For many Canterbury homeowners, an earthquake-damaged property has been sitting unresolved for years. The repair costs are significant, insurance has lapsed or never paid out what was expected, and the traditional real estate route — listing, open homes, waiting for offers — feels like the wrong fit for a home that isn’t in market-ready condition.
Selling As Is Where Is is a different approach. Rather than spending money getting a property ready to sell, or navigating the uncertainty of what a buyer might offer once they’ve had a builder’s report done, you sell the home in its current state to a buyer who already understands exactly what they’re taking on. There are no agent fees, no hidden costs, and no surprises on settlement day.
If you’ve never sold a property this way before, it’s natural to wonder what you’re getting into. The process is genuinely simpler than most people expect — and it moves at a pace that suits you, not us.
Here’s how it works from start to finish.
Getting in touch
The first step is a conversation. You contact us, let us know you have a property you’d like to sell, and we listen. We’ll ask a few questions to get a picture of the home before we visit — what the damage looks like, what you know about the property’s history, what you’re hoping for in terms of timing. The more we understand upfront, the more useful the site visit will be.
There’s no obligation at this stage, and no pressure. It’s just a conversation.
The in-person assessment
Kane and Ronan come to you. We visit the property in person to see its actual condition — the things that matter for costing the repair, the things a phone call can’t tell us. This is also the first chance to meet properly, which we think matters. We’re the people you’ll be transacting with directly, and it helps to start that relationship in person rather than over email.
The assessment is thorough because the accuracy of what we offer depends on understanding the property well.
The offer
After the visit, we go away and work through the numbers. We look at what the property would sell for once it’s repaired and on the market, and we estimate the full cost of getting it there. From that, we put together an offer — in writing, with the workings visible so you can see exactly how we’ve arrived at the figure.
The offer is cash and unconditional. There’s no due diligence period during which the number can shift, no agent fees coming off the top, and no hidden conditions. We cover your legal costs as well, so the amount on the offer is the amount you receive on settlement day.
Most people have an offer in their hands within 24 to 48 hours of the site assessment.
Settlement on your terms
Once you’ve accepted an offer, settlement is arranged around what works for you. Some people are ready to move quickly. Others are building a new home and need time — sometimes a year or more — with progress payments structured to help with construction costs along the way.
There’s no predetermined timeline we’re pushing you toward. The settlement date is whatever you need it to be.
We have helped over 450 Canterbury homeowners move forward from difficult property situations. The feedback we hear most consistently is that the process felt stress-free, fair, and more straightforward than people expected — and that dealing directly with Kane and Ronan made a real difference. For us, it has always been about more than buying houses. It is about helping people move forward with confidence and giving them the fresh start they have been looking for.
If you have a property you would like to talk through, we are happy to have a conversation with no obligation on your part.
Call us on 0800 697 827 or visit mynewstart.co.nz/contact.
