We are constantly concerned at the number of clients who sign an agreement for the purchase or sale of a house or piece of land without first seeking our legal advice on that agreement document.

It is often said that "it is better to use your lawyer as the fence at the top of the cliff, rather than the ambulance at the bottom".

This advice applies of course to any legal transaction which you may be about to enter into, but for a house or land purchase or sale it is of particular importance because -

• it will probably represent the biggest financial transaction you normally carry out;
  
• it is likely to be the home for yourself and your family and thus requires the security that your home needs;
  
• the document that will be put in front of you to sign will be one that almost certainly contains a number of legal terms, expressions and conditions which you may not fully understand; and
  
• you will need our services as your lawyers in any event in connection with the sale or purchase. It therefore makes sense to seek our advice before the terms of the transaction are set and before you have signed any document.
  

Seek Advice Early

We suggest that as soon as you contemplate purchasing or selling a property, you discuss the matter with us. We can assist you as to the enquiries which you should be making, the matters to consider in the negotiations, likely legal fees and other costs that will be involved, and the options available for raising mortgage money.

Also, we would probably advise you not to sign any sale or purchase agreement until we have had an opportunity to have a look at the agreement with you. By then you will have made contact with someone in our office and it will be much easier to get that advice at short notice when perhaps you are under pressure to sign an agreement.

Advice to a Purchaser

When you have found a property that you would like to buy and you come to see us with the agreement there are a number of things that we would discuss, which would be helpful to you.

These would include -

• Is the property in good repair, and do all the electrical installations work?
• s there a shared driveway? If so, do any special conditions apply?
  
• Are there any easements which affect the property or which it requires for proper enjoyment?
  
• Is it clear where the boundary pegs are?
  
• Are all the chattels which you are buying listed in the agreement?
  
• Do you have the money to pay the deposit when it is required and have you arranged for a mortgage that will give sufficient money for what you need?
  
• Are there any further conditions which need to be inserted - for instance in relation to the sale of an existing house, or for the receipt of a satisfactory LIM report from the Council?
  
• Are there any Council requisitions affecting the property?
  
• If there is a swimming pool, does the fencing comply with Council requirements?
  
• Are there any resource management matters which might affect the property?
  

We talked about a lawyer being used as the fence at the top of the cliff. In buying a house it is as though there is a set of steps down the cliff. From the top you cannot see all the steps. They may all be in order but if there are some loose or slippery ones, or some of them are missing, you could have problems.

Our role, as your lawyers, is to stop at the top of the cliff and have a good look down, and if everything is not safe, make it safe; if it cannot be made safe then we'll tell you.