1. Get 'pre-qualified' by a reputable mortgage lender or see your bank. This is a free, no obligation process which gives you 'buying power'. Find out the maximum you are able to borrow. This will save a lot of disappointment and speed up the process of making an offer.
   
   
2. Choose a Sales person with whom you feel comfortable. Your sales person will prioritise your needs when you exclusively work with him/her. Please give Martin Honey a call and he will help you find a suitable house or he will be able to put you onto the right people that can. He has access to salespeople around the world and within the Ray White Group we have 130 office nationwide and with many more in Australia.
   
   
3. Investigate homes in your price range. When you fall in love with the right home for you, you should be ready to make an offer to the vendor (seller). You will need to read a REAA hand book that has been written by Real Estate Agents Authority prior to making an offer. I have put a tab at the top of this page so you can go straight to the website. It is advised also that you seek legal advice from your solicitor prior to making an offer. It's a good idea to contact your solicitor before you start looking. Make your offer at a price you feel comfortable with. This is also when you should add any conditions, such as a building report, finance, LIM (Council report on relative information held by council on the property such as permits, drainage , zoning , etc. Note: a LIM is not a building report and does not include an on site inspection of the property). You should be prepared to make a deposit, indicating your commitment. You get this deposit back if the deal does not go through or if they sell the property to you the cheque is to be held in the real estate agents trust account and forms part of the purchase price. Note. You should seek legal advice from a solicitor before signing any legal documents if you have any doubts. Your sales person should provide you with a copy of The new Zealand Residential Property Sale and Agreements Guide. You will need to read this prior to signing the agreement. Also they should provide you with their company in house complaints and dispute resolution.
   
   
4. Your Sales person will work to negotiate a meeting of the minds between you and the seller. After this is accomplished, there is an accepted offer.
   
   
5. At this time, after the purchase offer is accepted and signed by the seller your sales person will forward the agreement on to your solicitor and a copy to you, you will need to take this to your mortgage broker or bank. You should contact your solicitor. You should also apply for your mortgage at this time.
   
   
6. If your agreement has conditions. eg : building inspector. You should then schedule a home inspection with a registered building inspector. Your Sales person will provide names and number of competent inspectors. You can be present for the home inspection. The home inspection fee is normally between $300-400 plus GST (goods and services tax). You may also need to order a LIM (Auckland City council charge $306 and the report is available 4 hours after payment) from the local authority and perhaps a valuer (normally between $400-$450 plus GST) for your finance clause.
   
   
7. If all the conditions are met you go forward with the purchase and the agreement is now unconditional. If some conditions are not met, depending on how the conditions are written and if there are problems with the home, you may want these problems remedied, or you may want to re-negotiate the price. If the owner is not willing to remedy the problems, you can still go forward with the home purchase, or you can look for another home to buy. The only money you will have spent if you don't go forward is the money for the home inspections, valuer , etc.
   
   
8. Drawing down the mortgage. You will normally need to go to your solicitor to do this. Your bank sends the mortgage documents to them where they will need to be signed and witnessed.
   
   
9. Before the settlement, the buyer will arrange a "walk-through" with their sales person to make sure everything in the home is intact or in the correct state as per the agreement.
   
   
10. Settlement! In most residential sales this is the possession date. Being the date the balance of the purchase price is paid to the vendor and the legal date you may enter the property. If you have a mortgage this amount is transferred through the solicitors. Make sure you have the utilities put in your name and that you have homeowner's building and contents insurance.
    
    
11. Keys . Your real estate sales person can only hand over the keys to the property to you once they have confirmation from the vendors solicitor that they are to be released.
    
    
12. Congratulations on your new home!!
    
    
13. Now you'll need to print off the moving checklist under that tab at the top of these pages.
    
    
14. Please recommend your agent Martin Honey to all your family and friends!!!.
    
    

   Thank you