Your lawyer or notary is an invaluable member of your team whose job is to ensure that you get what you
are paying for and in accordance with the terms of your agreement of purchase.
Your lawyer/notary will ensure:
- there is nothing on title that is not supposed to be there.
- the property taxes, utilities and condo fees, if applicable, are up to date.
- you have all the information that you need about your new home.
- your mortgage lender is satisfied and that your mortgage is secured on property title as required by your mortgage agreement.
- you know exactly how much money you will need in order complete the transaction.
- they also ensure that the seller gets paid the purchase price.
- title is legally transferred.
Lawyer or Notary?
The simple answer to this common question is that notaries cannot represent clients in court and cannot get involved in litigation. For this, notaries are often a slightly less expensive option than a lawyer. Most real estate deals are fairly straight forward, and both a notary and a lawyer can adequately prepare documents for you. The choice between lawyer or notary is based on personal preference, comfort level and complexity of the transaction.