Even if this is your first time, don’t stress. We’ve helped hundreds of people just like you — and we’ve heard every question you can think of.
A lot of people ask us: when’s the best time to get a lawyer involved? We think it’s never too early. Let us be your guide through the home-buying process — wherever you’re at, feel free to give us a call to check in.
You’ll need a lawyer once your offer is accepted, but some people ask us to do our legal checks on a property before making an offer. We’re then involved all the way through to settlement day, where we help you pay across the purchase price — and you pick up the keys!
New to buying? Our Home Buyer Guide walks you through the whole process, step by step — a great place to start.
Download the Home Buyer Guide (PDF) →
Making your offer
Before you make an offer, we can help in two ways.
1. Pre-offer advice
If you’d like us to check a property before you make an offer, we can provide pre-offer advice — we look at the title, sale and purchase agreement, disclosures, and LIM report (if available) for an existing home. We don’t check building reports, and we place some limits on our ability to check large Council property files.
The advantage is that we can help you make an offer with as few conditions as possible, which can increase your chance of it being accepted. Please note, we’ll need at least 72 hours’ notice to complete our advice.
Our pre-offer advice fees depend on the type of title a property has:
- $750 + GST — fee simple properties
- $950 + GST — cross lease properties
- $1,150 + GST — unit title properties
We’ll pass on any costs we incur on your behalf (called disbursements), such as LINZ searches, which are $6 for each title ‘instrument’.
For unit title properties we provide advice on the title, pre-contract disclosure statement, sale and purchase agreement and LIM report (if available). We don’t review the minutes or other body corporate documents.
If your offer is successful and we continue with the conveyancing, we waive the pre-offer advice fee — you’ll only pay our standard conveyancing fees, set out below. If your offer isn’t accepted, you can keep searching and we’ll email you an invoice.
2. Checking your offer
Here we’ve set out some of the most common conditions you’re free to use in your offer. There’s no cost to use these conditions.
If you’d like help wording your conditions, or checking a standard ADLS/REINZ Agreement for Sale and Purchase is filled out correctly before you make an offer, we can help. This service is charged by time spent — our team’s hourly rates are set out in our Terms of Engagement.
The conveyancing process
Successful agreements
For agreements that make it the whole way to settlement, our fees start with a base fee determined by the type of title:
- $2,200 + GST — fee simple properties
- $2,300 + GST — cross lease properties
- $2,450 + GST — unit title properties
If you don’t require a mortgage, you can discount $300 from the base fee. You’ll also pay the following where they apply to your purchase:
- $250 + GST — properties with a residents’ association
- $250 + GST — unit title properties
- $300 + GST — each KiwiSaver application
- $300 + GST — purchasing in a company
- $500 + GST — purchasing in a trust
- $250 + GST — using a second-tier / non-bank lender
- $250 + GST — more than 7 interests on the property’s title
We’ll pass on the cost of any disbursements, such as LINZ title search and registration fees, PPSR and AML check fees. These are usually at least $210, and you’ll pay our invoice on settlement day.
Cancelled agreements
If your agreement is conditional and you decide not to proceed, or you can’t confirm your conditions, our fee will be the same as our pre-offer advice fee, plus any fees for out-of-scope work.
Out-of-scope work
Sometimes matters arise during conveyancing that need extra time and expertise. In those situations we’ll let you know we need to charge extra, based on the time taken (our hourly rates are in our Terms of Engagement). Examples of out-of-scope work include:
- Negotiations over issues found during the conditional stage or pre-settlement inspections
- Settlement delays or ongoing extensions of conditions
- Delays getting loan documents or funds caused by your bank
- Taking early possession of a property
- Issues with the property after settlement
Off-the-plans purchases
The above is for purchasing an existing property. If you’re buying where the title hasn’t been issued or the house hasn’t been built, get in touch for our off-the-plans purchase services and pricing.
Next steps
Our Home Buyer Guide gives you an overview of every step. Once your offer is accepted, we deal with all communications with the vendor on your behalf, help with KiwiSaver applications if needed, advise you on the home-loan documents from your bank, and manage the payments on settlement day.
The first step in looking for a house is getting your pre-approval. Once you have it, we always suggest getting approval for each specific property before making an offer, rather than relying on a general pre-approval.
The best time to get in touch is when you find a house you’re keen on. If possible, give us 72 hours’ notice before a tender or auction so we can complete our pre-offer advice.