Hiring a lawyer – buyer and seller can use the same one!

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By Linda Palfi
You have enough expenses when you’re buying or selling a condominium home, so why not save a few bucks on the legal end? This can be accomplished by the seller and the buyer employing the same lawyer to handle both ends of the transaction. The saving comes from the lack of cost to courier documents and trust cheques back and forth between law offices. The lawyer also enjoys an efficiency and increase in business that many of them share with the clients by trimming their bills a little.
Remember that the legal processing of a real estate transaction is not an adversarial undertaking, although negotiating the sale/purchase might have been. In almost all cases, the conveyancing is a co-operative administrative process. In a very rare case where a dispute arises between parties using one lawyer, each would turn to a new lawyer to represent them for a negotiated resolution or for litigation. During all my years as a realtor, I’ve never had clients whose sale or purchase ended up in such a serious dispute. In fact, good real estate representation can anticipate and avoid issues that otherwise can haunt buyers and sellers.
Both parties using the same lawyer can save time, as well as money. Other than waiting for registration at the Land Titles office, a delay in a realty transaction can occur when one law office waits for documents or cheques to arrive from another. But, working within one lawyer’s four walls, a buyer’s “cash to close” cheque, for example, doesn’t need to go anywhere. As soon as it’s securely in the lawyer’s trust account, the lawyer can tell the buyer’s realtor to give the new homeowner the keys.
For an average condominium home purchase in Calgary or Edmonton, buyers will spend about $1,500 on legal fees, while sellers might pay $800. Often, of course, people are selling one home, and buying another; in part with the proceeds of the first. They’re looking at $2,300 in total legal expenses at a time when every dollar counts, so shaving some costs is well worthwhile.
Here are just some of the things you get for your legal expense as a condo homebuyer:
» Preparation and registration of your mortgage.
» Registration of the condo in your name.
» n-trust holding of your money and the mortgage money, then transfer to the seller.
» Payment to CMHC of your mortgage insurance fee.
» Calculation and allocation of all expenses between buyer and seller, such as pro-rated shares of property tax and condo fees.
» Obtain a “clear” estoppel certifi cate from the condo corporation to ensure fees are paid up.
» Title search on the property, plus fetching a copy of the condo plan from the Land Titles office (if the lawyer specializes in condominium real estate,  although a good realtor will already have done it for you).
» Patient advice and information services as you ask questions of your lawyer.
Every condominium seller and buyer deserves professional legal services and advice. Once you’re past the push and pull of negotiating your sale or purchase, there’s no reason the two parties to a real estate transaction can’t save a little time and money by both using the same professional lawyer to complete the process.
 
Linda Palfi is a condominium-specialist realtor with Discover Real Estate. She is the chair of her condo board, and a member of the professional standards committee of the Calgary Real Estate Board. Visit condosincalgary.com or call 403.998.7732.