- Real Estate Sales -
The typical first step in selling your home is to put it on
the market, either privately or through a real estate agent.
A serious prospective purchaser will make an offer to buy
your home. This offer should be on an official Agreement of
Purchase and Sale form. If you are not satisfied with the
price you have been offered, you may stroke it out and write in a
higher figure (a counter offer) and then return the form to the
prospective purchaser (or through your real estate agent).
Once you and the purchaser agree on the price, the closing date, and any conditions that may
be part of the offer, the signed form becomes a binding contract
on both parties: the Agreement of Purchase and Sale.
A purchaser will often make his or her offer conditional on
obtaining mortgage financing. In this case, the Agreement
of Purchase and Sale is not yet binding. Within a few days,
the purchaser will forward a Waiver of this condition to you or
your agent, which would make the Agreement a binding contract (unless
there are other conditions that have not been waived). The
vendor should then contact a lawyer.
The lawyer performs several functions when acting for the
vendor of a home:
- answers any concerns ("requisitions")
that the purchaser's lawyer may have,
- drafts all necessary documents to complete
the sale,
- coordinates the exchange of documents,
keys, and money with the purchaser's lawyer,
- ensures that any outstanding vendor
mortgages are paid off out of the sale proceeds, and that
the mortgage is discharged.
It is my practice to personally attend at the Registry Office
on the Closing Date to take care of all
the details and ensure that everything goes smoothly.
Legal Fees:
My fee for a sale transaction is $400. plus GST. There
will be some items that a lawyer must pay for which the vendor
must reimburse him or her ("disbursements"); which are
in addition to legal fees. It is rare for disbursements on
a home sale to exceed $200.
Please feel free to contact my office if you have any further
questions and for a breakdown of the disbursements.
Send E-mail to David Fysh at david@davidfysh.com