Real Estate Lawyer- The Work Of A Real Estate Lawyer

Real estate transactions (buying and selling of a home) are usually the biggest and most stressful financial transactions in the life of an individual. Due to this it is very important and necessary to have a real estate lawyer who will legally represent you. A real estate lawyer can assist you in getting your real estate needs whether you are renting or buying a home, and other real properties.

Real Estate Law

In Canada, real estate law governs the acquisition, disposition and use of a real property. A “Real property” could be in the form of a land, and everything that is permanently attached to it. This includes apartments, houses, empty parcels of land and any form of permanent structure. Buying and selling of homes, and re-zoning are the most common types of real estate transactions. However, re-zoning a building or group of buildings greatly involves municipal law. The relationship between landlords and tenants are also considered under the real estate law.

In each province, real property is handled in a specific form of land title system. Legally, a person is declared the owner of a real property if the ownership of the property is registered with the Land Titles Office and they issue a Certificate of Title to the person. The Land Titles Office is a searchable registry and is certified by the government for the ownership of all real property in the province.

Laws that govern real estate in Canada

Property over provinces jurisdiction is given by the Canadian Constitution, and most of the legislation regarding real estate is done at the municipal and provincial level in that regard. Provinces will have statutes with reference to several real estate and real property issues, such as the Mines and Minerals Act, the Land Titles Act, the Land Stewardship Act, the Law of Property Act and the Public Lands Act. Residential Tenancies Act that govern tenancy in the province will be made available.

The Work of a Real Estate Lawyer

The main work of a real estate lawyer is to assist in the purchase and sales of a real property – popularly called “conveyance”. For the lawyer to engage in any act of conveyance, he/she ought to have a trust account. This account will have money that on the legal basis belongs to the client and the conveyance work is a field that is specialized for paralegals. A conveyance paralegal spends so much of his/her time filling out and putting documents into file with the province’s Land Titles Office.

Real estate lawyers in Brampton who represent landlords and tenants in Brampton can assist in negotiating tenancies and drafting tenancy agreements. However it is very unusual for real estate lawyers to get involved in situations concerning residential tenancy formation. In residential tenancy situations, it is highly unusual for lawyers to be involved in the formation of the tenancy, except to draft the initial documents for the landlord. Nevertheless, if any dispute about the tenancy arises, for instance damage to the property or an eviction without notice, real estate lawyers may get involved. Claims can be presented to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service in the province before proceeding to the court system.

Points to note

A small degree of protection is available for tenants in commercial tenancies than those in residential ones. In a residential tenancy, it is assumed that the tenant has a weaker bargaining position and for that reason, the tenant is given maximum protection from any abuse he/she might suffer from the landlord through the Residential Tenancies Act but in a commercial tenancy, the law assumes that both the landlord and tenant are on equal footing and thus, have the same bargaining power so none of such protection is necessary.

When you want to embark on a real estate project, you have to carefully consider several elements, most importantly crossing so many provincial jurisdictions and several areas of law. Irrespective of the role they play and/or how complex the project is, real estate owners and investors count on legal counsels with strong industry understanding, experience and connections in the field, strengthened by national power and resources.

Real estate lawyers draw on the skills and expertise of specific sub-groups in condominium development and sales, commercial leasing, acquisitions and dispositions, financing, municipal and property development to meet the specific needs of their clients. Even if you are working on the structure of a multifaceted land assembly contract for a large pension fund, acquiring a broad real estate portfolio or working on environmental issues in the sale of a property, real estate lawyers will provide you with every strategic advice, focusing on the future of the clients’ property and business

Real estate lawyers engage clients in the public-private sector and provide services for real estate developers and companies; owners and tenants of commercial retail, shopping centres, entrepreneurs, multi-residential condominium developments, hotels and office and industrial buildings; provincial and federal Crown corporations. Real estate lawyers also represent investors, purchasers and sellers in real estate property, including real estate investment trusts (REITs), financial institutions, US-based and offshore interests and investors, foundations and pension funds.

Real estate lawyers take strategic and result-oriented approach to negotiate, document and complete all aspects of residential and commercial real estate transactions. They have the experience in all forms of multi-residential and commercial real estate transactions, commercial leasing and land development, and expropriation. They also give counsel on the appropriate structuring of joint ventures, co-ownership, structured financing, limited partnerships and syndications. Real estate lawyers represent both borrowers and lenders in negotiating, completing and restructuring several credit transactions. Real estate lawyers recognize and advise on all aspects of land ownership and operational issues and recommend a suitable structuring of investments, for both Canadian citizens and non-residents.

Usually, a real estate lawyer with experience in real estate law has wills and estate practice, and can be of great assistance in helping clients decide on how they may want to handle their property. Real estate lawyers are very important when dealing with real estate transactions hence, to avoid little mistakes in real estate transactions, it is important to involve a real estate lawyer.