Keys can only be released by the lawyer on the day of closing. Before keys can be released, the mortgage lender must provide closing funds, cheques must be certified, documents must be exchanged between the lawyers, and the Land Registry Office registrations must be completed. By the time all of these things happen on the closing date, it will usually be late in the afternoon and will often be closer to 5 p.m.. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you schedule any moving and/or delivery services for the following day.

Purchases of residences (that are NOT condominiums) CANNOT be completed without a FIRE INSURANCE BINDER being provided to the purchaser’s lawyer prior to closing the purchase. Make sure your insurance agent faxes to the lawyer the fire insurance binder for GUARANTEED REPLACEMENT COST prior to closing if you are buying a residence that is not a condominium.

If the residence is a condominium, although the condominium corporation will have insurance for the entire project, it is necessary for the unit owner to arrange insurance for the contents of the unit purchased and for public liability. Make sure that such insurance is placed before closing to be effective on the closing date and that such insurance covers any deductible that might become payable to the condominium corporation for a claim under its insurance. In some cases, some mortgage lenders and builders require such condominium unit insurance for contents and liability to be in place prior to finalizing the occupancy closing.

Approximately two weeks prior to closing, you will be contacted to schedule an appointment to sign the closing documents. Approximately two days prior to closing, or as soon as our office has been able to complete the accounting for the closing funds (after the seller’s lawyer provides the statement for closing adjustments and the mortgage lender confirms the net mortgage funds to be provided), you will be advised about the amount required for closing. Cheques required must be by certified cheque, bank draft or money order payable to “Hébert & Roy In Trust” and must be received at last 24 hours prior to the closing date. Personal cheques will not be accepted under any circumstances.

Please note that, even if a property is being registered in one spouse’s name, if you are married and if the home being purchased will be a principal residence, both spouses must usually attend to sign documents for closing.

At the time of your meeting to sign the closing documents, please be prepared to present two pieces of photo identification (such as unexpired passport, driver’s licence, Social Insurance Card and/or credit card). The identification is mandatory for both the lawyer and the mortgage lender, and will be photocopied for the file record. If one person is not available to sign the documents, you must arrange a Power of Attorney well before the closing date.

The certified cheque you will be asked to bring for closing will include any closing adjustments to the purchase price. Your Agreement of Purchase and Sale states that the balance of the purchase price on the closing date will be paid by certified cheque subject to the usual adjustments. On a resale home, adjustments include items already prepaid beyond the closing date by the seller that benefit the purchaser after the closing date, and a credit is given to the seller as an adjustment on closing.

Some examples of closing adjustments on a resale home are for prepaid realty taxes, prepaid condominium fees (if the property purchased is a condominium), and fuel oil (if the property has an oil furnace). On a new home purchased from a builder, closing adjustments are greater than on a resale home since adjustments can include hydro and water meter installation costs, Ontario New Home Warranty Enrolment Fee and many other items not normally adjusted when one buys resale property.

It is your responsibility to arrange mortgage financing which you might require to complete the purchase or refinance. Once you arrange the mortgage, it will be your responsibility to:

1. confirm with the mortgage lender that mortgage instructions have been send to our office so that we can finalize processing your mortgage financing for closing;
2. satisfy any special requirements by the lender (e.g. – proof of income, proof of cash down payment, payment of other debt obligations, etc.) in order to avoid financing problems on closing;
3. be aware that if you are arranging an insured mortgage (where your cash down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price), the mortgage lender will deduct certain costs from the mortgage advance;
4. if a Power of Attorney is being used, written pre-approval must be obtained from the mortgage lender.

In order to complete the purchase, if you intend to borrow any funds (on an informal basis) from a relative or friend, you should encourage such arrangements to be in writing in order to avoid any future misunderstandings and the funds should be protected by registering a security against the property being purchased. Any such lender is encouraged to obtain independent legal advice when making such a loan.

Please advise as to how you wish to take title to the property. Please note that you may not use initials of given names in Land Registry documents. The birth date of each person who will be taking title to the property is required.

Please note that, even if a property is being registered in one spouse’s name, if you are married and if the home being purchased will be a principal residence, both spouses must usually attend to sign documents for closing.

Where title is held as “joint tenants” and one of the owners dies, the surviving joint tenant automatically becomes the owner of the property no matter what a Last Will and Testament might state. This is the manner of holding title most commonly used by spouses. However, where title is held as “tenants in common” and one of the owners die, the deceased owner’s interest passes to a beneficiary according to any Last Will and Testament made by the deceased.

If more than one person will be shown on title as owner (not being a married couple) and if only one person is providing all, or a substantial portion, of the funds needed for the purchase, you may wish to consider entering into a special written agreement to avoid any future misunderstanding with respect to your shares of ownership, your respective obligations regarding monthly carrying costs and distribution of net proceeds upon an eventual resale of the property. Should you wish such an agreement to be prepared for signatures when you sign final closing documents, please inform this office well in advance of closing. It is also advisable for each purchaser to consider obtaining independent legal advice before entering into such an agreement.

Title Insurance provides protection against title defects, survey issues, liens, work orders, fraud and forgery. Please note that our office does not complete a real estate purchase or refinance without obtaining Title Insurance.

The title policy ordered will be sent to you after closing and such policy will exist for your entire period of ownership of your residence, no matter how many years you own the property.

If you have bought a newly constructed residence, you should attend at the property prior to closing to inspect and prepare a list of matters requiring the attention of the builder. The inspection appointment time must be arranged by you with the builder’s representative. At that time, you will complete the Certificate of Completion and Possession for delivery by the builder to the TARION Warranty Program. All items outstanding must be noted. The Warranty Certificate issued should be received by you and a copy should be provided to our office prior to closing.

As a purchaser of a newly constructed home, you have various rights pursuant to the Warranty Program and, in particular, there are provisions by which you may compel the completion or rectification of prescribed items of construction. To familiarize yourself with your rights as well as the procedures and times within which they must be enforced, refer to www.tarion.com or contact 5150 Yonge St., concourse level, Toronto, Ontario, M2N 6L8 (corner of Yonge Street and Park Home) Tel. 1-800-668-0124.

Most utility departments no longer accept a letter from a lawyer with the new owner’s information and requesting final meter readings on the closing day so that a seller is billed up to the closing day and a purchase is billed after the closing day. As a purchaser, you must make such arrangements. Although our office will be notifying some departments to read meters (hydro, gas, water and sewer), you must contact all departments (hydro, gas, condominium corporation if applicable, hot water tank if rented, and alarm system company if applicable) to confirm arrangements for final meter readings and to create your new accounts, where applicable.

If you have cable television, please advise the cable company of your move. You must also arrange for telephone service to be connected.

For a detailed moving checklist, click HERE.

Condominium Rules

This is a warning about the types of rules that affect many condominiums. Should you be concerned about what rules are imposed by the Condominium Corporation in which your purchased unit is located, we suggest you immediately speak with the property management office.

The following are examples of these rules:

1. carpeting on various types of floors to reduce sound transmission; or no hardwood floors (unless management consent is obtained in writing)
2. no barbequing on balconies
3. no satellite dish (use of common area cable T.V. system is required)
4. no parking of commercial or recreational vehicles
5. use of elevators for moving sometimes have restrictive hours, require reservations and/or security deposits. If you are purchasing a condominium where an elevator or a loading area must be used for your move, contact the management office as soon as possible to book your reservation for moving.
6. no office, business or commercial uses within condominium units
7. pet restrictions that might relate to the kind of pet, the number of pets or the maximum weight of a pet
8. types and colour of window coverings, (white or off-white) as can be seen from exterior of building
9. plantings and other uses of exterior patios
10. unit owner’s liability for damaged exterior doors, including garage doors and/or added items such as central air, fireplaces, etc.
11. noise generated by musical instruments
12. restrictions on short term rentals and other tenancy requirements if you intend to rent the unit.

If you do not comply with a specific rule affecting your condominium, the Corporation has the right to get a court order directing compliance and ordering payment of legal costs by the unit owner. If you intend to rent your unit, insert a clause in the tenancy agreement that the tenant will comply with all rules and by-laws of the Condominium Corporation.

Condominium Common Area Changes and Internal Unit Changes

The Condominium Act of Ontario states that no changes may be made to the common areas, including exclusive use common areas, without consent of the Board of Directors and without first obtaining the consent of at least a majority of the unit owners. Accordingly, if you notice that there have been any changes made to the common areas of your specific unit, such as installation of a central air conditioning unit, the construction of a deck, garden shed or fence, or the enclosure of a balcony, please make direct contact with the management of the condominium prior to closing to verify whether any such changes have been consented to or were originally installed by the builder when the property was originally built. Similarly, if you intend to make any exterior changes to the common areas, you must first obtain the consent of the Board of Directors (in writing) and fulfill the requirements of the Condominium Act as to the consent of the other unit owners. Should you wish to arrange for Condominium management to inspect the unit to confirm that a seller or a prior owner has made no unauthorized changes, please contact management directly.

As you are purchasing real estate, you should consider preparing a Will at this time. It is normal for people to delay in preparing a Will; however, the extra cost is small in comparison to the additional costs that can be incurred in administering an estate where there is no Will. For further information as to instructions and cost, please contact our office at 613-740-0111, or visit our Wills & Estates page here.