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Our team at Arcus Legal congratulates Erin O’Brien Edmonds, KC, TEP on an impressive 40 years in the practice of law.
Throughout her illustrious career, Erin has established herself as a leading expert in Real Estate and Wills & Estates, earning numerous accolades and the respect of her peers and clients alike.
Arcus Legal is pleased to congratulate Erin O’Brien Edmonds, KC, TEP, on being selected by her peers as the Best Lawyers® 2024 Real Estate “Lawyer of the Year” in Halifax. Having previously won this award in 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2021, this year marks the fifth time Erin has received this honour. Erin is also recognized in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers in Canada® for her work in Trusts and Estates.
We are pleased to announce that Gregg Knudsen has joined Arcus Legal to practice with our Property and Estates Teams. Bringing more than 30 years of experience to our firm, he will be serving clients’ needs for estate and trust planning, probate administration, and real property transactions. Gregg also offers experience in elder law, charitable giving, wealth management, taxation, business succession, and mental health law. Throughout his career, Gregg has contributed extensively to the legal profession and his local community, sitting on provincial review and appeal boards, chairing Canadian Bar Association sections, and serving on law reform initiatives.
To learn more about Gregg and the services he offers his clients, see our website at: https://www.arcuslegal.ca/gregg-knudsen.… [Read more]
When you purchase a home, you must hire a lawyer to carry out the transaction, but you may be left wondering what you are paying them to do. Below is an overview of what your property lawyer does for you.
Diving into the world of being a landlord and owning rental properties can be appealing. Online articles, YouTube videos, and television can make it out to be an easy way to earn passive income. However, it is also a significant responsibility to supply a home to a person or family. No matter the length of your rental, there are certain obligations that arise once you take on the responsibility of becoming a landlord. Prior to investing in a rental property ensure you consider the length of rental you will be providing, and know the relevant law to avoid future disappointment.
On or before the closing date, your lawyer will send the Buyer’s lawyer the Deed, HST certificate, a Direction regarding the payment of the closing funds in trust, and a Statement of Adjustments describing the amount your lawyer will receive from the Buyer’s lawyer on the closing day, along with any other documentation requested by the Buyers on the Agreement of Purchase and Sale.
The Agreement will have a specific time in which you have to provide “vacant possession”. This is the time in which you will have to leave your home clean, empty, and unoccupied on the closing date and the Buyers will complete a final walk through of the property.… [Read more]
A few days before the closing date your lawyer will want to meet with you in person or by web conference in order to complete your closing documents, including the Deed conveying the property to the Buyer, a certificate confirming there is no HST to be added to the sale price, along with other closing documents.
If your property is a used residential property, one of the closing documents will be an HST certificate, which you will sign certifying that the sale is exempt from HST within the meaning of the Excise Tax Act. If your property falls outside of the exemption this should have been noted in your Agreement and your lawyer will discuss this with you.… [Read more]
If you have agreed to make any repairs resulting from the Buyer’s home inspection, make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to complete them before closing. Be careful to note whether the Agreement specifies if the repairs must be done by a professional and whether receipts are required. Make sure you have arranged movers, planned for cleaning and that all items remaining with the property are in good repair as set out in your Agreement. A week before closing is a good time to re-read your Agreement!
There are other standard items to complete, such as filling up the oil tank or propane tank, grass cutting or snow removal prior to closing and arrange to have your internet and water accounts closed.… [Read more]
Once you have accepted an offer from a Buyer, have your realtor forward the Agreement of Purchase and Sale to your lawyer, and they will begin preparing your sale documents.
The Buyer will have a certain amount of time to arrange satisfactory financing, a home inspection and in certain cases a water and septic test, if there is a well and septic on the property. The condition of the lawyer review of the Agreement will also take place in this time period. Your realtor will update you with any issues raised by the Buyer during condition period. Once the condition date has passed and you have not heard of any issues from your realtor or lawyer, you can consider the sale to be firm.… [Read more]