Frequently Asked Questions

When buying a house in Ontario, your real estate lawyer will play an important role in the process. It is prudent to have the Agreement of Purchase and Sale reviewed by your lawyer before signing or waving any conditions to ensure that your interests are protected.

After you have signed the Agreement, your lawyer will take over to complete the legal steps required close the transaction. Closing steps include:

• Performing on title and off title searches
• Preparing the mortgage documentation
• Advising the applicable tax department of the purchase and change of ownership
• Preparing closing documents and meeting with you to sign and explain the same
• Registering the title transfer as well as any mortgages as appropriate
• Preparing a final report for you upon closing

Having a real estate lawyer review the Agreement of Purchase and Sale is just as important when selling a home as it is when you are buying. Having the Agreement reviewed by your real estate lawyer will help to ensure your interests are protected and that you will have no further liability issues once the sale of the house is closed.

The legal steps required to close on the sale of your home includes:

• Arranging to discharge any mortgage(s) registered on title
• Preparing title transfer documentation
• Preparing a Statement of Adjustments for the buyer’s lawyer
• Meeting with you explain and sign closing documents
• Delivering the closing package to the other lawyer
• Sending a final report to you upon closing

Title Insurance has become a standard in Ontario when buying a property. If you are entering into a mortgage agreement with a financial institution, it is likely that they will require you obtain title insurance to protect them from risk of loss for the mortgage amount. This insurance is also greatly beneficial for buyers and protects them from title issues that could arise for the duration of their ownership of the property.

When buying a property, there are a number of title issues that could arise. Examples of such issues include fraud, liens, encumbrances, tax arrears, zoning issues, work orders, forgery and impersonation amongst others. Title insurance will protect you as the owner as well as the mortgage provider against any damage or loss suffered as a result of covered risks. If a title defect arises after closing, it can then be reported to the title insurance company who will then either correct the issue or compensate the policy holder.

The offer to purchase a home is a contract referred to as an Agreement of Purchase and Sale. Once you have signed it and all the conditions have been fulfilled, you are contractually bound by the terms therein. We always recommend consulting a real estate lawyer before you sign the contract – especially if you are not familiar with this process.

Be sure to obtain as much information about the property in question before you sign any offers to purchase. Relevant information includes the following:

• amount of the annual property taxes
• information regarding any restrictions on the title to the property (to be confirmed by your real estate lawyer)
• a home inspection report
• confirm with your banker/mortgage advisor that you are eligible for the amount of mortgage financing required for this particular property

Yes, you may make your offer to purchase conditional on a number of different items. Common conditions include the following:

• obtaining a home inspection report
• obtaining suitable financing from a Lender of your choice
• your lawyer’s review and approval of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale

Refinancing or mortgaging a property in Ontario is generally a two-step process. First, you must be approved for a loan by a Lender such as a bank, financial institution or even a private lender; and second, you need to retain a lawyer to act for you (and in the case of a bank or institutional refinance, the same lawyer will act for the Lender too) to receive mortgage instructions from the Lender.

Upon receipt of instructions, the lawyer will draft and prepare mortgage documentation in accordance with the Lender’s instructions. You will need to sign off on these new mortgage documents with your lawyer shortly before closing the new mortgage. Once your lawyer has met all of the funding conditions, the Lender will release the mortgage funds to your lawyer in trust. A new mortgage will be registered on your property and in a short while thereafter the old mortgage will be deleted from your property. Your real estate lawyer will disburse that money as per Lender instructions, and any funds left on account after all payouts have been made will be released to you, the Borrower.

Ontario is an attractive market for many foreign buyers.  Purchasers from abroad may certainly purchase property in Ontario. Any legal entity (individual person, corporation, partnership or trust) whether foreign or domestic, may purchase real estate in Ontario. Depending on where they buy, they may be subject to the Non-Resident Speculation Tax. Depending on the foreign buyer’s status as a potential Resident or Citizen of Canada, that tax may be refundable. Please contact one of our Real Estate lawyers for further details about whether the tax applies to your purchase.

Study Permits allow foreign nationals to study in Canada. To be eligible, the foreign national must provide proof of acceptance into an approved institution and evidence of the required funds, amongst other documentation. Some students will be eligible for open work permits upon completion of their studies.

A Business Visitor may be able to enter Canada for business purposes, provided they will not enter the Canadian labour market and will not conduct any work or work related activities.

A Visitor Visa allows a foreign national to visit Canada as a tourist. Foreign nationals who require a visa to enter Canada should apply for this document prior to entering Canada. Visitors from countries which are visa exempt may not need to apply for a visitor visa.

The Super Visa is an extended Visitor Visa which is available to parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. It permits them to visit family in Canada for up to two (2) years without having to renew their status.

The Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is an application by an employer to Service Canada to assess whether or not there is a labour market shortage in the occupation in which they wish to hire a foreign national.

IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) forms that need to be validated using the “validate” button at the bottom of the form use special encoding. You need a computer with Adobe Reader 10 or higher to use them.

If you have problems opening a PDF on our website, try the following:

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Our real estate and private lending lawyers represent Borrowers as well as Lenders. If you require a private mortgage and require representation, we are available to help.