Photo: Paul le Comte - five15design
An Auckland real estate agent is warning baby boomers approaching retirement to ensure their properties have Code of Compliance Certificates (CCC) before they sell, or risk facing big losses.
A CCC is a formal statement issued under the Building Act, it states that work carried out under a building consent complies with that consent.
Ray White Mairangi Bay real estate agent Drew Miller said he had noticed increasing numbers of baby boomers who wanted to sell up before downsizing or moving to a retirement village and discover past renovations to their home did not have the required certificate.
He said most of the properties without CCC appeared to have had work done about the time new building regulations came into effect, in 1991.
But banks would not provide loans to buy houses that were not compliant, he said, meaning sellers had to try to find a cash buyer or face a potentially costly fix.
"Many homes have had a single owner for at least a decade. These are generally folks who bought their house as a family home. And over time, they have done plenty of piecemeal work on the home," Miller said.
"Some of those renovations achieve consent, but it is dangerously easy to let the hustle and bustle of life get in the way and to forget the need to consent renovations. Fast-forward a few decades, and the financial consequences of that mistake can be significant."
He wanted to raise awareness about the issue so home owners could address the situation before they retired.
Miller said properties listed with consenting gaps could cost thousands of dollars in legal fees to resolve, in addition to the construction costs.
"Over time, the standards for consent have gotten higher and higher. So, as baby boomer homeowners are moving to sell their homes, they are surprised to discover they need a retrospective CCC to demonstrate durability under the new building code," he said.
Miller's advice to sellers was to go through their Land Information Memorandum with their agents.
"We can go through it with a fine tooth comb, understand the property and then from there addressing the issues that we need to."
