Summary of the Real Estate Conveyancing Process in BC

Congratulations - the conditions have been removed from your real estate contract of purchase and sale, and your deal is now firm Unless something dramatic happens, your deal WILL complete on the contracted date. It's time to engage a legal professional. (This can be a notary or a lawyer, but I'll just say "notary" here for brevity.) They'll handle the "conveyancing" of the transaction, which means coordinating the exchange of money and title to complete the deal. While there may be many weeks or months before your sale is scheduled to complete, it's best to contact a notary now, in case there are roadblocks which could affect timelines. What to Expect As part of the intake process, the notary is required to collect some personal information, as well as your purchase contract and the name/info of your agent. Tell them about any power-of-attorney agreements or other such matters affecting who is signing; note this can delay things and must be discussed as early as possible. For buyers: The notary needs to know about your lender (if you're borrowing money to finance the property) and your insurer. Further, if multiple people will be listed on title (i.e., if you're buying with your partner or others) you'll need to decide which type of ownership will take effect. For example, will you be listed as joint tenants or tenants in common? Joint tenancy is the more common type for a romantic partnership (the survivor becomes the sole owner if their partner dies), whereas with tenants in common, your share passes to your estate if you die, instead of transferring to the surviving owner(s). For sellers: Assuming you still have a mortgage(s) listed on title, the notary will need information about that. While You Wait The next steps involve some diligence on the part of the legal professional, gathering relevant documents relating to property taxes, title charges, insurance info, strata information if appropriate, and any corporate ownership. They'll also do a "personal property" search to ensure there are no roadblocks relating to the seller's ability to dispose of the property - such as liens. This process also identifies possible encumbrances to a clean transfer of the property such as tax deferment or mortgage payout matters. As the date of completion approaches, the notaries prepare "closing documents" which may include mortgage-related security documents for a buyer or the "statement of adjustments" for the seller. This latter document aims to clarify any final corrections to the purchase price; for example if the seller already paid for the year's property taxes, the buyer needs to compensate them for the portion of those taxes which apply to the end of the year in which the buyer owns the house. Adjustments may similarly apply for pre-paid utilities. Final Days There will be appointments with both the buyers' and sellers' notaries, almost definitely in-person, to explain and sign the final documents. This will take place 2-5 business days prior to completion. If you are unable to meet in person for this, it should be mentioned as early as possible to prevent issues. Once the seller's notary has reviewed the closing documents prepared by the buyer's notary and the seller has signed them, those documents are sent back to the buyer's notary who will register the transfer of ownership and any mortgage documents at the Land Title Office on completion day, and will ensure that the net proceeds of the sale are handed over to the seller's notary to be made available to the seller. Buyers: Just because the notaries have reported everything is done, it doesn't mean you have the legal right to enter your own property During negotiations, a specific day and time was negotiated for "Possession", the day/time that you have full authority to enter the property and to treat it as your own. For example, in many cases the seller keeps the exclusive right to be on the property until 9am on the day after completion. Sellers: Just because your property has transferred to a new owner, the money may not yet be available for you to access. Because the buyer's notary was required to move the funds to your notary, there may be a delay in those funds actually being accessible in your own account. Plan accordingly, i.e., expect to have your money the following day unless you specifically discuss the timing with your notary and bank