The Legal Process of a Real Estate Deal: What to expect from your Lawyer (Part 2)
Continuing on our series of articles called “The Legal Process of a Real Estate Deal: What to expect from your Lawyer”, our second topic covers the process of purchasing real estate. To be consistent with our first topic, we have divided the legal process of purchasing your property into three main steps: compiling information, preparing the Purchaser’s documents, and completing the deal on the closing date.
- Gathering information about the Property:
After receiving and reviewing the Contract of Purchase and Sale (the “Contract”), we order and review the title search and tax search. In the case of strata properties, we also request a Strata Form B Information Certificate and Strata Form F Certificate of Payment from the Strata Management Company. Expect a phone call from us early on as we may require further details that the Contract and searches will not provide.
After gathering all necessary information, we prepare documents for the Seller’s solicitor. These include the Form A Transfer, Seller’s Statement of Adjustments, GST Certificate, etc. For more information, please read our previous article regarding selling real estate.
After preparing a letter that places the Seller’s solicitor on the undertaking to clear title to the property of any charges relating to the seller (such as a mortgage, lien, or judgement), as well as other undertakings as required, we send the documents to the Seller’s solicitor for execution by the Seller. Once signed, the Seller’s solicitor returns the documents before the completion date.
- Preparing Purchaser’s documents:
If you are getting a mortgage, we receive and carefully review your Lender’s instructions. Each financial institution has different requirements and will require a variety of documents; some of which we prepare and others which are provided by the Lender. Along with the mortgage documents, we prepare the necessary forms for the transfer of the property, including, but not limited to, the Buyer’s Statement of Adjustments and Property Transfer Tax Form. It is your responsibility to obtain fire insurance for the property (before closing) as we are required to provide a copy of your policy to the Lender. We also order Title Insurance or a Survey Certificate as additional security for the Lender.
If you do not require financing, we will only prepare the transfer documents; the insurance binder and title insurance is not required. During your appointment we will review and clearly explain each document before obtaining your signature.
- The Closing Date – Completing the Purchase:
On the closing date, we register the Form A Transfer, Property Transfer Tax, and Form B Mortgage (if applicable) with the Land Title Office. Once registered, the Land Title Office provides us with a registration number for each document, which we provide to the Seller’s solicitor, the Lender, and the realtors involved. This notifies the parties of successful registration.
We will then provide copies of all signed documents to the Lender and to the Purchaser in the form of a Final Report. You can expect to receive this shortly after completion. Once we receive confirmation from the Seller’s solicitor that the title has been cleared of all charges related to the Seller, we request a State of Title Certificate that will show the property is registered in your name. Once we confirm there are no funds in trust or outstanding disbursements and all undertakings have been fulfilled, the file can be closed.
Our dedicated team of real estate lawyers at Segev LLP located in downtown Vancouver, BC is committed to ensuring that the purchase of your new property completes as smoothly as possible and that you remain informed throughout the entire process.
Contact Alon Segev at +1 (604) 629 5406 or [email protected] or Sid Koshul at +1 (604) 629-5403 or [email protected] to discuss how we can work for you.
