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PeregineLaw is able to provide legal services in the exciting investment country of Canada. We have researched the laws of Alberta, British Colombia, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Ontario.
Alberta is a current investment hotspot with the mining of oil in the Athabasca Oil Sands, the largest of the four main Canadian oil sand deposits. Increasing oil prices and growing tensions in the Middle East and Russia makes this source America's first choice to combat their dependency on Middle Eastern Oil. Shell’s Muskeg River Mine in the Canadian province of Alberta boasts the biggest boys’ toys in the world and they are currently operating at full throttle. The deep winter freeze is good, creating a hard surface for the truck’s giant wheels, each weighing almost 5 tons. But it is the high price of oil that is keeping the mine frantic, digging enough bitumen-soaked sand to convert into 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of synthetic crude oil.
The area has been inundated with miners who all require residential accommodation and demand outstrips supply and will continue to do so during this oil rush. You may be curious about the legal background of the registration system that surrounds these investments:
This system is named after a land title registration system created by Robert Torrens, of South Australia in the 1850s. It was first used in Canada in the Colony of Vancouver Island in 1861 and in the province of British Columbia in 1869. The Torrens system has been in use in Alberta since 1887.
The Torrens Land system is based on three principles:
* the Mirror Principle,
* the Curtain Principle, and
* the Insurance Principle.
Each of these principles taken together explain how this system works.
PeregrineLaw will order a copy of the title to the property and check it for restrictions on the title, such as easements, restrictive covenants, and encumbrances such as mortgages, builder's liens, and other items. Any one of these things on the title to your property could have very serious consequences for your future use and enjoyment of the property. Without expert guidance, you could find yourself in serious difficulty down the road.
PeregrineLaw will source the best lawyer for you at the best rate and it is advisable to let us do this as rates differ.
You should expect the following expenses on top of your legal fees:
* the cost of a building inspector's report if you hire one
* an adjustment for taxes. For example, if you take over the property on September 1 and the previous owner has paid the taxes for the full year, you will have to pay back the balance of the taxes from September to December of that year.
* fire insurance
* appraisal fees if your bank or mortgage company asks for one
* GST if the home is a new one. Usually there is no GST paid on previously owned property.
* registration fees at the Land Titles Office
* fees payable for obtaining a new mortgage
* a real property report
* interest charges if there is a delay between getting your mortgage advance from your lender and paying the seller in full. Delays like this often occur because it takes time to register documents at the Land Titles Office and get the title in your name, and you must have the title in your name before your lender will advance funds. The delay is usually not more than a few days.
Fees and taxes:
Transfer taxes range between 0.5% and 2% (this doesn’t apply in Alberta, rural Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan)
A goods and services tax (GST) of 6% is payable on any new-build property but does not apply to resales
There is an annual local property tax of between 0.5 and 2.5%. This varies from province to province and also within provinces themselves.
Agents’ fees of up to 7% are paid by the seller
Legal fees amount to approximately CA$800
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