When you've lived in a property for a while it's easy to forget some of its quirks. You might be used to the fact that the front gate doesn't shut properly, or that the bathroom windows need fixing.
Potential buyers will be able to spot issues such as these when they inspect the property — and they can choose to fix them if they buy it. But it's harder for them to identify other things you might have forgotten about, such as not bothering to get consent when you built the deck 25 years ago.
You might think the deck is fine, but you need to front up about the consent issue, not least because it's the decent thing to do.
"When you're selling a property you are legally obliged to share all the relevant information about it," says Kevin Lampen-Smith, CEO of the Real Estate Agents Authority (REAA).
"If work has been done on the property during your ownership ... the standard terms of the sale and purchase agreement require the seller to warrant that any legally required permits or consents were obtained.