The Most Expensive Mistake First Home Buyers Make

What you actually signed

A sale and purchase agreement is a binding contract from the moment both parties sign. There is no cooling-off period for private residential sales in New Zealand. If you cannot settle, you can lose your deposit and be liable for the vendor's losses on a resale.

The agent works for the vendor. They must treat you fairly and disclose known defects, but they are not your adviser and they do not check whether the contract protects you.

What a solicitor catches in twenty minutes

• Conditions with unrealistic deadlines, or missing entirely.
• A finance condition that is too narrow to protect you.
• Chattels listed wrongly — the dishwasher and heat pump that quietly left.
• Cross-lease or unit title issues on the record of title.
• A settlement date that clashes with your KiwiSaver withdrawal timing.
• Vendor warranties, tenancies, and who bears risk before settlement.

How to do it properly and still move fast

Choose your solicitor before you start looking, not after your offer is accepted. Tell them you are house hunting and ask what turnaround they can offer on an agreement — most will review one within a day, many within hours.

Then when the moment comes, you email the draft agreement, they mark it up, and you sign a document that protects you. You have lost half a day, not your deposit.

The runners-up

• Waiving a finance condition to look competitive, without written lender approval.
• Bidding at auction without finance confirmed on that property.
• Skipping the LIM to save $400 on a $700,000 purchase.
• Not doing a pre-settlement inspection.