Tips & Procedures on Residential Purchases
Residential Purchase Tips
- Before you even think of getting a real estate lawyer,
you will usually have signed an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (the “Offer”)
through your real estate agent to purchase a house or condominium (the “Property”).
The Offer will often have certain standard conditions (home inspection,
financing, etc.) that must be satisfied or waived within 5 to 10 days after
acceptance. If these conditions are satisfied or waived, the Offer becomes a
“firm” deal. The lawyer’s job is to ensure that the transfer of the property
from the seller to the buyer is properly completed on the closing date. This
process is usually referred to as a “Closing”.
- Instruct your real estate agent to send us a copy of the
Offer, including all waivers, and the survey if available.
- Follow-up on your conditions (i.e., home inspection,
financing, etc.). If you are buying a condominium, follow-up on obtaining a
Status Certificate and provide it to us for review and response before the
expiry of the related condition.
- Give your lender our contact information and sign all
necessary mortgage documents. Let us know when you have signed up with your
lender. Send us a copy of the commitment or the details of how much you are
expecting and when we can expect to receive your lender’s mortgage
instructions.
- Follow-up on obtaining the survey of your Property and
provide it to us as soon as possible.
- As a rule of thumb, you can estimate your closing costs
(land transfer tax, legals and related disbursements) to approximate 1.5% of
your purchase price for a resale home/condominium and 2-3% of your purchase
price for a new home/condominium. In Toronto, there is an additional land
transfer tax - see Toronto Land Transfer Tax Calculator.
- Send us your basic information: (a) the spelling of
your name(s) as you wish it/them to appear on title (supported by at least two
pieces of acceptable identification – usually a driver’s licence plus one of
the following: passport, birth certificate, citizenship card or major credit
card), and (b) marital status and your spouse’s name, if applicable.
- If more than one person is taking title, there are two
main ways of holding the property: Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common. When a
couple is involved, title is usually taken as “Joint Tenants” which means that
upon the death of one spouse the property passes more or less automatically to
the surviving spouse. The other way of owning property is as “Tenants in
Common”. You can specify the percentage ownership and, upon the death of one
“tenant in common or co-tenant,” the property passes according to that
co-tenant’s will (or pursuant to the laws of intestacy).
- After the deal is firm, we will do a search of the
Property and send the seller’s lawyer a “requisition letter.” In this letter,
we will demand compliance with the terms and conditions of the Offer. We will
also obtain title insurance coverage for you and the lender. (See “Title
Insurance and What It Means to You”).
- A new condominium purchase will involve an
“Occupancy Closing” prior to the “Final Transfer Date” during which you will
pay “Occupancy Rent” via post-dated cheques. You should call the management
office to book the elevator for your move-in date if the condominium unit is
in a high-rise building. There may also be security deposits required for
that elevator booking as well as for access cards and garage remotes. Keys
will be available at the site office on the Occupancy Closing date.
- About two to three weeks before the closing date, you
should:
- call your insurance broker to arrange Home & Fire
Insurance on your new Property to be effective on the closing date. (For
condominiums, you should still arrange for your own Contents/Liability
Insurance because this is not included in the Condominium’s Insurance
Policy.) Advise your broker of the name and address of your lender. They
will note the lender as “First Loss Payee” or “First Mortgagee” on your
policy. Instruct your broker to fax or e-mail us the “Insurance Binder”
confirming your coverage prior to the closing date; and
- call the utility companies that service your new
Property (hydro, gas, water – see links to contact same) to advise them to
read the meters on your closing date and provide them with your
billing/contact information.
- Prior to closing, we will call you to arrange a sign-up
meeting. We will provide you with a draft funds summary advising of the
monies you need to bring to complete the Closing. This sign-up meeting is
usually held a day or two before the Closing. At this meeting, you will
review and sign the closing documents. (Don’t forget to bring in the monies
needed to complete the Closing.) Funds need to be via a “certified cheque” or
a “bank draft” payable to “Barry Reese in trust.” You must bring two
acceptable pieces of identification with you to the sign-up meeting.
- Both resale and new condominium purchases involve
payment of monthly Common Expenses. Usually, you have the option of providing
12 post-dated monthly cheques or signing a Pre-Authorized Payment Plan
(together with a void cheque).
- First-time Home/Condominium Buyers are eligible for
a refund of Ontario Land Transfer Tax up to $2,000. First-time
Home/Condominium buyers are eligible for a refund on Toronto Land
Transfer Tax of up to $3,725.00. We will advise you on how to qualify and
apply for each as applicable.
- A New Home Purchase will involve a PDI (Pre-Delivery
Inspection) which you must arrange with the builder for the week before
Closing. Be sure to carefully review the Tarion Warranty Corporation website
(www.tarion.com)
for all the rules and forms involved in enforcing your rights under the
warranty. We will require a copy of the Tarion Warranty for our file. Keys
will be available at the site office on the Closing.
- If your Offer allows, you should have your agent arrange
one final inspection of your new Property a day or two before Closing. If you
notice any damage or removal of appliances/chattels that were supposed to be
part of the purchase price, advise us immediately.
- On Closing, we will exchange documents and funds with
the seller’s lawyer and register the Transfer/Deed and Mortgage/Charge, if
any. If all goes smoothly, the keys will be available at our office (usually
between 2 and 5 pm) on the closing date.
- Now that you own your new Property, you are responsible
to pay the property taxes (as adjusted on Closing – see your Statement of
Adjustments). Sometimes this means that the taxes have already been paid for
the remainder of the year. Each case is different, so we will advise you
accordingly at our sign-up meeting.
- Don’t hesitate to ask us anything about your Closing at
any time.
