Lately I have had a large number of new buyers come to me after conditional periods in an offer have expired. When I ask why they waited I get one of two standard responses: I didn’t think I needed a lawyer until it was time to close; the sales agent told me I didn’t need a lawyer until it was time to close. Wrong, get a lawyer early
A lawyer must advise you at the time you make your offer, and it is critical that you see a lawyer before your deal is firm. It is important that your lawyer explains all the potential costs you will face and the potential changes and the potential delays you may encounter. Insist on this and if you don’t get what you want or need see another lawyer. Lawyers are service providers just like anyone else and as the customer make sure you get the necessary information to make an educated decision. There is a clothing retail chain that I remember in Florida that has a slogan which sounds sort of like, “An educated consumer is our greatest asset”. This holds true for much of life and seeing this is one of the most important purchases you will ever make, become an EDUCATED CONSUMER!!!
OK, what about that lawyer. First of all you are going to pay the fee, whatever the amount the two of you agreed to. You did of course have a pre-agreed fee, didn’t you? Then there is a list of disbursements. Disbursements are those monies expended by your lawyer on your behalf necessary to properly search and close the transaction. Be careful, it is here that someone may try to take advantage by charging large fax, mail and photocopy fees. Make your lawyer justify all expenditures that don’t make sense. What about disbursements, what can you expect? Today almost all of Ontario and certainly the GTA is on the Government’s Terraview electronic registry system, so the searches and closing are done “On Line”. There is a cost associated with this but it’s cheaper then the old days, when we used a conveyancer. There is also a difference between deals that are Title Insured and those that aren’t. Assume your disbursements are going to be somewhere between $500-$600. Don’t forget HST and Land Transfer Tax as applicable.
Generally speaking your first meeting with your lawyer should be free until the time you retain the lawyer. Retain? What that simply means is hire the lawyer. Make sure the retainer agreement is in writing and that it sets out all of the services the lawyer is going to perform and what the lawyer and his staff’s hourly rates may be if they perform services in excess of those included in your ”Package Price”. Make sure you get a disbursement list with suggested maximums so that you have something to work from in your budgeting. When you hire (retain) your lawyer you want the same certainty you would get in any contract.
Happy home hunting!!!