These steps are not intended to be complete or exhaustive as there may be unique considerations and further steps required that may not be included here, such as, for example, if the purchaser/seller is a non-resident of Canada, if the purchaser/seller is a company versus an individual, whether the property is on First Nations land or agricultural land, whether the property has a business component, among others.
We recommend that you speak to an accountant or tax lawyer either prior to or simultaneous with engaging your conveyance lawyer. We do not provide any tax or accounting advice.
Step 1: Prior to Notary or Lawyers Office
Congratulations! At this point, you have accepted and completed a contract of purchase and sale with your realtor for your new home or property. After this point, you might have conditions in the contract of purchase and sale that will need to be satisfied by either the Seller or Buyer before a specific deadline, called conditions and terms. This could be conditions related to an inspection, financing, or receiving strata documents. At this point, ideally, it would be beneficial to contact a lawyer to review the contract. Once the conditions and terms have been satisfied or waived, you will sign a subject removal form indicating that the Seller and/or Buyer remove the conditions and are satisfied to move forward. Once the subject removal form is signed, this is a binding legal contract.
Step 2: Notary or Lawyers Office – Intake
Once the subject removal forms are signed, you will choose which notary or law office you’d like to attend to represent you as the Buyer. Once decided, your realtor will send to the representative a copy of the purchase documents, which include the conveyancer’s instruction report which indicates the parties to the sale, the purchase price and real estate commission, each party’s representative and the listing and selling agents information, and the estimated completion date. It also includes the contract of purchase and sale, any addendums to the contract of purchase and sale, a title search of the property and the property disclosure statement.
Once the representative receives this information, they will reach out to you as the Buyer and seek personal information, including, but not limited to, your legal name, date of birth, social insurance number, occupation, your insurance provider, and mortgage provider (if any). This information is used to fill out documents such as the property transfer tax form, and Form A transfer which is the document filed at the Land Title Office transferring the property from the Seller to the Buyer.
Step 3: Documents
Some of the documents that you can expect to sign as the Buyer, are as follows:
A. Buyer’s Statement of Adjustments
This document shows the amounts that are a “credit” to you, meaning the funds that you have provided or that are coming to you, and those charges that are a “debit” against you, meaning that they are being withdrawn or you are accountable to pay. For instance, the purchase price will be shown as a debit, and if you have already paid a deposit to your real estate agent, then the deposit will be shown as a credit. Below is a table showing some of the credits and debits:
| Debit | Credit |
| Purchase Price | Deposit |
| Property Transfer Tax | Mortgage Funds |
| Property Taxes* and Utilities** | Property Taxes* and Utilities** |
| Cost to obtain Insurance Binder (if any) | |
| Strata Management Fees, including move-in fee or strata fees (if any) | |
| Title Insurance | |
| Legal Fees |
* Property Taxes are dependent on whether the purchase is occurring prior to July or after July. If the purchase is completing well prior to July, most likely the Seller has not yet paid the property taxes and therefore the Seller will pay the Buyer their portion of the property taxes and it will be up to the Buyer to pay the taxes when they are due. If the purchase completes after July, the Seller has most likely already paid the property taxes and therefore the Buyer will be debited for their portion of the property taxes, to be provided to the Seller for reimbursement.
** Utilities are also dependent on the time of the month. Municipalities have different ways of charging for utilities so it will be dependent on the pay period.
If you are required to bring in funds to pay any portion of the purchase costs, which is not accounted for by the mortgage and deposit, then that amount will be listed towards the bottom of the Buyer’s Statement of Adjustments. You’ll be asked to bring in a bank draft payable to the notary or law firm with that amount, prior to the completion date.
B. Property Transfer Tax Form
The Property Transfer Tax Form indicates the amount of property transfer tax the Buyer needs to pay. Almost everyone who purchases a residential home is required to pay property transfer tax. This amount is dependent on the purchase price. Exemptions to this tax are limited, but include First Time Home Buyers exemption and a few more, which are listed on the BC Website.
The calculation is based on:
1% of the purchase price up to $200,000,
2% of any amount between $200,000 and $2,000,000,
3% of any amount between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000, and
5% on any amount above $3,000,000.
For example, you can expect to pay $4,000 for a home that is worth $300,000.
Most Buyers are unaware of the added expenses of property transfer tax. You should discuss with your accountant or mortgage broker/lender to be sure to include this additional cost in your mortgage should you not have the requisite amount on your own.
The property transfer tax rate will be different for some trustees, foreign entities and some regions of British Columbia.
C. Transparency Declaration and Report
In May 2019, the British Columbia government passed the Land Owner Transparency Act to combat money laundering by forcing new property owners including companies, trusts and partnerships to register their interest in land. The Land Owner Transparency Registry became searchable to the public in April 2021. If you purchase land or become a beneficial or legal owner of land, then you must complete a Transparency Declaration stating whether you are holding your interest in the property as a trustee (a.k.a. for the benefit of someone else). If you are holding it for someone else, then you must complete a Transparency Report.
D. Mortgage/Lender Documents
If you require a mortgage to fund a portion or all the purchase price, your mortgage lender will provide your representative (either the notary or law office) with a series of documents that must be completed and signed. The documents vary depending on the lender but be prepared to sign at least a handful of documents, including a personal guarantee should you be purchasing the property on behalf of a company.
Once all the lender documents are signed, they are then provided to the lender prior to the completion date for the lender to approve. If they require further information or clarification, then they will tell the representative who may need to contact you for further information or execution of documents. Once the lender approves the documents, they will release the funds to the representative, who will then pay the purchase price to the seller.
Step 4: Completion Date
On the actual completion date, the representative will provide the purchase price to the seller or seller’s representative and file the forms with the Land Title Office, including the Form A transfer, Property Transfer Form and Transparency Declaration.
Once all payments have been made, then the Buyer will receive a confirmation from their representative indicating that the transfer is now complete and providing the Buyer with copies of the transaction.
Each transaction could have unique circumstances and will be discussed and/or addressed by your lawyer. Should you require any assistance with selling or purchasing your home, please do not hesitate to contact us.