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Real Estate Lawyer
Commercial & Residential Purchases & Sales
Ferguson Deacon Taws lawyers have extensive experience in dealing with real estate law. After you sign your Agreement of Purchase and Sale with your real estate agent, you can rest assured that one of our highly knowledgeable real estate lawyers will be able to assist you. Our legal team has successfully closed thousands of residential and commercial real estate transactions. Our team prides itself on ensuring that the rights and needs of our clients are met and that they have an understanding of all aspects of their deal.
Our real estate lawyers provide consultation and review of Agreements of Purchase and Sale, consultation and explanation of title insurance as well as consultation, explanation, and preparation of mortgage documents. When you meet with our real estate lawyers, you will receive a full review and explanation of all closing documentation.
Our staff is experienced in meeting all challenges that can arise in the purchase, sale, and financing of real estate.
Condominium Purchases & Sales
Condominiums are real estate, but there is a need for specialized knowledge of the laws when buying, selling, or financing condominium units. For example, you should always make your Agreement of Purchase and Sale conditional upon the review of the Status Certificate by your lawyer. A status certificate is a report on the current state of a condominium corporation, prepared by the Board of Directors, which offers a financial snapshot of the well-being of the building and information on those who run it. Our real estate lawyers will review the Status Certificate and provide you with an explanation of the contents.
We represent vendors and purchasers of condominium units on a regular basis. The firm also acts as a general counsel for condominium corporations and consults on commercial condominium issues. Our lawyers represent developers in the creation and registration of condominium corporations, and we provide legal advice to condominium corporations.
Mortgages (Residential & Commercial)
Ferguson Deacon Taws real estate lawyers have experience in preparing all manner of residential and commercial mortgages, whether they are:
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- Personally arranged mortgages
- Mortgages arranged through a broker
- Mortgages arranged through financial institutions
Mortgage documents can be very daunting, but there is a lot of very important information within these documents. Our lawyers will consult with you and review the contents of these documents to ensure that you understand your mortgage provisions.
Mortgage enforcement is a form of real estate law that is in place to ensure that the terms of a mortgage contract are upheld. Mortgage enforcement occurs when a mortgagor (borrower) fails to comply with agreed-upon terms in a contract with a mortgagee (lender). Our lawyers are experienced in the enforcement of mortgage rights by those who hold mortgages, including foreclosure and power of sale proceedings.
Municipal Property Law
Ferguson Deacon Taws real estate lawyers appear regularly before municipal councils and committees, and before the Ontario Municipal Board. Members of the firm represent their clients in connection with:
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- Severances, which is is the authorized separation of a piece of land to form a new lot or a new parcel of land
- Minor variances which allow for a minor change from the requirements of a zoning by-law
- Assessment appeals
- Re-zonings such as changing the zoning of a property from residential to commercial
- Other municipal matters
Recreational Property Purchases & Sales
Purchasing a recreational property sometimes involved unfamiliar issues. Our law firm is familiar with the unique problems surrounding the purchase and sale of recreational properties, after all, we do live in cottage country. Some key issues to think about when purchasing a recreational property are:
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- Septic and well problems
- Waterfront access and zoning issues -not all waterfront properties own to the water’s edge, our lawyers will search title to determine where the boundaries of your property lie
- Shoreline Road Allowances – many waterfront properties have a 66-foot allowance adjacent to the water to allow public access to the shoreline from navigable waterways in case of emergency, our lawyers will search title to determine whether this applies to your transaction
Our lawyers have completed thousands of recreational property transactions and you can rest assured knowing that our lawyers will provide you with advice regarding any issues that may arise.
Survivorship Application
If two individuals hold the title of the property as “joint tenants” and one of the owners dies, a Survivorship Application will need to be completed to deal with the various issues that may occur for the remaining joint tenant. This application notifies the Land Registry Office that one of the tenants has died and that the other will retain the right to own the property. Our team of real estate lawyers will help with this request and assist with any concerns arising from the administration of the property.
Transfer of Title
There are three common ways to own a title: Sole Ownership, Joint Tenants, and Tenants-in-Common. In a Joint Tenancy, if one person dies, the other person automatically becomes the owner of the whole property by right of survivorship. Tenants-in-Common owns their share of the property in percentages. Meaning each person owns a share in the property based on the percentage entered on the transfer. If you want to change the title of property from Joint Tenants to Tenants-in-Common or vice versa, or adding another individual on the title or transferring to your family business, our team of real estate lawyers will help you in changing the title, and will advise you in transferring the title as per your goal.
First Time Home Buyer
If you are a first-time home buyer and confused about the closing process, our Real Estate team will make the whole process easy and comfortable for you. Our lawyers will handle your house closing professionally and efficiently. As a first-time home buyer, you may qualify for a land transfer tax refund. In order to claim a refund, you must be at least 18 years of age, you cannot have owned a home or an interest in a home anywhere in the world, and your spouse cannot have owned a home or interest in a home anywhere in the world while he or she was your spouse. We will be there every step of the way to answer any questions that you may have.
We Can Help
We have the hands-on legal experience, training and education to help protect your rights and resolve your legal issues quickly and fairly. Our team of dedicated lawyers are equipped to help you with a variety of legal issues.