What Does a Vancouver Real Estate Lawyer Do? – Ask Bruce Coleman Vancouver Mortgage Broker
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What Does a Vancouver Real Estate Lawyer Do?
It’s a common practice and a wise move that any Vancouver home buyer uses the service of a Vancouver real restate lawyer when buying a house or condo. Given the average price of both types of properties this city, this is a major investment and the last thing you want to happen is get hit with an unexpected expensive or nasty surprise such an easement issue or outstanding property taxes.
Most people usually don’t involve a real estate lawyer until the transaction is about to be completed and after we have signed the purchase agreement. At that point, all we expect the lawyer to do is to perform a title search, register the deed and arrange to complete the money transfer.
However, some real estate experts suggest that it might even more prudent to bring a real estate lawyer earlier into the process to review the purchase agreement beforehand. Although we like to think that everything is going to be on the up-and-up, this is not always the case.
One example where the term “easement” is used instead of the word “encroachment” which can make a big difference when it comes property title insurance and additional legal costs.
When buying a condo, many developers have “special” incentives to entice a buyer into buying. You could be dealing with a condo agreement that can have up to 50 pages of legalise which might appear straightforward but can mean all whole different thing wrought with expensive surprises such as unexpected condo fees after you have already completed the deal and moved into the condo.
An area where getting a lawyer involved early in the process can be save you money is involves the financing of a property. A simple turn of the phrase such as the deal being “conditional on financing” is actually quite different to having it read as “conditional based obtaining the financing that the buyer actually wants.”
That’s the problem with contracts. The complexities of legalise means a contract can phrase things in a variety of subtle ways that can end up causing you grief and hefty out- of- pocket expenses down the road.
As buyers we expect that things will be fully explained to us and that any fine print will also be covered in the explanation, but this not always the case. Whether you read the contract, purchase agreement, financing documents in full or not yourself, the simple truth is that if you’re not a real estate lawyer, you could easily overlook something vital when reading through the paperwork.
A new home or condo buyer might also not realize that these additional fees can be added onto the purchase price such as installing your meters for hydro and water, landscaping, structural defects, charges for development and other expensive costs for example.
Finally, whatever you do, make sure you can an experienced real estate lawyer and this means one who specializes in real estate and not just occasionally dabbles in it as part of their overall legal practice. Do some research and check them out with the bar association.
You should also get a written quote and ask whether that includes all costs and expenses, and make sure that they will be accessible when you need to either talk to them or meet with them
