Auction: The vendor sets a reserve price, and once this price is reached, the property will be sold to the highest bidder. Sales at auction are unconditional.

Body Corporate: A group made up of owners in a block of flats or apartments, who maintain and repair the building and its shared spaces.

Certificate of Title: A document containing the legal description of a property, who owns it, and who may have registered a mortgage against the title.

Chattels: Items included in the sale of the property and listed in the Sale and Purchase Agreement. Chattels can include items such as curtains, carpets and light fittings.

Code of Compliance Certificate: A formal statement issued under the Building Act 2004, that the building work carried out under a building consent complies with that building consent and the New Zealand Building code.

Conditional offer: An offer where you specify conditions that must be met by a certain date before the Sale and Purchase Agreement is declared unconditional. Common conditions include obtaining a satisfactory building inspector’s report, confirming finance or obtaining a LIM report.

Conveyancing: Term used to describe the legal work required for completion of a property transaction usually a sale or a purchase.

Full loan approval: Full loan approval means we’ve confirmed the amount we can lend you on the specific property you intend to buy.

If you want to bid at an auction, or you want to make an offer with no finance clause, you'll need to get full loan approval first.

Note, a pre-approved home loan is not full loan approval as you still need our approval for the specific property.

Land Information Memorandum (LIM) report:Issued by the local council and provides a summary of information they have on file about roads, flooding or any contamination of the land, rates and resource planning consents.

Offer and negotiation: You make an offer in writing and then negotiate with the vendor until you agree on a price and conditions. Your real estate agent or your solicitor will help you fill in a Sale and Purchase Agreement containing your offer and any conditions. The vendor can accept your offer, reject it or make a counter-offer. The real estate agent will act as the go- between until both you and the vendor reach an agreement.

Pre-approved home loan: Gives you an indication of what we will lend to you.A pre- approved home loan is not a loan that has been fully approved – you may need to get full loan approval by satisfying any conditions that need to be met.

Private sales: Negotiations are made directly with the vendor instead of through a real estate agent. With this type of sale you’re more likely to require a property valuation report before finance can be approved.

Loan to Value Ratio (LVR): LVR is calculated by dividing the amount of the loan by the value of the property. LVR will be 80% ($400,000/$500,000=80%).

Low Equity Premium (LEP): A fee that is charged when you borrow more than 80% of the value of the property (security).

Mortgage: A legal document that is the security a borrower gives a lender which is registered against the title to the property being purchased.

Mortgagee: The lender who gives the loan to the borrower and receives the security (mortgage) in the property from the borrower.

Principal: The amount you borrow, which is used to calculate your final loan amount.

Sale and Purchase Agreement: This is the written contract for sale and purchase of the property between the vendor (seller) and the purchaser (buyer)

Settlement day: The date the purchaser’s lawyer pays the vendor’s lawyer the purchase price and the vendor’s lawyer transfers legal title to the property to the purchaser.

Sale by Tender: This is the process where prospective buyers submit a written offer (tender) by a certain date. The tenders are opened after that date and the vendor decides which (if any) they will accept.

Unconditional offer: An offer with no conditions attached. (Advised to check LIM reports, Building inspections, confirming full loan approval & ensure your solicitor has reviewed the Sale and Purchase Agreement prior to making an unconditional offer. You will be legally bound to complete the purchase if your offer is accepted.

Vendor: This is the person selling the property.