First time buyer

[fayevalentine]

Hubby and I are planning to buy a house here in Wellington in October and have been going for open homes to have a feel of the market.

Some questions:
If we see something we like on the market, are we able to out in an offer with the condition to purchase in October?

Do we need a lawyer for the buying process?

Thanks alot in advance!

[girlwithanewf]

Re the condition to purchase in October, that would very much depend on the individual situation of the owner and the popularityof the house. For example when we sold our house in the UK we were extremely pleased that the person we sold to wanted to delay a couple of months. But if we had put an offer in like that here it would have got nowhere. A good real estate agent will give you advice about the specific property and the circumstances of the owner.
I can pm you the name of the lawyer we used if you want.
Have fun at the open homes!

[Dave in NZ]

question 1: It all depends on if the seller will wait that long.You would have to enquire with the agent as most people want a sale asap but there are people who are prepared to wait. Funny enough a lady I know has just bought a house in Wellington and they cannot move in until October which suits them fine.

2: I dont think you have to have a lawyer but I would thoroughly reccomend it as they cover all the legal aspects of buying a house. We have bought several houses over here and our Lawyer has picked up several problems that we would never have found and saved us some money. One of these houses we were able to back out of having made an offer because the solicitor found something that was not disclosed.When we do purchase a house we always put a condition subject to lawyers approval.We also put subject to a surveyors report also.

[Hagabel]

We just had an offer accepted yesterday so in the same situation. We are not being represented by a buyer's agent but dealing with the seller's agent. I was advised by several people to use a Solicitor, and after starting the process today I am glad we have. Not sure where you are coming from but it soo different to buying a house back in the States.
The Solicitor ordered the title, LIM report and then also checked over our sales and purchase agreement. She is also communicating with the building inspector, valuer and the broker/bank. The fee for this is approx $1250. Our bank is paying most of the legal fees.
Hope this helps, just my 2 cents.

[batgirl1001]

In my opinion, a lawyer would be necessary even if you are atuned to to the legalities of the conveyancing process. Even lawyers themselves engage another lawyer to handle their personal matters and avoid a conflict of interests. Your lawyer would represent your interests - looking out for building reports, problems in the sales purchase, title search, deposit payments, dealing with the bank, hand-over date etc. The process usually takes about 3 weeks or so from the date of the sales purchase agreement. Without the lawyer, things may go wrong and not always it is about the house but a step or paperwork necessary that you may miss out which delays the entire process.

Once a seller accepts an offer and a hand-over date, they are obligated to move out by the date specific. Only under difficult circumstances, can they request for an extension and even so requires the permission of the buyer. Many sellers would only look to buy when they have conditionally accepted an offer rather than buy first then sell later. So maybe you like the house but you can't move in when you want to but rather have to wait because the seller sets a condition that they will want to move out later than the normal 3 weeks which you have accepted in the sales purchase agreement. All this has to do with your negotiation skills as a buyer.

[ralf-nz]

We just had an offer accepted yesterday so in the same situation. We are not being represented by a buyer's agent but dealing with the seller's agent. I was advised by several people to use a Solicitor, and after starting the process today I am glad we have. Not sure where you are coming from but it soo different to buying a house back in the States.
The Solicitor ordered the title, LIM report and then also checked over our sales and purchase agreement. She is also communicating with the building inspector, valuer and the broker/bank. The fee for this is approx $1250. Our bank is paying most of the legal fees.
Hope this helps, just my 2 cents.

I too have experienced how different this process is here to where I from and I'm glad having used a lawyer.
However the fee you are quoting seems to be outrageous! It's nearly three times as much as I paid some years ago..

[cappuccino]

Have a read of this website as there is loads of useful info for anyone buying property.

www.homewardfound.co.nz

I can highly recommend them as valuers.

[Hagabel]

I too have experienced how different this process is here to where I from and I'm glad having used a lawyer.
However the fee you are quoting seems to be outrageous! It's nearly three times as much as I paid some years ago..

It is a middle of the road fee for the solicitors here in my town and she was highly recommended, as the bank pays 90% on the legal fees I am not too worried about it. I guess it is called inflation!!!

[fayevalentine]

Thanks guys for the advice and the links. Its really useful.

We'll continue to go for more open homes and hopefully something nice will pop up at the right time

[Jacqi B]

Have a read of this website as there is loads of useful info for anyone buying property.

www.homewardfound.co.nz

I can highly recommend them as valuers.

That's who I used. Very happy with them, would recommend them to anyone.