Covid-19 Lockdown March 2020 and what it means for you in regard to real estate

Due to the government imposing the level 4 lockdown on New Zealand and us not being an essential service, the team from Susa Guhl Partners will be staying home until the lockdown period is lifted.  We will still market our properties online, take enquiries over the phone and via email and line up viewings for the future. We will also still be doing offers of course and can do appraisals via a walk-through with you on facetime, skype or similar.

We thought you might have a lot of questions – maybe you have a conditional offer at the moment? Maybe you are waiting for a property to settle? Maybe you were going to move in the next 4 weeks?  We thought we would share the info that we have with you to hopefully answer some of your questions.  Feel free to contact us if there’s anything we haven’t covered that you want to know!

Covid-19 Lockdown and what it means for you in regard to real estate

Offers: Offers can still be written, signed and negotiated online and over the phone.

Settlements: In lockdown, vendors and purchasers will NOT be able to move in and out of their houses. For this reason, Auckland District Law Society is recommending that settlements be deferred until after the Alert Level 4 restriction is lifted. The party’s lawyers will make appropriate amendments to the contract to facilitate this

Moving if a property settles during lockdown: Travel will be restricted to essential travel only e.g. pharmacy/supermarket trip, so settlements and moving house should be deferred until after the Alert Level 4 restriction is lifted. The parties lawyers will make appropriate amendments to the contract to facilitate this

Bridging finance: Vendors/purchasers should talk to their bank or financial services provider in the first instance

Conditional contracts: These can still be confirmed during lockdown provided no travel/face-to-face meetings are required. If the condition(s) cannot be met during the Alert Level 4 period, then both the buyer and seller should take legal advice and either extend the condition until after the lockdown period or cancel the contract. The party’s lawyers will make appropriate amendments to the contract to facilitate this

Pre-settlement inspections: These are unable to take place in person during lockdown, however, if both parties agree, these could take place using video conferencing

This information is from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) and factual at the time of publication of this blog.