These days, the internet acts as a launchpad for most of our important purchases, and the conveyancing of property has proved no different. Halliwells recognised this, and in 2017 bridged a gap with the introduction of LegalPath as an online conveyance quoting tool, thus creating the opportunity to offer Halliwells’ conveyancing expertise to a nationwide market.
First of all, what is conveyancing?
There’s little reason to know the meaning of the word until you buy or sell property. Conveyancing is the area of a legal practice commonly used for any real estate transactions and includes the transfer of property ownership from one party to another.
The work for a property sale is quite different to the work for a purchase.
A thorough property conveyancing service when acting for a sale or purchase will involve:
- Receiving your initial instruction to act for them on a sale and/or purchase. Onboarding you as a client with satisfaction of all requirements pertaining to the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism legislation including ID, Proof of Address and Source of funds for any transaction.
- Review the Agreement (before it is signed) and discuss the same with you to ensure it meets your needs (for both a sale and a purchase).
- Obtaining a Title search and reviewing same together with Easement instruments, covenants, and consent notices.
- Submitting the offer to purchase, or a counter offer if necessary;
- Once accepted, working with the client to check LIM Reports, Building Reports and any other conditions within the contract to be satisfied.
- If you are purchasing, liaising with you regarding Kiwi Saver, Homestart Grants; finance for the purpose.
- Confirming satisfaction of all conditions with the client, advising Agent and Solicitor.
- Receiving finance instructions from Bank or other financial institution, or securing settlement details for the release of mortgage.
- Preparation of all documents required to support finance and the purchase; securing insurance information for the property.
- Completing all documents with you; arranging for receipt of settlement monies.
- Checking Settlement statement prepared by Vendor’s Solicitor.
- Liaising with you regarding pre-settlement inspections and dealing with any matters that may arise from that inspection.
- Attending on settlement.
- Registering change of ownership within Land Information New Zealand; Local authorities to change details regarding rates and property communications; registering the mortgage.
- All communications between Solicitors, Banks, Agents, post registration reporting.
When do I need a conveyancing lawyer?
A conveyancing lawyer is essential to a smooth property buying or selling experience. It is advisable to engage your lawyer early in the process so that you receive support and advice before you commit to signing any documents.
DIY is not an option. Your conveyancer will have appropriate qualifications and experience and will be registered and have access to Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) to complete the change of ownership at settlement.
Conveyancing lawyers are experts in the field and leave no stone unturned. They act as a spokesperson for you throughout the process, taking care of legal responsibilities and necessary communication with the various stakeholders, from the other party’s lawyer, banking institutions, local body authorities to real estate agents and anyone in between.
Learn more about conveyancing. So, how do LegalPath’s online conveyancing quotes work?
LegalPath acts as an online portal for Halliwells, a reputable South Taranaki law firm established in 1896.
The primary aim of LegalPath is to simplify access to property conveyancing services by providing free, no-obligation quotes, and enabling you to submit all the necessary info from the comfort of your own living room.
The online conveyancing quote is formulated based on your answers to a series of questions and prompts. There are no trick questions and completing the form should only take you around five minutes.
Your completed answers create a quote summary and give you the opportunity to receive a no-obligation quote.
What information will I need to get a conveyancing quote online?
In order to receive your free conveyancing quote, the information you’ll need to share with us will vary slightly depending on whether you’re buying a property, selling a property, or both.
What you’ll need to know if you’re buying a property
When completing the online Buying form, you’ll be asked the following questions:
- How many individuals are involved in the purchase, i.e., is it just you, or you and your partner, you and a relative, etc?
- Are you buying a house or a section?
- What is the address or legal description of the property being purchased?
- What type of Title are you buying, i.e., Cross Lease, Freehold, Unit, or Leasehold?
- What is the purchase price of the property? You don’t need to know/provide an exact price and can select the closest bracket, i.e., less than $500,000, $500,000 to $1,000,000, $1,000,000 to $1,500,000, etc.
- Will you need us to prepare a Sale and Purchase Agreement for buying a property?
- Are you borrowing money to purchase the property?
- Is a guarantor required for your finance? If so, you’ll need to supply their name and email address, and they will be subject to checks in accordance with the Anti Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT).
- Will any of the individuals involved in your purchase be putting Kiwisaver funds towards the purchase price?
- Will any of the individuals involved be using a Homestart Grant as part of your purchase?
- Will you need us to review a LIM Report (Land Information Memorandum), if you are getting one from the Local Authority?
- Do you want us to review a Building Report you have acquired?
- Is there any additional information we should know about? This could include the purchase involving:
- A gift.
- An EQC claim.
- OIA consent.
- A tenant.
- Relationship dissolution.
- Ownership by a trust or company.
(Information provided here may be subject to an additional quote, so it is important that all information is provided up-front. A Halliwells staff member will communicate with you if this is the case.)
What you’ll need to know if you’re selling a property
When completing the online Selling form, you’ll be asked the following questions:
- Are you selling a house or a section?
- What is the address or legal description of the property being purchased?
- What type of Title are you buying, i.e., Cross Lease, Freehold, Unit, or Leasehold?
- What is the sale price of the property? You don’t need to know/provide an exact price and can select the closest bracket, i.e., less than $500,000, $500,000 to $1,000,000, $1,000,000 to $1,500,000, etc.
- Will you need us to prepare a Sale and Purchase Agreement for your sale?
- Have you owned the property for over five years?
- Do you have a mortgage to pay back?
- Is there any additional information we should know about? This could include the sale involving:
- Ownership by a trust or company.
- An EQC claim.
- Bankruptcy.
- A tenant.
- Relationship dissolution.
(Information provided here may be subject to an additional quote, so it is important that all information is provided up-front. A Halliwells staff member will communicate with you if this is the case.)
What happens next?
Once you have completed the quote, you will be shown a summary of your answers. If you wish to amend anything that is not quite right, you are able to return to the start menu and generate a new quote with different information.
If you are happy with the answers you have provided, you can then enter your name and email address to receive your free, no-obligation quote. Your quote will be emailed straight across to you and will include a base fee and itemised cost breakdown based on your answers.
Your quote is inclusive of third-party costs (disbursements) and GST.
Accepting your LegalPath online conveyancing quote
After reading through your quote carefully, you can scroll down the email and hit the Accept button which takes you through to the LegalPath website where you can create an account.
From there it is as straightforward as providing a few more personal and property details, verifying your email address, and paying an initial fee of $255 plus GST. Your quote information will not be visible to the team at Halliwells until your quote is accepted and the initial fee paid.
Once your quote is received by Halliwells, we will review the information provided and action the onboarding process. This includes completing Customer Due Diligence (CDD). Halliwells engage a third-party company that will communicate with you directly to gather this information for us. If your property transaction is a purchase, you will also need to provide full disclosure of the funds available.
If you include additional information in the “anything else we should know” question, we will contact you if we think this will influence your quote.
Will I need to visit the Halliwells office?
No you won’t — this is the beauty of working with Halliwells via LegalPath. We are well versed in completing property transactions via digital communication. The time required is simplified so there is no need to take time out of your busy day to make a special trip to a lawyer’s office. We will work with you to make convenient times so you can meet with one of our conveyancing specialists for any signing requirements.
Who are Halliwells?
Halliwells is the trustworthy law firm behind the LegalPath online conveyancing portal. Established in Hawera over one hundred years ago, the company has a modern approach to legal services, as evidenced by the online LegalPath initiative.
Headed by Principal Ken Horner, Halliwells serves a base of circa 4,000 clients, with most located in Taranaki, many throughout New Zealand, and a special few residing overseas.
The dedicated team strive to provide their property conveyancing and financing clients with fast and practical solutions of the highest quality. They pride themselves on their full communication style and their reasonable fees that fairly reflect the work they carry out.
Start your online conveyancing process with LegalPath
So, there you have it… conveyancing for your property purchase or sale can be as stress-free as any other online transaction.
Start your trip down the LegalPath to Halliwell’s reliable and affordable online conveyancing services by completing a quote form. Or, you can learn more about conveyancing.
