What Happens After an Accepted Offer
Once you buy a home, we move on to things that we need to do in time for your closing date! You will be asked for a lot of different paperwork throughout this process from your lawyer, lender, and insurance company. We’ve outlined some key paperwork that you will need as a “heads up” in preparation for what comes next.
Mortgage
You now need to finalize your financing in preparation for closing. Your mortgage broker/lender will be asking you for a lot of information that they will need to satisfy their conditions for your mortgage. Some of the items you will need to provide, depending on your scenario, are:
Latest property tax bill, insurance, ownership of other properties or if you have a home you are selling
Insurance rider for your new home
Government issues ID’s
Use the button below to read a comprehensive article that explains what documents you need (and why) when meeting with your mortgage broker. The only addition to the article is that you will also be asked to bring credit statements with you (e.g., credit card statements, car financing, etc.).
We will provide you and/or your lender with a copy of the final APS as well as the Broker Load MLS listing for their files. Your lender will need this to start working on your file.
Insurance
Your insurance company will want to know as much as they can about your new home in order to provide you with a quote. They're going to ask you a million and one questions, all fine. To prepare for your conversation with the insurance company, we will make sure you have the answers to these key details that they will request. We will send you another email with those answers when the time comes!
1. Year the house was built
2. Wiring
3. Plumbing
4. Heating
5. Age of roofs
6. Windows
7. Siding
8. Square Footage
We won’t know all the answers to their questions and can only provide what we know. If they have any specific questions, let us know and we’ll see if we can find answers for you.
Lawyers
We will be sending your lawyer the appropriate paperwork that they will need for your closing. Please find a list of documents you will need when meeting with your lawyer to close on your property:
Purchase:
Two pieces of Canadian photo ID. This is mandatory for title insurance purposes.
Proof of fire insurance coverage (binder letter) if the property is NOT a condominium.
Usually a void cheque. This is required by the mortgage lender.
Confirmation that they have contacted and arranged a transfer of all utility accounts (water, hydro and gas). We are not allowed to arrange these transfers on their behalf.
We will arrange the transfer of property taxes
Are all keys ready and you know where they are? Your lawyer will usually ask that you bring all the keys to their office when signing the documents.
A few important notes from our lawyer partner…
Please take the time to read carefully through your mortgage commitment letter. In it, you will find all of the terms by which the mortgage company will fund your mortgage.
You may find things there like – must agree to clear up a credit card debt or car loan. If it indicates that, you will need proof for your bank or mortgage broker before closing that it was taken care of.
If you provided pay stubs or employment docs to your bank or mortgage broker check again to see if you need current ones before closing, especially when you are closing 2-3 months or more after the deal. Some deals specify how many hours you are supposed to be working etc., so be sure to clarify if anything will need to be resubmitted before closing.
Speak with your mortgage broker or bank about any other substantial purchases you might be considering (car loan, line of credit, a lot of furniture). If your credit score or gross debt ratio changes drastically before closing, and they require a new check you may not get funding. So, you might want to wait on those.
Be sure to get a copy of the notice of fulfilment or waivers to your banker or broker. Your lawyer typically will help you with that.
Here are some key 'pet peeves' from lawyers that cause them issue prior to closing. Take these to heart as they could cause you more stress than needed as we get closer to closing:
Clients who decide to take a vacation just before the closing date.
Buyers who hold off arranging financing because they are shopping around for the best deal, thus causing a great deal of stress when we receive mortgage instructions the day before closing.
Buyers who say that they do not have a mortgage registered but it turns out that they in fact have a line of credit registered. They don’t realize that legally it amounts to the same thing
Buyers automatically assume that every property comes with a survey…not true, and the worst scenario.
Closing dates get changed and we don’t know about this until it is almost too late.
Sellers (for example) get a new furnace installed and get it financed by the furnace people. They don’t know that in such a case that the furnace people register a lien on the property that we must get removed—by paying out the furnace contract in full. This usually freaks out the seller since now they will not have enough money to complete their sale.
Remaining purchase funds are delivered to the lawyer via certified cheque
All buyers (spouses, anyone who will be on title or guaranteeing the mortgage, etc) are not available to meet with lawyer within 5 days of closing.
On the day of closing, be prepared to not be able to move in until late in the day. Lawyers will try to get deals closed as early as possible but there can be delays on closing and reasonable expectations must be held as to when to show up to the house with movers. The selling side despite having closed the deal may have had delays with movers etc. Go into this day knowing it will be a potentially long one.
Home Visits
After purchasing, we like to get you back into your new space to just take it all in. You will likely have three visits to use and it’s important to make the most of them before closing day!
First visit
This is an opportunity to go back and reacquaint yourself with your new space! Invite family/friends along, and possibly take some measurements, pictures, etc.
Second visit
This visit is optional! Some clients bring in trades for quotes, measure, etc. We have many trusted partners that we would be happy to pass along and can help to facilitate arranging them to come for this visit.
Final visit
This visit is key. We need to go back, a couple of days before closing and check to make sure all is fine with appliances, HVAC, etc. If we find something that is a problem, we will have time to figure out solutions with the current owner(s). If we discover that something is wrong after closing, it’s on us. That does happen, but let’s take a little time to make sure we did the best we could!