Buying/Selling a home

While available as a resource to you beforehand through your Realtor, we are generally notified of a transaction once it is firm and binding (after the removal of all subject clauses). You will also want to confirm with your banker or mortgage broker to have the lender send instructions to our office.

If you are buying a property without a Realtor, we can draft the Contract of Purchase and Sale for you. This gives you the benefit of legal advice and you are assured that the proper clauses are included so as to protect you and the sellers. If you already have a firm contract, just bring the contract to our office in order for us to get started and confirm with your banker or mortgage broker to have the lender send instructions to our office.

Once we are notified of your upcoming transaction, we gather the necessary information from you. From that point, the burden is shifted from you and your Realtor and rests with us, the Notary. Additional documentation required is received from your Realtor and mortgage lender, as applicable. We perform various due diligence searches regarding title, property taxes, condominium accounts, etc. We also prepare the appropriate documentation and statements for the transfer of title/placement of a mortgage. We liaise with the vendor's representative and other parties involved with the file. You will have an appointment with us (usually within the week prior to completion date) to sign documents and review the closing financial statements. No later than the morning of the completion date, you provide us, in trust, with certified funds to complete the transaction. The exchange of title for funds takes place on the completion date and you receive keys to the property through your Realtor by noon of the possession date. Full reporting follows by mail in due course. At all times throughout the process and thereafter, we are available to answer your questions or to confirm the status of your file.

There are two types of costs in the conveyancing process: transaction costs and adjustments.

Adjustments are debits and credits between the parties for costs of ownership such as property tax, condo fees, etc. These costs are accounted for in closing statements.

Transaction costs, however, are the out-of-pocket costs incurred in the purchase itself. Before the conveyance process begins, these may include mortgage application, appraisal and/or brokerage fees, home inspections, condo forms and the like.

The main costs to be anticipated from the conveyance process are the Property Transfer Tax, Survey / Title Insurance, if required by the lender and the legal account.

Generally, the tax is triggered at the time an interest in land is transferred and calculated as 1% of the first $200,000, plus 2% of the balance of its market value. There are a variety of exemptions for non-arm's length transactions but the one most commonly used for unrelated parties is that offered by the First-Time Home Buyer program. For greater detail and additional FAQ's about the PTT, we recommend a visit to the PTT info pages of the BC Government site.

Basically, pre-sold units are those where the purchase contract is made with the developer before the strata plan is filed, sometimes months or years ahead of title transfer. In order for purchasers of pre-sold strata units to properly anticipate their PTT obligations, the Ministry amended the Act in 2004. Accordingly, the PTT for such units is calculated as 1% of the first $200,000 plus 2% of the balance of net consideration paid rather than market value and ALL pre-sold strata unit PTT returns will be audited. For more detail and additional FAQ's about the PTT generally, we recommend a visit to the PTT info pages of the BC Government site and, in this regard, specifically Bulletin PTT 024.

A survey certificate perform by a BC Land Surveyor is an accurately measured diagram of the footprint of the improvements to a property and its relation to the boundaries of the lot. Surveys of dwellings on typical Kelowna city lots range from $375 but individual circumstances must also be taken into consideration and could impact the cost.

Some lenders will accept Title Insurance as an alternative to their survey requirement. While relatively new to BC, title insurance has existed in other jurisdictions for over a century. Starting at $180 to afford protection only to the lender, it is recommended that you contact a provider directly to assess for yourself the relative merit of title insurance for you, the equity holder (for an additional fee), as compared to a survey certificate. Most banks and credit unions require title insurance.

Because GST is handled at closing, we will assist with your remittance to the developer of the GST and we will also calculate and complete the requisite form(s) regarding a Home Buyer's Rebate, as applicable, as part of our service to you. Application for post-closing rebates such as those associated with rental property or GST rate transitions would be made by you directly to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). For your convenience, the rental rebate application, among others, is available online. Due to changes in the GST rate you may be entitled to a transitional rebate depending upon the timing of your contract and completion/possession dates. Section 17 of this recent CRA publication clearly sets out the remittance and rebate expectations regarding new property purchases. The current transitional rebate application remains available for your completion and submission directly to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).