How to read a title

A title is the official document that proves ownership of a property. It also contains the legal description of the land and lists any interests, restrictions, or agreements affecting the property. While your lawyer will review this in detail, understanding a few key elements yourself and doing a "pre-read" can save you time and legal fees.

There are only a few things you need to look at before dismissing it or passing it to your lawyer:

- Estate: Is it freehold? Cross lease? Leasehold? If its not an acceptable title, you can bin it now.

- Interests: What sort of covenants and interests are present? It’s usually pretty hard to know what’s present, and your lawyer can dig deeper into this for you if needed. Sometimes if it's things like a fencing agreement, or a building line restriction, it won’t be much of an issue.

If you want to dig deeper on your own, Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) allows you to pay a small fee (around $6) for additional details about a title via their Landonline service: Landonline – LINZ . This can be a useful way to familiarize yourself with the property before engaging your lawyer.: Landonline (linz.govt.nz)