Whether you are buying your first home or adding another commercial property to your portfolio,
Stemp & Company provides a full complement of real estate legal services for both residential and commercial properties.
Our law firm can apply our 40 years of legal experience and outstanding customer service to your next real estate case. We are able to handle any of our clients’ real estate needs from beginning to end. Let us help you make buying or selling real estate a stress-free experience!
Why Do I Need a Real Estate Lawyer?
Having a real estate lawyer by your side is the best way to protect your interests when completing a real estate transaction or managing your real estate. An experienced lawyer can help highlight any issues, save you from costly and time-consuming disputes in the future, and ensure sales and purchases of property progress smoothly and effectively.
There may be implications of a real estate transaction that you haven’t thought of. A real estate lawyer can draw from other relevant practice areas such as estate planning and tax law to protect your assets in the future and maximize the value of your investment.
Our Real Estate Legal Services
Our legal real estate team at Stemp & Company can help with all our clients’ residential and commercial real estate legal needs.
Residential Real Estate
Whether you are buying your first home, selling your home, buying a recreational property, a condo or a mobile home, our residential real estate lawyers will help you complete the real estate transaction smoothly and effectively.
Buying a residential property can be both exciting and stressful. Our law office can help provide you with peace of mind and ease your workload with our wide range of residential real estate services.
- Drafting or reviewing purchase contracts
- Conduct land title search, title transfer, and registration
- Conduct a review of other relevant information such as real property report
- Arrange for title insurance
- Administration of financing and preparation of residential mortgage documents
- Ensure that an estoppel certificate has been issued for condo purchases
- Handling any issues related to the property, such as liens and bylaw violations.
Working with other professionals such as your realtor and mortgage lenders, our real estate lawyers offer personalized, detail-oriented service to any of our residential real estate clients.
Commercial Real Estate
Stemp & Company can support you with any commercial real estate transactions and managing your commercial real estate portfolio.
Our experienced legal team can provide strategic legal advice to reduce the risk of any expensive legal issues and delays during property transactions.
- Review, negotiation, and drafting of contracts
- Conduct due diligence
- Review, drafting, and amending commercial leases
- Commercial real estate financing, including refinancing, personal guarantees, and foreclosures
No matter how big or small your commercial real estate transaction is, we’ll stay on top of all requirements and prepare all legal documents. That way, you can rest assured that the deal gets done successfully.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a real property report?
A real property report is a graphic representation of all the improvements and features of your property. A Real Property Report contains data such as the location of utility right-of-ways and easements along with improvements such as swimming pools, hot tubs, etc.
This report shows buyers and mortgage lenders whether there are any issues with the property such as structures outside the property boundaries and fire code or bylaw violations that should be resolved before moving ahead with the purchase.
Do I need title insurance?
We highly recommend it. Title insurance is an insurance product that provides insurance or indemnity coverage. In other words, the title insurer has no obligation to do anything until a problem actually arises. It is coverage for future fraud for the entire ownership of the property by payment of a one-time premium.
Title insurance covers the gap between submission and registration and covers deficiencies that would not show on a Real Property Report such as unregistered utility easements, builders liens and deficient corporate status. It covers hidden deficiencies such as underground storage tanks or underground septic tanks and much more.
What are the costs of closing?
Closing costs are one-time costs and fees associated when purchasing a home. These costs are usually incurred by the buyer and can add up fast. For a typical home, the cost of closing is around 3-4% of the purchase price.
Here are some examples of closing costs.
- Adjustment costs. You’ll need to reimburse the previous owner for any utility payments or property taxes that have been paid beyond the closing date.
- Legal fees. Lawyers will need to do paperwork. Make sure you know exactly what they’re charging you for.
- Title Insurance. Your mortgage provider will require title insurance. The good news is that it may save you the higher costs of a property survey.
- Property Insurance. Your mortgage provider usually requires you to have insurance to cover the replacement value of your home and its contents.
- Utility Service Charges. Check with your utility providers to find out what your exact fees will be.
- Property appraisal. Sometimes, your mortgage provider will ask you to have the property you’re purchasing appraised at your expense. It costs more if your house is very large, very unique, or in a remote, rural location.
- Real Property Report. Your mortgage provider may want an up-to-date survey. If the seller doesn’t already have one, you’ll have to pay for it. But before you do that, see if your lender will accept title insurance instead – many do.
- Home Inspection Fee. It’s a good idea to get your new home inspected before you purchase. This can save you from very costly surprises after you move in.
- Estoppel Certificate Fee. If you’re buying a condominium or strata unit, an estoppel certificate lets you know if the previous owner has outstanding payments and the amount of interest owing on unpaid condominium contributions.
- Goods & Services Tax (GST). If you’re buying a new home, you will be charged GST. This is usually included in the contract price. However, if the new home you’re purchasing is less than $450,000 and will be your primary residence, you may qualify for a partial rebate. Check out the Revenue Canada website or consult with a real estate accountant for more information.
- New Home Warranty. In Alberta, a new home warranty is mandatory if you’re building a new home.