The Buying Process / Legal / Title

What's the process of buying a property?

Step one: Sign a purchase agreement that Estero will countersign and pay deposit money to a solicitor’s trust account (or agreed alternative).

Step two: Upon receiving the signed Purchase agreement and deposit money, the US Attorney will prepare a settlement statement called a H.U.D (Housing Urban Development) that details the net amount the Purchaser is required to pay to buy and own the property. The net amount payable will be slightly in excess of the purchase price to pay for rates that have been prepaid by the Owner and needs to be refunded, Title Insurance, legal fees and sundry government title fees.

N.B. Typically US property sale and purchases only involve one Attorney who represents both the Purchaser and the Vendor. The Purchaser is guaranteed clear title to the property by the way of mandatory ‘title insurance’ and the Attorney must carry PI (Professional Indemnity) insurance for all negligence claims and the US State audits the Attorneys to make sure there is no misappropriation of funds. Title insurance costs range from $100-$1000 depending on which State, the value, and age of the property.

Step three: The Purchaser shall pay in full the sum of money specified on the HUD statement to the designated US Attorney’s Trust account (or agreed alternative). The Vendor shall then sign the H.U.D which in turn permits the U.S Attorney to formally register the transfer of title from the Vendor to the Purchaser. A stamped copy of the title transfer certificate is normally available within 2-3 working days of money being paid to the US Attorney.

Are there other costs on top of the purchase price?

Casual Investors: In the US, we suggest a budget of $1500 for legal, title insurance, sundries etc. In NZ, you will need to allow some one-off costs to set up the right corporate structure (see FAQ's for Tax/Accounting.

Premium Investors: all costs are covered by us within the portfolio cost.