After your offer has been accepted, the next thing to do is to meet with your solicitor and have her/him explain you all your obligations following from the contract. Your solicitor should help you to understand all the costs connected to the closing procedures, including Land Transfer Tax, disbursements and legal fees.
UTILITIES
Letters are sent by your solicitor to all municipal or regional utility departments to verify that there are no arrears or outstanding charges, such as gas, water or hydro expenses. Another purpose of these letters is to find out if the equipment on the property is rented or owned, and also to inform the utility departments about the scheduled closing date, the new owner’s name and the name of the seller’s solicitor. These letters also demand details as to the type of billing and if the billing is metered.
TAXES
Taxes is another serious topic. You will need to provide a Tax Certificate, which will verify the amount of the current year’s taxes and any arrears and outstanding charges for the current year and any preceding years.
BUILDING & ZONING
A letter is sent by your solicitor to the Building and Zoning Department together with a copy of the survey for the property to reveal the full particulars of zoning by-laws and restrictions relating to the distance from the street and side and rear lines, type of construction, lot areas and building areas, lot frontage and depth requirements and permitted uses.
TITLE & EXECUTION SEARCH
A Search of title to the property is initiated in the appropriate division of the Land Registry Office to establish whether or not the seller is the owner of the property, whether or not he has the right to convey the property, and that the property is not subject to any encumbrances, encroachments, easements, liens, agreements or mortgages that were not revealed in the Agreement or Purchase and Sale. It is also necessary to make sure there are no executions against the seller or previous property owners that would affect your title. This is done by an execution search in the appropriate Sheriff’s Office.
FINANCING
While your solicitor is completing his initial searches, it is your responsibility to make necessary arrangements for financing. You should have decided, before signing the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, the amount of financing you will qualify for and the amount you will need to complete the deal. There are always some fees connected to mortgage financing that you haven’t known about on the day of closing. Your solicitor will tell you more about these fees when you get the Mortgage Commitment Letter from your chosen financial institution.
BEFORE THE DAY OF CLOSING
You will also need a certified cheque to confirm the balance of closing funds to your solicitor. Bring this with you when you come to sign all the documents needed a few days before the closing.
CLOSING DAY
Your solicitor will arrange an appointment with the vendor’s solicitor at the appropriate Land Registry Office to subsearch the title and finish the execution searches. The solicitors will exchange all the documents, keys and cheques and your solicitor will attend to the registration of all the necessary documents. After the documents registration, the seller is entitled to get the finances and you can get the keys from your solicitor.
AFTER CLOSING
Now your solicitor will provide you with a reporting letter that acknowledges your title and explains all the transaction details. When you move in to your new home check to see that all things in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale indicated as included in the purchase price are left on the property by the seller. If you believe something is missing, contact your solicitor immediately.
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