Lawyers!

[smartsexystylish]

Hi Everyone,

Since we're new to the first home purchase (And I know some of you are also out there) I was wondering how long before close do we have to contact a lawyer?

We also have to find a lawyer (I have a referral that we may go with) but I don't know what I am supposed to be asking them when I contact them.

And lastly, does it matter if our Lawyer is in Brampton or Cambridge? Would we get our keys (and/or any paperwork done) faster if they were located in Cambridge?

I'm really clueless when it comes to this :s

Thanks in advance!!!

[K.C.]

You should get a lawyer that is close to where you currently live so you don't have to take the day off work to go sign the papers. I would make a point of finding a good lawyer in advance. Your bank might suggest someone for you.

[justmed]

LOL... I just sent a family friend of ours an e-mail asking the same questions...

[smartsexystylish]

Haha ok without sounding completely dumb, what would you say makes a "good" lawyer?

What should I be asking and looking for in one?

I am also scared to look @ what the fees are. Does anyone have a general idea of how much we're looking at paying for a lawyer? Just so I know when I am calling around what is reasonable and what the inflated prices are?

[K.C.]

A good lawyer is one who gets your paperwork done on time without screwing it up!

I usually don't handle the financial details, my husband does so I can't tell you what we normally pay.

I believe our lawyer was originally recommended to us by the real estate agent who helped us find our current home. She also hooked us up with London Life for our mortgage and we've been very happy with that.

My motto is if it works leave it alone!

You might want to ask your family members who they use and what their experience has been.

I don't think you should pick the lawyer who charges the lowest fees. The purchase of a home is too important to quibble over a few hundred dollars.

[smartsexystylish]

Haha I guess I won't know if I have a good lawyer until they handle our paperwork!

We have a referral from our Mortgage broker (Who is sooo awesome!!!) and I think we are going to use him as I would rather use a referral then go with someone who is not. She said he is really good and got her, her keys in the early morning (which always is good right!)

We've asked all of our family and friends and no one has anyone they want to refer. Alot of our family hasn't moved any time within the last couple years and has no to recommend. And some others have had bad experiences.

I wouldn't choose the lawyer with the lowest fees. You get what you pay for right?
I was meaning if I have 3 "quotes" from them and the amounts are $2200, $2600, and $3999 - I would have to look at what the $3999 guy is doing above and beyond the other two. I just want to make sure I am paying whats reasonable and not sky-rocketed fees for the same as the first two.

[K.C.]

Sounds like you really trust your mortgage broker so I would go with her recommendation. I think the rates lawyers charge are probably pretty standard and not too far off from one another. If you have a guy who charges alot more than the others I would be worried.

[smartsexystylish]

Sounds like you really trust your mortgage broker so I would go with her recommendation. I think the rates lawyers charge are probably pretty standard and not too far off from one another. If you have a guy who charges alot more than the others I would be worried.

Thanks for the advice K.C. :)

[BrianNSara]

The lawyer i used for looking over the agreement is doing my closeing for $1300.00

[smartsexystylish]

BrianNSara,

Did your lawyer point out anything in the agreement?
We opted not to have a lawyer review it and I was wondering if there is anything major that we didn't catch.

$1300 is not as bad as I thought it would be!

[BrianNSara]

2 things

#1 (Longterm lease) on hot water tank......
#2 (Levies) told me to ask them to cap them..

nothing much

[smartsexystylish]

We knew about the lease on the hot water tank and we also capped the levies.
We also removed the clause regarding the earlier move-in date if they finished the house earlier.

So I am glad to see there is no other surprises in there. :)

[BrianNSara]

i dint change anything i was too busy so i guess i lost out but the Lawyer was free to look over...

[smartsexystylish]

Yea right. You didn't have to pay anything for the Lawyer to look it over?

[BrianNSara]

Yah lol i din't pay a thing as long as i use him as my closeing Lawyer but thats just verbal lol.........

But now as i think about it i should have took the time and caped the Levies... he told me its maybe $800-900 max if the Levies go up....

[smartsexystylish]

Yah lol i din't pay a thing as long as i use him as my closeing Lawyer but thats just verbal lol.........

But now as i think about it i should have took the time and caped the Levies... he told me its maybe $800-900 max if the Levies go up....
Verbal agreement with a lawyer. You would think they would want it in writing. Still at least your not locked in with him if you get a referral from someone else.

Hopefully the levies don't go up on you.

[BrianNSara]

do u no how much they would be?

[smartsexystylish]

The cap that we put on the levies?

[BrianNSara]

no if they would go up how much am i looking at paying Lawyers are not always right... he told me $800-$900

[smartsexystylish]

Oh, I am not to sure Brian (Or Sara - Not sure which of you I am talking to lol)
I never asked at the Sales centre. We just wanted them capped.
Maybe call the Sales Centre and ask? I'm sure they would know the answer. Or provide an estimate.

[BrianNSara]

yah its brian ...sara never comes on here lol

ok thanks for the info i will give them a call...

[smartsexystylish]

Haha alright Brian,
When you give them a call, let me know what they say. I'm curious and I'm sure other who didn't cap their levies would be interested in knowing also. :)

[DanielleandCody]

Hey guys I don't have too much to add except that I would also agree that you should try to have a lawyer that is closer than farther. I'm living in Toronto right now but grew up in Guelph and I had a really close family friend recommend a lawyer to us (who have used this lawyer for every move, wills etc.) Richard Woolfrey (if you want more info I can get you telephone number etc.). Anyway we were in the same boat as not knowing anything. I was able to fax him all of the agreement with only 24 hours remaining to opt out, he went over everything and metioned the two things already mentioned by Brian and Sara. He also didn't charge me for this and he was so super helpful, patient and uber friendly. It honestly felt like he wanted to help us not get our money. His fees are: dispersments/ title insurance $450 - $700 and legal fees of $795 + 5%. He also quoted us both to have wills and POAs drawn up for $300 (both of us). Another lawyer that I know my mother has used and is very well known in Guelph is Frank Valeriotte. Again let me know if you want any phone numbers or anything. Good luck with finding someone!!:)

[Style]

Geez I paid like just over 1400.00 to do both ends off my current house! Shop around and know what you are getting! Dion I know someone in brampton if you are interested. I am going with him again also except he doesnt know it yet! I dealt with him before!:)

[smartsexystylish]

Geez I paid like just over 1400.00 to do both ends off my current house! Shop around and know what you are getting! Dion I know someone in brampton if you are interested. I am going with him again also except he doesnt know it yet! I dealt with him before!:)

Hey Frank,
Let me talk with my referral and if I don't get good "vibes" off of him we'll check out your referral :)

[guin1060]

The most important thing to make sure that is included in laywer fees is title insurance. Your lawyer fees should range from $950-2000 (including title insurance). Not much varies from lawyer to lawyer in terms of quality of work, I would just make sure that you get a referral from someone that you know or trust.

[smartsexystylish]

The most important thing to make sure that is included in laywer fees is title insurance. Your lawyer fees should range from $950-2000 (including title insurance). Not much varies from lawyer to lawyer in terms of quality of work, I would just make sure that you get a referral from someone that you know or trust.


Thanks Guin1060.
I will make sure when I am talking with the lawyer I was referred to that his fees include Title insurance.

And welcome to the forum :)

[smartsexystylish]

So I spoke with the lawyer I was referred to this morning (well the assistant) and here is some info that I got from her if anyone is interested.

They'll require:

A copy of your Purchase and Sale Agreement
Mortgage Papers
Fire Insurance set up (from insurance company)
If your not married to the person you are moving in with, you will need to tell them if you will having a common title or joint tenants title.
Common Title: 50% of the home is yours should something happen to you, and will go into your estate. The other 50% is your partners.
Joint tenant: Should anything happen to you, the title will be transferred into your partners name solely.

She also said that we won't actually meet the lawyer until our closing as everything else is handled by his assistant. Personally I would like to meet him before I do business with him, maybe that is just me.

She also scolded me for not having him review our purchase agreement. I told her we capped the levies and removed a couple of clauses. But she also mentioned sometime builders put hook up fees and stuff into our agreements and that's why it's recommended to have it looked over. She said that Mattamy however has a good rep for not doing that, or trying to squeeze the homeowner!

She suggested we can send her all the above information within 2 weeks, but she said we have lots of time before we actually need them. They won't work on our stuff until the end of January for our Feb 4th closing.

[JFiolek]

I am also scared to look @ what the fees are. Does anyone have a general idea of how much we're looking at paying for a lawyer? Just so I know when I am calling around what is reasonable and what the inflated prices are?

The max that a lawyer can charge is 1% of your purchase price or up to $1200 plus GST (for buying a home). The lawyer also charges 1% of your selling price or up to $1200 plus GST (for selling your home). On top of that if you are not a first time home buyer you need to pay a land transfer tax. Our total with our lawyer is;
$699.00 + GST Buying
$1099.00 + GST Selling
$2800.00 + GST Transfer Tax

[smartsexystylish]

Wow. That's crazy expensive!

Luckily we don't have to sell anything AND we're 1st time buyers. (we'll get dinged the second time round lol)

[justmed]

good thing the first time home land transfer is refundable up to 2K.

Thats good they cant go over those fees

[jrb]

Hi Jfiolek,

How does the land transfer tax work for first time buyers.............

Do we pay it and later get reimbursed......or will the lawyer just not charge us for that cost?

Thanks,

Jrb

[JFiolek]

It comes out in the wash for first time home buyers you won't see a thing, your lawyers take care of it all.

[Boolander]

smartsexystylish,

We are just in the process of purchasing our first home (a Thompson, elevation B) and in your post above you said you didn't have a lawyer look over your purchase agreement. Seeing as you've been in your home for quite some time now, do you have any advice in retrospect regarding this? Any info you can provide would me much appreciated!

Thank you! :)

[smartsexystylish]

smartsexystylish,

We are just in the process of purchasing our first home (a Thompson, elevation B) and in your post above you said you didn't have a lawyer look over your purchase agreement. Seeing as you've been in your home for quite some time now, do you have any advice in retrospect regarding this? Any info you can provide would me much appreciated!

Thank you! :)

Hi Boolander,

Other than what I have mentioned in this thread about having Mattamy cap the levies (so they can't add on addition fees later at closing- which I believe they did that to some homeowners last spring) as well as removing the clause regarding the earlier move-in date if they finish the house sooner. (We didn't want to move in during Christmas if they finished sooner lol)

At closing, our lawyer also said he would have a quick read through (just because I wanted to be sure) and he re-assured us that what we removed was good and there was nothing else to be really concerned. He said it was a fairly standard agreement.

At this point, there is nothing I regret not removing from the agreement. I don't think there is too much you can remove easily anyhow.

In my personal opinion, being a first-time homebuyer we took the risk not having our lawyer review it within the purchase cool-off period. I don't regret it at all and I was happy having that money to spend elsewhere :)

That being said, It's been a year and the contract may have been changed since then. If you have any questions about anything relating to what is in your contract and what was in mine, feel free to ask away :)