AA Insurance Location, Location, Location New Zealand

Nancye spoke to first home buyers Pritha and Valentina and shared a few expert tips to help guide them as they visit open homes:

• When looking at properties, it’s generally a good idea to use your first visit to decide whether you like the property and see yourself living there. On subsequent visits, you may want to take a closer look, assessing the condition of the property, inside and outside.

• If you decide to progress with the purchase, it’s important to think about undertaking thorough due diligence, such as getting a pre-purchase inspection done and reviewing the LIM report with the help of a property lawyer.

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Nancye sat down with Seb and Ayla, who had a few questions about home maintenance. The key takeaways were:

• Maintaining your home in good repair may be a condition of your insurance cover and can help prevent unwanted and potentially expensive repair work in the future.

• Regular maintenance can help avoid gradual damage, which is deterioration that isn’t sudden. It’s a common exclusion in home insurance cover.

• Consider setting aside a budget for the ongoing costs that come with owning a home, such as home improvements, insurance premiums and council rates.

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To help her in her search for a coastal property, Caroline spoke to Nancye about natural hazards. Nancye shared her insights:

• Undertaking thorough due diligence can help you understand if the property is prone to weather or natural hazard risks.

• Events like landslips, flooding, coastal erosion and earthquakes can all cause damage to your home. Increased risk of natural hazards can impact your insurance, including the annual premium you’re charged.

• To help you assess natural hazard and weather risk, you can check the Record of Title, LIM report and the property file, which will give you the information the council holds about the land.

• Online tools like the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake’s Natural Hazards Portal and the links through to your local council’s flood maps can help you understand and manage natural hazard risk.

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New to the New Zealand housing market, Nancye gave Susan and Jim a few things to think about when it comes to due diligence: 

• Due diligence is an important step in buying a home as it can help you gain an understanding of the property so you can make an informed decision.

• Due diligence might include a pre-purchase inspection, such as a builder’s report, reviewing the LIM report and Record of Title, and researching any natural hazards and weather risks to the property.

• Resources are available to help you with this. A property lawyer can review the LIM report and Record of Title, and, for natural hazard-related risks, the Natural Hazards Portal will provide area and property specific information and tell you if there's been any Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake settled claims at that property.

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There’s a lot to think about when looking for your dream home. Nancye shared her expertise to help Phil and Kelly buy with confidence:

• The method of sale may impact the timeframe within which you can undertake due diligence on a home.

• Insurance is often a condition of finance so it’s helpful to get it sorted before your settlement date. If the sale is being handled by a licensed real estate agent, they’ll generally be able to provide the information you need to get a quote.

• There are many factors that influence the annual cost of your home insurance premium, including the type of house you buy, the year it was built and its location.

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It can be tricky to figure out how much your contents are worth. Nancye gave Jo and John a few things to consider as they look to downsize their home:

• Your contents sum insured should be an estimate of how much it would cost to replace your contents and is the maximum that can be paid out if you make a claim so it’s important to regularly review it.

• Some items may have limits on the combined value of items within the same category, such as jewellery or bikes. Some limits are fixed, while others are adjustable, meaning you can change the total value those items are covered for.

• Proof of ownership like receipts and valuations, can help to make your contents claim easier and faster to process.

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Nancye spoke to Jade and Ben about buying a home to renovate. She gave them three things to help them on their home search: 

• Check the LIM report and Record of Title to identify any limitations of the property and let you know any restrictions; 

• Get in touch with your insurer when you’re in the planning phase so you know how your cover may be affected. 

• Contents insurance can help keep your tools and new appliances safe while the work is underway. 

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