Guides

Short, plain guides to buying, selling and owning. No figures we cannot source.

• Auction, negotiation, deadline and tender explained
  Helps you understand how each NZ method of sale works and what to get ready before you offer.
• LIM report: what it covers and how to read it
  What a council LIM tells you, what it leaves out and how to read it before you buy.
• Buying a home: due diligence checklist
  A step-by-step checklist from first look to settlement day.
• Building inspection: what it covers and what to ask
  What a pre-purchase building inspection looks at, what it misses and questions to ask.
• Open homes: what to do, ask and look for
  A short checklist for making good use of an open home.
• Fee simple, cross-lease and unit title
  Helps you tell the three common NZ ownership types apart and what to check on each.
• Conditions in your sale and purchase agreement
  Know which conditions to talk through with your lawyer before you sign a sale and purchase agreement.
• Buying a rural or lifestyle block
  A checklist of rural questions that do not come up with a suburban section.
• Overseas buyer FAQ: common questions
  Short pointers for overseas buyers on consent, tax, money transfers, costs and insurance.
• Selling NZ property: from listing to settlement
  The usual order of steps from deciding to sell to money in your account.

More guides (36)

Tax, visas, finance, selling and local

• A weekend in Wānaka for a first visit
  A simple weekend plan for buyers who have never been, to help you see the different parts of the basin.
• Active Investor Plus visa and buying a home
  A plain map of the order things happen when a visa application and a NZ home purchase overlap.
• Auction or by negotiation: choosing how to sell
  Compare selling by auction with selling by negotiation, so you can choose with the right questions.
• Australian buyers: things to check about NZ property
  Tax, insurance, water, rates and paperwork points that often surprise Australians buying in NZ.
• Bridging finance: buying before you sell
  What a bridging loan is, when it helps and what to ask your lender before you rely on one.
• Buying NZ property from Singapore
  Know which checks and advisers a Singapore-based buyer needs before making an offer on NZ property.
• Buying NZ property from the UK
  The steps a UK-based buyer needs to line up: consent check, funds and currency, tax, pension and insurance.
• Buying NZ property from the US
  What a US-based buyer should sort out first: consent, funds, tax reporting and how to hold the property.
• Choosing a NZ lawyer for an overseas purchase
  What to ask a NZ lawyer before you hire them to handle a purchase from overseas.
• Choosing your conveyancing lawyer when selling
  What a selling lawyer does, what they do not do and questions to ask before you pick one.
• Downsizing: money and lifestyle questions
  Questions to work through before you sell the family home and move somewhere smaller.
• First home buyer in NZ: the steps in order
  The order of steps for a first home, from borrowing to settlement, with who to check each one with.
• Getting ready to sell: pre-listing checklist
  Helps you plan what to sort before an agent comes to appraise your home.
• Holiday home in Wānaka: what to cost out
  Which costs and questions to check before buying a holiday home you plan to rent out part-time.
• Hong Kong buyers: steps to buy NZ property
  Practical points for Hong Kong buyers on consent, money, tax, documents and visas.
• Marketing and method of sale for sellers
  Helps you weigh the early marketing choices before you sign a listing agreement.
• Off-market sales: when they suit and what to ask
  Helps you decide whether a sale without public advertising suits you and what to check first.
• Offers and negotiation: the seller's side
  Helps you compare offers on more than price and respond to them in a clear order.
• Overseas Investment Office consent for NZ property
  Helps you work out early whether overseas investment consent could affect your NZ property purchase.
• Refinancing when rates shift
  Helps you decide whether to refix, switch banks or stay put when rates change.
• Refinancing: working out whether a switch saves money
  Helps you compare the real cost of switching a mortgage, not just the headline rate.
• Renovate or sell: a way to decide
  Helps you think through whether to renovate or move when your home no longer fits.
• Renovate or sell: what to work out first
  A checklist of what to work out before spending big on a renovation instead of selling.
• Rental income in Wānaka: costs to count first
  What takes the shine off a rental yield, and what to ask before you buy an investment property.
• Selling a property with tenants
  Helps you understand how tenants affect who can buy and how the sale works.
• Selling: what to tell buyers about your home
  How to handle buyer questions and disclosure forms honestly when you sell.
• Settlement: what happens after you go unconditional
  Helps you know what your lawyer, bank and the seller's side are doing before you get the keys.
• Seven Wānaka property beliefs to check first
  Common things buyers assume about Wānaka property, and how to check each one yourself.
• Should you sell? Questions to ask first
  Questions to ask yourself before you decide to sell, and what to line up for what comes next.
• Tax questions for overseas buyers of NZ property
  Helps you plan the tax questions to ask before buying NZ property from overseas.
• The bright-line test for residential property
  What the bright-line test is, how the dates work and who to ask before you sell.
• Thinking about downsizing: when to start
  Why it helps to plan a downsize before it feels urgent, and what to line up first.
• Wānaka market notes, early 2026
  Why there is no Wānaka median here, and where to find public property figures instead.
• Wānaka or Queenstown: what to compare
  Questions to ask when choosing between Wānaka and Queenstown for a purchase.
• Wānaka property numbers: where to find real ones
  Why there is no free Wānaka-only price figure, and where to get numbers you can check.
• Your first year as a home owner
  A simple checklist for the first year after settlement: set-up, records, safety and review.