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.