Buying a new home can be an exciting and life-changing experience. But it can also be a terrifying one, especially as you navigate the strange world of LIM reports, building reports, and dangers like asbestos.

Many homeowners can be sucked into buying with their hearts, not their heads. However, it’s worth buying with both. You can both love a property and know that you need to check it out with an expert’s help.

Whether you’re buying your first, second, third, or even fourth home, read on. Here are just a few of the many things to think about before you sign on the dotted line. 

Get a LIM report

A Land Information Memorandum (LIM) report can be a deal maker or breaker, which is why they are an essential consideration in the house purchasing process. It doesn’t matter whether you’re getting a LIM report in Tauranga, Wellington, Hamilton, Auckland, or anywhere in the country, the outcome and contents of it can all be the same.

A LIM report in Auckland or further afield outlines all the information your local council has on your prospective new home. For example, if you were looking for a LIM report in Wellington, you would receive your information from the Wellington City Council. Or, a LIM report in Hamilton would see your data come from the Hamilton City Council. 

A LIM report may contain everything about a property, but it will only have as much information as your local council can find. Some of that data might include:

• Owed rates

• Sewage drains and stormwater

• Permits, requisitions, certificates, and building consents

• Heritage NZ protection (if any)

• Zoning (how you may use the land)

• Land features like flooding or erosion

• Notices from statutory organisations and network utility operators

How can I get a LIM report?

Getting a LIM report in Auckland or anywhere else in the country is straightforward. You may approach your local council, or enlist the help of your conveyancer or lawyer to get it for you. You will need to pay a fee, and there is a waiting period for your request to be processed.

While you might not want to spend extra money on getting a LIM report, it can save you from considerable heartbreak. This report can alert you to problems like natural hazards, unconsented work and unpermitted work.

Get a Builder’s Report

A LIM report in Auckland or another part of New Zealand can alert you to several potential issues, but largely relating to information that the council would have on file. What about things like borer, faulty pipes and dodgy wiring, structural damage, rot, and damp? These are all problems that a pre-purchase inspection or builder’s report can pick up. Given how costly correcting these problems can be, a small investment in such a report can offer considerable peace of mind.

A builder will walk around the property and look out for things that are problematic or could be. They may also be able to identify problems that require further assessment, such as moisture.

Some of the many red flags that building inspectors come across are:

• Plaster-style monolithic cladding – a common cladding type of leaky homes

• Weatherside – known to leak and common in homes built during the 1980s

• Black plastic piping – used in homes around the 1970s and 1980s and known to leak. Damage caused by this type of piping may not be covered by your insurance.

• Asbestos – common in homes from the 1940s to 1980s/90s. Specialist advice may be required. 

What Happens If the Property I’m Buying Has Asbestos?

A building report may identify the presence of asbestos, and that may not surprise you. After all, it was used in building materials of many homes for decades. While it might terrify you to think that such a dangerous mineral is present in a home you want to buy, it doesn’t have to be a deal-breaker. In saying that, it does require a few additional considerations before you decide to put your offer in.

During your inspections, look for tell-tale signs of asbestos-containing building materials. It can be present in roofing and siding shingles, textured paint, walls and floors around wood-burning stoves, vinyl floors and lino, hot water and steam pipes, and more.

Ask the listing agent if they or the vendor are aware of the presence of asbestos. Unless they can confirm that it doesn’t have it, consider professional asbestos testing. The more you know about the existence of asbestos, the easier it can be to make an informed decision.

Managing Asbestos in Your New Home

A LIM report and building report can outline many problems. Still, it takes a licensed asbestos removalist to handle something as complex as asbestos. If you are buying a home with asbestos, then manage the risk. 

If it’s in good condition, then leave it alone. As long as it remains undisturbed, it poses minimal risk. You can also consider encapsulation, which is the process of covering it with another non-hazardous building material. For example, you could consider laying linoleum tiles over asbestos tiles.

However, if the asbestos materials are in poor condition or you will be carrying out renovations, then removal is essential. At this point, you would contact an asbestos removal team to carry out the task safely.

Happy Moving Day!

Your LIM report checks out, you’re happy with the building report, and you’re ready to manage any asbestos risks that come your way. Alongside doing all your other due diligence as recommended by your lawyer or conveyancer, you’re now ready for moving day! Remember, if you encounter or suspect asbestos, it’s crucial to act fast. Never underestimate the value of sampling and professional asbestos removal.