Experienced Real Estate Lawyers
When navigating the complex world of real estate transactions, having a knowledgeable and dedicated legal team on your side can make all the difference. At Beffa Law, our team of experienced real estate lawyers and staff are committed to protecting YOUR interests every step of the way. Whether you are buying, selling, or leasing property, we understand the importance of ensuring that your rights are safeguarded and that your transaction proceeds smoothly. With our expertise and personalized approach, you can trust that you are in good hands with us as your advocates in the real estate process.
How Our Real Estate Lawyers Can Help You
As your lawyer, we will ensure that you understand all the legal implications of the deal and protect you from misleading information while safeguarding your real estate deal from a legal standpoint. Some key aspects we will take care of include
Whether you need help with residential real estate scenarios or negotiating leases, our experienced team offers support and guidance. If you’re searching for trustworthy Oakville real estate lawyers to assist with your next transaction, reach out to us at Beffa Law today!
Real Estate Lawyer Fees
At our Oakville real estate law office, our goal is to ensure that all of our clients are fully informed about their closing costs right from the start, in order to avoid unexpected financial surprises. We maintain transparency about our legal fees, and our knowledgeable team, led by Monica Beffa (L.B., J.D.), actively keeps our clients informed throughout the closing process. We provide a detailed breakdown of our legal fees and review all potential costs associated with a real estate transaction, explaining each line item so our clients fully understand the entire process and can make informed decisions.
We believe that this type of transparency greatly benefits you as our clients—it allows you to have a clear understanding of all expenses before signing any contracts or agreements, to stay within your budget, and plan ahead for any additional costs that may arise during the transaction.
In addition, knowing closing fees helps reduce stress in what can be an already stressful situation. Our clients can fully anticipate the end result and feel confident in the decisions they make throughout the process. With Oakville real estate lawyers at Beffa Law, you can rest assured that your closing costs will always be explained in full detail from start to finish.
Your Trusted Partner for Every Real Estate Transaction
At our law firm, we are dedicated to providing each of our clients with comprehensive legal counsel tailored to their individual needs. We have years of experience in estate planning and business law, allowing us to provide the knowledgeable advice you can rely on. Additionally, our services cover family law practice, which assures that your family matters are handled with the utmost sensitivity. Our firm’s commitment to excellence has resulted in our professionals being referred back again and again for other legal services.
Purchasing or selling a home can be an enormous undertaking, often demanding a great deal of effort and time. With that being said, we proudly offer our clients exclusive “after hours” appointments to fit into whatever schedule they may have. These meetings can be conducted over the phone, in person or via Zoom video meetings. This option is designed to offer convenience and flexibility at our customers fingertips!
At Beffa Law, we are proud to serve clients not only from Oakville but also from other areas including Milton, Burlington, Mississauga, Hamilton, and the entire Greater Toronto Area. Our dedicated team of real estate law professionals is committed to providing exceptional legal services to help you navigate the complexities of real estate transactions, wherever you may be located. We understand that our clients may be located farther away, and we strive to make our services as accessible as possible. You can meet with our lawyers using video conferencing, make payments online, and communicate with us via a secure web portal.
Real Estate FAQ
A real estate transaction usually takes at least a few weeks to a few months to be finalized. It is a long, complicated, and expensive process that involves many steps where multiple individuals work together to ultimately transfer the home from the seller to the buyer. Here are some of the steps that you will face during a real estate transaction:
1. Obtain a pre-approval on a mortgage. A pre-approval will help determine the cost of the home that you will be able to afford and identify the size of the loan your lender will offer you to finance your home.
2. Hire a Real Estate Agent who will help you find the right home.
3. Make an offer on the home and place a deposit.
4. Retain a real estate lawyer who will conduct a title search for the property to ensure there are no deficiencies, liens, or other issues with the property. The seller and buyer need to have separate lawyers.
5. You may conduct an inspection of the home with the help of a home inspector to identify any physical problems of the home.
6. Conduct a final walkthrough of the property to ensure that all conditions have been met and that no new issues have developed since you first saw the property.
7. Obtain your mortgage to finance the property.
8. Have the lawyer review and prepare the closing documents.
9. Deposit mortgage funds into your lawyer’s account. On the closing date, the seller’s lawyer will receive these funds from the purchase’s lawyer who will in turn provide the keys for the new home.
10. Move into and enjoy your new home!
In Ontario, it is mandatory to hire a lawyer for a real estate deal as only lawyers have the authority to register land title deeds. Without a lawyer, the property’s title from the seller will not be transferred to the buyer. An experienced real estate lawyer will also help you spot any issues that may affect your property and rectify them for you.
The law requires the buyer and seller to have separate lawyers to help with their side of the real estate transaction.
Purchasing your home can be an exciting moment. You may want to close the deal quickly and move into your new home as soon as possible. However, it is important to take your time to carefully review the conditions in your agreement of purchase and sale prior to signing to ensure that you are satisfied with your purchase. Here are some conditions that you should include in your offer of purchase and sale to ensure you do not face any challenges in case the deal goes south.
– Financing term. If you require a mortgage to purchase the home, you should always make the deal conditional on you being approved for financing and even obtaining your mortgage.
– Home Inspection. This condition will allow you to conduct a thorough home inspection with a home inspector and identify any defects in the home. It will allow you to walk away from the deal in case you find some serious issues.
– Fixtures/Appliances. To ensure that the home will be sold with any of the appliances or fixtures, it is essential to list them in the agreement. Otherwise, the sellers will the right to remove them and take them to their new property.
– Sale of Current Home. You may make the purchase of your new home conditional on the sale of your existing home. This will allow you to break the contract in the event you fail to sell your home.
– A deposit can be made conditional upon other events you decide fit your situation. If those events do not occur, you will be able to return your deposit. Otherwise, you may lose the deposit and may even be ordered to pay additional costs.
Although a home inspection is not required, and may sometimes be waived, it is recommended that you hire a home inspector before you purchase your home. A home inspection will help you identify any deficiencies in the home as sometimes sellers conceal the extent of damage that may exist in the home.
A home inspection is inexpensive and will save you money in the long run. You may also be able to negotiate the price of the home down to cover the costs of the damages or repairs.
In Ontario, if you are selling a property in which both you and your married spouse reside, you will be required to obtain your spouse’s consent to be able to sell the home. This requirement stands regardless of whether or not your spouse’s name is on the title to the property. A real estate lawyer will not be able to close the transaction without first obtaining consent. This requirement does not apply to common-law partners.
In Ontario, an agreement of purchase and sale is a contract that will legally bind both parties to the contract. It is enforceable in law and parties cannot usually break the contract without facing consequences. If either the buyer or the seller fails to close the transaction, they may be liable to pay compensation and extra fees to the other party.
Although some buyers and sellers are willing to renegotiate the deal or forgive the deposits, this is an uncommon practice. In fact, the opposite generally occurs, and one party chooses to sue the other for their losses. For example, if a buyer backs out of the deal, not only will the seller be able to retain the deposits, but the seller may also sue them for the difference if they sold the home for a lower price.
On the other hand, if a seller cancels the deal, the seller may be liable to the buyer for any damages resulting from the failed transaction. Such costs can be paying the buyer’s appraisal fees and commission, and the seller may even be liable to pay the price difference if the buyer buys another home for a higher price. The court may also force the sale of the property through a remedy called specific performance.
Overall, if you are unsure about your ability to follow through with the real estate transaction, it is best not to sign the agreement of purchase and sale as backing out of the transaction may be extremely expensive.
As soon as possible. Once our firm is involved, we can start working to protect the purchaser’s interests. When it comes to buying and selling real estate, the details are important. A fact or item incorrectly set out, or completely overlooked in the original Agreement of Purchase and Sale could develop into a legal dispute between the buyer and seller. Such problems can be avoided by obtaining legal advice from our firm early on in the process.
A purchaser will need to provide the following information to our firm:
Photo Identification – Copies of two pieces of photo identification (driver’s license and passport) will be required for each purchaser.
Date of Birth– Our firm requires the dates of birth of all purchasers.
Agreement of Purchase and Sale– A copy of the agreement should be forwarded to our firm.
Name of the Mortgage Lender – It is common on home purchases for the lawyer to perform certain legal services for the mortgage lender e.g. giving the lender a legal opinion on the title the purchaser will hold and ensuring the lender will have a valid mortgage on the property according to the mortgage agreement.
Inspection Report– A copy of any building inspection report that the purchaser may have received if required as a condition of your title insurance policy.
Address for Service– The address that will be registered on the deed for future contact. Usually this is the address of the property in question, but it may be a different address if the property is being purchased as an investment property.
Title– If there is more than one purchaser, you will need to instruct our firm whether the title will be taken as joint title or tenants-in-common.
Property Insurance – As a condition of the mortgage, the lender will require that property insurance be in place on the closing date. The purchaser’s insurance agent must send to our firm a certificate of insurance or binder letter showing that the insurance is in place and that the lender’s interest is noted on the property.
Closing Funds – On or before the date of closing, the purchaser will need to provide our firm with sufficient funds to complete the purchase by certified cheque, bank draft or money order. These funds include the balance owing to the vendor as well as land transfer tax and any other required adjustments such as property taxes or fuel oil. The lawyer will contact the purchaser prior to closing to provide the exact amount required.
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