Role of a real estate lawyer
First, your attorney will send you a letter outlining what documentation they may need from you. Since you will likely be paying at least $1300 more for legal services, I think it is important that you know what your attorney will do for you! Below is detailed information about the role of a real estate lawyer and what you should do when working with your lawyer and getting a mortgage. Don’t wait to hire an attorney before deciding on your new purchase, be sure to interview them well before the closing date.
Your Real Estate attorney should tell you what expenses you are likely to incur in connection with closing proceedings, including:
Property Transfer Tax
disbursements
legal fees
property tax
If you purchased a new home from a builder, your Real Estate attorney can give you an informed estimate of how much to budget for “hidden charges” such as:
Ontario New Home Warranty Registration Fee
Installation costs of water and hydroelectricity meters
fencing charges
Qualification Deposit Fees
much others
If all the conditions of the Agreement have been met and the Offer is final, the lawyer proceeds to investigate the property title. Initial searches include:
utility searches
property tax searches
building, zoning and urban planning searches
registered title searches
The letters are sent by your attorney:
to all municipal or regional utility departments to confirm that there are no arrears or outstanding charges
to ensure that there are no conditional sales contracts, easements or unregistered agreements, encumbrances
to discover other liens affecting property or equipment left behind by Seller
Easements are a big problem and there are always cases written in newspapers and real estate magazines about buyers not realizing that they were not allowed to put up fences or create a parking space because the inspection of the property they were on they worked it didn’t work. It doesn’t actually show the city’s rights to access the property. Your attorney’s job is to make sure all of this is revealed to you. Your attorney will also inform the utility departments of your name and scheduled closing date, and request that final meter readings be done on the closing date so that final bills can be sent to Seller.
Your attorney requests a Tax Certificate to verify the amount of taxes for the current year and to inquire about arrears and outstanding tax charges. Your attorney will also write to the Department of Building and Zoning for full details of zoning statutes and restrictions and permitted uses (so you know if you can operate a business from your home or build a huge deck, for example). It is important that you send your attorney a copy of the property survey as soon as possible; If the seller has a survey, I’ll get it for them if it’s not already included in the offer documents. If there is no survey, tell your attorney so he can advise you how his interests can be protected through Title Insurance.
A Title Search for the property is initiated at the Land Registry Office to ensure that the Seller is the true owner of the property, has the right to sell the property to you, and that the property is not subject to encumbrances, encumbrances, or easements. . , encumbrances, agreements or mortgages that were not disclosed in the Contract or Sale. You may have heard of fraud cases where scammers who did not have title to their property sold people’s homes! This is where your lawyer actually earns his fees. This search must be completed by the Application Date (Title Search Date) shown on your Purchase and Sale Agreement.
Other important functions of your attorney include:
Conduct a foreclosure search at the appropriate sheriff’s office to ensure there are no foreclosures against the property’s previous owners that may affect your title.
Prepare and deliver a letter to the Seller’s attorney requesting that any items revealed in the initial searches be addressed at or before closing.
Review the content of the Mortgage Commitment letter that your bank will prepare when you process your financing, and consult with you the results of your signature.
Inform you of any closing day costs related to mortgage financing when your financial institution provides you with a Final Mortgage Commitment Letter.
If your attorney is also acting on behalf of the financial institution (which is often the case), they will prepare all the necessary paperwork for the mortgage and submit this package to the financial institution for approval prior to closing:
– Certify title to the property to the financial institution at closing.
– Advise you on government programs designed to help homebuyers that would apply to you, including Land Transfer Tax Rebate programs, Ontario Homeowner Savings Plans, RRSP plans, and information on 5% down payment from CMHC.
– Provide your insurance broker with the name, address, telephone number and fax number of both your lawyer and the financial institution that grants you your mortgage. Your attorney needs a letter confirming that insurance coverage is in effect at the time of closing; This is very important because the bank will not advance the $ to close on your purchase until it knows you have homeowners insurance.