Real estate lawyer부동산 변호사

What is it?

A real estate lawyer handles the legal side of buying or selling a home. In Ontario, a lawyer is someone licensed by the Law Society of Ontario (LSO).

Your agent helps you find a home and negotiate the price. Your lawyer makes sure the deal closes safely: they search the title (the ownership record), review the documents, transfer ownership into your name on closing day and settle the money.

Normally the buyer and the seller each have their own lawyer. One lawyer acting for both sides is unusual enough that the transfer document must contain a separate statement about it.

Why do you need a lawyer at all?

Land registration in Ontario is done only online (the electronic registration system, Teraview). A transfer document must contain statements set by law, and several of those statements can only be made by a person entitled to practise law in Ontario (O. Reg. 19/99, section 40). Without a lawyer, ownership cannot be transferred.

Drafting documents that affect rights in real property, and giving advice about legal rights, are "legal services" under the Law Society Act. Only licensees may provide them. An agent or mortgage agent cannot do this part for you.

The government (ServiceOntario) also says land records are complex and suggests getting help from a professional such as a lawyer.

What the lawyer does for a buyer

• Reviews the Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS): show it to your lawyer before you sign and they can flag risky wording, conditions and deadlines.
• Searches the title: confirms the seller really owns the home and checks for mortgages, liens, executions and other claims. If there is a problem, the lawyer asks the seller’s lawyer to fix it before the deadline in the contract (a "requisition").
• Explains how to protect your title: the Law Society’s rules require the lawyer to discuss the options, such as title insurance or a new survey. Title insurance is not mandatory, and the lawyer may not take a commission from an insurer.
• Mortgage documents: prepares and registers the mortgage (the "charge") according to the lender’s instructions.
• Checks the statement of adjustments: subtracts your deposit from the price and splits costs such as property tax and condo fees by date to arrive at the balance due.
• Land transfer tax (the tax you pay when you buy a home): the transfer must contain statements under the Land Transfer Tax Act, and the tax must be paid when or before the transfer is registered. The first-time buyer refund is claimed at the same time.
• Closing day: collects the mortgage money and your balance, sends the funds to the seller’s lawyer, registers the transfer and hands you the keys.
• For a condo: reviews the status certificate. The Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO) also says buyers should have their lawyers review it.

What the lawyer does for a seller

• Answers the buyer’s lawyer’s title requisitions and fixes anything that needs fixing.
• Arranges with your bank to pay off and discharge (remove from title) your existing mortgage, usually out of the sale proceeds.
• Prepares the transfer and has you sign it, including any spousal consent needed for a matrimonial home under the Family Law Act.
• Checks the statement of adjustments, receives the money on closing, pays the mortgage balance, the commission and legal costs, and sends you the rest.
• Handles any holdback (money kept aside for a while), for example for tax reasons when the seller is a non-resident.
• Delivers the keys to the buyer’s lawyer.

What does it cost?

A lawyer’s bill has two parts. The legal fee pays for the lawyer’s work. Disbursements are costs the lawyer pays on your behalf, such as title search charges, registration fees, the title insurance premium and tax certificates. HST is added.

Amounts differ from lawyer to lawyer and deal to deal, so this site does not list a figure. Before you hire, ask for a written estimate of the fee plus disbursements and what it includes. A low fee can come with high disbursements, so compare the total.

If you do not know a lawyer, the Law Society Referral Service can give you a name; the lawyer provides a free consultation of up to 30 minutes. You can confirm anyone’s licence in the Law Society’s Lawyer and Paralegal Directory.

When should you hire one?

1. Best: choose a lawyer when you start looking, so you can show them a draft offer before you sign.
2. At the latest, send the signed agreement to your lawyer right after the offer is accepted. They can check the condition clauses and deadlines before your conditions expire.
3. The contract sets a requisition date for title searches. After that date your right to object to title problems can shrink, so the lawyer must finish the search before it. Check the exact date in your agreement.
4. A few days before closing you sign at the lawyer’s office and send your balance. Bring two pieces of ID; this is the usual practice.

Questions to ask a lawyer

• Is real estate your main practice area? About how many closings do you do a year?
• What is the estimated total for fees plus disbursements, and what does it include?
• Can you explain whether I need title insurance and what my other options are?
• If it is a condo (or pre-construction, or a home with tenants), what extra documents will you review?
• When do I sign before closing, and how do I send the balance?
• Do you offer service in Korean? (The Law Society directory lets you search by language.)

Pre-construction and condos matter even more

When you buy a new condo from a builder, the agreement is long and often written in the builder’s favour. The Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO) says to review the six documents the builder gives you with the help of a lawyer. You have a 10-day cooling-off period (time when you may cancel), which starts after you receive some of these documents. Have your lawyer finish the review before it ends, so you can decide in time whether to cancel.

A pre-construction condo has an interim occupancy date and a separate final closing, so the lawyer works twice. When you ask about fees, check that both stages are included.

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