Car cleanup headache in forced sale

Q. Are we liable for the clean-up of our section after it is forcibly sold by the council to recover rates debt? There are cars that we can no longer take with us. A. As you have found out, the Local Government Act 2002 allows councils to demand the sale of a property to recover unpaid rates.

A council has to go through a court process to do this but it can result in it eventually applying to the High Court to put the property on the market.

You should have been given six months’ notice that this was going to happen – and it has to go to a public auction or tender.

Bindi Norwell, Real Estate Institute chief executive, says this is usually a last-resort move by councils.

The good news is that you’re probably not going to be expected to leave the property in pristine condition.

‘‘Unless the purchaser specifically stipulates in the sale and purchase agreement that the section must be cleaned before possession, e.g. the cars removed, then the property simply has to be in the same condition as it was in when the purchaser inspected the property and decided to buy it,’’ she said.

‘‘The purchaser will do a final inspection prior to settlement and if they believe that there was an agreement that the cars be removed, or if the cars weren’t there at the time the agreement was signed, they can ask for funds to be retained from settlement to pay for the removal.

‘‘The same rules apply to purchasing a property that is not a forced sale.’’

Q. I am retiring soon. Am I still able to continue paying some of my pension into my KiwiSaver account and how do I go about this?

A. I checked with the Ministry of Social Development on this one. I’m told that anyone who is receiving a pension or other benefit can contribute to KiwiSaver by making payment arrangements directly with their fund provider or Inland Revenue.

So you just need to get in touch with your KiwiSaver provider and organise to transfer as much as you wish each fortnight to your KiwiSaver account.

There was one caveat, which probably wouldn’t apply in this case: ‘‘For a small number of pensioners receiving additional asset-tested financial assistance, there could be some impact on those additional payments. We encourage you to discuss your financial situation with your superannuation provider before setting up the fund to understand any potential implications.’’

Do you have a personal finance or consumer question you’d like answered? Email susan.edmunds@stuff.co.nz