Real Estate Lawyers in Calgary, AB Making a Difference for Clients

Even a by-the-book real estate transaction can be a hassle for the modern home purchase. Shady mortgage refinancing and fluctuating market prices can send even the most competent real estate team into an overwhelmed frenzy. And when overwhelmed, we tend to miss small details in legal documents, drown in the legal aspects of property transaction phases, and fumble the title transfer.

Whether purchasing residential real estate, seeking mortgage financing, or are just fed up with the entire process, Getz Collins and Associates, along with their real estate law team, want to lend their legal services to you. From dealing with mortgage lenders to finalizing the real estate transaction, turn to the trusted real estate lawyers at Getz Collins and Associates, a full-service firm. Schedule your initial consultation today by calling 403-934-2500 and speaking with a real estate team ready to go to work for you.

Property transaction phases and the ends and outs of property purchase aren’t like a family game of Monopoly, and you rarely enjoy the free parking. In today’s article, we hope to cover sound legal advice from local real estate law to finalizing commercial real estate transactions. We’ll cover:

Types of Real Estate Services
How a Trusted Real Estate Lawyer Should Approach Sales
How Real Estate Legal Services are Provided During Real Estate Purchase
Mortgage Refinance According to Real Property Law
Choosing the Right Real Estate Lawyer

In the end, any legal proceedings go smoother when a well-trusted team is built around the client; in this case, a home-owner, prospective home-owner, or party interested in commercial real estate, before entering into negotiations, sure up the team around you.

Types of Real Estate Services

When dealing in real estate, the market tends to be inconsistent. Someone who purchased their house even three or four years prior may be surprised at the shape of the market when listing that very same property. Having a real estate lawyer who has made a career out of keeping up with the rise and fall of the housing market by your side while you buy, sell, or refinance can prove financially critical. A real estate lawyer can help you with any of the following and more:

Even real estate agents have been shocked by the recent inconsistencies in market trends around real estate purchases. So it isn’t surprising that someone who may not have made a real estate purchase in as little as four or five years may react negatively to stepping into the modern market. Everything has changed if you’ve been out of the residential real estate market or haven’t paid attention to the accurate property report for the last several years. But the more things change, the more they stay the same:

Though the processes may change, several things will seem familiar to anyone who has ever performed or been a part of a real estate transaction. However, real estate lawyers who have made a career out of following and studying market trends will be able to help with everything from:

Sales/Purchases
Mortgage Refinancing
Dower Rights
Title Transfers/Insurance
Commercial Real Estate/Leases
Construction Mortgages
Bridge Financing
Private Lending
Litigation
Condo Boards and Management Companies
Out-of-Town Real Estate Transactions
Rental Properties
Mobile and Manufactured Homes
Foreclosure
Condominium Transactions

Like employment law, real estate law is a vast and varied practice where a real estate purchase can involve several legal documents that can rack up legal fees that someone looking for an accessible house purchase or title transfer was not expecting. Experienced real estate lawyers can mitigate these problems and keep the difficult fees from stacking up during residential purchases. Other law firms may promise to save you money, but the law firm of Getz Collins and Associates delivers an experienced real estate lawyer who will help make your home purchase as effortless as picking up the phone and calling 403-934-2500.

Our team of local professionals in real estate law helps the buyers and sellers of homes and commercial properties in Calgary feel supported in every stage, from the initial real estate contract preparation and inspection to the title transfer.

How Should a Real Estate Lawyer Approach Sales?

The legal documents and processes needed during commercial and residential real estate legal matters can be lengthy. Any professional from a real estate law firm will provide the following legal needs for you, taking the difficult sections of real estate law out of your hand and allowing you to go about buying or selling property with ease.

The following is a typical step-by-step process behind the scenes of a real estate transaction by typical professional real estate lawyers:

Request a Tax and Title Search

After the minor litigation of ownership contract reviewal, your lawyer will search for any mortgage refinancing, tax arrears, or other debts that may be registered in your proposed residential purchase. Outstanding title insurance owed or improper re-financing will key that there may be more problems in the mortgage documents so that the buying lawyer may contact the seller’s lawyer for further clarification on the mortgage documents. The lawyer will need to produce these and contact and schedule any required notary services for the papers.

During the process, the seller’s lawyer will request a statement for the amount owed by the commercial or residential real estate property and use the proceeds from the final transaction to settle any debts or liens against that property.

Prepare Documents for Property Sale

The original real estate transfer documents will need to be signed to finalize a land title transfer. The lawyer will ensure this happens. Afterward, it will be the real estate lawyers’ responsibility to get an accurate property report for you to sign from a week up to ten days before the property possession date; followed by ensuring that the paperwork properly demonstrates any improvements made to the property since the last residential real estate transaction. These final steps deal differently if the property is a conventional condominium.

Exchange Documents with Buyer’s Lawyers

The trusted professional in real estate law will then send any required documents for the transaction. In the case of bare land property, they will send a real property report. They will provide an estoppel certificate for the transaction if it is a condominium sale.

Following this, the buyer’s lawyer will send the land transfer and title registrations or request any holdback conditions from the seller’s lawyer if they are missing any records. During the sharing of documents, trust conditions are set up to guarantee that documents are protected for the seller and buyer’s safety.

Exchanging Monies

There are specific details that both the seller and buyer’s real estate lawyer will send and receive during the final transaction process. The seller’s lawyer will use the exchanged monies to pay the title’s debts, tax or condominium arrears, commissions, and legal fees. After this, the net available funds will be transferred into the seller’s bank account or delivered in a previously agreed-upon manner.

How Real Estate Legal Services are Provided During Real Estate Purchase

Some may think that the purchasing end of real estate might seem cleaner and more straightforward. However, any experienced members of real estate law firms will tell you they are responsible for several things behind the scenes of a transaction to ensure that it moves forward smoothly. Ultimately, a good sales/purchasing agreement should appear to the outside as a handshake; but it takes a lot of work to make it seem that way. A lawyer may provide the following services to oversee this intricate process:

Running Tax and Title Searches

As a seller’s lawyer does for the seller’s end of the transaction, the buyer’s lawyer conducts the tax and title search of the prospective home purchase and indicates any potential problems that may arise during the exchange. Some issues may be able to be handled before the end of the transaction. Still, both sides must be aware in case significant problems arise that would alter the terms of the transaction or end the trade altogether.

Drafting Documents to Exchange With the Seller

The seller drafts or delivers documents such as the real property report or estoppel certificate. Still, the buyer’s law firm will be required to enter a document exchange with that lawyer providing their required documentation. A buyer’s lawyer may draft a holdback condition that is issued to propose an amendment to the deal in the original contract. If the seller does not provide enough documentation for the buyer’s liking, the lawyers may hold a documentation exchange process for quite some time.

Obtaining Possession of the Home or Property

While the key exchange can seem like a superficial part of the process, it can be a sentimental moment for a couple purchasing their first home or a company buying their first piece of commercial property.

When finalizing the agreement, the real estate lawyers involved in the process exchange funds, and the buyer sends funds to the seller, all through the lawyers. From the buying perspective, the process includes sending funds, requesting the key exchange or title signing, and coordinating with the seller’s lawyer the proper time to walk through the property with the buyer.

Preparing a Final Report

It may seem like most of a lawyer’s job, no matter the area of law, is drafting, finding, or requesting legal documents. This is true. After a real estate transaction, the buyer’s lawyer will send the new owner of the property, as well as the mortgage lender, an initial report regarding the transaction. Following that, a corrected one will add any changes or addendums necessary. This process can take a long time but often goes unnoticed by the buyers and sellers involved in the original transaction.

Mortgage Refinance According to Real Property Law

People refinance their homes or properties for several different reasons:

Transferring debt for tax planning purposes;
The existing mortgage matures and needs payout;
Debt consolidation;
Investment funds;
Using the equity from your home to invest, renovate your home, or go on vacation;
Removing a co-owner from the title;
Buying out co-ownership interest in the property; or
Securing better mortgage rates or terms

In these cases, how do lawyers with backgrounds in real estate law factor into the proceedings? These issues can differ wildly whether the property is residential real estate, or commercial.

Residential Mortgage Refinancing

A real estate lawyer will ensure that someone looking to refinance their home or property understands the process as fully as possible. The lawyer will walk them through each task they may be required to form and prepare them for eventualities or possibilities. They will also walk the property owner through liabilities that may become new responsibilities under the terms of a new mortgage once the lawyer has a grasp of the new mortgage documents.

It may also be considered a real estate lawyer’s obligation to ensure that all proper steps are followed during the process to ensure that the parties involved, especially those not trained in legal aspects of mortgage documents, fully understand and move the process forward as smoothly as possible.

Commercial Mortgage Refinancing

There are several differences between refinancing a residential real estate property and a commercial one. An experienced mortgage lawyer will know these different issues, helping the client avoid any common or not-so-common pitfalls while navigating the transaction. In addition, the real estate lawyer will perform specific searches for documentation that is not typically required in residential loans and are therefore not as simple for the general public to find. While the recording process between the two isn’t significantly dissimilar, having a qualified and experienced real estate team can make an enormous difference.

Choosing the Right Real Estate Lawyer

Real estate transactions, home buying, property selling, and refinancing loans; can be some of the more complicated and tedious tasks. Ensure a smooth process for yourself by hiring an experienced and knowledgeable lawyer with whom you can communicate well. Call the Getz Collins and Associate law firm today at 403-934-2500 to start a conversation with a real estate lawyer interested in getting you through your real estate dealings as smoothly and cleanly as possible.