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Buying your dream home isn’t just about sorting out the funds for your deposit. While the idea of living in a new place you can call your own is exciting for everyone in the family, there’s a lot of preparation and deliberation required as it can greatly impact your financial future. If you’re a first home buyer, you’ll need to perform your due diligence to ensure the road to your new home is as smooth and trouble-free as possible.

Before you can call a house your own, you must make an offer to purchase a property. Here are the ten steps to making an offer for a house:

1. Read our e-Book on buying a house

Getting as much information as you can about the residential conveyancing process ensures you’re prepared for what’s ahead. Contact us to get a copy of our e-Book: Moving Home – A Practical Guide for Buying and Selling Your Home, so you can familiarise yourself with the basics. It’s designed to be a very useful resource document that will help guide you through the entire process.

2. Find out if you are eligible to withdraw KiwiSaver or get a HomeStart grant

Go through Housing New Zealand’s HomeStart grant eligibility checklist to learn if you’re eligible for the HomeStart grant.  You should contact your Kiwisaver provider to see if you are able to withdraw your KiwiSaver funds.

3. Engage a mortgage broker to determine how much you can borrow

Do some research to find out which type of lending product suits your circumstances. Additionally, your lender will have to make sure you have sufficient funds to pay a deposit and meet the obligations of your offer, as well as ensure you’re able to meet mortgage loan repayments.

4. Work out what sort of property you can buy with the money available

A property’s value is dependent on many factors, including size, location, age, history, and more. Make a list of must-haves and consider some of the factors you can potentially compromise on.

5. Research the market for the type of house you want to buy

There are plenty of resources for this.

6. Understand the methods of sale

The most common ways of selling a house are through auction, open or closed tender, or by negotiation. Contact a property law expert to get advice on the processes of each method, as they can give you independent advice.

7. Engage a lawyer

Carrying on from the previous step, a property lawyer will guide you throughout the process. Your lawyer will offer you advice on the transaction that’s tailored to your own best interests (instead of the seller’s).

8. Do as much due diligence as you can afford before you make your offer

You are required to perform due diligence by gathering as much information you can about a property you would like to purchase. This can include researching the neighbourhood and local community, acquiring a Land Information Memorandum (LIM) report, a building inspection, checking the property title, and more. Your lawyer will guide you through this process.

9. Get us to review your agreement before you sign it

Before you sign anything, always ensure that your own lawyer has gone through the documents with you to ensure no detail is missed and that you understand every aspect of the Agreement for Sale and Purchase. This includes looking at any potential difficulties, talking about future plans, and more.

10. Fulfil any conditions

Once the agreement is signed, you are bound by its conditions. You must now satisfy any outstanding conditions of sale, such as obtaining a LIM report or confirming finance, so settlement can proceed.

Talk to the Property Law Specialists at HomeLegal

Here at HomeLegal, our property lawyers know residential conveyancing inside and out, and we’ve made the process simple and stress-free for many purchasers in the larger Wellington area. Contact us today at 0508 HOMELEGAL!