth experience with commercial leases. Nothing is set in stone — negotiating good terms is worth the upfront work.End dates and flexibility Some common lease terms you may negotiate with the landlord include:�...

Relationship Property or Separate Property

The Property (Relationships) Act provides a set of legal rules which determine whether property is relationship property or separate property and how relationship property is to be divided when a marriage, civil union, or de facto relationship ends either by separation or death.It is possible for de facto partners and spouses to alter the rules that are set out in the Act for classifying and dividing property. To do this, it is necessary to enter into a Relationship Property Agreement (also know...

Relationship Property

If you contribute unequal cash deposits towards the purchase price of your new home you may want to consider protecting your contribution. You can do this by entering into a contracting out agreement (more commonly referred to as ‘a pre-nup’ or ‘pre-nuptial’, even if you are not married). Through this agreement, couples can stipulate their own rules for the classification and division of their assets in case they separate or one of them dies. Without a binding contracting out agreement,...

The Bright-line Test

The bright-line test is designed to require investors to pay tax on the sale of properties that are bought and sold within a set period. When the rule was first introduced, a property that was not owner-occupied and bought and sold within two years was captured. Then the time limit was extended to five years. Last year, it was pushed out to 10. Any gains that are made on a property are taxed at the owner's marginal tax rate. But Walker said people could be caught out if their "investment" was pu...

What’s Mine is Not (Necessarily) Yours: Inheritances and Relationship Property

Married people and people who have been in a de facto relationship for three years or more face a difficult decision when they come to inherit property: should the inheritance be shared with their spouse or kept separate?The law certainly does not require someone to share their inheritance with their spouse and, while some people may find it hard to imagine not doing so, others may wish to keep the money for themselves but worry about what their spouse would think if they did so.Legally, spouses...

How long does it take to pay out an estate after someone dies?

There is a process that must be followed when someone dies to establish that the will (if there is one) is the right one, or to give someone the power to administer the estate, if there is no will. Once that is done, time must be allowed for claims or disputes to be notified, and resolved, before assets may be distributed. Most Estates take approximately 7 months to a year to complete.What’s the process involved in distributing assets after a death?Unless the deceased had very limited assets, ...

What is a Testamentary Guardian? What rights do they have?

What is a testamentary guardian and what rights do they have? A testamentary guardian is guardian appointed by a parent in their will for the care of their child (or children) under the age of 18 years. To be eligible to be a testamentary guardian a person needs to be at least 20 years old and only one can be appointed. We recommend parents appoint testamentary guardians in their preferred succession order in their will. It’s a common misconception that a testamentary guardian will be in cha...

5 Reasons Every Adult Should Have a Will

Why do we need a will? In basic terms, to document who you wish to provide for upon your death and how you’d like your assets to be distributed. Wills also allow you to specify someone you would like to look after your children or to leave special gifts and meaningful things to people or organisations you choose. They can include special instructions for a funeral, and typically name the person who will carry out our wishes.If you don’t have a Will or if yours is not valid for some reason, w...

Wills for Couples

The survivor of you will need to make a very important decision between your entitlements under the deceased's will or whether to claim against their estate. For practical purposes, death is treated similar to a separation under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976, known as the PRA. There are specific provisions in part 8 of the PRA dealing with the division of relationship property on death - the survivor has to make the following choice within six months of probate being granted: Option A wh...

What are Sunset Clauses and how do they work?

Sunset clauses are conditions included in agreements to provide purchasers, and sometimes vendors, the ability to cancel an agreement by notice if a specific event has not occurred by a certain date (i.e. the sunset date). Sunset clauses are most common in "off-the plan" property sale and purchase agreements and give a party (or both parties) the ability to cancel the agreement if title and code compliance certificate (CCC) have not issued by the sunset date. Sunset clauses can also be found in ...

Disclosure of Trust Information to Beneficiaries

To disclose, or not to disclose – that is the question for trustees. New Zealand’s new trusts legislation, the Trusts Act 2019 (Act), came into force on 30 January 2021. One aspect of the Act that some clients find concerning is the ways that beneficiaries can receive information about a trust. We set out below an explanation of what the information provisions are and what trustees should be doing to comply with their duties under the Act. The Act creates a presumption that “basic trust ...

Building contracts and costs

With the ongoing impacts of Covid on our economy and the reduced ability to import materials into the country many of us have heard the stories of building contract prices being significantly impacted. Some Purchasers are finding themselves faced with the possibility of building price increases that could make their new home now unaffordable. In this post we want to answer your queries on how your existing build project could be impacted by the increasing costs of building materials and what you...

Guide to choosing an executor

Choosing an executor (or executors) is an important part of estate planning. Claire has put together this guide to help will-makers step through the sorts of things that should be considered. WHAT DOES THE ROLE OF EXECUTOR INCLUDE?Understanding the role of the executor may help you decide who would best suit this role in a particular situation.In general terms, the role of executor includes:• Organising the funeral• Applying for grant of probate from the court (depending on the deceased’s...

Buying a home - what conditions should you include in your sale and purchase agreement?

So you're shopping for a new home and you plan to make an offer - this is both an exciting and nerve-racking time! How much should you offer? Are you offering too much or not enough? What conditions should you include? Who does what and who should you engage to help? Entering into a Sale and Purchase Agreement is a legal document, so it pays to make sure that you are fully informed about your legal obligations and at the same time ensure that you include all the conditions necessary to allow yo...

Advice for buying at Auction

Before the Auction Researching the property If you win an auction your purchase of the property is unconditional, so you need to learn as much as you can about the property prior to the auction or before making a pre-auction offer.  Talk to us we can advise you to complete as many investigations and obtain as many approvals that are appropriate, including: #Unconditional finance approval; #Builders report/property inspection report; #LIM Report (stands for Land Information Memorandum) whic...

Investors and the Housing Market - This Weeks Announcements from the Government

...

Why order a LIM report?

When your buying your first home (or any property) you may wonder why you being told to order a LIM report. A LIM (stands for Land Information Memorandum) is a report from the Council and gives you all sorts of juicy info about the property, like building consents, what the land has been previously used for, and its zoning.  If you’re looking at buying a property you should get a LIM and make your purchase conditional on being happy with it. If you’ve checked out a LIM report before, yo...

Trustee Duties - New Requirements Under the Trusts Act 2019

Becoming Familiar with the Trust              The Trustees must become acquainted with the terms of the Trust document and in particular establish: The beneficiaries of the Trust and their circumstances.The assets and liabilities of the Trust, and ensure any title documents for the Trust assets are held safely.The location and the manner of operation of any Trust bank accounts. The bank account should be operated in accordance with the Trustees' wishes and all...

Confidentiality Agreements

A confidentiality agreement (also referred to as a “non disclosure agreement” or “NDA”) is a contract where parties agree not to disclose information covered by the agreement, typically used to protect non-public business information such as trade secrets/commercially sensitive information. Should I just get on with it and sign it? The answer is no! We recommend you should pause and consider what’s involved: Who are the parties? Don’t just focus on who the proposed parties are, think...

Property Sharing Agreements

It’s a Kiwi dream to own your own home. But with ever increasing property prices reality dictates that we pool our resources with family, friends or business partners to get on the property ladder. If you’re in this situation we recommend you complete a property sharing agreement (PSA). These agreements set out how you get into the property, how you go on, and how you get out of a property sharing arrangement. A PSA is a great way to maintain relationships between owners and avoid unnecessa...

Enduring Powers of Attorney

An Enduring Power of Attorney is a document appointing a trusted friend or family member to manage your affairs should you become unable to manage your own affairs.  This is either for property matters and for personal care and welfare.It is important that we take the time to speak to our loved ones about these matters and why it is important to have enduring powers of attorney in place. It is, by far, less expensive and saves a lot of heartache to ensure that you have enduring powers of at...

Winding up Your Trust

The new Trusts Act 2019 is in force which is changing the landscape of Trusts in New Zealand. You may wish to simplify your life and wind up your Trust! Since the introduction of the new law, a trust is automatically wound up, or terminated, at the end of 135 years from the date of the trust deed (previously this time period was 80 years).  However, a trust may be wound up earlier than the 135 years if the trustees agree to terminate the trust and the trust deed allows for this. Trustees ma...

The long-awaited Trusts Act 2019 (Act) has arrived!

The long-awaited Trusts Act 2019 (Act) has arrived! The Act aims to update trust law and make the law accessible to all (not just lawyers). The Act came into force on 30 January 2021, and applies to all existing written trusts, as well as any new written trusts established. If you are a trustee of a trust, or are considering becoming one, we summarise the matters that you need to consider below. Mandatory duties (cannot be “contracted out” of within the terms of the trust deed) A trustee m...