Purchasing A Home :
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The Agreement of Purchase and Sale.
In this early stage of purchasing your home, the most important thing to understand is that once you sign an offer to purchase and it is accepted by the vendor, this constitutes a legally binding contract. It is recommended that you allow me the opportunity to review the agreement of purchase and sale before you sign it. It is always important to allow yourself time to ensure that you will be able to finance the transaction. You will need at least five banking days to obtain an approval of your mortgage from most financial institutions. Additional expenses which you will have to pay on closing, include costs of searching title, searching for tax arrears, searching for compliance with municipal regulations and any other searches which must be done; cost of registering your deed and mortgage (currently $70.00 per document); cost of land transfer tax; and legal fees for both the purchase and the mortgage. Your financial institution should tell you about any fees which you are required to pay to them and any deductions from the funds they will be advancing.
After the Agreement is Firm.
An agreement becomes "firm" once all conditions in the agreement have been waived or satisfied. As soon as possible after this happens, you should have a copy of the agreement delivered to me by fax. Once I have the agreement I have only a certain number of days to search title, confirm municipal compliance and ensure no tax arrears. The day that this must be done by is called the requisition date. I will check to confirm that title to the property is clear and you will have a good and marketable title on closing; that municipal taxes are paid in full to the date of closing; that all utilities are paid in full; that a satisfactory survey of the property is available to allow confirmation that the property complies with the municipal zoning bylaws; that there are no municipal work orders against the property; that you have arranged adequate fire insurance; that the vendor's lawyer has prepared the documents properly and to my satisfaction; and that your financing will be available on the day the transaction is completed.
Prior to Closing.
I will arrange an appointment for you to attend at my office prior to closing. You will be required to sign a number of documents necessary to close the transaction, which normally include a direction to the vendor telling him how you wish to take title to the property; a direction to your financial institution authorizing them to pay your mortgage funds to me in trust; and the mortgage documents. I will inform you of the amount of money you will be required to give to me on the closing day. You must provide me with a certified cheque drawn in favour of my law firm in trust.
On the Closing Date.
The vendor's lawyer and I will arrange a mutually convenient time to meet at the Registry Office to close the transaction. I will give to the vendor's lawyer certified cheques, the direction regarding title and any other necessary documents. The vendor's lawyer will give me a number of things, including a deed, the keys to the property and any other documents that I have requested. I will update my search of title and then register the deed and the mortgage against the title to the property. At this point the transaction is closed. You will be informed of the closing and arrangements will be made for you to pick up your keys.
Following Closing.
I will notify the assessment office and any other necessary parties of the change of ownership. I will send you a full report of the transaction along with your deed and a copy of your mortgage. |
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