The fee shown by the calculator is an estimate for the standard legal work ordinarily required to complete the type of transaction selected.

For a standard property transaction, this may include reviewing the agreement, completing the usual title and settlement work, preparing standard documents, liaising with the bank and the other party’s lawyer, and completing registration through Landonline.

The precise work included will depend on the service selected and the information entered into the calculator.

Urgent work may involve an additional fee, particularly where documents must be reviewed, prepared, signed or settled within unusually short timeframes or outside normal office hours.

Please contact us as early as possible if your matter is urgent.

We will keep you informed if the work required is likely to fall outside the original estimate.

Depending on the circumstances, we may provide a revised estimate, agree a further fixed fee or charge the additional work at our usual hourly rates.

You should contact us before relying on the calculator where:

• ownership of the property will change;

• a trust, company or estate is involved;

• you are adding or removing a borrower or owner;

• the property has title, boundary, building or consent issues;

• you require urgent settlement;

• the matter involves a dispute or separation;

• you are purchasing multiple properties;

• the transaction involves commercial, rural or development property; or

• you are unsure which service applies.

We can confirm the appropriate scope of work and provide a more tailored fee estimate.

This depends on the purchase option you select.

Our standard purchase fee generally relates to one agreement. Our $1,800 plus GST fixed-fee purchase option includes up to four offers, provided the work and attendances remain standard.

Each offer relates to a separate property. Counter-offers and further negotiations concerning the same property are treated as part of the same offer.

Any offer on a fifth or subsequent property will be charged separately based on the time spent.

Our $1,800 plus GST fixed-fee purchase option includes the review and preparation of up to four offers, provided the work and attendances remain standard.

An “offer” relates to a particular property and includes any counter-offers or further negotiations relating to that same property. For example, an initial offer and two counter-offers on the same property are treated as one offer for the purposes of the fixed-fee package.

If you ask us to review or prepare an offer on a fifth property, that additional offer will be charged separately based on the time spent. If the fifth offer is accepted, the usual legal work required to complete that purchase will remain covered by the fixed-fee package, provided the transaction and attendances remain standard.

We will let you know if additional charges are likely to apply.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, the calculator fee does not include additional or non-standard work such as:

• negotiations or disputes between the parties;

• dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration or court proceedings;

• extensive negotiations following a building report, LIM, valuation or due diligence investigation;

• complex title defects, boundary issues, encroachments or unconsented alterations;

• cross-lease defects, defective flats plans or obtaining neighbour consent;

• easements, covenants, land covenants or other specialist property arrangements;

• subdivisions, boundary adjustments or new titles;

• relationship property advice or agreements;

• trust, company or estate restructuring;

• transferring ownership of the property;

• advice about tax, GST, accounting or financial matters;

• Overseas Investment Act advice or consent applications;

• additional lender requirements outside the usual loan and mortgage documentation;

• urgent work or settlement arrangements outside normal timeframes;

• additional meetings, attendances or document-signing appointments beyond those ordinarily required;

• reviewing multiple agreements or offers unless this is expressly included;

• preparing or negotiating bespoke clauses, agreements or deeds;

• dealing with defaults, delayed settlement, penalty interest or compensation claims;

• extensive correspondence with agents, banks, accountants, brokers, surveyors, councils or other advisers; and

• work required because information or instructions are incomplete, incorrect or change during the transaction.

We will let you know where reasonably possible before undertaking material additional work.

A non-standard attendance is work that falls outside the ordinary steps required to complete a straightforward transaction.

Examples may include extended negotiations, repeated changes to instructions, urgent same-day work, complex bank requirements, resolving title or building issues, preparing additional agreements, attending numerous meetings, or dealing with a dispute or default.

Non-standard attendances are generally charged separately at our usual hourly rates or at a fee agreed with you.

Disbursements are costs we pay, or become liable to pay, to third parties on your behalf while completing your legal work.

They are separate from our professional legal fee.

Common disbursements may include:

• record of title searches;

• Land Information New Zealand registration fees;

• Personal Property Securities Register searches or registrations;

• Companies Office searches;

• council, LIM or property file fees;

• identity verification and electronic onboarding costs;

• bank transfer or electronic payment fees;

• courier, postage or document certification costs; and

• fees charged by other external providers.

The disbursements required will depend on the type and complexity of your matter.

A standard refinance generally involves repaying your existing lender, arranging the discharge of its mortgage and registering a new mortgage in favour of your new lender.

It assumes that the registered owners of the property will remain unchanged.

Not necessarily.

A person can sometimes be added as a borrower under a loan without becoming an owner of the property. However, this will depend on the lender’s requirements and the circumstances of the transaction.

Where a new borrower is also intended to become an owner, and that person is not currently recorded on the title, the transaction will usually involve a transfer of ownership as well as a refinance.

That is not a standard refinance and additional legal work and fees will apply.

We will first need to confirm whether your partner is being added only as a borrower or is also intended to become a registered owner.

Where your partner is intended to become an owner but is not currently on the title, a transfer of ownership will generally be required. This may involve substantially more work than a standard refinance.

You should also consider obtaining accounting, tax and relationship property advice before changing the ownership of a property.

No, unless the calculator expressly includes that service.

A transfer to a trust or company is a change of ownership and is separate from a standard refinance. It may require an agreement for sale and purchase, trustee or director resolutions, lender approval, guarantees, tax advice and other documentation.

The fee includes a general legal review of a LIM report or building report.

However, we are not builders and have limited understanding of the present condition of the property.

We do not provide technical advice on the physical condition, structural integrity, weathertightness, contamination or value of a property.

You may need advice from an appropriately qualified specialist.

The standard fee assumes the title is reasonably straightforward.

Additional fees may apply where the title reveals issues such as defective cross-leases, missing easements, encroachments, unregistered interests, caveats, unusual covenants, boundary discrepancies, unconsented structures or other matters requiring investigation or resolution.

We will discuss the issue with you and explain the likely additional work before proceeding where practicable.

The standard fee generally includes receiving your instructions and communicating whether the condition is satisfied, waived or not satisfied.

Additional fees may apply where we are required to negotiate repairs, price reductions, retentions, warranties, settlement conditions or other remedies with the vendor’s lawyer.

They may.

Additional fees may apply where settlement is delayed, where a party defaults, where penalty interest or compensation must be calculated, or where additional undertakings, negotiations or settlement arrangements are required.