Whether you are selling or purchasing the land, a technical legal requirements of
conveyancing is overwhelming for the first time dealing with the property
transactions. So, I rounded up the most important terms you will be needed to know
when buying or selling the property.
Let’s get started:
Sale and Purchase agreement:
A sale and purchase agreement is a contract of sale. It is a legally binding
agreement between the vendor (the seller) and the purchaser (the buyer). Once
signed and all the conditions met, you cannot back off from the agreement. It
contains terms and conditions, purchase price, which both parties agreed on and
settlement date etc. If you are buying with your partner or brothers or sisters, make
sure to include their names. If not recorded when the contract was signed, you have
to ask your lawyer to prepare the deed of nomination, and it will cost you an extra
legal fee.
Certificate of title:
The certificate of title is also called CT or record of title. It certifies who is the
registered owner of the property. It shows the identifier unique number on top of the
title page. In addition, it records registered covenants, mortgage and encumbrances
and any third party’s interest in the property. When you purchase the property, it is
an essential document; make sure to ask your lawyer to provide you with a new copy
of the title to see your name as a registered owner.
Encumbrances:
The encumbrances refer to the instruments or agreements which contains limitations
or restrictions on the property. The most common encumbrances are mortgages,
easements and land covenants. The mortgage encumbrance is by the bank from
where you have taken a loan with the promise to repay; when you sell the property,
you need to discharge the mortgage means repay the total amount taken from the
bank; your lawyer can help you with the process.
Profits a prendre or Easement:
An easement is commonly known as the right of way; one property’s owner has the
right of way on another property for a specific purpose. A very widely seen
easements are sewerage and drainage easement. The water authority has the right
to use your land to supply sewerage and drainage services if it is registered on the
title.
Land covenants:
You must have noticed land covenant on the title and must be wondered what it is?
Let me tell you first what is burdened land and benefited land.The burdened land
describes land over which an easement or land covenant is created. The benefited
Land” which receives a benefit from the land covenant.
If you are the owner of burden land (covenantor), it means obligations to do things
are on you. And if you are the owner of benefit land (covenantee), it means you will
receive the benefit from the land covenant.
A land covenant is an agreement between a covenantor and covenantee to do or
refrain from doing something in respect of the land. If you want to know more about
what kind of land covenant is registered on the title, you can get the instruments from
Linz. Below is the link to get the title and instruments.
Search for and order a land record | Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New
Zealand (Linz.govt.nz)
Caveat:
A caveat can be lodged against the property if someone has an interest in your
property. A caveat is a legal claim that prevents the owner from selling or transferring
the property until the claim is determined.
Sunset clause:
Off-the-plan dwelling contained a time cap on how long the vendor could take to
complete the property. If the vendor could not complete the home within the agreed
time frame or by a specified date, both buyer and the vendor were at liberty to
terminate the agreement unilaterally. The estimated time was commonly referred to
as the “sunset period”, and the provision in the agreement of sale and purchase
permitting cancellation was referred to as “sunset clause”.
Let us know if you have any questions; we would love to help you.
‘’Good Luck With House Hunting’’
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