- Real Estate
Purchases -
The purchase of a new home is an exciting event, but it can
also be an overwhelming one. Your lawyer should be able to
put your fears to rest and make things less intimidating. I
make it a point to be available to answer any questions which you
may have during the purchase process, and I personally attend to
all the closing details on the
Closing Date
to ensure everything goes smoothly.
A house purchase is a complex legal and financial
transaction, and it should not be taken lightly. Your
lawyer acts on your behalf to coordinate this transaction;
investigating title and other matters relating to the property,
managing the receipt and payment of funds relating to the
transaction, as well as creating, reviewing and legally
registering all the necessary documents and arranging for title
insurance. A lawyer is the only person who is legally
entitled to perform all these functions.
If you have not already signed an Agreement of Purchase and
Sale (commonly referred to as the "offer"); it is a
good idea to have a lawyer review the terms of the Agreement
before you sign, to ensure that you are properly protected.
It is your responsibility as the purchaser to ensure that the
home is physically sound. You may want to have your lawyer
or real estate agent insert a condition in the Agreement of
Purchase and Sale that calls for an independent home inspection.
You will usually have to contact a financial institution to
obtain a mortgage. Once you have been approved for a
mortgage, your lawyer will deal with the institution to obtain
the funds and to draft the mortgage document itself.
You should also contact an insurance company to arrange for
fire and liability insurance on the home. Although you will
not actually own the home until the closing date, it will be
necessary to make these insurance arrangements in advance, so
that they will be in place on the closing date and at no time is
the home left uninsured.
Your lawyer will check the legal background of the home
before the closing date. He or she will ensure that the
vendor actually has legal ownership ("title") which
entitles the vendor to sell it to you.
Your lawyer will need to pay out certain amounts of money to
search the title of the property, search for liens, register your
Transfer/Deed and Charge/Mortgage, etc. These amounts are called
"disbursements", for which you reimburse the lawyer on
the closing date. It is important to distinguish between
the lawyer's fee and disbursements. The fee is the payment
for the lawyer's service for acting on your behalf.
Disbursements are amounts that a lawyer must pay to others to
complete the transaction, for which you in turn must reimburse
the lawyer.
Land Transfer Tax must, in most
cases, also be paid when a property is purchased. This
amount is collected by your lawyer which he in turn pays to the
Ministry on the Closing Date. Please click on the link for
more detailed information; including how to calculate the Land Transfer Tax.
Legal Fees:
My fee for a purchase transaction is $599.00. plus HST.
There will also be a number of disbursement charges which can
run approximately $750.00. to $850.00
(including HST) depending on the
details of the transaction.
Please feel free to contact my office if you have any further
questions and for a breakdown of the disbursements involved in
your transaction.
Some Other Things to Think About ...
Send E-mail to David Fysh at david@davidfysh.com