Q & A Series – Part 9

This is a question I get asked on almost every single transaction – how much are real estate lawyer fees? To help answer that I’ve asked resident Mississauga Lawyer, Shaffiq Dar of Real Corp Law, to tackle this common question and a couple of others surrounding the role of the real estate lawyer in a home purchase.

Q: How much do real estate lawyer fees generally cost? Can I use any lawyer to complete a real estate transaction? Are there any other legal fees involved? – Stephanie 

Real Estate Lawyer Fees

The legal fees will vary greatly from transaction to transaction and from lawyer to lawyer. Generally, for a standard residential purchase transaction you can expect to pay approximately $750-$800 + HST in legal fees. 

Do I Need to Use a Real Estate Lawyer?

Yes. The lawyer must be insured to practice real estate. You can check the Lawyer Directory on www.lsuc.on.ca to confirm whether the lawyer has the required insurance to provide real estate services.

The lawyer will also carry out the necessary title searches and other required searches. They will receive the mortgage funds, in trust, from the lender on closing. All registrations in Ontario are now completed electronically and the lawyer will be required to register the Transfer, Mortgage and any other necessary documents on title on closing.

Other Fees Involved in Purchasing a Home

There are a number of other costs involved that don’t fall under “legal fees”. These would include:

1. Disbursements (such as title searches, courier, bank charges) – estimated at $150.00 + HST (169.50)
2. Registration charges – $142.60.
3. Title insurance – estimated at $600 (based on the purchase price between $600-$650K)

As you can see, the estimated costs for real estate lawyer fees will vary based on the purchase price of the property. This is mainly because the cost of title insurance goes up as the purchase price of the home increases. In general though, you can expect “real estate lawyer fees” to be somewhere around $1500-$1800 when purchasing a home in the GTA. However, this doesn’t take into account the land transfer tax which can and usually is the biggest closing cost on a home. 

Have another question about real estate lawyer fees? Please leave a comment below or contact me directly!

[Photo credit: Got Credit]