Monday, November 8, 2010

What Does Your Lawyer do on a Real Estate Purchase?

So what does the lawyer do anyway? Well, here's a brief list of a few things your lawyer's office is working on behind the scenes, to make your deal close smoothly! First, we sometimes get contacted by your agent to assist in drafting the Offer, if there are aspects of the deal which are out of the ordinary course. We also often get asked to review the Offer as a condition of firming up the deal. Once the Agreement is firm, we start working toward closing. We order a search of title and a tax certificate to ensure that what you think you are getting you are actually getting. We work with the Vendor's lawyer to deal with any title issues. We receive instructions with respect to your mortgage and we draft the documents for both the purchase and the mortgage. We review the Vendor's documents and comment on any issues needing correction. We meet with you to sign all of the purchase and mortgage documents, review your title and answer any questions you may have about the process. Throughout the process, if you have questions or concerns, your lawyer is there to help and is only a phone call away. Your lawyer, agent and mortgage broker should work as team to get your closing done. Once the deal has closed, we put together a package for you with our reporting letter, a copy of all of the documents including your Deed and Mortgage, and a statement of account which includes a trust statement showing all funds going into and out of our account on your behalf. The most pleasant thing that we do, however, is hand you the keys to your new home and wish you well! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me at jmcphail@burgarrowe.com