Cockcroft d’Young Moorhouse Limited
1st Floor, 30 Victoria Road
PO Box 32018 Devonport
NEWSLETTER
Tel. 09 445 3058 Fax. 09 445 3803
[email protected]
Winter 2014
e
Are Your Legal
Affairs Up to
Date?
This newsletter focuses on selling
We advise that buyers and sellers
and buying houses. We know how speak to us before they put an
stressful today’s market is for
offer in or start marketing the
purchasers, especially those who
property. Our team has a wealth
are buying their first home. No
of experience and know what
matter whether this is your first or needs to be done to ensure that
twentieth auction or tender, you
your house purchase or sale goes
should always get advice and
smoothly. We do not cut corners.
l
1,
30
Victoria
Rd,
PO
gather the hard facts ahead of time. We will guide you and work with
Box 32018 Devonport
you all the way.
Auckland
Tel. (09) 445-3058 Fax.
(09) 445-3803
[email protected]
Put your
team together early. Speak to us, your accountant, builder
•••
With the winter hibernation
slowly approaching, have
you thought about other
areas of your life that may
need some legal work? For
July 2014
example:
NEWSLETTER
USEFUL TIPS WHEN BUYING
•
Is your family trust
working for you? Are
your trustees meeting
regularly?
•
Is your Will up to date or
have circumstances
changed?
•
Have you signed
Enduring Powers of
Attorney (see Page 4) for
someone to take care of
your affairs if you go
overseas or become
unwell?
and financial advisor before you put your offer in. We will save
you a headache later.
Be proactive. Speak to the neighbours about the property before
putting an offer in.
Ask the agent. The agents have a duty to be honest with you and
should provide specific answers. Ask them to put things in writing
– and have your lawyer check it and suggest any special clauses to
reflect the situation in the agreement.
Late is better than never! Even if you have already signed an
agreement, it is still a good idea to get a LIM and a building report.
Depending on the issues identified, you may still have remedies
against the vendors. Your lawyer is your best source of wisdom
here if you are not sure.
Have you heard of an Enduring Power of
Attorney? Do you know why we recommend
everybody have one? Read page 4.
Call us for a diagnostic
consultation with one of our
solicitors at 445 3058. We will
tell you what is needed to get
your affairs ship-shape
(legally speaking).
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BUYER’S
MINIMUM
• Certificate of title and plan
council sign off or should not have been
built in the first instance. Also, imagine
having your finance approval
withdrawn just before settlement
because the bathroom should really have
been a bedroom.
auction/tender particulars to make
sure they correctly reflect your
property and the terms under
which you would be selling.
In the past the vendors were pretty
much able to sit back and rely on
• LIM
You should also have us check the
the purchasers to get all the relevant
certificate of title and the plan
facts as to why they should or
• Independent builder’s report
before you put your offer in –
should not buy the property. This is
especially if the property is a cross- no longer the case. The vendors now
• Council property file
have positive duties to speak up
lease, there are any shared
regarding certain aspects of the sale
driveways and/or boundaries that
that may be important to a potential
may not be readily identified. You
need to know if the physical access does purchaser. The scope of these duties
may be different where the
Clients come to us asking what they not correspond with the legal access.
property is sold privately or
should be asking the agents for and
through a real estate agent.
what they should be getting on
their own. This really does depend
SELLERS : Did you know
For example, under the standard
on each property, its location, age
that you have to tell your
form of the sale and purchase
and condition and your intentions
agent/purchaser about:
agreement, the vendor must tell the
as a purchaser. We tell our client’s
purchaser about any unconsented
• Unconsented building
to follow the “Buyer’s Minimum”
building works or works that do not
work
(see box). To start with, get a Land
yet have the code of compliance
• Leaks/weathertightness
Information Memorandum (LIM) certificate where the works were
issues
and read it or have us explain it for
undertaken during the vendor’s
• Pending consents to
you. The LIM will list the
ownership of the property. Where
neighbours building or
renovations or additions permitted
the vendor does not do so, the
resource consents
at the property after 1991, notices
purchaser has the right to
and demands under the Resource
compensation.
• Dangerous building
Management Act 1991, whether the
materials (asbestos)
If there are any unconsented works
property is in the flood or
• Contamination
or certificates outstanding, we will
earthquake-prone zone, whether
prepare a special clause in the
• Suicide, murder (and
there are any outstanding rates or
agreement and suggest ways to fix
maybe ghosts)?
other charges and other useful data.
it. For example, the purchaser can
It is a good idea to match the LIM
retain money at settlement until the
information with what is in the
works are removed, remedied or
property file kept by the local
the certificate is issued within an
council and an independent
agreed timeframe.
It is just as important to speak to us
building report.
before you put your property on the It is in the vendors’ interest to
Perhaps that new bathroom you like so market. We may suggest changes to address these issues early as the
much at the property never got its final the draft agreement or
purchasers may be unable to get
Before You Buy…
Before You Sell…
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mortgage finance where the
building works or outstanding
certificates render the property a
bad security.
The vendor must tell the purchaser
about other things as well. This
includes any demands or notices
the vendor has received from the
tenant, local council or under the
Resource Management Act 1991.
Again, for example, a notice from
the council about an insufficient
storm water drainage will not be
something to keep away from the
purchaser.
METH or “P”
CONTAMINATION
Recently, there have been cases
reported in the press when the
purchasers bought properties
contaminated with
methamphetamine and suffered ill
health as a result. Incidence of these
cases is growing and the
purchasers, vendors and landlords
should be aware of the potential red
flags.
and even one P smoker can
contaminate the property
permanently.
TERMITES
This is another relatively new area
of concern in certain parts of New
Zealand. Australian subterranean
termites have been identified as
causing infestation of properties in
certain areas listed at the Ministry
of Primary Industries website.
Take action and bring in the experts The termite infestation seems to
come from the same source –
if your dream property shows any
Australian hardwood railway
of the following signs:
You will need to tell the agent if
sleepers imported before the
you have had any leaks or
• chemical odours coming from
problems became known in 2003.
weathertightness issues in the past,
the main house, rubbish or
If the property has extensive
if any of the boundaries of your
detached buildings
landscaping or interior decorating
property are not readily
• security or surveillance gear
using the sleepers, you should
identifiable, if the property includes
installed everywhere
mention this to your building
hazardous building materials as
• stained sinks and drains
asbestos or is contaminated with
anywhere around the kitchen or inspector.
any chemicals (such as
laundry
methamphetamine), as well as other • cold medicines or chemical
issues.
glassware/cookware lying
As a recent decision shows us, a
seller must also disclose certain
“spooky” facts about their property
such as that there was a suicide or
violent death at their property. A
jury is still out as to whether this
also applies to any resident
ghosts…
around
Methamphetamine labs and use
produce harmful chemicals that
penetrate building materials and
surfaces and are difficult to remove.
Having the property checked out
for methamphetamine
contamination costs about $100$500 for initial testing.
Decontamination costs for one
property can be in the tens of
thousands of dollars.
Remember that P labs are no longer
located only in non-desirable areas
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ENDURING
POWERS OF
ATTORNEY
EPAs are for everybody, not only
those young at heart. While most of
our younger clients are happy to
have their Mum or Dad nominate
them as attorney, they often forget
about having their own EPAs
prepared until later in life.
What is an Enduring Power of
Attorney (EPA)? It is a legal
document giving someone (the
attorney) the power to act for you if Unfortunately, life is full of
surprises and nobody is immune
you lose the ability to make
from the risk of sudden illness or
decisions yourself.
injury that can render you losing
There are two types of EPA - one
your usual abilities or faculties.
for your money and property and
the other for your personal care and Have you thought about what
would happen to your investments,
welfare. Without an enduring
bank accounts or property if
power of attorney, no one else can
something
happened to you
deal with your property or financial
tomorrow and you were in hospital
affairs on your behalf when you
for an extended period of time
become mentally or physically
incapacitated without a court order. unable to speak or move? If your
family needed to access or sell any
An attorney can act for you straight
of your assets to pay for your care,
away or, if you so choose, only after
would they have to pay significant
you become incapacitated. You will
costs of having a court order issued
need to be assessed by your GP or
for that purpose?
another medical practitioner to see
We advise all our clients – young
if you are physically or mentally
and old - to think about having
incapacitated. Depending on your
EPAs and their Wills prepared.
wishes expressed in the EPA, the
attorney can deal with the
principal’s bank accounts, any
investments, real estate as well as
make decisions about any medical
and respite care you may need.
If you are moving to a retirement
village or are thinking of doing so,
you will need to have your EPAs
and wills prepared or updated. This
is now the standard requirement of
the retirement village operators.
MEET OUR TEAM
Bruce d’Young
Director
[email protected]
Brett Preston-Thomas
Director
[email protected]
Kirstin Opie
Associate
[email protected]
Iva Wright
Solicitor
[email protected]
Mary Harris
Legal Executive (Trusts/Estates)
[email protected]
Karyn Wakely
Assistant to Bruce and Iva
[email protected]
Zoë Rickhuss-Bennett
Assistant to Brett and Kirstin
[email protected]
Karen Gould-Thorpe
Reception/Accounts
[email protected]
Barry Turner
Accountant
[email protected]
This Newsletter is no substitute for legal advice. If you have any
questions about what you have read here or want to have a chat
about something that caught your attention, please call us at
445-3058 to discuss your particular circumstances.
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