Whether you are a seasoned investor or a first-time home buyer, buying a home is an exciting venture. In order to ensure a smooth closing, we will ask our clients to assist us with some of the following items:
- Please provide us with contact information so that we can respond to your inquiries on a timely basis
- Please provide us a copy of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale or ask your agent to send a copy to us.
- We will ask you for the correct spelling of your name, Dates of Birth and marital Status for your title/deed registration
- How you want to hold title – we will be happy to explain the various ways to hold title your property
- We recommend finalizing your mortgage or line of credit financing at least two weeks prior to closing so that your lender will provide us with your mortgage or line of credit instructions
- If you are buying a house, all mortgage lenders will require borrowers to obtain home insurance with the mortgage lender listed on the policy as a mortgagee (does not usually apply to condos, since the condo corp usually provides the mortgagees insurance coverage)
- Please contact utilities and services providers to alert them of your move, and to open a new account and provide personal information, including credit cards
- We will want to meet with you two or three days prior to closing to sign your final closing and mortgage documents.
- Keys are typically sent by the Seller’s realtor to the Buyer’s realtor and held in trust until closing. The keys are releasable once the transaction is complete.
Our services to facilitate your home purchase include:
- Reviewing the Purchase of Sale Agreement
- Reviewing a Status Certificate (for condos) and reporting our findings to you
- Conducting a full title search and execution (lien) search
- Obtaining a tax certificate from the municipality
- Sending a letter to the Seller’s lawyer identifying any title issues
- Preparing final closing and mortgage documents
- Meeting with you to explain and sign your closing documents
- Arrange title insurance to protect you and your mortgage lender
- Reviewing the Transfer (Deed) and the Statement of Adjustment to assess whether you or the seller are owed sums for taxes and common expenses (condos)
- Preparing mortgage documents based on instructions from your mortgage or line of credit lender
- Registering your Transfer (Deed) and mortgage(s) (also applies to secured lines of credit)
- Calculating outstanding figures on any mortgage or liens and arrange for these to be paid upon closing
- Ensuring that any back taxes and liens are paid by the Seller at closing
- Alerting the municipality of change of ownership
- Providing you with a final report letter
Selling a home requires much of the same diligence and obligations as purchasing. Your home will surely be one of the biggest investments you make, so we want to ensure that upon leaving the property, there are no lingering disparities or issues that can arise and potentially disrupt the sale.
The following are the some of the steps that we take and some of the items we will ask you to help us with to ensure a smooth closing:
- Please provide us with your contact information so that we can respond to your inquiries on a timely basis
- Please provide us a copy of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale or ask your agent to send a copy to us.
- We will ask you for your forwarding address for the title/deed registration
- Please contact utilities and services providers to alert them of your move, but we request that you also call your hydro and gas provider to do a final meter reading and send you a final bill after closing
- If you have an oil or propane tank, please confirm with us if they should be filled before closing – please send us your final “fill-up” invoice so that we can adjust for that at closing and reimburse you
- We will want to meet with you two or three days prior to closing to sign your final closing documents – we can meet you earlier if you prefer to accommodate your schedule
- Please provide us with a copy of your most recent property tax bill
- Please provide us with the bank and loan number for each mortgage or line of credit registered against to the property
- You may wish to speak with your mortgage lender to be aware of any pre-payment charges
- Please relay any potential problems to us so we may act accordingly
Accordingly, we need to take steps on our end as well to assure that the sale of your property is executed on time and without issue.
What we do includes:
- Reviewing the Purchase of Sale Agreement and ensure all conditions are met
- Preparing closing documents
- Requesting a mortgage or line of credit payout statement from your lender(s)
- Calculating outstanding figures on any mortgage and arrange for these to be paid upon sales proceeds
- Obtaining the final signatures and closing the transaction with the buyer’s lawyer
- Informing relevant tax department and utilities (hydro and gas) of the change of ownership
- Paying the balance of the commission to your real estate brokerage
- Paying the balance of the sale to you
Refinancing can certainly be a cost-effective way to access capital for a homeowner, particularly if you are benefitting from a lower interest rate or trying to free up equity to be used for renovations or to put towards your children's education.
The following are the some of the steps that we take and some of the items we will ask you to help us with to ensure a smooth closing:
- Please provide our contact information to your mortgage or line of credit lender or broker
- Please provide us with the bank and loan number for each mortgage or line of credit registered against to the property
- We recommend that you speak with your mortgage lender to be aware of any pre-payment charges or penalties that may apply to
refinancing
your existing mortgage
- Please provide us with a copy of your most recent property tax bill
We will:
- Prepare the required mortgage and related documents
- Obtain a sub-search of the title
- Review payout balances outstanding on your existing mortgage or line of credit, and arrange for these to be paid upon receiving the refinance proceeds
- Meet with you to obtain signatures on closing documents
- Providing you with a copy of the final report letter
