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conditions as being satisfied, withoutanother buyer taking the property.Under such a conditional contract,if necessary consents cannot beobtained, or if a problem is revealedby the Computer Register (title) or aLand Information Memorandum (“LIM”)report (produced by the local authority)or other investigations, then thepurchaser can cancel the contract.The extent to which a vendor will agreeupon a conditional contract may dependon the number of people interestedin the particular property, althoughgeneral practice in New Zealand is thatmost contracts will be subject to thepurchaser’s solicitors being satisfied asto the title to the property and mattersdisclosed by a LIM.It is common for the purchaser to paya deposit to the real estate agent,which is usually around 5-10% of thepurchase price. This is commonly paidon signing, or when the agreementbecomes unconditional – if a depositis paid at the time of signing, butconditions are not satisfied, then thedeposit is normally refunded to thepurchaser in full.It is recommended that all foreignbuyers should obtain legal advice asto whether OIO approval is requiredbefore entering into any contract. Ifthere is no opportunity to take legaladvice then the contract should bemade subject to the buyer obtainingOIO approval.Sensitive land and the overseasinvestment regimeAs noted above, the acquisition ofinterests in property by an overseasperson is regulated.The regime is administered by theOverseas Investment Office (“OIO”).Information on the OIO and itsfunctions can be found at www.linz.govt.nz/overseas-investment.The policy of the Government isto encourage foreign investment.However, some types of land aredeemed by the Overseas InvestmentAct to be ‘sensitive land’, and apurchase by an overseas buyer ofsuch land requires OIO consent to beobtained pursuant to the OverseasInvestment Regulations.Consent applications are usuallysuccessful. However, the consentrequirements are becomingincreasingly stringent, and it isimportant that legal advice isobtained when considering a consentapplication. It is worth notingthough that for many residential andcommercial purchases, consent won’tbe required.Consent is required for an overseasperson to purchase sensitive land,either directly or through the purchaseof shares in a land owning company.An overseas investment in sensitiveland is the acquisition by an overseasperson, or an associate of an overseasperson, of:(a) an interest in land, if the land issensitive and the interest acquiredis a freehold estate (fee simple) ora lease for a term of three years ormore (including rights of renewal); or(b) rights or interests in securities ofa company, if that company ownsor controls (directly or indirectly)an interest in land above and,as a result of the acquisition theoverseas person or the associate(either alone or together with itsassociates) has a 25% or moreownership or control interest inthat company, the overseas person9