Trusted Real Estate Lawyer 

FAQ for Real Estate Lawyer Toronto

• What happens after the vendor accepts your offer to purchase?

  Generally, the offer is the starting point of the complicated process of acquiring a home. Once your offer is accepted, your lawyer can begin working on various fronts. He or she can start asking you different questions about the particular house you intend to buy and how you plan to use it. Additionally, the lawyer can complete a series of legal inquiries, extensive fact-checking, and searches of records to ensure that you own the property and can live there, upon successful purchase.

  Your real estate lawyer can be a trusted legal advisor. Here are some of the things he or she can handle for you.

  • Prepare mortgage paperwork. He/she can also help you understand the mortgage terms.
  • Explain the different ways in which you can own the home in case you are purchasing it with someone else.
  • Check the right statements to make sure you’re paying the right share of utility bills, taxes, and other costs.
  • Help you comprehend the terms and conditions for any relevant contract before signing.
  • Make sure you get reliable property insurance.
  • Make the right arrangements for you get the keys to your property after closing.
• Why is obtaining good title so important?

  Getting the right title ensures that you own the home that is well-described in official documents. That means your property is registered and no one else has a lien or claim to, that you aren’t aware about. For instance, contractors, mortgage holders, the property seller’s spouse, and tenants may have rights to the home that should be resolved before the property sale could proceed.

  Additionally, getting a good title is essential for you to to be able to sell your property in the future. Your real estate lawyer can help you handle the following:

  • Find out if the property seller has a right to sell it, and that nobody else has a lien or claim on the home.
  • Consider survey-related issues. For instance, find out whether or not something in your home encroaches on the nearby properties.
  • Find out from the municipality whether or not there are work orders against the home which the buyer could be forced to comply with after acquiring the property.
  • Determine if there is any organization with interests in the home that could restrict how you use it.
• Do You Qualify As A First Time Homebuyer?

  The eligibility requirements listed here apply and continue to apply for both resale homes and newly-constructed properties.

  • The buyer should be 18 years or more.
  • An application for a refund should be filed within 18 months after the day of the disposition or conveyance. Your lawyer should complete the application during the property closing to ensure you get an immediate rebate.
  • The property buyer should occupy the home as a permanent residence within nine months of the date of closing.
  • The buyer shouldn’t have owned a home or had interests in a house previously.
  • The buyer’s spouse shouldn’t have owned a home or had interests in a house previously while he or she was still the buyer’s spouse.

  In case one of the home buyers isn’t a first-time property buyer, the refund amount will be reduced proportionately to the interest in land acquired by the people who aren’t first-time home buyers.

• Purchasing a property from a Builder

  The process of acquiring a home from the builder involves two types of transactions. These include:

  • Condominium purchase
  • Freehold purchase (semi-detached homes, detached homes, and townhouses)

  In case you are buying a condominium, you are legally entitled to a 10-day cooling-off period which starts on the day when the property builder signed the consent of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale and a copy had been presented to the buyer. During these ten days, you (the buyer) can review the agreement, and when necessary, provide written amendments to the contract. In case you don’t want to proceed with the purchase, you can terminate the agreement.

  For property buyers acquiring a freehold home, they don’t have the right to a cooling-off period unless there is a specific condition included in the agreement. Contact an experienced lawyer today to discuss how he or she can help you with your real estate transactions.

• First-time property buyers land transfer tax refund

  If you’re buying a home for the first time, there is a good chance you have many questions about the entire process of acquiring a home. Having an excellent real estate lawyer guarantees professional and reliable counsel at no additional cost.

  The land transfer tax refund refers to the amount of tax payable and is being claimed as a refund up to $2,000. Note that a first-time property buyer can claim the full amount or a fraction of the full refund amount. Check this illustration.

  If the cost of a home is $100,000, the amount of land transfer tax payable is $725. In this case, the amount of land transfer tax refund is likely to be $725. Consult with your real estate lawyer for an in-depth explanation of the land transfer tax refund concept.

• Mortgage Approval – making mortgage arrangements

  Real estate experts often advise first-time property buyers to apply for a mortgage prior to shopping for a good home. This is an important step. However, it is way better to get preapproved for a mortgage than to get preapproved. Once a lender hands you a preapproval letter, it means you can:

  • Check the right homes: In case your real estate agent is sending generic listings of all homes available, you can request him or her to send the properties you already qualify to purchase.
  • Spend your time examining the right properties: By minimizing the number of properties you need to check, you can allot more time to thinking about the nuances each property has to offer.
  • Increase your bargaining power: Home sellers are more likely to accept your offer, even if it’s less than the list price. This is because you’re giving the seller peace of mind that his or her property is being sold.

  Note that mortgage approval is the longest contingency to satisfy in a property purchase contract. Therefore, getting preapproved is to your advantage.