By - 10 Sep 2019
You've got your deposit, you've found the right property, now a
multi-page document is sitting in front of you and a real estate
agent is asking you to sign. It is imperative that you get in touch
with a lawyer before you enter into an agreement. The best chance
of you negotiating favourable terms is before you
sign. This is even more important if you are planning on buying a
property "off the plans" that has not yet been subdivided or built.
More information about buying off the plans is available in a
previous blog.
If you have already signed an
agreement, don't worry, we can still work though the agreement with
you.
There are a number of things that you can make an agreement
conditional on that must be satisfied and confirmed before you are
required to pay your deposit, or complete the purchase.
Due Diligence
This is a catch all, general condition that allows you to
investigate any aspects of the property or your ability to
purchase. You can cancel the agreement with no detriment if
something isn't right, or you simply change your mind.
This will also allow us a chance to review the title to the
property for any interests or restrictions registered against it
that may affect your use or enjoyment of the property.
Land Information Memorandum and Council Property
files
More commonly known as a LIM, these reports can be obtained from
the Council and contain a wealth of information from whether the
property is prone to flooding or excessive winds, through to
whether there are any outstanding building consents yet to be
signed off. This may also include details of prior contamination,
asbestos issues or engineering reports in respect of soil
instability. You can make your agreement subject to you ordering a
LIM and being satisfied with the information in this.
As a LIM report does not include house plans, we recommend that
you do obtain the Council's property file in respect of the
property. The property file will give you copies of the house plans
and all other information held by the Council in respect of the
property. It is important that you do check that the house plans
correspond with what is on site. If it does not, then this needs to
be addressed prior to confirming an agreement as unconditional.
Finance
If you are yet to receive confirmation from your bank regarding
loan finance, you can make your agreement subject to being able to
arrange finance. This provides you exact figures to take to your
bank and the ability to budget whether you will be able to afford
the repayments and outgoings on the property.
Building Report
If you are buying an existing home, you may want to have a
professional look through the property in order to ascertain if
there are any structural or building issues. There are a range of
inspectors available who will investigate the property to varying
levels of detail. If the property is on a cliff or on a steep site,
you should consider having an engineer inspect the site and check
for evidence of any land instability or any movement in the
dwelling.
If you have anything else that you would want included as part
of your pre-purchase investigations, let us know and we can insert
clauses into the agreement to allow you time to satisfy yourself of
any concerns before being locked into the purchase.
Get in touch with a member of our property
team before signing up.