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Resources — guides, safety and who to call

Plain-language guides for buying and selling a home in New Zealand, the online-safety that protects the biggest transaction of your life, and a directory of who does what.

How to use this page. Everything here is general information, not legal or financial advice. The advice layer is the professionals — your solicitor or conveyancer, and a licensed adviser for money questions. Where an official New Zealand body has the definitive word, we link to it rather than paraphrase it. The tools we mention are sovereign options, not endorsements — check any choice yourself. And if you're curious what legal questions we're working through before anything goes live, we publish them: Getting the law right first.

Advertising your property

Reach is one job; running the sale is another. Advertise where the eyes are, and keep the sale on the record.

Advertising on Trade Me — a straight ad

Trade Me is where most of New Zealand looks for property, so that's where the ad belongs. Write it straight: the facts a buyer will verify anyway — the LIM, the title, a building report — so a gloss only costs you later. State the method of sale plainly. One rule worth knowing: Trade Me's listing rules generally don't allow links to other sites, so you don't put a Homeground link in your Trade Me ad — you mention Homeground when a buyer gets in touch with you directly. Advertising and running the sale are different jobs; keep each with the tool built for it.

Other channels

A good street sign, your local community noticeboard, the local paper, and word of mouth still work — and cost nothing. (We don't point you to overseas social-media marketplaces; there are good local ways to be seen.)

Writing a straight listing, and photos

Misrepresenting a property can unravel a sale later — your lawyer can tell you where the line is. For photos, the phone you already own is enough: shoot in good light, tidy up, and don't fake what a buyer will see on the day (no cropping out the power pylon). For the method of sale — auction, tender, deadline sale, price by negotiation — the glossary explains each, and it's worth talking through with your lawyer before you commit.

Staying safe online during a sale

A property sale moves large sums and generates a lot of email — which makes it a target. This is the most important section on the page.

The money never moves by email

The most costly scam in a property sale is simple: a fraudster watches an email thread and sends a message that looks like it's from your solicitor or the other side — "our bank account has changed, please pay the deposit / settlement here." The account is theirs. People have lost their deposit, or their whole settlement, this way.

Your deposit and your settlement money move between trust accounts — solicitor to solicitor, and lender to solicitor — never to an account emailed to you at the last minute. One rule protects you: if you ever see a bank-account change, verify it by phone with your solicitor first — on a number you already had, not one from the email — before you pay a cent. New Zealand banks now also run Confirmation of Payee, which checks whether the account name matches before you send — pay attention to a "no match".

If you think you've been targeted: contact your bank immediately, then the Banking Ombudsman and Police (105).

Spotting fake listings and fake agents

Deposit pressure, a deal that's too good, a "landlord" or "agent" who won't meet in person — all red flags. You can check whether someone is actually a licensed agent on the Real Estate Authority public register, and your solicitor's title search confirms who really owns a property.

Locking down the accounts that run your sale

Your email is the keys to the whole transaction, so protect it: a strong, unique password on every account, and two-factor authentication switched on. A password manager makes that practical. Sovereign options include Proton Mail or Tuta for email, KeePassXC or Proton Pass for passwords and 2FA codes, Vivaldi for a browser, and Mojeek for search — not endorsements, just options that aren't run by the big US platforms. New Zealand's public cyber-safety guidance lives at Own Your Online (part of the NCSC) and Netsafe.

Running viewings and open homes safely

Put valuables away, know who's coming through, and handle any visitor details respectfully. If you're selling privately, a friend on hand at an open home is sensible.

The process, step by step

You don't have to hold it all in your head. These walk you through it, in order.

First home, first time

Start with the money: the "Getting my finance sorted" checklist sequences the deposit, KiwiSaver, pre-approval and insurance. The official independent guide to the whole buyer/seller journey is settled.govt.nz (from the Real Estate Authority), and Sorted (a New Zealand Crown entity) covers budgeting, mortgages and KiwiSaver first-home basics. For current government first-home support, go straight to Kāinga Ora — the schemes change, so the official page is the only reliable word. We're also building some rough finance tools (a repayment calculator and more) — try them, in development, at Finance tools.

Reading the documents, and questions worth asking

The glossary explains a LIM, a record of title, a finance condition, a pre-approval and the rest in plain language, and the checklists give you the buyer and seller steps in order. At a viewing, of an agent, and of your lawyer, the good questions are the specific ones — and your lawyer is who answers the ones about your own situation.

Māori land has its own law and its own court. If a property is Māori freehold land, that changes the process — the Māori Land Court and your own advisers are the place to start.

Official bodies — who does what

The New Zealand bodies worth knowing, and when you'd contact each.

When something goes wrong

This page is general information, reviewed periodically — links and details change. Last reviewed July 2026. When in doubt about your own situation, your solicitor is the answer.