Process

How a file runs

From the day your contract reaches us to the day you collect the keys. Most of what goes wrong in a conveyance is a date rather than a price, so this is written around who is waiting on whom.

Typically · you
Subject removal
The date your conditions come off and the deal becomes firm. Financing, inspection and strata document review all have to be done by now. Your contract sets this date, not us.
If it slips
The contract can collapse. If you are not ready, the extension has to be agreed in writing before the deadline passes rather than after.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Set by law
Rescission period ends
The home buyer rescission period set by the Property Law Act, which runs from acceptance and lets a buyer back out of a residential purchase on payment of a fee. It applies whether or not anyone mentions it.
If it slips
This one does not slip. It runs from acceptance on a fixed basis and cannot be extended by agreement.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · you
Your file opens with us
We receive your contract, verify your identity, and check the completion, possession and adjustment dates against each other. The earlier this happens the more room there is to fix anything.
If it slips
Everything downstream compresses. A file that opens late is the most common reason a completion runs tight.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · us
Title search and strata documents ordered
We search title for what is registered against the property, and on a strata we order the Form B and the associated records. This is where anything unexpected surfaces.
If it slips
A charge nobody knew about, found late, is a much bigger problem than the same charge found early.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · your lender
Lender instructions received
Your lender sends us their mortgage instructions and we prepare the documents. They arrive on the lender's schedule rather than ours, so we chase them instead of waiting.
If it slips
This is the single most common cause of a late completion. We will tell you as soon as a date looks at risk rather than on the morning it fails.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · you
Document signing
You sign the transfer, the mortgage and the statement of adjustments, at our office, at yours, or remotely anywhere in the province. Bring identification.
If it slips
Signing has to happen with enough room to get documents where they need to be. Tell us early if you will be away.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · you
Funds to our trust account
Your balance of funds arrives by bank draft or wire. Never by email instruction, and never in response to a message that changes our banking details.
If it slips
Without cleared funds we cannot complete. This is a hard stop rather than a soft one.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · us
Completion
We register the transfer and the mortgage at the Land Title Office, the money is released to the seller's lawyer, and the property becomes yours.
If it slips
Registration and the release of funds happen in a set order. A late advance can push completion to the next business day, and your contract governs what that means for you.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · your realtor
Possession
The day you can physically move in and collect the keys. Frequently the day after completion rather than the same day.
If it slips
Possession is set by your contract. Confirm the key handover arrangement with your agent rather than assuming it.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file

Set by lawStandard practice, typically

Select a milestone for what happens there, and what it costs if it slips.

General information based on standard practice in British Columbia. Your contract governs your actual dates. This is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client relationship.

A row of newly completed townhomes seen straight on, repeating bays of dark cladding and pale trim under an overcast sky.

Milestones

What happens at each point, and what happens if it slips

A milestone set by law is fixed and cannot be moved by agreement. One marked typically is standard practice and varies with the file. The difference matters, so the page marks it rather than blurring it.

01
Subject removal
Typically
The date your conditions come off and the deal becomes firm. Financing, inspection and strata document review all have to be done by now. Your contract sets this date, not us.
If it slips
The contract can collapse. If you are not ready, the extension has to be agreed in writing before the deadline passes rather than after.
02
Rescission period ends
Set by law
The home buyer rescission period set by the Property Law Act, which runs from acceptance and lets a buyer back out of a residential purchase on payment of a fee. It applies whether or not anyone mentions it.
If it slips
This one does not slip. It runs from acceptance on a fixed basis and cannot be extended by agreement.
03
Your file opens with us
Typically
We receive your contract, verify your identity, and check the completion, possession and adjustment dates against each other. The earlier this happens the more room there is to fix anything.
If it slips
Everything downstream compresses. A file that opens late is the most common reason a completion runs tight.
04
Title search and strata documents ordered
Typically
We search title for what is registered against the property, and on a strata we order the Form B and the associated records. This is where anything unexpected surfaces.
If it slips
A charge nobody knew about, found late, is a much bigger problem than the same charge found early.
05
Lender instructions received
Typically
Your lender sends us their mortgage instructions and we prepare the documents. They arrive on the lender's schedule rather than ours, so we chase them instead of waiting.
If it slips
This is the single most common cause of a late completion. We will tell you as soon as a date looks at risk rather than on the morning it fails.
06
Document signing
Typically
You sign the transfer, the mortgage and the statement of adjustments, at our office, at yours, or remotely anywhere in the province. Bring identification.
If it slips
Signing has to happen with enough room to get documents where they need to be. Tell us early if you will be away.
07
Funds to our trust account
Typically
Your balance of funds arrives by bank draft or wire. Never by email instruction, and never in response to a message that changes our banking details.
If it slips
Without cleared funds we cannot complete. This is a hard stop rather than a soft one.
08
Completion
Typically
We register the transfer and the mortgage at the Land Title Office, the money is released to the seller's lawyer, and the property becomes yours.
If it slips
Registration and the release of funds happen in a set order. A late advance can push completion to the next business day, and your contract governs what that means for you.
09
Possession
Typically
The day you can physically move in and collect the keys. Frequently the day after completion rather than the same day.
If it slips
Possession is set by your contract. Confirm the key handover arrangement with your agent rather than assuming it.

On what it costs

We quote your file in writing before we start work, so the number on your statement of adjustments is the number you agreed to.

Start your file If you are buying

How a file runs

Subject removal

Rescission period ends

Your file opens with us

Title search and strata documents ordered

Lender instructions received

Document signing

Funds to our trust account

Completion

Possession

On what it costs