The Real Estate Lawyer -Reviewing the Offer

In my posts, 'My Worse Fears May Come True',
Part I & II, I wrote about having two different
real estate lawyers look at the two offers made
by EWCLP (East Windsor Cogeneration LP).
The second lawyer was more generous with
providing information than the first lawyer.
Luckily the second lawyer didn't look at the
purchase agreement until after he provided
some useful information.

I've provided some excerpts from the lawyer's
letter to me. Hopefully this info. will be useful
to you as well.


1. "The closing date is always some time after all
conditions are waived. The reason is that the
lawyer will not generally do a title search or
anything else until the offer is firm. They will
also need some time to prepare all the paperwork."

2. "Your lawyer will take care of paying off your mortage. "

3. "I agree that tenants insurance is a lot cheaper
than homeowners insurance."

4. "Closing funds will be paid to your lawyer .
He will then pay off your mortgage, take
his fees and give you the balance."

5. "The usual adjustments on a sale are
for property taxes and fuel oil if the house
is heated. If they take over your insurance,
there may also be an adjustment for that.
The idea of adjustments is to allocate expenses
that were paid in advance."

6. "...that payment be by certified cheque.
That is standard on all agreements."

Note: But if you think you're going to
lose sleep at night because the corporation
may put a stop payment on the certified
cheque,then cashier's cheque may be the
better option. My understanding is
that banks usually do not allow a
stop payment on certified cheques,
but you never know. Big corporations
have a lot of influence. Why chance it.
Better to lean on the side of caution,
right?


Links that you might find of interest:

Real Estate: Meeting with a lawyer
http://real-estate.lawyers.com/Real-Estate-Meeting-with-a-Lawyer.html

What to expect when you buy or sell a house
http://ezinearticles.com/?What-to-Expect-When-You-Buy-or-Sell-a-House&id=164506

Articles of interest for Ontario Homeowners
http://www.newhomesandcondos.com/html/articles.html