Buying a first home – what I wish I knew…
To help other first-time buyers, we asked our Legal Exec, Elise Brooks, what she wished she had known before embarking on her purchase.
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Selling a Unit Title
If you are selling or plan to sell unit title property, we recommend you take a close look at the warranties you agree to provide.
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Waterway restoration: Million metres streams project
Are you are a landowner with property bordering a waterway? Is that waterway polluted and in need of restoration? Don’t know where to turn? There is help at hand…
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Building law reform is on the horizon
In April 2019, MBIE released a discussion paper that proposed radical reforms to the building industry. Matt Smalberger looks at the implications.
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Climate change rising to the top the agenda
Many businesses and individuals are examining their global impact. Debra Dorrington reflects on a growing new urgency worldwide, echoed at a recent conference she attended.
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Tax policy consultation – Habitual buying and selling of land
New Zealanders wishing to enter the property market or to save for their home have often occupied a property while doing it up, then sold it at a profit. Exclusions have meant that the profit made hasn’t been taxed. Now the opportunity to use this process is tightening up.
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Commercial property for new players
Residential investors often perceive buying commercial property as the ‘next step up’. Commercial property can be lucrative but it’s far more complex than you may realise. There are a number of important considerations to bear in mind before taking the plunge! First-time commercial property investors need to be aware of the risks and make…
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Checks for first time buyers of unit title properties
Unit titles have their own idiosyncrasies so it’s worth taking time to understand how they operate if you’re buying one for the first time.
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Contracting Out Agreements / Relationship Property Agreements – what they do and why you might want one
We are seeing more and more clients in relationships wanting certainty around the assets they own. These clients are at different ages and stages of life. They want to know what they would walk away with if the relationship was to end, either by separation or death.
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Value for money legal services
Discerning buyers know you get what you pay for. But lawyers are not great at communicating the value provided by their services. We prefer the end results to speak for themselves. There is a flaw in this somewhat arrogant approach, however. Particularly when it comes to legal services around planning for our personal assets.…
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Who needs enduring powers of attorney?
It’s common to think that only the elderly need to put enduring powers of attorney in place, but the reality is everyone should have them.
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Providing financial support to your parents
Clients are loaning their parents cash. These loans are being secured in one of two ways. A mortgage over the parents’ family home, with repayment expected upon the death of both parents. Or children are being sold a portion of the family home in consideration.
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