Your Real Estate Lawyer Wants You To Know These 9 Things
This week we continue our series on how real estate transactions work. These are the 9 things your real estate lawyer wants you to know. In our experience, most people have questions about how a real estate transaction works. Hopefully, this will answer most of those questions so your real estate lawyer doesn't have to!
9 Things Your Real Estate Lawyer Wishes You Already Knew
There is going to be a lot of documents that you are going to have to sign. You need to make yourself available for signing. This might mean taking some time off work or coming in on your lunch break.
While many things can be done electronically now, not everything can be. Please let us know as soon as possible if you will be going out of town before your purchase or sale closes. That way we can make whatever arrangements are necessary to get your deal signed.
2. We cannot predict what time your transaction will close. The majority of deals we work with are done using the OREA real estate forms. Those forms say we have until 6:00 pm to close the transaction. This means that your deal may not close until the very end of the day. We cannot release your keys or your funds until the deal has closed.
We strongly recommend not scheduling service installations (internet/TV), movers or making plans for your net sale proceeds until the day after closing just to be safe.
Ensure Your Family Is Not Caught By Surprise When Things Go Wrong
1 If you are selling your house, you need to be out by the time the transaction closes. This could be anytime between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm. You do not have until 6:00 pm to be fully moved out of the house. We recommend making sure you are packed up as much as possible the night before. That way you can be completely out of the house as early as possible.
2. If at all possible, do not buy a new house the same day you are selling your current house. If you need the net sale proceeds in order to purchase a new home, we recommend bridge financing.
Bridge financing is a temporary loan from the bank. It allows you to buy your new house before selling your current one. The bank will lend you money for your down payment on the new home before you sell the old one, which is known as a bridge loan. Once your old home is sold you pay the bank back the bridge loan plus the interest. This gives you more time to pack and move your belongings while allowing for any unforeseen circumstances.
3. You should always have a “backup” plan. In the event that your purchase or sale does not close on the scheduled closing date, you need somewhere to go. Although we do everything we can to ensure that your purchase or sale closes on time, sometimes there are things that are beyond our control which can affect your closing.
It is far better to be prepared for the possibility that your deal may not close rather than to scramble at the last minute.
Have A Backup Plan
4. Your down payment, legal fees and disbursements will need to be provided to us in the form of either a bank draft or a wire transfer. We cannot accept personal cheques or e-transfers for closing funds. Depending on where you bank or where your down payment is coming from, this can take some time.
For example, Tangerine Bank requires you to order a bank draft. This can take up to two weeks to be delivered.
5. If there is an issue with your final walk-through or any other aspect of your transaction please tell us as soon as possible so that we can do something about it prior to closing. If you don’t tell us about a problem or potential problem then there is nothing that we can do to solve it.
6. While most first-home buyers are entitled to a rebate for the land transfer tax of up to $4,000.00 on their first home, there are some situations where this cannot be claimed at the time of closing or cannot be claimed at all. For example, if your parent is required by the bank to be on title to the home with you for mortgage financing reasons, then you will be required to pay the land transfer tax up front and apply for it back later.
7. Avoid closing your purchase or sale on a Friday. If there is a delay for any reason, we then have to wait until the next business day, which is Monday, in order to fix or address it. We recommend a day in the middle of the week. If something unexpected happens we have the opportunity to fix it the next day rather than waiting over the weekend.
Why Are We Thunder Bay's Highest-Rated Real Estate Lawyers?
If you choose Larson Lawyers as your real estate lawyer, we promise to make your experience as smooth as possible. We love to text back and forth with our clients to have the best communication with our clients. You can bring your dog to your signing appointment. We will soothe your frayed nerves throughout because we know you will have lots of questions. Looking forward to hearing from you!