Kiwis love buying property!  Over the next week we’re going to give you some tips on important things you need to know when buying a house.  Some of these tips might seem a bit obvious but these are often the areas where home buyers end up getting nasty surprises.

House buying tip #1:  Please, please, please get a LIM!

A LIM is a Land Information Memorandum.  You order a LIM from your local council.  A LIM is a report that tells you whether building consents have been granted by the council for any renovations done to the house you want to buy, and whether Code Compliance Certificates for any renovations have been issued.

A LIM includes other important information about the house you want to buy, such as whether the property has had flooding issues in the past, or if there is a smelly chicken farm down the road.  You will also get a copy of the certificate of title and probably an aerial photo of the property too.

You can make any contract you enter into to buy a house conditional on being satisfied with the LIM.

Make sure you check out our next house buying tip!

Disclaimer (irritating yet important!): The information on this page is general information only and must not be relied on as legal advice. Legal Beagle is not a law firm or a substitute for a law firm. We are unable to provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation about possible legal rights, remedies, defences, options, selection of legal documents or strategies.