The owners have very assertive vendors who has recommended a preliminary agreement with a payment 10k. Are such agreements sensible?

Exclusivity contracts are agreements between a property vendor and purchaser granting the buyer a ‘clear field’ to the sale of the property for a certain period of time. For all intents and purposes, a lock out is a document stating that you will receive a contract at a later date which is the contract for the actual sale. It tends to be used for buyer assurance though in some cases, the proprietor may stand to benefit from such agreements as well. There are numerous positives and negatives to having them but you need to check with your solicitor but beware that it may result in incurring extra in conveyancing charges. For these reasons these contracts are not popular when it comes to conveyancing in Wellington.

I need some expedited conveyancing in Wellington as I am faced with an ultimatum to complete inside 2 weeks. Thankfully I do not require a mortgage. Is it possible to escape the need for conveyancing searches to save money and time?

As you are not obtaining a mortgage you have the choice not to have searches carried out although no lawyer would advise that you don't. Drawing on years of experience of conveyancing in Wellington the following are instances of what can appear and adversely impact the marketability of the property: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Fees, Outstanding Grants, Railway Schemes,...

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our house can not be found. The lawyers who dealt with the conveyancing in Wellington 5 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?

Gone are the days when you need to hold title official documentation to establish that you are the registered proprietor of land or premises, given that the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.

I'm buying a new build house in Wellington benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent suggested that I not to tell my conveyancer about this deal as it may put at risk my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

My husband and I are new to the buying process - had an offer accepted, yet the selling agent informed us that the vendor will only proceed if we use the agent's chosen conveyancers as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. Our preferred option is to instruct a local solicitor accustomed to conveyancing in Wellington

We suspect that the owner is not behind this request. Should the vendor desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a serious purchaser is counter productive. Contact the owners directly and explain that (a)you are serious purchasers (b)you are ready to progress, with finances arranged © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you intend to appoint your preferred Wellington conveyancing solicitors - as opposed tothose that will give their negotiator at the agency a referral fee or hit his conveyancing thresholds demanded by head office.