r/NZProperty

If you purchased a house in NZ and, immediately after settlement, your neighbour started building a two-storey tiny home that permanently blocked a water view from one bedroom and reduced the light and outlook from two bedrooms, what would you do? Same neighbour told us that vendor / agent were informed.

The build took several months to complete, so there was also the disruption of construction, but our main concern is the impact the permanent loss of the water view, light and outlook may have on the property’s value.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Did you seek legal advice, get a valuation, or simply accept it? I’m interested in hearing how situations like this are generally dealt with in NZ.

Hi,

My partner and I are just planning to purchase our first property and have no experience dealing with mortgage brokers.

We've started engaging with a mortgage broker and as part of their process we've been asked to give them access to our bank statements through 'AffordX' platform which uses 'Akahu'.

What I am particularly uncomfortable with is entering all my bank logins and passwords in Akahu.

Is it normal and okay to provide this ?. . Would it not be sufficient to share downloaded bank statements to the mortgage broker ?.

Thanks in advance.

Recently went to an open home I was quite interested in. The agent seemed nice, took down my details, and we had a brief chat. I genuinely expected some kind of followup, but I’ve heard nothing since.

I also asked them about the property files (LIM, building report, title, etc.) and they basically didn’t share them. They didn’t send anything through, even after I asked.

Is this normal behaviour? Does this mean they already had potential buyers in mind? Or is this a strategy, etc. I’m new to the process and not sure if I’m expecting too much, or if this is a red flag about the agent/vendor. Would love to hear other people’s experiences.

My husband and I are looking to buy a home in Christchurch. And this home ticks all the boxes… BUT it’s an art deco flat roof home. Are we going to run into issues in the near future?

The building report did say there will be roof repair needed in the near future… but it’s not a massive issue for us as my dad is a roofer and my husband is a plumber. But that being said, obviously it’s still a pain to have to have done. Sooo just wondering whether this is reasonable to go ahead with

Hi folks, I wanted to start real estate salesperson/agent work part-time but seems Harcourts Grenadier doesn’t allow part-time work. Any other agency allows part-time if anyone knows? Thanks in advance.

It’s a 4 bedroom home, built in 1972 and very very well maintained. Fire and Police say no suspicious circumstances, probably a heater that was turned off on the unit but still powered from the wall.

The house is a total loss, I have just started to work with the insurers and realise that I do not know what I do not know.

What are my rights?

What are the traps?

What advice do you have for me?

Do consultants on how to deal with insurers exist? If. yes then who are they?

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Sold our house under auction today. Over 27 % over cv and only 26 days on the market. Paraparaumu.

For those of you with residential rental properties who have received a cashback from the bank, how are your accountants treating this? As income to be taxed? I can’t find any definitive guidance from the IRD, and neither could ChatGPT!

hi guys I’m wondering if it is better to have a small kitchen and seperate laundry when selling a house? or a larger kitchen with laundry included

house is in first home buyers price range so nothing fancy but functional and solid.

many thanks

I'm looking for some honest feedback from people that have experienced buying property in NZ.

When you're researching a property, do you actually check council maps for things like flood prone areas, overland flow paths, coastal inundation, land stability, zoning, heritage overlays, significant trees and other natural hazards?

If you do, what's your experience been like?

I've always found the council GIS sites pretty clunky, especially on mobile, and not particularly easy to understand unless you already know what you're looking at.

I'm wondering if there would be any value in a simple mobile-friendly tool where you enter an address (or use your current location while standing outside a property) and it gives you a plain English summary of the relevant council data, along with a simple evidence map and links back to the original council information.

Would something like that be genuinely useful before making an offer, or are the existing council tools good enough?

Thanks.

Edit: Just to clarify, I'm not talking about replacing a LIM report or providing legal advice. I was thinking more about the very start of the buying process, when you're standing outside an open home or scrolling listings and want a quick summary of publicly available council information before deciding whether to investigate further. Think of it as a simpler, mobile-friendly way to access council GIS data, with links back to the official sources if you want to dig deeper.

We are looking at selling our smallish Birkdale 1960's weatherboard and tile home on full section due needing wall insulation/replace gib, new kitchen and the garden is getting too much. Have never had any water tightness issues.

We looked at Milldale - several around $1.1 in our budget but have questions.

No eaves at all in front with what looks like horizontal or vertical bevelback cladding. Narrow eaves elsewhere. Some partially concealed guttering front and back. Wood deck at back flush up against exterior cladding (wondering how water drains off).

What are we looking at replacing/fixing re watertightness in the future? Would homes like this be basically sound ?

Hi everyone,

We are a married couple living in Switzerland and are looking for advice on investing in residential property in New Zealand.

One of us is a New Zealand citizen and the other is a Swiss citizen. We recently inherited several properties in New Zealand that still have mortgages attached to them. As a result, we now need to decide how best to manage these assets and cover the ongoing mortgage obligations.
Our current thinking is to use this situation as an opportunity to build long-term wealth, with a primary focus on capital growth rather than rental yield.

We’re particularly interested in finding a professional investment advisor or consultant with experience in international property investment and cross-border ownership. Ideally, someone who understands the legal, tax, financing, and practical considerations of living in Switzerland while owning and managing property in New Zealand over the long term.
If anyone has recommendations, personal experiences, or knows of reputable firms or advisors specializing in this area, we’d greatly appreciate your insights.

Thank you :)

Hello,

I just finalized my home contract and wanted to email bnz loan partner to start the process from Monday. I already had contact with her. Suddenly I got an email that she is on leave for 5 weeks and gave another email of another person. I don't like this behavior and I want to go with mortgage advisor to see which banks suit or even directly go with the bank directly. Is that Ok? Legally and morally?

Can I stop continuing the process with her? We sent our documents to her but did not sign any agreement or anything else though we have had several emails.

What is your suggestion?

Interested to hear everyone's thoughts around this.

The debate around Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is often framed around fairness. The underlying premise is that individuals who benefit from capital growth should contribute tax on those gains, creating a more equitable tax system. However, the effectiveness of a CGT should not be judged solely on its intentions, but on its practical outcomes and the assumptions that underpin it.

A key assumption in many CGT discussions is that property values will continue to rise in the future as they have in the past. Yet a CGT introduced from 2027 would not tax the significant wealth created during previous property cycles—it would only apply to gains generated from that point forward. Policymakers are therefore making an implicit assumption that future capital growth will be sufficiently strong to generate meaningful tax revenue.

That assumption is far from certain. The conditions that drove exceptional property growth over previous decades have changed. Interest rates remain materially higher than the ultra-low-rate environment that fuelled much of the previous cycle. Housing supply has increased in many areas, affordability remains stretched, and lending constraints are more restrictive than in the past. Future property growth may be significantly lower than historical averages, meaning the actual pool of taxable gains could be much smaller than anticipated.

The debate also often assumes that wealth creation in property primarily comes from passive capital appreciation. Increasingly, however, many of the most successful participants in the property market generate returns through active value creation. Developers, traders, renovators, and sophisticated investors create value through subdivision, intensification, development, repositioning assets, and solving complex property problems. Much of this activity is already taxable under existing rules, with profits generally treated as income.

As a result, there is a risk that a CGT may have a greater impact on long-term investors than on professional operators. Larger and more sophisticated participants typically have access to specialist advice, diversified portfolios, greater scale, and more opportunities to create value independent of market appreciation. By contrast, smaller investors often rely more heavily on long-term capital growth as part of their overall investment return.

Property markets are also cyclical. Values do not move in one direction indefinitely. Markets rise, stagnate, and fall. Any fair CGT regime must therefore consider not only how gains are taxed, but also how losses are recognised and treated. Without symmetrical treatment of gains and losses, investors may bear the full downside risk while surrendering a portion of the upside, creating outcomes that differ from the policy's intended objective.

The concern is not whether capital gains should be taxed. Rather, it is whether a CGT introduced under current market conditions will achieve the outcomes that its supporters expect. If future capital growth is lower than anticipated, taxable gains may be limited. If compliance costs, valuation disputes, and administrative complexity prove substantial, the economic benefits may be less significant than projected. And if sophisticated operators are better positioned to adapt than ordinary investors, the policy may unintentionally reinforce existing advantages rather than level the playing field.

The real question is not whether a CGT appears fair in theory. It is whether, in practice, it generates meaningful revenue, improves economic fairness, and broadens participation in wealth creation, or whether it ultimately produces outcomes that differ from its original intent.

Hey Christchurch reddit team.

I have just purchased my first home , the EQC works for the property have supposedly been done but visibly they haven't been done and this is confirmed by the building report also , nothing structural just cosmetic mainly small cracks in the gib , wallpaper to be removed an re-painted in areas where it hasn't been . structurally the house is fine . The EQC claim is being transferred over to me but the works were completed by a builder and supposedly signed off , meaning it wasn't paid out to the person , who was older and might have been taken advantage of , anyway my question is if anyone has managed to go back to EQC and gotten works completed that had been previously signed off that had not completed , i plan to renovate the place pretty quickly so i don't fancy waiting years for minor cosmetic work that might not even be covered .

Cheers

Hey all, just looking for some advice.

We've had our house on the market via a REA since early March with no real interest. We had one offer which at the time we thought was too low, and apparently the odd group showing keen interest which hasn't amounted to much of anything.

It's an old house. We've done some extensive renovations at vast expense, but there is definitely more to do.

We're in the Wellington region, and the market seems to have taken quite a downturn, starting around the time we listed.

The feedback we've seen is people aren't looking for too much maintenance, and one of the three bedrooms is a bit awkward and people can't see how that would work. That's it. It presents well inside.

We've dropped our price expectation by about 10% since we started. Is it just a case of adjusting that downwards until we get interest? Is there anything else we should be looking to do at this point?

Newly built house 1.5 years ago I saw a horizontal crack. Agent claimed that this could be normal and it should not be a structural issue. Could I tell building inspector to check it before he is going to check? What if they say it is normal?! I heard that the house has insurance for 10 years so should the vendor fix it? I do not need only plaster if there is any issue

https://preview.redd.it/12xqlsgp9x8h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0a7e51aa6e328581658905f75a5099ca8efa33e3

https://preview.redd.it/wx21gewr9x8h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd4f1ad04d14740fc7200e51b926ed00ff3d2422