01
What your lawyer does on a purchase
Once your offer is accepted, we review the agreement and flag anything unusual, search the title to confirm the seller can transfer clear ownership, review the status certificate if it is a condominium, and prepare the documents your lender requires for the mortgage. Before closing we send you a statement showing exactly how much you need to bring, including land transfer tax and adjustments. On closing day we exchange funds with the seller's lawyer, register the transfer and the mortgage, and release the keys.
02
What your lawyer does on a sale
We prepare the transfer and the closing documents, obtain the payout statement for your mortgage and arrange its discharge, answer the buyer's lawyer's requisitions on title, calculate the adjustments for property tax and any prepaid amounts, and deliver the net proceeds to you once the transaction has closed.
03
What closing costs, beyond the price
- Ontario land transfer tax on a purchase, calculated on the price. Eligible first-time buyers may receive a refund of some or all of it. Current rates and the refund rules are on ontario.ca.
- Legal fee, quoted to you in writing before you retain us
- Disbursements: government registration fees, title search costs, title insurance, and courier or bank charges
- Adjustments between buyer and seller for property tax, condo fees or utilities already paid
- HST on legal fees and some disbursements
We set out the fee and the expected disbursements separately, so you can see what is our charge and what is a cost of the transaction itself. How our fees work.
04
Selling a home that belongs to an estate
When an estate trustee sells the deceased's home, the buyer's lawyer will want to see the Certificate of Appointment before closing, and the sale proceeds must go into the estate rather than to any one person. We handle the probate application and the sale together where we act on both, so the timelines line up and nothing is signed out of order. Probate and estate administration.
05
What to have ready
- The signed agreement of purchase and sale, with all amendments and waivers
- Two pieces of government identification for each person on title
- Your lender's and mortgage broker's contact details, and the mortgage commitment
- Your home insurance binder for a purchase, showing the lender as loss payee
- For a sale, your current mortgage statement and property tax bill
Real estate questions we hear most
As soon as you have an accepted offer, and ideally before you sign one if you have questions about conditions or closing dates. Your lawyer needs the agreement, the mortgage instructions and your identification early enough to search title and prepare closing documents without rushing.
Reviews the agreement of purchase and sale, searches title and resolves any problems, reviews the status certificate on a condo, prepares the mortgage documents for your lender, calculates the money you need to close, registers the transfer and the mortgage, and releases the keys once funds have been exchanged.
Typically Ontario land transfer tax, the legal fee, registration fees, title insurance, adjustments for property tax or condo fees the seller prepaid, and HST on services. First-time buyers may qualify for a refund of some or all of the Ontario land transfer tax.
Yes. We act on estate sales after probate is granted, and we coordinate the sale with the probate work when we are handling both, so the estate trustee is not managing two separate processes.
Yes. We act on residential purchases, sales and refinances anywhere in Ontario. Signing is done in our Oakville office or by video where the lender permits it.