subject: Real Estate Lawyers or Notary Publics in Vancouver [print this page] Understanding the services of your Lawyer or Notary Public
Legal representation in a real estate transaction is vital. Even those who choose to navigate the sale of their home without the assistance of a real estate agent will absolutely require the services of a lawyer or notary to handle the closing and conveyance. You risk litigation and hundreds of thousands of dollars if you get it wrong it's a gamble that most are not willing to take. It's also important to remember that lawyers have liability insurance covering any oversights that might occur.
The problem of choosing the lawyer that's right for you is best solved through referral from a good friend or family member. Your lawyer not only acts as legal guide for your contract but also oversees the entire process of transferring the property's title from the seller over to you. Following are a few key roles to be handled by your lawyer:
Making arrangements with your mortgage lender to have funds transferred to the seller. The lawyer will drat a mortgage statement to double-check that all conditions have been met and all totals are correct.
Take care of all adjustments. Adjustments include any per diem monetary amounts that the buyer will be liable for as a result of closing before the regular billing period of the seller. This can include prepaid property taxes and interest on mortgage money advanced prior to the scheduled payment date.
Contact your insurance agent to ensure that your home insurance is in place at the time of closing.
Carry out a title search of the property to ensure that the sellers are the current legal owners before title transfer. A title search is also important to ensure that no liens have been placed against the property. A lien is a legal charge that a tradesperson for example can place on a property as action against unpaid wages for work completed.
Carry out the conveyance or transfer of deed from the seller to you on the closing date. The balance of the purchase price (purchase price minus deposit), plus any adjustments and the keys will be handed over to the new owner
Draw up a final statement of account for you as the buyer. This document will be a final statement of the financial transactions between you, your lawyer, your lender and the seller. Items on the statement will include the purchase price of the home, adjustments owed to the seller, the deposit, mortgage money from the lender, HST or land transfer tax and legal fees including disbursements.
Legal representation might seem a little pricey but their fees are more that worth the value they provide. You don't want to make some innocent mistake and end up on the wrong end of a law suite.
Real Estate Lawyers or Notary Publics in Vancouver
