Evolution Lawyers

KiwiSaver First Home Grants

If you are a first-time home buyer, you may be eligible to receive a First Home Grant from Kainga Ora to put towards the purchase of your home. These grants of up to $10,000 are provided by the New Zealand Government (through Kāinga Ora) and can assist you by topping up your deposit. Who can… Continue reading KiwiSaver First Home Grants

Statutory Demands – FAQs

What is a statutory demand? A statutory demand is a special type of demand that creditors can make against companies under section 289 of the Companies Act 1993 (Act). Who can make a statutory demand? A creditor of a company can make a statutory demand. A creditor is defined as a person who would be… Continue reading Statutory Demands – FAQs

The Importance of Company Share Registers

A share register is a critically important company document. Under section 87 of the Companies Act 1993 (Act), every New Zealand company must maintain a share register. There are no exceptions. Failure to maintain a share register is an offence by the company and every director. On conviction, the offence carries a potential fine not… Continue reading The Importance of Company Share Registers

A Due Diligence Condition is the Best Condition (for a Buyer)

The ADLS/REINZ agreement for sale and purchase of real estate – the form of agreement used in most conveyancing transactions in New Zealand – allows buyers to make the contract subject to a range of standard conditions, including finance, building report, LIM, and toxicology report. These are helpfully included in the Conditions box on the… Continue reading A Due Diligence Condition is the Best Condition (for a Buyer)

Company Annual Returns – Requirements and Consequences of Non-Compliance

What is an Annual Return? Each year, the board of every New Zealand company must deliver a document called an annual return to the Registrar of Companies (see Companies Act 1993, section 214). The annual return must contain prescribed information about the company and its directors and shareholders.  It must be delivered in the month… Continue reading Company Annual Returns – Requirements and Consequences of Non-Compliance

Guaranteeing the Obligations of a Third Party

When a lender agrees to advance funds to a borrower, a landlord agrees to let commercial premises to a tenant, or a supplier agrees to provide goods on credit, the lender/landlord/supplier (the creditor) might ask for the obligations under the relevant contract to be guaranteed by a third party (the guarantor) as a condition of… Continue reading Guaranteeing the Obligations of a Third Party

Unit Titles and the Stratum Estate

If you are looking to buy an apartment, townhouse, flat, or another dwelling in a shared housing complex, there is a good chance the title to the property will be structured as a stratum estate. This is a special type of estate in land created under and governed by the Unit Titles Act 2010 (Act).… Continue reading Unit Titles and the Stratum Estate

What Is a Mortgage?

When banks, second tier lenders, and other financial institutions agree to lend money to help finance a real estate purchase, it will usually be on the condition that the borrower’s obligations under the loan (or the obligations of a guarantor) will be secured by a mortgage over the land being purchased. Most people do not… Continue reading What Is a Mortgage?

Nominating Someone Else to Complete a Property Purchase

A person who has entered into an agreement to purchase property might want to nominate a third party or parties, known as the nominee(s), to complete the transaction. This might occur, for example, because the purchaser would like the trustee(s) of a trust, or themselves and another joint buyer, to take title, perhaps in circumstances… Continue reading Nominating Someone Else to Complete a Property Purchase

Joint Tenancy vs Tenancy in Common

If you want to own land with another person, you will have option of holding the legal title as either joint tenants or tenants in common. So, what is the difference? In a joint tenancy, the registered proprietors have shared title to the whole property. They own 100% of the property together. This means that… Continue reading Joint Tenancy vs Tenancy in Common