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Purchasing a Property

Purchasing a property means above all to be well-informed

Should you wish to purchase certain consumer goods, such as a television set or a household appliance, the information received from those around you will generally be sufficient for you to make a proper choice. It is quite otherwise in buying real estate. The purchase of land, or a home or a revenue-bearing property requires, beforehand, not merely a great deal of advice but above all proper advice. The purchaser owes it to himself to be properly advised; it cannot be too highly recommended that he consult his notary, the expert in the field, considering the complexity of the matters involved, such as:

the importance of the investment;
the validity of the title to the property;
the economic and legal consequences:
the tax implications.

Legal obligations and financial undertakings come into existence immediately following the signature of a preliminary contract. To prevent annoying and often irreparable problems from arising, prudence suggests that you consult your notary beforehand. The notary will examine its contents in order to ensure that it contains all the necessary clauses relating to the purchase price and how it is to be paid; the identification of the property concerned; the dimensions of the land; the date of occupancy; the rights of the tenants (if there are any); the legal warranties to which the purchaser is entitled, etc. This consultation will permit you to look into the various types of financing, of arrangements that are likely to be proposed and of the true and exact amount to be disbursed upon signature of the deed of sale. Above all, you must remember that you should not unduly burden your family budget and that once the preliminary contract has been signed, it becomes extremely difficult to alter its terms and to withdraw from the obligations thereby contracted.

One of the main functions of a notary is to be found in this field. After carrying out the necessary title search, your notary will be in a position to guarantee that the title to the property will not be contested. First of all, his search consists of verifying whether the vendor is the true owner of the property; he has the right and capacity to sell it; his spouse or other persons must consent to the sale; . etc.

With the aid of a certificate of location, your notary is then in a position to verify whether the dimensions of the lot are precise; the building has been properly erected on the lot to be sold; the dwelling has been built in conformity with municipal by-laws and zoning regulations; the neighbour's property encroaches on the lot; the windows and balconies conform to legal standards; there exist rights of way; etc. Finally, from his title search, your notary will be able to detect any charges or real rights likely to affect or limit your right of ownership, such as mortgages (hypothecs), seizures, judgements, servitudes, etc.

Your notary will draft the deed of sale with the care and attention to detail that characterize all his work, putting into this document all the clauses and conditions essential for the protection of your rights. The deed of sale, prepared by your notary, becomes an authentic deed, proof in hand of your new status of property owner. Entrusted to a professional recognized forbis experience and competence in real estate law, and his concern for accuracy, a deed of sale, well drawn-up, will eliminate complications and useless disputes. You will thus be able to benefit from the untroubled ownership of your property.

At the present time, many couples, married or not, decide to buy their home jointly. It is commonly said that the house "is in both names". It should be remembered that this is the only way to be, at least partly, the owner of one's own place. Contrary to common belief, the mere fact of registering a declaration of family residence gives no right of ownership. The only effect of registering a declaration of family residence is to prevent the owner-spouse from selling or mortgaging (hypothecating) the home without the other's consent. In the same way, the creation since July Ist, 1989, of the obligatory division of family assets or patrimony does not make legally married spouses joint owners of their home. If that is their wish, they should both sign the deed under which it is acquired or else have the owner-spouse officially convey a share in it to the other spouse by written document . As a precaution, when they decide to buy a family residence together, the joint owners should set down, in a more or less detailed agreement drawn up according to their needs, the rules which will govern them. At a very minimum, such an undivided ownership agreement should contain a clause indicating how to fix the price and what procedure to follow to allow one of the joint owners to purchase the other's share in the event of disagreement, divorce or separation. Furthermore, a clause should determine what happens to the share of one of the owners in the event of death. For greater security, such agreement should be drawn up in notarial form. In effect, the notary is well placed to advise the parties on the scope of the agreement and on the advisability of completing it with a will.