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Christmas/New Year 2018 Holiday Break Hours

By on November 21, 2018 in Certificate of Title, Updates

2018 Christmas Break Hours:

Wow, where has this year gone? Hopefully shortly you will be taking a Christmas break with us 🙂

Please note that we are closed from 5pm Christmas Eve (Monday 24th December) through to Wednesday 2 January 2019.

Orders placed after Christmas Eve until Wednesday 2 January will be delivered on Thursday 3 January. The store remains open for orders, but please allow for this delay.

Usual Business Hours:

A reminder our usual business hours are 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Lastly, have a safe and fun holiday break. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Cindy and Reginald.

Where is the date on a Certificate of Title?

By on June 14, 2018 in Blog, Certificate of Title, council, Local Government, Resource Consent, Subdivision

We often get asked where to look for the date on a certificate of title. Now this may seem like an easy task, just look for a date on the title and that’s it! But there are two dates on the title! the “Date Issued” and the “Search Copy Date”? Which of these dates should you be looking at?

The simple answer is it depends on what the title is for:

Date Issued

The “Date Issued” which you see on the first page  near the top of the page is the date the title was created (i.e. from the last subdivision of the property). This is useful to know particularly if you are tracing back historical records and would like to know when a property was created and who the past legal owners were (a historic title can help identify previous legal owners of a property).

The Date Issued is the date that a certificate of title was created (i.e. the date of the last subdivision). This date is located in large print near the top of the title.

The Date Issued is the date that a certificate of title was created (i.e. the date of the last subdivision).

Search Copy Date

You may already know that Councils require a certificate of title that is less than three months old. The date that you should be looking for is the “Search Copy Date” which can be found on the lower right part of the page. Have a good look! Its in a very small print in the footer! so you will need this date (the Search Copy Date) to be within 3 months of the current date. If your title is older than this, you can order a more recent copy online here.

Search Copy Dated: The date that the certificate of title was retrieved from the title database - this is the date the Council checks is within three months of the current date. The Search Copy Date is located in the footer in very small print.

Search Copy Dated: The date that the certificate of title was retrieved from the title database – this is the date the Council checks is within three months of the current date

A Step by Step guide to ordering a product from Cheap Titles

By on February 2, 2012 in Blog, Certificate of Title

To purchase any product from Cheap Titles just follow the steps outlined below (these steps will principally demonstrate how you can purchase a Certificate of Title with Diagram – but additional notes have been provided as a guide for purchasing the other Cheap Title products that are available).

Step 1: Go to http://www.cheaptitles.co.nz/.

Step 1: Go to http://www.cheaptitles.co.nz/

Step 1: Go to http://www.cheaptitles.co.nz/

Step 2: To purchase a Certificate of Title, click on the blue “Buy Now” button underneath the Certificate of Title product.
(Note: If you would like a different product, click SHOP on the menu (at the top of the page). This will take you to a page that illustrates all the products that are available to purchase. Click on the blue “Buy Now” or “Add to Cart” buttons to select your chosen product.

Step 3: Select your delivery speed. Urgent products will be delivered to your email address within the hour (during operating hours). Overnight products will be delivered to your email address by 10am the following working day.

Step 4: Enter your property details. It is helpful to include the suburb and city or region, for example you might enter 15B White Street, Greenwich. If you do not have or know the property address the next best options are entering either the Legal Description which may look like Lot 56 DP 123456 or the CT number or Title Identifier which will look like NA12C/34 or SA56D/78 or another reference number such as 123456. If we are not able to locate the title in the system for the description that you have provided, we will give you a call or send you an email to obtain further information or to clarify the details you have provided.

Step 4: Enter your property details

Step 4: Enter your property details

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What is a Certificate of Title? What are the Land Districts in New Zealand?

By on June 7, 2011 in Blog, Certificate of Title, Local Government

A Certificate of Title (which is also commonly referred to as: the Title, Land Title, CT and/or COT) is a legal document that identifies the legal owners of a property and also identifies the key facts in relation to the property, such as: land area, the legal description and any restrictions on the property (ie mortgages, encumbrances, covenants, easements, right of ways).

The Certificate of Title is identified by a number (called the land title number, identifier, certificate of title number or CT/COT number). This number will usually be a series of numbers such as 34567 or 897625 or it will look something like the following: WN516/98, OT17A/765, or MB23C/987. The first two letters denote the region in New Zealand where the title is located. This reference is the older way to identify a title, so new titles will usually be a series of numbers.

Land Districts - Land Registration Districts in New Zealand

Land Districts - Land Registration Districts in New Zealand

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Can I Subdivide My Site? – Former North Shore City Council District Plan Example

By on May 22, 2011 in auckland, Auckland Council, Blog, Certificate of Title, Development Potential, District Plan, Subdivision

To work out if a site can be subdivided – or if a second residential dwelling or unit can be built on a property you first need to establish the zoning of the site and what the rules for the specific zone provide for.

There are also other restrictions to subdividing or constructing additional buildings on a site – including any limitations noted within the ‘Interests” of the relevant Certificate of Title or if there are capacity issues in servicing the site – i.e. water supply, storm water and waste connections). To discuss any of these additional restrictions and limitations contact us.

In this post, I have used an example from the former North Shore Council District Plan. Figure 1 below is a snapshot of land within the former North Shore City Council area that has a mix of different zones.

Figure 1: Zoning maps

Extract of a Zoning Map from the former North Shore City Area

Extract of a Zoning Map from the former North Shore City Area

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The Historic Title: How to Find Out The Previous Owners Of A Property

By on March 14, 2011 in Blog, Certificate of Title, council, Interest

Do you want to find out the previous owners for a property? If so, all you need to do is order a Historic Title as this title will provide you with all the original owners as well as all transfers registered.

The Historic/Historical Title will be marked ‘Historical Search Copy’ at the top of the page below the main heading of “Computer Freehold Register Under Land Transfer Act 1952”.

This type of Title will also have a search date which is found at the bottom right hand corner of the first page:

The Historical Title contains a search date

The Historical Title contains a search date

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How to Prepare a Locality Plan (aerial photograph) for a Resource Consent Application for Auckland Council

By on March 6, 2011 in auckland, Auckland Council, Blog, Certificate of Title, council, Resource Consent

Just the other day I got an email asking about the locality plan (or aerial photograph) that is required by Auckland Council when lodging a resource consent application. I thought I would share my way of providing this locality plan as it may save you some time and money.

The requirement for a locality plan/aerial photograph is mentioned on page 3 of the Auckland Council Resource Consent Application Form (see the screenshot below), along with the requirement for a recent Certificate of Title (less than 3 months old) and any relevant consent notice, covenant or easement. Certificates of Title can be ordered here and any relevant consent notice, covenant or easement can be ordered here.

A Locality Plan is to be Submitted with Every Resource Consent Application for Auckland Council

A Locality Plan is to be Submitted with Every Resource Consent Application for Auckland Council

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Discharging a Mortgage from a Certificate of Title

By on February 16, 2011 in Blog, Certificate of Title, Interest

Most people, when buying a property, will need to take out a mortgage on the property. This mortgage is always registered onto the property’s title. Registering the mortgage on the title protects the bank’s interest in the property so that when a property is sold, the the owner must repay the loan to the lender.

When the loan is repaid, the lender ‘removes’ or ‘discharges’ the mortgage from the property’s title to give the new purchasers a ‘clean’ title.

In the event that a mortgage on a property is repaid in full, it is not automatically removed or discharged from the property’s title. The mortgage remains as an interest on the property’s title until your lawyer or legal executive acts on your behalf to apply to have it removed or discharged. There is usually a small charge associated with the document to discharge or remove the mortgage plus your lawyer or legal executive fees to undertake this work.

Another instance where you may wish to modify or update a certificate of title is if there are incorrect details recorded on it. This may include a misspelt name or company name or incorrect legal description. To change or correct any details you just need to fill out the relevant contact form and return to Land Information New Zealand.

What information do I need to be able to order a Certificate of Title from Cheap Titles?

By on November 11, 2010 in Blog, Building Consent, Certificate of Title, Resource Consent

There are different types of information that you can provide in the “Enter Property Address…” field when ordering a Certificate of Title from Cheap Titles. These are explained as follows:

The Street Address

When providing a street address to order a Certificate of Title it is important to provide sufficient information to identify the particular property from any other property in New Zealand. For example, there are many Queen Streets in New Zealand so if you are after Queen Street in Auckland – it will safe time, and will ensure that you get the correct Certificate of Title by including suburb and city information in your request ie 1 Queen Street, CBD, Auckland.

The Legal Description

When providing a legal description to order a Certificate of Title it is important to provide as much of the description as possible to ensure that the correct Certificate of Title is identified and obtained for you. The location of the legal description on a Certificate of Title is shown on the image below:

The location of the Legal Description on a Certificate of Title

The location of the Legal Description on a Certificate of Title

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Some Key Elements that can be on a Certificate of Title

By on November 2, 2010 in Blog, Building Consent, Certificate of Title, Resource Consent

A recent Certificate of Title (usually a title that has been issued within 3 months) is required to accompany every application for resource and building consent. It is useful to know what sort of information can be contained within a Certificate of Title because some councils require that documents relating to this additional information be provided when lodging a resource or building consent. Generally if this additional information is not provided, the council may consider that your application is ‘incomplete’ and will return it to you. This delays the processing of your consent until you can provide the missing information and return the whole application back to council.

Some information that can be contained on a Certificate of Title is as follows:

Limited to Parcels

This is common on older Certificates of Title (such as on land subdivided in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s) which may not have surveyed properly. If your title has the words ‘Limited to Parcels’ on it (if applicable this wording will be located below the main heading at the top of the page) and your application involves building works in close proximity to a property boundary you will most likely also need to submit with your resource consent application, a letter or certificate from a qualified surveyor that confirms that the proposed building works will not create any non-compliances with the District Plan (i.e. the letter or certificate will state that if the property were to be surveyed accurately the proposed works would not create any non-compliances with the District Plan rules by being located too close to a boundary).

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