Frequently Asked Questions, and even some answers
Here’s a bunch of frequently asked questions along with some answers.
Q: Where do you get your information from?
A: The data is sourced from many places, read all about them here.
Q. Why will I benefit from purchasing a report?
A. If you’re considering buying or selling a property, you’ll have a set of highly relevant, up-to-date information to help with your property purchase decisions.
Q: How do I know which report will suit me best?
A: The 4 different reports are explained in full on the Property Reports page. You can view a sample of each before making up your mind. Remember that the Comprehensive Report includes all information contained in the other 3. If you buy this, you will not need any of the others.
Q: Why are you providing private information about my home?
A: All data we provide is classified as Public Register Information and Public Register Supporting Information. It is readily available to anyone who searches for it, mostly from the city councils.
Q: What if I order a report and then find it doesn’t contain enough information to be useful?
A. Please contact us and we’ll take a look and sort it out for you
Problems with an address
Q: I know the name of the street, but not the number of the property. What should I do?
A: Just search for the street name and then start clicking on the street numbers. Most addresses will have an aerial photo and a boundary plan, you can then narrow your search. If you do not know the full details for the property you want to search for, enter as much detail as you can.
Q: I have the full address, but can’t find the property I want.
A: First, double-check that you selected the correct property from the drop-down list (this appears automatically when you type in an address). If your property isn’t listed here, try entering the street name on its own, then view the full list of search results. Still having trouble? Click here to contact us.
Q: Why is there more than one property match for my search?
A. Some properties have more than one Certificate of Title associated with them. If your search returns more than one match, try to refine your search criteria. Still having trouble? Click here to contact us.
Problems with reports
Q: I want to look at a sample report, but can’t open the file.
A: These are in PDF format and you will need Acrobat Reader which is a free (although a quite large) download here. If you don’t want to download Acrobat Reader, never mind, because each report is also available online using nothing more than your handy dandy web browser.
Q: I’ve found the property I’m interested in, but not the type of report I want.
A: All available reports will be listed automatically when you enter the property’s address. If the report you want is not listed, it is not available for that property.
Q: Why isn’t every type of report available on every property?
A: Availability depends on various factors. Here are the main ones:
- If the property is on public land, no current valuation is available. Check the property report or the cadastral for information about public land.
- There’s been a problem matching the property to a valuation reference.
- Information on past sales relates to the previous seven years. If the property has not been sold during that time, there will be no sales history available.
- The property is brand new and we don’t know about it yet.
- The property is not a residential property.
Still unsure about the results of your search? Click here to contact us.
Q: There are no reports available on the property. Why?
A: First, make sure you’ve searched for the correct address and that as many search criteria as possible are entered. If you’re still having trouble, the property may be new, newly subdivided, or in the process of being assigned a new title reference.
Need more help? Click here to contact us.
Q: Some of the information in my report is completely wrong. What should I do?
A: If you find that the details of a property are incorrect, you should contact us to update our records. Please note, however, that this will not change the information held by your local council, so you will also need to change your details with them.
Q: Why is it that sometime I get an aerial image and sometimes a boundary map?
A: We don’t have aerial images for every property in New Zealand (although we do have quite a few). For those properties without an aerial photo we will only show a boundary map.
Q: Why hasn’t my report been processed?
Most reports are processed within 5 minutes. Legal documents (Certificate of Title) are processed between 8am and 5pm, Monday – Friday. If you have ordered another report and it hasn’t arrived then check your spam folder or contact support and we will sort this out for you.
Problems with purchased reports
Q: How can I check the status of my order?
A: After logging in, click “My Orders” on the navigation menu. This will show you the status of all current and past orders. View each order to view your reports.
Q: I accidentally bought the wrong report. What shall I do?
A: First, don’t panic, everything can be fixed. Click here to contact us.
Q: What should I do if the data in my report is incorrect?
A: Don’t panic, most things can be fixed. We may be able to fix the data immediately or it may take a little while (depending on where the data is sourced from) Click here to contact us.
Q: How current is the information in my report(s)?
A: It’s pretty current. Every report has full details near the back of the report to tell you when it was last updated. As for the property market data, it’s generally for the month preceding the month we are in now. February data is available in March, March data in April, get it?
Valuation Reports
Q: How accurate is the Home Valuer’s estimate of market value?
The Home Valuer report provides an estimated market value and is not intended to replace a registered valuers report. The estimate market value is computer software generated and properties are not subjected to physical inspection. The results so derived have an underlying assumption that the dwelling is in a similar average condition (Ceteris paribus) as to that of the comparable sales referred to in the report
Q: How do you derive your value?
The value is derived from a comparison of your house and recent sales in the area and also market trends.
Still having trouble?
Q: My questions weren’t answered here. I need further assistance.
A. What? We’re missing the answer to your frequently asked question? If you need any additional help, click here to find a way to contact us.