Buying a house in New Zealand, explained simply

The legal side of buying a house, in plain words. What the documents mean, what you are agreeing to, and what to ask your lawyer before you sign.

• What the seller must tell you about the body corporate

  If you are buying a flat or an apartment, the seller has to hand you a disclosure statement before you agree to buy. What is in it, when it is due, and what you can do if it turns up late or wrong.

• Do you need a builders report?

  There is no legal requirement to get one. What a builders report covers, who else checks the house, and how to make one a condition of your offer.

• Cross lease, and what goes wrong with them

  A cross lease means you own a share of the whole section with your neighbours and lease your own flat back. Here is what that means in practice, and the problem that catches most buyers.

• What it costs to check a house before you buy it

  Nobody publishes what a property lawyer charges, and there is a reason. Here is what the checks actually cost, what you are entitled to be told about fees, and which of it you do not get back.

• What your lawyer must put in writing

  When you hire a lawyer to buy a house in New Zealand, the rules say some things must be in writing before work starts. Here is what, and what to do if you do not get it.