In Ontario, a residential transaction must be completed through a lawyer's office. The transfer is registered electronically, and the required compliance statements are made by the lawyer acting on the file.
Before an agreement becomes firm, its terms remain open to negotiation, including the price, the deposit, the closing date, the conditions and their deadlines, the requisition date, and what is included in the sale. Once the conditions are waived, those terms are fixed and both parties are bound.
Foote Law acts for buyers and sellers in residential transactions from our offices in Orangeville and Fergus and throughout Ontario. Our real estate practice also covers refinancing, title transfers, condominium reviews, leases, and independent legal advice.
Foote Law represents clients in Orangeville, Fergus, Shelburne, Alliston, Barrie, Owen Sound, Newmarket, Brampton, the Greater Toronto Area, and throughout Ontario through both in-person and virtual appointments.
Foote Law acts for buyers and sellers in residential transactions from our offices in Orangeville and Fergus and throughout Ontario. Our real estate practice also covers refinancing, title transfers, condominium reviews, leases, and independent legal advice.
The agreement sets the price, the deposit, the closing date, and the conditions that allow you to withdraw, typically financing, inspection, and on a condominium, review of the status certificate.
A review before the conditions are waived is the point at which a term can still be changed.
A title search confirms the seller's right to sell and identifies what is registered against the property: mortgages, liens, executions, easements, and rights of way.
Off-title searches address matters the registry does not record, including unpaid municipal taxes, zoning compliance, outstanding work orders, and utility arrears. Which of these are ordered depends on the property and on whether title insurance is being obtained.
The agreement sets a date by which your lawyer must deliver written objections to title. A known defect that is not raised by that date can no longer be objected to, apart from a narrow category of issues going to the root of title, such as an outstanding execution or a Planning Act violation, which can be raised up to closing.
Where a valid requisition is made and the seller does not resolve it, you may be entitled to refuse to close.
Your lawyer reviews the status certificate, which covers the corporation's financial position and the obligations that will attach to your unit. The review addresses the reserve fund, any special assessment, common expense arrears on the unit, the declaration, by-laws and rules, the corporation's insurance, and any litigation involving the corporation.
The corporation must provide the certificate within ten days of a request and payment of the fee.
Your lender sends instructions to your lawyer, who prepares and registers the mortgage and confirms the lender's conditions have been met.
Your lawyer prepares the statement of adjustments, which prorates property taxes, condominium fees, and other items between you and the seller. On closing, funds are transferred, the transfer is registered, and the keys are released once registration is confirmed.
Your lawyer responds to the buyer's requisitions, obtains a payout statement from your lender, and arranges for the mortgage to be discharged from title. Any other registered encumbrance, including a lien or an old undischarged charge, must also be cleared.
On a condominium sale, your lawyer coordinates delivery of the status certificate. A buyer takes the property as it is in most respects, but a seller cannot conceal a defect, and a known latent defect that makes the property dangerous or unfit to live in must be disclosed. A failure on either point can lead to a claim after closing.
On closing, your lawyer receives the funds, pays out the mortgage, the commission, and any liens, and releases the balance to you.
Land transfer tax is paid by the buyer on closing, calculated on a graduated scale against the purchase price. Your lawyer calculates it and remits it on registration.
A first-time buyer may qualify for a provincial rebate of up to $4,000. Eligibility depends on all of the following:
Title insurance is not mandatory in Ontario, though most lawyers and lenders require it and most residential purchases close with a policy in place.
It covers risks a search cannot always reveal, including title fraud, errors in prior registrations, survey and boundary problems, and certain unpermitted work. The premium is paid once and the policy remains in force for as long as you own the property.
A property outside a serviced municipality raises questions an urban purchase does not:
A failed septic system, an access route with no registered right of way, and an unpermitted structure are problems that remain with the property after closing.
A newly built home must be enrolled in the Tarion warranty programme, which provides staged coverage against defects and refunds deposits up to $20,000 where the builder does not complete.
On a pre-construction condominium, you have ten days after receiving the disclosure statement and signed agreement to review both with your lawyer and cancel for any reason, with your deposit returned.
There is no cooling-off period on a resale home in Ontario. Once the agreement is firm, both parties are bound.
Where a buyer fails to close, the deposit is forfeited to the seller without the seller having to prove any loss. A court can relieve against forfeiture where the deposit is grossly disproportionate to the seller's loss, but that threshold is high. Damages are a separate claim on top of the deposit, and can include the shortfall if the property resells for less, together with carrying costs during the delay.
Where a seller cannot deliver clear title, or refuses to close, the buyer may be entitled to terminate, recover the deposit, and claim damages. If a closing is at risk, obtain advice before the closing date.
Residential closings commonly run from thirty to ninety days between a firm agreement and closing day, and the date is set by the agreement itself. The file should be opened as soon as the agreement is signed, so searches are ordered while there is still time to address what they find.
Bring us the agreement before it is firm, or as soon as it is signed, and we will review the terms, order the searches, and tell you what needs to be addressed while there is still time to address it.
Foote Law acts for buyers and sellers throughout Ontario from our offices in Orangeville and Fergus, in person and virtually. Contact Foote Law today to schedule a consultation.
