Home / Real estate
Practice 02
Buying, selling or refinancing a home.
A flat legal fee, a written list of every other cost, and a clerk who tells you what is happening before you have to ask.
Send us your accepted offer as soon as it is signed. The earlier we have it, the calmer closing day is.
Purchase timeline
From accepted offer to keys.
Most Winnipeg purchases close 30 to 60 days after the offer. This is what happens in that time, and who does it.
Your signing appointment
What to bring.
We send this list again a week before, with the exact amount owing filled in.
- Two pieces of ID, one with a photo, for every person signing.
- The balance owing by bank draft or wire to our trust account. We confirm the amount and wiring details by phone, never only by email.
- Proof of home insurance naming your lender, if you have a mortgage.
- A void cheque or pre-authorized debit form for the mortgage payments.
- Your spouse or common-law partner, if you are selling and they are not on title. Manitoba’s Homesteads Act usually needs their written consent.
- Your questions. We go through every document; nothing is signed on a tab.
Fees
The legal fee, then everything else.
Our fee is flat. Disbursements are what we pay others on your behalf: we pass them on at cost and list each one on the statement.
| Matter | Includes | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase with a mortgage | Review of the offer, title search, lender instructions, statement of adjustments, signing, registration and the report on title. | $1,095 |
| Purchase, no mortgage | As above, without the lender’s file. | $950 |
| Sale | Transfer documents, statement of adjustments, paying out one mortgage or line of credit, and sending the net proceeds to you. | $850 |
| Refinance or switch lenders | New mortgage registered, old one paid out and discharged. | $795 |
| Transfer between family | Adding or removing a spouse or child from title, no money changing hands. | $650 |
| Item | What it is | About |
|---|---|---|
| Land transfer tax | Manitoba tax on the price, paid by the buyer when the transfer is registered.On a $380,000 home it is $5,250. | varies |
| Land Titles registration | Government fees to register the transfer and the mortgage. | $150 – $260 |
| Title insurance | A one-time policy most lenders ask for. Covers survey and title problems found later. | $250 – $400 |
| Searches and tax certificate | Title, judgment and City of Winnipeg tax searches. | $70 – $110 |
| Bank, courier and wire costs | Moving funds and documents between lawyers and lenders. | $60 – $90 |
Property tax and utility adjustments are not our fees: they settle up who has paid what for the year, and can go either way.
Offer signed? Send it over today.
We confirm the fee and an estimate of every disbursement in writing before you commit.