Housing - Buying a Home - Buying Process - Wellington

Character homes in Mount Cook, Wellington

There is quite an involved process to buying a house. The process begins with becoming familiar with the Wellington property market, the different locations, prices, and styles of housing.

If you do not have the full purchase price, you will need to arrange mortgage finance. If you want to make an offer on a property, you will need to organise an independent valuation and a building report to check the property's weather-tightness, durability, workmanship and structural soundness.

All building inspectors should comply with the NZ property inspection standard, but it is not compulsory.

Making a successful offer on a property involves the services of a lawyer, doing a title search and obtaining a Land Information Memorandum Report (LIM). If your offer goes unconditional, you will then work with your bank or financial institution and lawyer through to the settlement date. This is when the purchase price money is exchanged, the estate agent's commission is paid, and the keys handed over to the new owner.

Mortgage Lenders & Brokers

A home loan is also called a mortgage. Most people will pay for their house by getting a loan from a financial institution such as a registered bank. The highest amount that banks are usually prepared to lend to approved customers is 95% of the total value of the property.

You can contact banks directly to get competitive quotes, or you can use the services of a mortgage broker. There is an overview of mortgages and how to apply for one on the budgeting website, Sorted. The Yellow Pages also lists mortgage brokers and banks which offer home loans.

Mortgage Lenders & Brokers

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