Hot tips from Solicitor Adam Stobo-Wright who has recently purchased his first home in Cromwell. Congrats Adam!

1. Consider your eligibility for Kiwisaver withdrawals and Kainga Ora first home grant. These are useful to have alongside your savings to help minimise the amount you may need as a loan from the bank.
2. Take your builder mate to house viewings. They will be able to identify issues more easily that you may have overlooked on your own.
3. Currently it is a buyer’s market. Meaning that your first offer should not necessarily be your highest offer and without any conditions.
4. Enter the offer process with a calm and collected mind. Do not automatically get your heart set on a property, there will always be another “perfect” house!
5. It is not worth the risk of making an unconditional offer only to find there is an unconsented garage or poor moisture ingress with rotting floorboards costing $20,000.00 to repair. Risks such as these could be avoided by making the offer conditional on a LIM and building inspection report. You do not want to taint the excitement of a first home purchase with having to immediately complete repairs when moving in.
6. Pre-settlement inspections are often downplayed. On the contrary – they are extremely important. If you spot any issue with the house that wasn’t there at the initial viewing – ie hole in the wall or the hot water doesn’t work – this is the time to raise it with your lawyer prior to the settlement date.
7. Most importantly, keep in regular contact with your lawyer. If you are unsure, your first point of contact should be your lawyer. If they can’t assist, they will help you get in contact with someone who can