Buying a Home in Ontario
There are a hundred details between an accepted offer and the keys. We watch every one.
We act for buyers across Ontario on residential purchases of every kind. Houses, condos, freeholds, leaseholds, single-family, multi-unit. Behind every closing is a stack of work most people never see. Title searches to confirm the seller owns what they're selling. Mortgage instructions followed to the letter. Land Transfer Tax calculated and paid. A statement of adjustments that has to balance to the dollar. We handle all of it, and we walk you through what you're signing before you sign it.
What we handle.
Every closing is different in the details and similar in the bones. Here is the work behind a residential purchase.
- Reviewing your Agreement of Purchase and Sale before conditions are waived, while there is still time to address what we find
- Searching title to confirm the seller owns what they're selling and to flag any liens, easements, or registered interests
- Reviewing zoning, work orders, and tax certificates with the municipality
- Receiving and processing your lender's mortgage instructions
- Calculating Land Transfer Tax and claiming the First-Time Home Buyer Rebate where eligible
- Preparing the statement of adjustments so the numbers balance to the dollar
- Ordering and reviewing title insurance
- Closing the transaction electronically and registering your name on title
- Releasing keys on closing day
- Sending you a closing report with copies of every document filed for your records
How a purchase closes.
Get your quote
Tell us about the property and the deal. We'll send back an all-in number with every cost included. Legal fees, title search, registration, disbursements, title insurance. The number we quote is the number you pay.
Send us the agreement
We open the file, review the agreement, and order the searches. If anything looks off, we tell you while there is still time to do something about it.
Sign
At our Erie Street office in Windsor, or remotely from your kitchen table anywhere in Ontario. We walk through every document, explain what it does, and answer every question. Nothing gets signed until you understand it.
Close
We coordinate with the seller's lawyer and your lender, register title in your name, and release the keys. You get a closing report with copies of everything for your records.
The number in your quote is the number you pay.
Your purchase quote includes legal fees, the title search, registration, title insurance, and standard disbursements. We tell you the number before you commit. The only items that move are government charges that depend on the closing price, like Land Transfer Tax. Those we calculate to the dollar.
Get my purchase quoteRelated services.
Frequently asked questions.
Yes. In Ontario, only a lawyer licensed by the Law Society of Ontario can register a transfer of land and a mortgage on title. You cannot legally close on a home purchase without one. Your lawyer reviews the agreement, searches title, coordinates with your lender, calculates Land Transfer Tax, prepares the statement of adjustments, and registers your name on title. The legal fee is part of your closing costs and is paid on closing.
Most residential closings take between 30 and 90 days from a firm offer to closing day. The exact timeline is set by your Agreement of Purchase and Sale, when financing is approved, and the condominium status certificate review where applicable. Our part of the work happens in the final two weeks before closing. That includes searches, lender coordination, signing, and registration.
Land Transfer Tax is a provincial tax the buyer pays on closing, based on the purchase price and calculated on a sliding scale. First-time buyers in Ontario may qualify for a rebate of up to $4,000. We calculate the tax and apply any rebate as part of your closing. Outside the City of Toronto, only the provincial Land Transfer Tax applies. Toronto charges a separate municipal Land Transfer Tax in addition to the provincial one.
You qualify if you are at least 18, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you will occupy the home as your principal residence within nine months of closing, and you have never owned an eligible home anywhere in the world. If you have a spouse, your spouse cannot have owned an eligible home anywhere in the world while you were married. The rebate is up to $4,000. We confirm eligibility and apply the rebate as part of your closing.
Title insurance is a one-time premium paid on closing that protects you against title defects, like undischarged mortgages, encroachments, survey issues, and title fraud. Most lenders require it. Even where it is not required, we recommend it because it covers risks a title search alone cannot detect, including title fraud that surfaces after closing.
Both work. We close files remotely with buyers anywhere in Ontario through secure electronic signing and video witnessing. If you prefer to sign in person, our office is at 625 Erie Street East in Windsor. Either way, we walk through every document with you before you sign.
Closing delays happen. Financing falls through at the last minute. The seller's lender hasn't released the mortgage discharge. A title issue surfaces. We deal with each one differently. If it is a buyer-side issue, we tell you what your options are immediately. If it is a seller-side issue, we coordinate with the seller's lawyer to find a path forward. We don't let a delay become a default if there is a way to avoid it.
Yes. We close files for buyers across Ontario. Our office is in Windsor, and the closing can be handled remotely from anywhere in the province. Buyers in Toronto, the GTA, Ottawa, London, Kitchener, and southwestern Ontario regularly close with us without ever travelling to our office.
The offer was accepted. Time to get the legal side moving.
Tell us about your purchase. We'll send your all-in quote with every cost included.