Home for the holidays: How to navigate conveyancing at Christmas

The festive season is nearly here, bringing with it a sense of joy, celebration, and yuletide spirit. For some people, December is also bringing with it the hope of completing on a property. Whether you're a first home buyer or an experienced property owner, the timing of your property transactions can significantly impact the process.

In this article, Weston Ward and Lascelles’ Christchurch conveyancing lawyers explore the implications and key considerations when dealing with property matters during the Christmas period.

Understanding working days – timeframes in Agreements for Sale & Purchase of Real Estate

With relevance to the Christmas holiday break, a ‘working day’ is defined in a standard Agreement for Sale and Purchase of Real Estate to not include a day in the period commencing with 24 December in a year and ending with 5 January in the following year, both of those dates inclusive. Saturdays and Sundays also don’t count as working days.

For 2025, the first day that will count as a working day for a standard real estate contract will be Monday 6 January 2025. Many lawyers do not reopen from the Christmas holidays until Monday 13 January 2025, or later. So, there is often a requirement for lawyers to finesse a contract confirmation date or settlement date that falls prior to their office reopening from the Christmas holiday festivities.

It’s essential to be aware that confirming a contract condition or settling a property sale / purchase is not going to be possible until the law firm has reopened.

The conveyancing process is reliant on defined working days, here are some examples of how timeframes can impact conveyancing an issue:

• Condition confirmation detailed in the Agreement for Sale and Purchaseis pushed out too close to the settlement day.
• Money from the lender is inaccessible resulting in insufficient funds being available settlement day. For example, KiwiSaver or Kāinga Ora grants or loans can sometimes require 15 working days between application and fund disbursement.
• Inability to organise and present a Certificate of Insurance before settlement.
• LIM reports ought to be requested no later than 5 working days after the date of the Agreement.
• A vendor has a set amount of time from being served with a notice from a purchaser seeking compensation to dispute a compensation claim from a purchaser.

Whether you have signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement or about to, it’s crucial you seek legal advice, especially this close to the holiday season. Legal professionals from the property team at Christchurch’s Weston Ward and Lascelles, will guide you through the intricacies of the Agreement to ensure the specified timeframes can be met. If the dates are not realistic, the property lawyers negotiate more achievable terms to avoid any challenges and uncertainties associated with the property transaction.

Third party involvement

There are always a number of delays that can affect any house sale or purchase that are out of the hands of even the best property lawyers. There may be complex matters raised during the conveyancing process that require the input from third parties, but with a higher likelihood of annual leave being taken during the holiday period, there can be delays in paperwork or reports needed for completion.

How to avoid Christmas conveyancing stress

Note, this advice is not exclusively for the holiday season, it’s for year-round conveyancing. Whether you're a first home buyer or a seasoned property owner, seeking professional property legal advice as soon as possible makes the process smoother and more efficient (time and money wise).

Your conveyancing lawyer manages the whole process and gets your ducks in a row. From making sure you don’t get caught out by the nuances of working days, explaining and confirming your legal obligations, ensuring you make the best mortgage decisions, to legal advice about how to protect your assets.



To make an appointment with one of Weston Ward and Lascelles’ Christchurch property lawyers, call 03 379 1740 or email enquiry@wwl.co.nz to. We champion transparency and diligence to make the purchase or sale of your home a smooth transaction that meets your expectations.