DIY Conveyancing NZ - Contents

updated December 2020

DIY Conveyancing in New Zealand

DIY Real Estate in New Zealand

DIY Property in New Zealand

DIY Land in New Zealand

DIY Transfers in NZ

Welcome

Posts have been made chronologically - so the first post is the last so to speak.

Here are all the original posts for this blog:

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Contract
3. The Transfer Instrument
4. The Notice of Sale
5. The LINZ Manual Dealing Lodgement Form
6. The Settlement
7. The Lodgement

Feel free to use the comments section to contact me or ask questions. I will do the best I can as time and knowledge allow. If you have more (or better) information I will be happy to know about it. If you have a NZ Property related blog, Facebook page or similar please share this site.

Good Luck

Pop

House in the sun.

DIY Conveyancing NZ - The Lodgement

In my previous post I covered the Settlement.

Sign the Transfer Instrument

So now that you have the executed Transfer Instrument you have to sign it in the box at the bottom provided for the Transferee.

For our fictitious example it then would look like this:

The Lodgement

For the lodgement you will need all of the following:

1. Private Individual Photo ID Form that you got from the LINZ website
2. Two copies of the LINZ Manual Dealing Lodgement Form
3. A cheque for the Lodgement Fee (at this date that's $176)
4. The executed and countersigned Transfer Instrument
5. The Statutory Declaration

You can either post/courier to the addresses provided in the post The LINZ Manual Dealing Lodgement Form or you can take it in person to an LINZ office that has a drop box provided for that purpose.

That's pretty much everything.

You will receive in the mail one of your copies of the Lodgement Form with the receipt for your Lodgement Fee stapled to it.

Some time later (a week or two) you will receive in the mail a Registration Confirmation Statement. They will also return to you the Transfer Instrument, Statutory Declaration and the other Lodgement Form with various stamps and signatures added to it.

If one of the steps covered in this blog were done in error or there was some other problem you will get a different letter - which could indicate simply that you forgot to enter some information or sign something or it could be worse. I've not had a negative experience so sorry, if that happens you better try and sort it out yourself or seek legal assistance.

That's it.

Thanks for taking the time to read through my effort to help others.

Remember - most people use a solicitor - a LINZ staff member stated that manual lodgements were less than 1% of all lodgements. So though there are obviously quite a few people prepared to do it themselves, they are the minority.

Good luck.

Pop

Lodgement

DIY Conveyancing NZ - the Settlement

In my previous post I covered the LINZ Manual Dealing Lodgement Form.

The Execution

When I did my own conveyancing the Vendor let me know when he had executed the transfer and who his witness was.

His witness was a Justice of the Peace so I looked her up on the web site of

ROYAL FEDERATION OF NEW ZEALAND JUSTICES' ASSOCIATIONS INC

Her address and phone number was there so I called her up to confirm she had indeed witnessed the Execution and the Statutory Declaration.

The Settlement

The settlement is quite straightforward - the Vendor or Vendor's solicitor provides the Transfer Instrument and the Statutory Declaration and the Purchaser provides the money and the Notice of Sale.

Before you hand over your money you should examine the Transfer Instrument carefully to ensure that it has been executed correctly and that it agrees in detail with the the Statutory Declaration.

For our fictitious example the Transfer Instrument should now look like this:

The Statutory Declaration should look like this (assuming Form 27 has been used):

These are what you should check:

If everything looks right you can hand over your money and the Notice of Sale.

Note for Sellers. Before you hand over the transfer you should have the transferee (buyer) sign the section that says "Certified Correct for the purposes of the Land Transfer Act 1952".

In my next post I will go over the final steps - Lodgement

Examine the Transfer Documents carefully then sign the certification.

Settlement - the exchange.

DIY Conveyancing NZ - the LINZ Manual Dealing Lodgement Form

In my previous post I covered the Notice of Sale.

Manual Dealing Lodgement Form

Note. This only applies to buyers. Sellers do not need this step.

It's best to prepare your LINZ Lodgement form before the settlement so that you can go straight from settlement to lodge the transfer as soon as possible.

There are not so many places you can physically go to lodge the transfer. If you do not live in a town that has an office then you will have to courier or post the lodgment.

LINZ Office addresses can be found HERE

But first you need the form.

You can down load a lodgment form from THIS LINZ WEB PAGE - note that the forms are somewhere down the page.

You should be able to fill in the form with your computer but otherwise you can just print it and fill it in by hand. Filling it in on your computer is easier as it does the calculations for you but they are pretty straightforward.

Here's a lodgment form prepared for our fictitious transfer from John to Paul:

Notes

1. the CT Ref entry is the CT number from the title.
2. the Type of Instrument is "T" for Transfer
3. the Names of parties are the names of the vendor and the purchaser
4. the document fee for a transfer at this date (2015) is $176
5. the details of the person lodging the form go in the Private Individual space

You will have to prepare a cheque for the full amount to be included with your form.

Note also that it is a good idea to prepare two copies of the Lodgement form - LINZ will return one to you by mail with the receipt for the lodgement fee.

A Tax Statements Form must be lodged with the manual dealing. Find the form at the bottom of the page.

When you lodge the transfer you will also need proof of who you are. You should also read Identity Requirements for Paper Instruments to prepare for the steps LINZ will take to verify your identity. 

In my next post I will show you how to check that the Transfer Instrument has been executed properly and what happens at the Settlement.

DIY Conveyancing NZ - the Notice of Sale

In my previous post I covered The Transfer Instrument.

Notice of Change of Ownership of Rating Unit

This is the easiest part of the process but finding an example on line proved impossible for me so here is the one I used.

Basically, it's a notice the Vendor can send to the local council so that rate payments are billed to you, the new owner.

Here's mine prepared for our fictitious example - my real one was identical except for the details:

You can find a blank Open Office editable version and pdf HERE or HERE

In my next post I will show you how to prepare the LINZ Lodgement form.

DIY Conveyancing NZ - the Transfer Instrument

In my previous post I covered the contract.

LandOnLine - Land Information New Zealand

We are so very lucky in new Zealand to have a land records system based on Torrens Title. We are even more lucky that we live at a time when all of the NZ titles are stored digitally by Land Information new Zealand (LINZ). Conveyancing solicitors in NZ generally have a LandOnLine account with LINZ which facilitates very easy, quick and cheap property transfers (title transactions).

Conveyancing solicitors are now so accustomed to using LandOnLine to register property transfers that many of them are not aware that Manual Lodgement of transfers is still supported. To them it might seem arcane in this digital age but it's essential for anyone who wants to do their own conveyancing.

You should head off to the LINZ web pages that describe very clearly How To Make a Manual Lodgement - off you go - come back here when you have read everything through a couple of times.

Title Search

It is advisable to do your own Title search at 2 points in the process.

The first title search should be done as soon as the contract has been signed (if there is one, or right after your verbal agreement if there is not) and before you pay any deposit. This is so that you can verify that you (and the vendor) have correctly identified the property you are buying (and not some hell-hole parcel of land next door to it) and that the vendor is indeed the owner of the property. The title search will also tell you if the property has a mortgage and whether or not there are any encumbrances on the title. If you know the vendor well and absolutely trust him/her and he or she has provided you with a copy of the title you might skip this title search.

The second title search is done just before settlement to ensure that nothing has changed in relation to the property between the time you entered into negotiations and when you hand over your money. If you absolutely trust the vendor then you can skip this title search.

Solicitors, surveyors and real estate agents do their title searches using LandOnLine and they get the results instantly. You and I have to order a title by providing the details of the property paying a fee (at this date $15) and waiting 2 days for the copy to be emailed to you. Note that. Two days is sufficient for a wily and unscrupulous (or duped, or clumsy) holder of a LandOnLine account to slip in a transfer in the 2 days before settlement - and how would you know? Good thing the granting of LandOnLine accounts is meticulously vetted. There's nothing to stop a dishonest vendor from having a second solicitor to action a transfer in that 2 days though. If it was a lot of money and he/she had pre-paid tickets to a country with no extradition treaties with NZ he/she could sell the property twice - assuming both buyers were doing their own conveyancing. It's a tiny tiny risk but it's there.

To order your copy of the Title go to LINZ's Order a Title web page.

For my example I have doctored a real copy of a title with the details to match my example purchase. Here's what it looks like:

The Transfer Instrument

Now that you have a copy of the title for the property and have confirmed that it is indeed the title for the property you are buying and that the property is owned by the vendor and that it has no nasty encumbrances that might change your mind about the property (or the price of it) you are ready to prepare the Transfer Instrument.

Fortunately, again, in New Zealand all legislation is available on line. The current legislation covering land transfers are the Land Transfer Act 1952, Land Transfer (Computer Registers and Electronic Lodgement) Amendment Act 2002 and  Land Transfer Regulations 2002. They are hefty tomes and make for good reading if you wish to get to sleep quickly but it's a good idea to have a look at the sections relevant to what you are doing. Note that as well as the legislation covering transfers there is legislation covering other aspects of a purchase of land - see Property Law Act 2007.

Unfortunately, the Transfer Instrument that the legislation provides does not lend itself to being copied from the legislation so that it might be printed easily and neatly (though this could change after I write this - so if you have time you might check it).

Here's one that you can copy and print (you can get a pdf and an Open Office editable copy HERE):

Incidentally, this is the one document that DIY conveyancing kit providers make their money out of (that and our ignorance). Sorry you guys :-)

So now you have to prepare the Transfer Instrument so that the Vendor can "execute" it - i.e. sign it and have the signing witnessed.

You need the copy of the title - copy the information as shown here:

and note here:

Once you have filled in the details from the title you can send a copy of the Transfer Instrument to the Vendor or the Vendor's solicitor so that the Vendor can execute it.

You should also ensure that the Vendor and/or the Vendor's solicitor is aware that the Vendor must also supply a Statutory Declaration to the effect that they executed the transfer. There are two Statutory Declaration forms - only one of them is needed:

1. Statutory Declaration of Signatory or
2. Statutory Declaration of witness

Both forms (form 47 and form 48) can be found in the docx download on this LINZ web page.

In a later post I will show you how to check the Statutory Declaration matches the Transfer Instrument.


In my next post I will explain how to set up a "Notice of Sale" I.e. a Notice of Change of Ownership of Rating Unit - the document that the Vendor sends to the local council so that they know that you will be the new rate payer.

DIY Conveyancing NZ - the Contract

In my previous post I provided an introduction to DIY Conveyancing in NZ.

So OK how does it really work?

In this Example there are the following two people (or business entities, but that's a separate story):

• John Smith – the Seller AKA the Vendor AKA the Transferor
• Paul Jones – the Buyer AKA the Transferee

John Smith has a property he would like to sell so he lists it on TradeMe. Paul Jones sees the listing and contacts John who invites him to go and look at the property. Paul likes it and accepts the price that John wants - which is the current GV. They shake hands on it.

John obtains a contract for the sale from here the NZ Law Association: Sale & Purchase of Real Estate Eleventh (3) Edition. You should check for any later editions. John could have got the contract from his solicitor - at a cost.


John draws up the contract (note this is not the current contract form for proprietary reasons):

John has provided Paul with a copy of a Title Search which has the Land's formal description. John has also provided enough documents for Paul to decide he does not wish to purchase a LIM from the local council. If you don't have enough information about the building and all the building consents associated with it you'd be advised to pay for a LIM and make the LIM a condition of the contract.

Paul has also decided that he does not wish to pay for an independent building inspector to check out the building - he thinks his site visit and the existing documents suggest it would be a waste of money. This again is a decision not to be taken lightly. If you are unsure about the house you should include a Building Report as a condition of the contract.

You might also consider a "due diligence clause" - something along the lines of

"The Purchaser will have until [some date] to complete Due Diligence with the option to cancel the agreement should said due diligence not be completed to the purchaser's satisfaction (See HERE &  do some research - go google).

Paul fills in the Further Terms of Sale page like this:

Paul and John both sign the contract and each retains a copy. John passes his copy to his solicitor.

In the next Post I will show you how to fill in the Transfer Instrument ready for the Vendor to sign and have witnessed.

DIY Conveyancing NZ - Introduction

DIY Conveyancing in New Zealand

I've posted this information so that if ever again I sell or purchase land in New Zealand I can find everything I need in one place.

Use it for your own purposes at your own risk - I'll try to do a thorough job of explaining it all and providing the necessary documents or sources for them but I have some experience in reading and interpreting legislation and I have some experience in land information systems and I have some experience in buying and selling real estate so I am not a beginner. There are many pitfalls for the hasty, the ignorant or the foolish and even solicitors practiced in conveyancing can make mistakes - that's one of the reasons they carry such hefty insurance.

So proceed only if you are by nature careful, are committed to reading a LOT of material (not mine, mine's quite brief compared with what you will have to read), and are sure you will not come to me with complaints about my information. It's your risk. Entirely.

Who can do their own conveyancing?

Basically, anyone can - as long as any third party involved with the sale or purchase of the property permits it. If you have a mortgage on property you wish to sell then unless you can first pay off and have the mortgage discharged you will have to have a solicitor. If you are buying and wish to have a mortgage you will need a solicitor. This is not a legal requirement so much as it is a policy requirement of the holder of the mortgage – i.e. the bank.

( Note

If you are selling your mortgaged property and you have the money to pay off the mortgage prior to a transfer you can just go to the bank and pay off the mortgage in return for an Instrument to Discharge the Mortgage. They might try to lumber you with their costs to draw up the discharge (depending on the small print in the mortgage you carry) though you can draw it up yourself for them to sign (which they will balk at but if it's valid they can't charge you for one) but in general there's not much too it - you give them money and at the same time they give you a discharge - which you must of course check before you hand over the money).

end note )

If you are buying and do not require a mortgage then you do not need a solicitor.

If you are selling and you are mortgage free then you do not need a solicitor.

The simplest case is where there is a willing seller without mortgage and a willing buyer with enough money. In such a case not only do you not need a solicitor, you do not even need a contract or a deposit – a hand shake will do (proof? The contract is never used as part of the conveyancing, it is not lodged, recorded or otherwise saved by any authority involved - if it exists, it's only true value is how it supports intention to be legally bound).

Those of you who believe in Game Theory will immediately leap to the logic of a contract but I assure you, you only need a contract to deal with people you maybe would not like to marry your sister. If you wish to understand the law that covers Contracts for sale of land see the Property Law Act 2007. 

My purchasing example includes a contract because the purchase this example is based on had a contract but in the end, I see that it was unnecessary. Both of us accurately measured the other to be completely trustworthy. Wow.

What about real estate agents?

Here in NZ at this time (2015) the only reason you might use a real estate agent is if you have more money than time or if you are, quite simply put, stupid (and here). These days you can sell your own property quite easily – you just put a sale listing on TradeMe. No real estate agent's fees or commission and no risk of them doing the dirty on you behind your back (it happens, frequently).

Real estate agents ALWAYS want a Contract for Sale of Land & Buildings to be used. This is not to protect the buyer or the seller – this is ONLY to protect their interest in the sale, i.e. their commission. That is why a real estate agent will ALWAYS push, and push early, for a deposit. They will tell you it is for your own protection but it is not. It is for their commission.

Even if both a solicitor and a real estate agent are involved and there is a contract and a deposit, as long as the seller accepts the buyers offer, he or she can do their own conveyancing.

The process is quite straightforward – here is the most simple version:

1. The Buyer discovers the property and contacts the Seller
2. The Buyer and Seller agree on a price and any chattels
3. The Seller provides the buyer with the signed and witnessed transfer documents and keys etc
4. The Buyer gives the seller money and a signed Notice of Sale
5. The Buyer signs the Transfer Instrument and deposits it at LINZ
6. The Seller sends the Notice of Sale to the local council

That's it! There are some finer details I'll go ever as we progress through this but that's really all there is.

Of course there can be variations – here is the process that I went through to learn all of this:

1. The Seller listed the property on TradeMe
2. The Buyer saw the TradeMe listing and contacted the seller
3. The Buyer inspected the property and the Buyer and Seller agreed on a price
4. The Seller then requested a Contract from the Buyer
5. The Buyer bought a standard Sale of Land & Building Contract from a stationary
6. The Buyer filled in all the details with Land Description provided by the Seller
7. The Buyer did a Title Search to confirm the Seller owned the property and that the property was unencumbered
8. The Buyer passed the signed Contract to the Seller
9. The Seller passed the contract to his solicitor
10. The Seller's solicitor then replaced that contract with a different standard contract and crossed out the section that protects the buyer should the Transfer be invalid
11. The Buyer spotted the change and brought it up with the buyer
12. The Seller contacted his solicitor who told him that the change to the contract was “standard” and that the Buyer must have a solicitor
13. The Seller contacted the Buyer with this information
14. The Buyer explained that the Seller's solicitor was wrong on both counts and requested a corrected Contract
15. The Seller got back to his solicitor with evidence from the Buyer at which point the Seller's solicitor acknowledged that the Buyer was correct
16. The Seller's solicitor provided a corrected contract but with added clauses including one that stipulated the Buyer had to provide the Transfer Instrument
17. The Buyer accepted that change but added his own clauses stipulating that the Seller's solicitor must accept a bank cheque along with some other details pertaining to the transfer
18. The Contract was signed by both the Seller and the Buyer and the Seller waived the deposit on the basis of an early settlement
19. The Seller passed rates details to his solicitor
20. The Seller's solicitor drew up a final Full Amount and passed that to the Buyer
21. The Buyer passed a prepared Transfer Instrument to the Seller's solicitor
22. The Seller's solicitor had trouble printing the Transfer Instrument so he drew up another
23. The Seller's solicitor couriered the Transfer Instrument and Statutory Declaration forms to the Seller
24. The Seller signed the Transfer Instrument and Statutory Declaration in the presence of a Justice of the Peace
25. The Seller couriered the Transfer documents to his solicitor (actually they made a mistake and had to repeat steps 22 to 24) and notified the Seller of the signing
26. The Buyer contacted the JP to confirm she had witnessed the transfer
27. The Buyer did a final Title Search to ensure the property was still unencumbered
28. The Buyer had a bank cheque drawn up to the agreed amount
29. The Buyer met with the Seller's solicitor and examined the Transfer documents
30. Satisfied with the documents the Buyer exchanged them for the bank cheque and Notice of Sale
31. The Buyer then counter-signed the Transfer Instrument
32. The Buyer took all Transfer documents plus Lodgement forms to LINZ and deposited them
33. The Seller's solicitor sent the Notice of Sale to the local council

Quite complicated wasn't it. And that's without a LIM, building inspector or real estate agents involved.

Afterwards the seller agreed that the whole process would have been cheaper, quicker and smoother had there been no solicitor involved. Maybe. This was a simple property – no mortgages involved and a very straightforward title. More complex situations require more care and at some point it becomes so complicated that just giving it all over to professionals saves a lot of headaches and potentially expensive mistakes.

In my next post I'll introduce my fictitious buyer and seller and show how a contract might be drawn up.