Teaching legal update across the province, I often notice regional differences in how real estate transactions are done. A couple of the questions I am often asked is “do I really need to have a subject condition for legal advice in every transaction? Or… what is the difference between a lawyer and a notary?” What these questions are really asking is what value does a real estate lawyer provide? Legal Advice from a real estate lawyer is fundamentally different (and more than just “filing documents”), it is: Education on the nature of the land tenure (fee simple v. strata property v. native la ..read more

This blog will attempt to be a valuable resource for Realtors, Buyers, and Sellers of real estate in the Province of British Columbia. The post Welcome to the B.C. Real Estate Blog appeared first on BC Real Estate Law ..read more

One of the limited exemptions to paying property transfer tax occurs where the Seller is related to the Buyer. However, for this exemption to apply, the Seller and Buyer must be “vertically related” and the property must be a principal residence. So, consider the situation where husband is on title and wishes to add his wife to title to their family home for estate planning purposes. Normally, this transfer would be taxed by Property Transfer Tax, however, the exemption applies and no tax is applicable. If however, an uncle wishes to sell his property to his neice, since they are not verticall ..read more

For most out of province buyers, finding out about Property Transfer Tax often comes as an unpleasant shock. Property Transfer Tax is charged on every transfer of freehold title in the Province of British Columbia as is calculated as 1% of the first $200k and 2% of the remainder of the Purchase Price. This means a $300,000 home buyer will pay $4,000.00 in Property Transfer Tax on closing. Similarly, a $600,000 home buyer will pay $10,000.00 in Property Transfer Tax on closing. This tax hit is made even more difficult as banks will not finance this payment. The tax can be avoided if you qualif ..read more

This week’s article is a request from a managing broker in Prince George on Powers of Attorney.   Due to fraud concerns, the use of a Powers of Attorney in purchases of homes can be quite limited. For example, most institutional lenders now will NOT permit a mortgage to be obtained by way of a power of attorney.  Aside from their use for military persons on active duty, the use of a power of attorney for purchase transaction is relatively rare.   Powers of Attorney are still used for sales, often where an elderly parent has transitioned from their fee simple home (often to assisted living ..read more