All I want for Christmas is my nice new house

The silly season is officially here, and Christmas has now become THE deadline!  When it comes to buying and selling homes, everyone wants to be in for Christmas and with good reason.  But if you fail to settle before Christmas, the man in red will not bring you any Christmas cheer.  Instead of a new home, on Christmas eve he will leave under your tree non-working days, a demand for penalty interest and perhaps even a beautifully wrapped request for compensation! 

So why is Christmas the deadline - other than wanting to wake up for your first Christmas in your new home and create memories with your family?  It comes down to what is a working day and what is a non-working day.

Under a standard Agreement for Sale and Purchase (which is the most common type of agreement) the working day definition explains the period commencing 24th December and ending on the 5th January in the following year is a non-working day.   

So why does this matter if my settlement day is 23rd December?  Well sometimes things don’t go to plan and for reasons beyond your control, settlement might not happen on the day.  Should this occur, with the next working day being 6th January, you will be liable for penalty interest from the 23rd December.  When you’ve already loaded up the credit card with Christmas presents, the last thing you want are more costs!  If you are the one selling and you fail to settle it gets worse – you could be liable to pay compensation for example - storage and accommodation costs for your purchaser too!

So what can you do to make sure you are hanging your Christmas stocking in your new house on Christmas Eve and don’t become the Grinch? 

1. Don’t be a Christmas Eve shopper – plan for settlement to be a few days before the last working day, so if something does go wrong, there is a chance to remedy it before everyone shuts up shop!

2. Be Organised!  Just like preparing a shopping list for all those Christmas presents, make a list of everything you need to get done - chat to your lawyer about what you can prepare in advance!  Remember, everyone is busy at this time of year and locking in those rates late with your mortgage broker can mean big delays in the bank providing us with your loan documents.

3. Communicate – just like co-ordinating who is bringing what to Christmas dinner, you need to talk with your lawyer, lender, broker and agents.  Make sure they can all work to the dates before you commit.

4. Be Realistic!  Sometimes we don’t get what we ask for – we’ve all been disappointed by Santa!  If you are looking at a house on the 18th December, don’t get your hopes up for celebrating this Christmas in your new house.

We are open till noon on 20th December 2024 to assist with getting you that dream Christmas in your new home.  And if things didn’t quite go to plan, we have a skeleton staff back in the office from 6th January 2025.

If you need any assistance, feel free to give us a call or make a time to see us at either our Te Atatu or Kumeu offices.

Elyse Crowther is a Registered Legal Executive, based at our Kumeu office.

p: 09 972 1920

e: elyse@cslegal.co.nz