The Supreme Court has recently issued a decision in the case of Property Ventures v Regalwood that is of interest to property lawyers and which has major implications for buyers and sellers of property. There is a clause in the standard property agreement for sale and purchase form by which the vendor guarantees that any work done on the property by the vendor for which a building consent is required, a consent was obtained and the works were carried out in compliance with that consent. The More...

What is mentoring? Very few small business people find the time to utilise the skills and talents they need to develop their business. One answer to the needs a small business has when it is growing or wants to accelerate its growth, is a mentor. Business Mentors New Zealand mentors share their ideas and expertise from a business perspective one-on-one. The service is confidential and is provided to small businesses that have been trading for six months, is the owner’s primary source of More...

Brian Berry - Financial Advisor Straight forward, quality financial advice - so you can get  on with the fun stuff in life.  Click  to view Rothbury’s website. This week all eyes in New Zealand were on Thursday's (29 July) review of the OCR (Official Cash Rate) by the Reserve Bank. As expected the rate was More...

People often ask about how we of the Maori Party determine our position on issues of the day whether that be legislation or otherwise. There is no tick the box scenarios, but of course we take into account a number of factors. We have our kaupapa, a philosophical base where for example we must consider everyone’s interests; we must too consider our world view as Maori, that is, whether there is anything in our tribal histories that might give us a lead. For example, when dealing with More...

Tony Ryall and I really enjoyed handing over a cheque for nearly $60,000 on behalf of the National-led Government to the Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter service in Tauranga a couple of weeks back. Pilot Liam Brettkelly accepted the money at the helicopter hangars at the Tauranga Hospital for this vital service. Air ambulance helicopters are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, saving lives. All the workers involved deserve our debt of gratitude. Roof top gardening While on More...

So you have found your dream home... you put in an offer subject to finance and then you find your bank can’t lend you what you need. These days it is very common for sale & purchase contracts to fall over due to a lack of finance. This is frustrating for buyers, sellers, and agents alike. Typically, sales have fallen through because buyers are making offers without prior finance in place. Speaking to a mortgage adviser first and going through a loan pre-approval process goes a More...

Last week’s regional council meeting included a report on the $200m Infrastructure Investment Fund established three years ago by leveraging the council’s 55 per cent shareholding in the Port of Tauranga. Your regional council has so far spent in excess of $40m from this fund, but thanks to sound investment management has not only preserved the original capital but has in fact grown the portfolio to over $206m. In the past 12 months, using Bancorp as advisors, we have delivered a More...

Are you running a desktop accounting system that will need to be upgraded to cope with the GST changes taking effect on 1 October? If you have a 21st century internet connection, then why not take this opportunity to upgrade to a 21st century online accounting system such as Xero. Brief review of the Xero accounting system: Xero is fully featured and is comparable to latest editions of other popular accounting software. It has a very easy to learn and use interface. Xero doesn’t More...

The other day I took a commuter bus ride in Tauranga. I couldn’t help notice the mix of nationalities on the bus. This is a reflection of New Zealand society today, that we now see many cultures and socio-economic groups in our community. One thing I realise is we have a number of people who seek work, but are struggling to find their place in the workforce. Maybe it is they are new to New Zealand and have language barriers or are struggling to adjust to the NZ culture, but maybe there More...

Three years on, more than $5.5 billion invested for 1.4 million KiwiSaver members and still 1000 new members every day! That’s impressive. The third anniversary of KiwiSaver also marks the start of the first home purchase withdrawal facility and the first home purchase subsidy. On July 1 these benefits became available to eligible members. While KiwiSaver is mainly about saving for retirement, there are two special benefits for KiwiSaver members who are saving for their first home. More...