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Once your offer for your dream house has been accepted, there is still so much to do before you can call the house trully yours. In the following article, an experienced realtor from Toronto will highlight the most important steps of the process.

As soon as the seller has accepted your offer, you should meet with your legal adviser and talk about all the obligations under the contract. The legal adviser should also advise you as to what expenses you are likely to incur with respect to the closing procedures, including Land Transfer Tax, disbursements and legal fees.

UTILITIES

The legal adviser will also send letters to all the concerned municipal or regional utility departments, in order to verify there are no arrears or outstanding charges for gas, water or hydro expenses. Another purpose of these letters is to find out if the equipment on the property is rented or owned, and also to inform the utility departments about the planned closing date, the new owner’s name and the name of the vendor’s legal adviser. In these letters, it is also important to request information regarding the type of billing and if the billing is metered.

TAXES

Taxes is another relevant topic. You will have to provide a Tax Certificate, which will confirm the amount of the current year’s taxes and any arrears and outstanding charges for the current year and any preceding years.

BUILDING & ZONING

Your legal adviser will also send a letter to the Building and Zoning Department, along with a copy of survey for the property. The purpose of this is to disclose all the particulars of zoning by-laws and restrictions concerning the distance from the street and side and rear lines, construction type, lot and building areas, lot frontage and depth requirements and permitted uses.

TITLE & EXECUTION SEARCH

The appropriate division of the Land Registry Office will start a Search of title to the property in order to find out whether or not the vendor is the owner of the property and whether or not he has the legal right to convey the property. The search also reveals if the property is not a subject to any encumbrances, encroachments, easements, liens, agreements or mortgages that were not described in the Agreement or Purchase and Sale. Also an execution search is made in the appropriate Sheriff’s Office to confirm that there are no executions against the vendor or previous owners of the property that would affect your title.

FINANCING

While your legal adviser is doing his initial searches, it is your responsibility to make necessary arrangements for financing. Already before signing the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, you should have decided the amount of financing you will qualify for and the amount you will require to complete the deal. On the day of closing, you might not be aware of all the fees related to mortgage financing. Your legal adviser can advise you of these fees when the financial institution that you chose provides you with a Mortgage Commitment Letter.

BEFORE THE DAY OF CLOSING

A few days before the closing, you will need to come to your legal adviser’s office to sign all the necessary documents and to produce a certified cheque to verify the balance of closing funds.

CLOSING DAY

Yours and the vendor’s solicitors will meet at the appropriate Land Registry Office at a time convenient to both of them. They will subsearch the title and complete the final execution searches. Documents, keys and cheques will be exchanged and your legal adviser will supervise the registration of all necessary documents. Once the documents have been registered the vendor’s legal adviser may release the funds to his clients and your legal adviser may release the keys to you.

AFTER CLOSING

After closing your legal adviser will write a reporting letter to you certifying your title and explaining all details of the transaction. Then you are finally free to move in to your new place! Just make sure to check that all items that should be included in the purchase price, as specified in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, are left on the property by the vendor. If you believe something is absent, contact your legal adviser immediately.

Technorati Tags: home, house, offer, property, Real Estate

Even after your bid for the property you decided to buy has been accepted by the seller, there’s plenty left to do before you can rightfully move in. In the following article, an experienced Toronto realtor will familiarize you with the most important steps of the process.

Once the offer has been accepted, your legal adviser should explain to you your responsibilities under the contract. Your attorney should help you to understand all the expenses related to the closing procedures, including Land Transfer Tax, disbursements and legal fees.

UTILITIES

Letters are sent by your legal adviser to all municipal or regional utility departments to validate that there are no arrears or outstanding charges, such as gas, water or hydro expenses. These letters also verify if the equipment on the property is rented or owned and they also advise the various utility departments of the scheduled closing date, the new owner’s name and the name of the vendor’s legal adviser. These letters also demand information as to the type of billing and if the billing is metered.

TAXES

Your legal adviser will ask for a Tax Certificate to confirm the current year’s taxes amount and to find out any arrears and outstanding charges for taxes, both in the current year and in any preceding ones.

BUILDING & ZONING

A letter is sent by your legal adviser to the Building and Zoning Department along with a copy of the survey for the property to disclose the full details of zoning by-laws and restrictions relating to the distance from the street and side and rear lines, type of construction, lot areas and building areas, lot frontage and depth requirements and permitted uses.

TITLE & EXECUTION SEARCH

A Search of title to the property is commenced in the appropriate division of the Land Registry Office to establish whether or not the vendor is the owner of the property, whether or not he has the right to convey the property, and that the property is not subject to any encumbrances, encroachments, easements, liens, agreements or mortgages that were not disclosed in the Agreement or Purchase and Sale. Also an execution search is made in the appropriate Sheriff’s Office to confirm that there are no executions against the vendor or prior owners of the property that would affect your title.

FINANCING

All the initial searches we have just described are taken care of by your legal adviser. In the meantime, it is up to you to make all the necessary arrangements concerning the financial side of the business. Already before signing the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, you should have decided the amount of financing you will qualify for and the amount you will require to finish the deal. There are always some costs related to mortgage financing that you haven’t known about on the day of closing. Again, it is a good idea to ask your legal adviser about these costs, when you get the Mortgage Commitment Letter from the financial institution that you have selected.

BEFORE THE DAY OF CLOSING

You will also need a certified cheque to confirm the balance of closing funds to your legal adviser. Bring this with you when you come to sign all the documents needed a few days before the closing.

CLOSING DAY

Your legal adviser will arrange an appointment with the vendor’s legal adviser at the appropriate Land Registry Office to subsearch the title and finish the execution searches. The solicitors will exchange all the documents, keys and cheques and your solicitor will attend to the registration of all the necessary documents. Once the documents have been registered the vendor’s legal adviser may release the finances to his clients and your legal adviser may release the keys to you.

AFTER CLOSING

After closing your legal adviser will prepare a reporting letter to you certifying your title and explaining all details of the transaction. When you move in to your new home check to see that all items in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale specified as included in the purchase price are left on the property by the vendor. If you think something is missing, contact your legal adviser immediately.

Technorati Tags: home, house, offer, property, Real Estate