At Vancouver Downtown Notary we understand that buying property is one of the biggest financial decisions you will make in your life. We will help you navigate through the conveyancing process, the process of transferring the title on property from the seller to the buyer, by gathering and preparing all required forms and documents.
Interested in the conveyancing process from the Seller’s perspective? Click here to learn how to sell real estate in Vancouver.
The Conveyancing Process
Our engagement usually starts after you sign the Contract of Purchase and Sale prepared by your real estate agent and make an appointment at our office. We require the following documents and information to get started:
- A copy of Contract of Purchase and Sale (“purchase contract”) – we can request this from your real estate agent
- Mortgage instructions from your lender, if applicable
- Two pieces of identification; one must be a government-issued picture ID
- Contact information of your real estate agent, mortgage broker, lender, insurance agent, and strata management company, where applicable
- In case you are buying the property together with other buyers, we will require their full legal names, occupations, and contact information
When we receive a copy of the purchase contract we will check all the elements of the contract to ensure it is valid and enforceable. We will also review other aspects of the contract, including subject clauses (if any), deposit information, timing, existing tenancies, and more.
The Due Diligence Process
As our next step, we will conduct the due diligence process including:
- Review the title to the property through the Land Title Office (“LTO”)
- Check if there are any mortgages, outstanding property taxes and strata fees (if applicable), liens, and other charges on the title
- Conduct a series of other checks to ensure that the transaction can be completed as intended by the parties, for example confirm that the property is a legal lot that does not require subdivision
We will make sure you understand all the details of the purchase contract and provide you with the results of the due diligence process.
At this point, we will draft the transaction documents. Two sets of documents are prepared: one for you (the buyer), and one for the seller.
For the buyer we will prepare Form B Mortgage (the document that registers mortgage on title), Property Transfer Tax Form, Buyer’s Statement of Adjustment, and others. We will meet with you to ensure you understand these documents and then sign them.
Some of the documents we will prepare for the seller include Form A Transfer, Seller’s Statement of Adjustment, and Tax Certificate. We will send these documents to the seller’s notary / lawyer for signing.
Shortly before the completion date, we will receive the mortgage funds from the lender and obtain the balance of funds from the buyer for deposit into our trust account. We will also confirm that excess deposit has been received.
Completing The Real Estate Transfer
Before completing the transfer, we will once again review the documents and conduct a pre-registration title search to ensure there are no new charges registered against the title.
We then proceed to register the Form A Transfer, Form B Mortgage, and Form F (for strata properties) with the Land Title Office. Shortly after filing, we will conduct a post-registration title search to confirm that no other application has been registered against the title. The funds are then delivered to the seller’s notary / lawyer who will first pay any existing mortgages or charges against the property and then distribute the remaining proceeds to the seller’s account. The buyer’s real estate agent is notified that the transaction has been completed and we arrange the receipt of their commission. The realtor will then deliver the keys to the property to the buyer and the buyer takes possession of the property.
Finally, we provide our legal opinion that the buyer is now the registered owner and inform the lender that the loan is secured by the charge against the title of the property. Congratulations! You are now the owner of your new home in Vancouver.
Interested in finding a notary public to help you buy a home? Contact Vancouver Downtown Notary for same-day help on real estate transfers today.
