Real estate law · Buyers
The legal part of a residential purchase in British Columbia is mostly straightforward — until something goes wrong. The work we do is making sure nothing does. That means reading the contract, catching the title issues that show up late, and walking you through the closing so the only surprise is the new keys.
Specialised situations
Most home purchases follow the standard BC process. A handful of situations have rules of their own.
First time
The PTT exemption that pays for itself, the BC Home Buyer's Plan, and what to actually expect on your first closing.
Assignments
Buying a pre-sale unit from someone who never took possession. The contract terms that decide whether the deal is a good one.
New build
Buying directly from the developer. Deposit structures, GST, builder's liens, and the warranty package that comes with the purchase.
The standard process
Usually on a standard BCREA Contract of Purchase and Sale prepared by your realtor. The contract sets the price, the deposit, the closing date, the possession date, the adjustment date, and any subject clauses (financing, inspection, strata document review). The contract becomes binding on acceptance, subject to any subjects.
Subjects are conditions that have to be satisfied (or waived) for the deal to firm up. Once you remove them, the contract is binding. The deposit is paid into trust, usually within 24 hours of subject removal.
You send us the contract and the contact details for your realtor and lender. We pull title from the Land Title Office, order strata documents and tax certificates, take instructions from your lender, and start preparing the closing documents.
A few days before closing, we send you a statement of adjustments — the dollar-for-dollar accounting of what you owe at closing: purchase price, deposit credit, property tax adjustments, strata fee adjustments, our fee, government charges, third-party costs, Property Transfer Tax. You review it; we revise if anything is off.
One to three days before closing, you sign the land title documents, mortgage documents, statutory declarations, and the trust conditions for releasing funds. Most signings happen by electronic signing or video; some need to be in person.
We receive your funds and the mortgage advance, register the transfer of title and any new mortgages at the Land Title Office, send the purchase price to the seller's lawyer, and confirm registration. The whole sequence usually completes by mid-afternoon.
Usually one business day after closing. Your realtor releases the keys to the property at the time set out in the contract.
The economics
Our flat fee
$1,400 – $1,600
For a typical residential purchase under $2M ($1,400 cash, $1,600 with one mortgage). Full fee schedule.
Total closing costs
~2 – 4%
Of the purchase price, dominated by Property Transfer Tax. See the full breakdown.
Frequently asked
Ideally, before you remove subjects — at the latest, the day you do. The earlier we see the contract, the more we can do about anything unusual in it. By the time you have removed subjects, the contract is binding and most of our work is execution rather than advice. We are happy to do a contract review before you sign, before subject removal, or after — but earlier is more useful.
Not usually. Most residential purchases run entirely by phone, email, and electronic signing. Some files need an in-person signing — for example, certain affidavits or where a lender requires identification in person — and we are happy to meet at our office at 1500 West Georgia. For most of our buyers, we never meet in person.
Total closing costs on a typical BC residential purchase run 2 to 4 percent of the price, dominated by Property Transfer Tax. On top of that, you need cash for your down payment and for the closing costs themselves — most lenders will not let you finance them. See our closing-costs page for a full line-by-line breakdown.
The deposit is paid up front (usually within 24 hours of subject removal) and is held in trust by the seller's brokerage or the seller's lawyer until closing. The down payment is the balance of your own funds (after the deposit) that you contribute on closing, alongside any mortgage funds. The deposit counts toward the down payment at closing.
It depends on the contract terms and the timing. Once subjects are removed, the contract is binding — even if your lender pulls financing the day before closing. If you cannot complete, the seller may sue for damages, the deposit is at risk, and a Certificate of Pending Litigation may be filed against any property you own. This is one of the situations where having a lawyer involved early makes a meaningful difference: a private mortgage or short-term refinance can sometimes save the deal.
From the day you sign an accepted offer to possession, BC purchases typically run 14 to 60 days depending on subject removal periods and the closing date in the contract. From our perspective, we need at least 5 business days from the day the file lands with us to close cleanly — more on complex files. If the timeline is shorter, call us and we will look at it case by case.
Quick tool
Enter the price, the percentage you are acquiring, and the foreign-buyer tax flag. We work out the standard PTT and the additional 20% where applicable.
Quick tool
5% federal GST applies on most new builds, with the new First-Time Home Buyer rebate (up to $50,000) and the standard New Housing Rebate available.
Send us the contract and the closing date. We'll come back with a flat-fee quote and a clear next step.