FAQs

Some of the common closing costs include:

• Property Transfer Tax 
• Legal Fees
• Interest Adjustment
• Property Tax and Utilities Adjustment
• Monthly Strata Fee Adjustments & Strata Form B and F Certificates
• Survey Certificate
• Title Insurance
• Insurance Binder

The list is not exhaustive. Closing costs may vary depending on the type of the property and the requirements of the lending institution. We can only confirm the final cost once we have the complete information.

If the property is owned by 2 or more people, the title owners are registered either as Tenants in Common or Joint Tenants.

In the case of joint tenancy, there is the right of survivorship. When one joint tenant dies, his/her interest in the property automatically ends and transfers to the other joint tenant(s). The joint-tenancy co-owners always own the property in equal shares (i.e. 50/50; one-third/one-third/one-third; 25/25/25/25 etc). Most married or common-law couples register the ownership in joint tenancy.

In the case of tenancy in common, there is no right of survivorship and therefore your interest in the property does not transfer to the other co-owner(s) when you pass away. The interest you hold is considered a part of your estate and is distributed according to your Will. The interest that each co-owner own does not need to be equal (i.e. 10/90 split). This is common among owners who are business partners.

Once you have signed the Contract and all the subjects have been removed, you should inform your realtor and lender (if any) about the notary or lawyer you choose to represent you. The realty office and the lender will send all pertinent documents such as the Contract, conveyance report and mortgage documents to the notary or lawyer’s office so the file can be started.

When you decide to retain us to complete your real estate transactions, please contact our office to confirm our retainer. To avoid any additional fees, we require the Contract and all pertinent documents to be forwarded to us at least 10 business days prior to the completion date. Once all the legal documents have been prepared, we will book an appointment for you to execute the documents. This appointment usually is arranged around 2 - 3 business days prior to the completion date.

We require the Contract to be sent to us at least 10 business days prior to the completion date. This is because there are a lot of information that we need to verify, gather and obtain. However, we understand some real estate transactions need to be completed within a short time frame. Therefore, for your convenience, we also provide rush service for an additional fee. Please call our office for more information.

We recommend a Will for anyone over the age of 16 who:

• owns property including real estate, vehicles or other assets;
• is married and/or has children;

wishes to have someone he/she trusts to take care of the estate after his/her death.

Before making a Will, we recommend you prepare the following:

• Full names and addresses of your first choice executor and alternate executor(s);
• Full names and addresses of all beneficiaries and alternate beneficiaries;
• A brief list of your assets and their approximate values;
• A brief description of how you want your estate to be distributed;
• If you have minor children, the name and address of the person(s) you wish to designate as guardian;

If you own any real estate, a copy of the State of Title Certificate.

Although you have a Will, we recommend that you review your Will every year. Circumstances such as the following should prompt you to update your Will:

• Have your family circumstances changed? (i.e. you have more children or adopt a child)
• Has there been a death in your family?
• Are you satisfied with your choice of Executor / Guardian and is he/she still able to administer your estate / look after your minor children?
• Has there been any change in your assets? Is there any gift specifically mentioned in your Will been sold?
• Have there been any recent changes to legislation that may affect your Will?

If you need to make changes to your Will, please do not write on the original Will. Things such as writing further instructions to your executor, crossing out lines or changing names of the beneficiaries, may void your Will. Please contact us if you need to change or update your Will.

In most cases, the process takes 2 meetings. During the first meeting, our Notary will spend time to explain the legal framework, learn about your situation, understand your wishes and address any concerns. Then we will arrange a second meeting, in about a week’s time after the first meeting, for you to review the Will and execute the Will.

An Attorney can be anyone over 19 years old but he/she can’t be someone who provides personal care or health care services to you for compensation or who is an employee of a facility in which you reside. An exception to this rule is if the Attorney is your parent, spouse or child.

The Attorney you appoint should be someone you completely trust.

Yes, you can change or revoke your Power of Attorney as long as you are capable. If you make a new Power of Attorney, it does not automatically revoke your previous one. There are specific rules. You must give written notice to the attorney and any third parties (i.e. financial institutions).

No, it is not necessary to make an appointment for notarizations. However, we highly recommend that you do, so our Notaries can make themselves available to see you.

For documents to be verified as certified true copies, you need to bring the original documents.

For any other documents such as those to be signed under oath (e.g. Declarations, Affidavits), you need to bring 2 pieces of IDs - one of which is a government-issued ID that includes the person’s name, current address, signature and photograph and the other piece bearing your name and signature. Acceptable examples of IDs include passport, driver’s license, credit cards or health care card.