Toronto Real Estate - Legal Issues

Whether thinking about buying or selling, sooner or later consumers hire a lawyer to complete the transaction.  During the process you expect a lawyer to advise and protect you.  Unfortunately, this is often later rather than sooner - after the offer to purchase or mortgage commitment had been concluded. This is too late for the lawyer to completely protect you.

An agreement of Purchase and Sale is a binding agreement between two parties (the Buyer and the Seller).  Once signed and delivered it commits the consumer to its terms, even if the consumer later learns that these terms are not what he fully expected.

A mortgage commitment reflects the conditions upon which the lender will advance the funds.  Often, if you later determine the details are not satisfactory to you, there is no time available to seek other financing for your intended purpose.   Even if there is time, there will be money thrown away by abandoning the mortgage.

Selecting a lawyer is a sometimes a difficult decision.  As cost is always an important factor, ask perspective lawyers for a quote on closing costs.  Ask them “what does your fee include”?  Be sure to determine of any quotes/fees include the labour components.

Equally important to consider is the lawyer’s skill, trust, availability and convenience.  Although all Ontario lawyers are trained in real estate transactions, not all practice extensively in this area of the law.  Trust is a matter of reputation – feel free to ask for references.  Keep in mind that many real estate transactions occur in the evenings and on weekends - outside of the normal business hours.  You want to have a lawyer who will be available to you when you need them.