Practice area

Selling a home in British Columbia

Most of the work on a sale is undoing what is already registered against your title. Your mortgage, any line of credit secured against the property, and anything else sitting on the register has to be paid out and discharged before the buyer can take clean title. This page sets out how that runs, what we need from you, and what most often holds it up.

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.

An empty room with pale wood floors, one closed cardboard box against the wall, and sunlight falling across the floor.

Who this is for

Selling a home

You have accepted an offer on a property in British Columbia. Most of the work on a sale is discharging what is already registered against the title, which is why a payout statement that arrives late matters more on a sale than almost anything else.

The work

What we do

01Open your file and confirm the completion, possession and adjustment dates against your contract.
02Search title to establish exactly what has to be cleared: your mortgage, any line of credit secured against the property, liens, and any charge that has been sitting there for years without anyone thinking about it.
03Request a payout statement from every lender with a registered charge, and follow up until they arrive.
04Review the transfer documents the buyer's lawyer prepares, and check them against your contract.
05Prepare the statement of adjustments so the running costs of the property are divided correctly between you and the buyer.
06Meet you to sign, at our office, at yours, or remotely.
07On completion, receive the sale proceeds into trust, pay out and discharge every registered charge, settle the real estate commission, and send you the balance.
08Confirm each discharge has actually been registered, rather than assuming the lender did it.

Your part

What we need from you

Gathering these early is the single biggest thing you can do to keep a file on schedule.

Two pieces of government-issued identificationOne has to carry your photograph.
The contract of purchase and sale, with every addendum
Every lender with a charge on the propertyIncluding a secured line of credit you may not have drawn on. If it is registered, it has to be discharged, and payout statements take time to arrive.
Your strata management contact, if the property is a strata lotThe strata corporation has to confirm your account is clear before the sale can complete.
Where you want your proceeds sentWe confirm these details with you directly rather than by email. If you receive an email appearing to change them, phone us on a number you already have.

Risk

Watch for

The things that actually derail this kind of file, rather than the ones that sound alarming.

Payout statements arriving late

Lenders set their own turnaround and some are slow. This is the most common reason a sale runs tight, which is why we request them early rather than in the final week.

A charge on title you had forgotten about

An old secured line of credit, a builder's lien, or a charge registered by a former lender who never discharged it. The title search finds these, and the earlier it happens the better.

Discharges that are paid but never registered

Paying a mortgage out and having the discharge registered are two separate things. We confirm the registration rather than assuming it, because an undischarged charge becomes your problem later.

Questions

Common questions

When do I get my money?

On completion day, once the buyer's funds have arrived and every registered charge has been paid out. How quickly the balance reaches you depends on how you have asked us to send it. We will tell you what to expect before the day rather than after it.

Do I have to be in British Columbia to sign?

No. We can arrange signing remotely anywhere, and we do this regularly. Tell us early if you will be away around completion so we can build the signing around it.

What if my buyer does not complete on time?

Your contract sets out what happens, and the answer depends on its terms rather than on general practice. Call us as soon as it looks like a possibility instead of on the day, because the options are wider earlier.

Talk to us about your file

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 Send us your file: Sale