Real Property

Conveyancing

Conveyancing is the process of exchanging title for money, following a number of set procedures.

Whether your home is a single family dwelling, a strata or a manufactured home, on freehold or leased land, we can help you with the legal documents you need to:

buy or sell your home
finance or re-finance your property
transmit the property into the name of a surviving joint tenant
add or remove people from your title
put your property into joint tenancy with someone else
draft, sign or register covenants, easements, and rights of way
subdivide property, including preparing documents and obtaining signatures required by the preliminary layout approval and registration of all necessary plans and accompanying documents at the Land Title Office

We can also help you with commercial real property leasing, financing and purchase transactions.

Please note that we must verify your identity if you are hiring us to help you with conveyancing work.

Can you give legal advice?

Yes, we can and must give you legal advice on real property issues, so you can be assured you will get the professional services you need.

Can you go to court for me if something goes wrong?

Worried about whether we can go to court or not for you if something goes wrong?

Don't. Even if you were to use a lawyer instead of a notary, that lawyer would never represent you in court either.

First, we have been doing this for a long time, and it's rare for a transaction to go so wrong that it ends up in court.

Second, if the worst happens, and you need to go to court, we will refer you to a litigation specialist. Litigators are a very specialized kind of legal practitioners who spend years and years perfecting their skills. They are NOT regular lawyers. In the same way that you would never ask your wonderful family dentist to do advanced orthodontics or prosthetics, you don't want to use a general solicitor for this specialty work.

Third, if your transaction has fallen apart because of a mistake by the lawyer who did the work for you in the first place, that lawyer cannot represent you in court because they will be in a conflict of interest. How will they protect your interests when they have already been the cause of the problems that landed you in court?

What kinds of property can you help me with?

We can deal with property in the BC Land Title System, the Manufactured Home Registry and First Nations land registries as well.

Can you help me with unusual situations?

With decades of combined experience, our notaries have seen an astonishing amount of transactions, from normal to extraordinary.

We can also help you if you are a:

first time homebuyer
adding a family member on title
removing a family member from title
transmitting property into the name of a surviving joint tenant
dividing assets in a separation
refinancing
dealing with stratas, individual homes, leaseholds and other types of home ownerships

Can you help me arrange title insuance?

Yes. We are not insurance agents, but we can help you arrange title insurance coverage for you, and for your lender, if you are using a mortgage or other loan to purchase your new property. More information is here about title insurance.

What is the Land Owner Transparency Registry?

This is a new registry that the BC Government has put in place to try and track what they are calling "hidden interests" in land. Here is more information about the new Land Owner Transparency Registry and its requirements.