The role of Real Estate lawyer
First, your attorney will send you a letter outlining what documentation he or she may need from you. Since you will most likely pay at least $1300 plus for legal services, I think it’s important that you know what your attorney will do for you! Below is some detailed information about the role of a real estate attorney and what you need to do when working with your attorney and securing a mortgage. Don’t wait to raise an attorney before you take on your new buying position, just make sure you interview them well in advance of your closing date.
Your Real Estate Attorney must tell you what costs you may incur in connection with the closing procedure, including:
Land Transfer Tax
expenditure
legal fees
property tax
If you have purchased a new home from a builder, a Real Estate attorney can give you an educated estimate of how much you should budget for “hidden costs” such as:
Ontario New Home Warranty Registration Fee
Water and water meter installation costs
Fence fee
Grading Deposit Fee
many others
If all the terms of the Agreement have been met and the Offer is confirmed, the attorney proceeds to investigate the title to the property. Initial searches include:
utility search
property tax search
building search, zoning and planning
registered title search
Letter sent by your attorney:
to all municipal or regional utility departments to confirm that there are no arrears or unpaid fees
to ensure there are no conditional sales contracts, facilities or unregistered agreements, liens
to find other obstructions affecting property or equipment left by Seller
Slack is a huge problem and cases are always written in real estate newspapers and journals, of buyers not realizing they are not allowed to put up fences or create parking spaces because surveys of the properties they work for don’t really demonstrate the City’s right to access property. Your attorney’s job is to make sure all of this is disclosed to you. Your attorney will also notify the utility department of your name and scheduled closing date, and request that the last meter reading be taken by the closing date so that the final invoice can be sent to the Vendor.
A Tax Certificate is requested by your attorney to verify the current year’s tax amount and to inquire about arrears and fees payable for taxes. Your attorney will also write to the Building and Zoning Department for full details of zoning regulations and the limits and permitted uses (so you’ll know if you’re allowed to run a business from your home or build a large deck, for example). It’s important that you send a copy of the property survey to your attorney as soon as possible – if the Seller has a survey, I’ll get it for you if the survey has not been included in the offer document. If there is no survey, notify your attorney so he or she can tell how your interests can be protected through Title Insurance.
A Property Rights Search begins at the Land Registry Office to ensure the Seller is the actual owner of the property, has the right to sell the property to you, and that the property is not subject to any encumbrance, encroachment, convenience. , lien, agreement or mortgage not disclosed in the Agreement or Purchase and Sale. You may have heard of fraud cases where people’s homes were sold out by scammers who had no land rights! This is where your attorney really gets paid. This search must be completed prior to the Request Date (title search date) indicated on your Purchase and Sales Agreement.
Other important functions of your attorney include:
Carry out an Execution search at the appropriate Sheriff’s Office to ensure that no execution of the previous owner of the property will affect your title.
Prepare and send a letter to Seller’s attorney requesting that any items revealed in the initial search be handled on or before closing.
Review the contents of the Mortgage Commitment letter your bank will prepare when you arrange your financing, and consult with you on the outcome of the signing.
Notify you of closing day costs associated with 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), he or she will prepare all the necessary documentation for the mortgage and submit this package to the financial institution for approval prior to closing:
– Certificate of title to financial institutions at closing.
– Notify you of government programs designed to assist homebuyers that will apply to you, including Land Transfer Tax Rebate programs, Ontario Home Ownership Savings Plans, RRSP plans, and CMHC 5% Down Payment information.
– Tell your insurance broker the name, address, telephone number, and fax number of your attorney and the financial institution that provided your mortgage. Your attorney will need a letter confirming that the insurance coverage is effective at closing – this is very important because the bank will not advance the $ to cover your purchase until they know you have property insurance.