Do you need the help of a real estate lawyer in Toronto or a professional second opinion before you agree to buy or sell your home? Not sure what exactly a closing lawyer or real estate lawyer in Toronto does or why you need one to complete your transaction? At Zinati Kay – Real Estate Lawyers, we want to provide the answers for you, so you can make informed decisions about your real estate investments. Here’s what our real estate legal services include and why we’re the team you need to get the job done in Toronto, Canada.
If you are selling your home, your lawyer will ensure that you only provide the buyer with what you have agreed to buy, as well as make sure the funds are properly received before giving the deed to the buyer. They will also pay any outstanding mortgages and real estate commissions, deliver the keys, and let the utility companies know of the closing.
If you plan to sell your home before you purchase a new property, your lawyer will make sure the funds from your sale are applied to your purchase. If you are doing the opposite and buying before you sell, your lawyer will take care of the bridge loan.
The first step when buying a home is usually to sign an Agreement of Purchase and Sale form. This agreement details each person’s rights and obligations and sets out what needs to happen before closing. This agreement should be reviewed by a lawyer before you sign to prevent you from agreeing to something you don’t fully understand or aren’t interested in. When buying a new home from a builder, this is even more important, as there are numerous and lengthy provisions in these agreements, including ones related to additional charges and changes to the closing date. If you are purchasing a resale home, the standard agreements are familiar to most agents and balance the interests of both the vendors and the purchasers. This agreement may not need to be reviewed by a lawyer before signing.
Once this purchase agreement has been brought to the lawyer, they will review it and advise you. They will also recommend any changes that should be incorporated into the agreement to protect your interests better. When the agreement is finalized, your lawyer’s job is to ensure that you get what you are entitled to in the agreement. Your lawyer will also make sure you do not buy someone else’s legal problems or debts when you purchase your home.
We take the same approach to mortgage refinancing as we do for mortgage purchases and sales. Title transfers may be required to finance the property, or if there are any separations, inter family transfers, or transfers between business partners or friends. We always try to compete these transactions as quickly and efficiently as possible for our clients, so they aren’t required to wait long periods of time to refinance their property and receive their funds.
Through title insurance, your lawyer can obtain an Assurance of Title. This is a policy of insurance that guarantees your title to the property. This policy also provides protection against any fraud or forgery that may have occurred on title and may contain a “Defense of Title” provision if a claim was made against your title.
Your lawyer will contact the utility companies to have meters read and to have the new bills forwarded to you. Your lawyer will also prepare any paperwork for the bank and receive the mortgage money to be applied if you are obtaining a mortgage. Your will sign the documents at the lawyer’s office, provide your down payment balance, and Land Transfer Tax, and pick up your keys at their office.
An assignment is the name for when you are selling your interest in a property before taking possession. In other words, you are selling the contract with the builder to a new purchaser. When you, the seller, assigns a property, you are not actually selling it as you do not own it—instead, you are selling your promise to purchase it, along with the requirements of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale contract. Assignments sales can be complex, so your lawyer will ensure you understand the terms and expectations of the arrangement.
We provide you with a proper condo document review so that you have the knowledge necessary to make a wise decision when purchasing a new home. The findings of the document review are usually made available to you through an Executive Summary, which will include financials, an evaluation of reserve fund studies, and a review of the lawyer’s overall findings. You and your lawyer can work together to organize and review this information.
A title search ensures that the seller has full legal rights to sell a property and that there are no outstanding encumbrances such as a lien or a mortgage. While some law firms do their title searches online, at Zinati Kay – Real Estate Lawyers, we hire a professional title searcher to conduct searches and provide us a report on title before closing. Although many firms prefer to do a title search online, we prefer to hire an experienced title searched for home purchases so that you benefit from an extra set of experienced eyes reviewing your title.
We service cities within and outside the Greater Toronto Area, including:
If you are looking for real estate closing lawyers in Toronto, consider Zinati Kay – Real Estate Lawyers. We are a full service residential real estate law firm that provides fixed closing costs to buyers and sellers when they buy, sell, mortgage, or title transfer their property. We have been in business for 25 years and have closed over 21,000 real estate transactions. We have three lawyers to service our clients and were one of the first firms to provide fixed closing costs. We provide professional service and reasonable real estate lawyer fees and have thousands of satisfied clients to prove it. If you need any assistance, contact us at (416) 321-8766 for more information about our services.