Speed up the legalities

Lester Dempster, Vicki Dempster and Mike Dale conveyancing experts

You've done your homework, you've bought the house, the papers have been exchanged and the money's gone into the bank. The house is now, at last, yours.

Not quite. Until your registration of title has worked its way through Land Information New Zealand the ownership does not become legally transferred to you. This process used to take up to three weeks, leaving your title vulnerable to loss, muddles or even outright fraud.

"In past years we've seen fraud happen in what's called a race for registration," comments registered conveyancer Lester Dempster, of Conveyancers NZ Ltd. "The correct paperwork got lost in the system and in the meantime a determined fraudster lodged another paper dealing and got ahead of the true owner. That was a difficult and lengthy mess to clean up."

Fortunately, the recent introduction of electronic search and registration ability by Land Information New Zealand allows approved professionals on-line access to records. They can now make the changes to title, register a new mortgage or discharge an old one from their computer, in real time.

By issuing professional users such as lawyers and conveyancers with a digital certificate, LINZ gains more comprehensive tracking and auditing of who is making changes and when.

This is far safer for everyone, explains Dempster, and less costly.

"The delivering of documents, having the documents scanned and so on was cumbersome and slow, and that cost the home owner."

Smarter councils and also making basic title and property information such as rates, property size and zoning available on line, which is great for initial check-ups.

Dempster and his colleagues are now eyeing the banking system. They echo many customers' frustration at the limits of the 9am-4pm hours for lodging cheques, and the lengthy time taken for cheques to be cleared. They point to a push-button clearance of funds underway in Victoria, Australia, between that state's land office and the banking system. This was mandated by the Australian Reserve Bank after pressure from consumers.

Other time saving tips:

Before signing an agreement, call an experienced conveyancing professional for a quick run through first.

Allow plenty of time for the contract paperwork to be completed eg, end dates for professional inspections or remedial work may need to allow for tradespeoples' backlogs.

Parties should notify each other of any changes to the agreement as soon as possible to save time and money.

Specify the settlement day as any day but Friday, as that is when the worst backlogs occur.

Conveyancers NZ Ltd: Lester Dempster Ph 300 1277, Vicki Dempster 300 1273, Mike Dale 300-1274.