1. Do I have to hire a lawyer to buy a house in New Zealand?
In the New Zealand real estate market, it is clearly stipulated that the sale of houses is completed by lawyers. Therefore, the real estate agent will send the original contract to the lawyer, and any negotiation with the seller in the future will be handled by the buyer's lawyer and the seller's lawyer.
2. When can I hire a lawyer?
After seeing the house and before signing the contract, the buyer should contact the lawyer. Generally, lawyers can be recommended through brokers. New Zealand laws are relatively standardized, so don't worry too much about the professionalism of lawyers. When New Zealand lawyers serve clients, they will provide a lawyer's fee agreement to clarify the relationship between clients and lawyers, including the rights and obligations of both parties in the service project. The signing of this agreement by the customer will clarify the establishment of the legal service contract between the two parties. After the transaction is completed, the lawyer will protect the rights and interests of the buyer. New Zealand attorney fees are generally between 800- 1000 NZD.
Official website of New Zealand Bar Association
Log on to the website to learn about all practicing lawyers. If you are not at ease, you can check the recommended lawyers online.
3. What's the use of a lawyer?
Lawyers play four roles: ensuring the legality of buying houses, investigating the property rights of houses, explaining the key points of contracts and putting an end to capital risks.
1. Make sure the house is legal.
There is no real estate bureau in New Zealand, and there is no title certificate for the house. Therefore, the lawyer's most important job is to review the legality of the purchase contract and ensure the security of the property rights of the house. The purchase contract signed by the buyer and the seller plays the role of real estate license. The original is in the hands of the lawyer, and the buyer can only get the electronic version or copy. The municipal government will record the real estate information, and buyers can check the ownership of property rights on the website or office of the municipal government at any time.
2. Investigate housing property rights
Lawyers will investigate the property rights of the traded house when the buyer looks at the house or signs a contract: whether there are property rights problems such as mortgage and debt. If there are property rights issues, it is necessary to confirm whether the buyer knows. The buyer has the right to terminate the contract if there are problems that the buyer is not aware of.
Official website of Wellington Parliament, New Zealand
Official website, a New Zealand municipal council, can find the land information memorandum report, and can apply online by itself, but it needs to be paid. Usually, the lawyer's application and inspection are enough.
3. Explain the main points of the contract
New Zealand's house purchase contract is in English, and there is no other language version, otherwise it is illegal. The lawyer will help the buyer explain all the key points and precautions in the contract, and explain the rights and obligations of the buyer and the seller to ensure that the buyer understands the whole transaction process. This also fully reflects the seriousness and authority of New Zealand's real estate transaction laws.
4. Put an end to capital risks
In the specific process of the transaction, the lawyer will not only help the client to prepare the transfer documents and complete the transfer procedures, but also it is very important that the lawyers of the buyer and the seller will handle all the money, including the transfer of loans. Usually, the buyer's purchase money needs to be transferred to the supervision account of the buyer's lawyer. After the lawyer calculates all the expenses and lists the details, including his own lawyer's fees, the local tax of the house, the water and electricity charges of the former owner, etc. , he will transfer to the supervision account of the seller's lawyer. The seller's lawyer will do the same thing to ensure that the funds are correct before transferring them to the seller. The transfer of housing property right and capital occurs at the same time, which eliminates the risk of capital and thus protects the fundamental interests of buyers and sellers.
Overseas home buyers face certain risks due to different policies and market environments. Even if the law does not restrict them, hiring a lawyer can effectively avoid risks.
Source: Wellington City Council.
This content is only applicable to Beijing.