What happens if my lawyer finds a problem with the title when I buy a house in Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador?

This answer covers the law of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Whether you can back out or delay closing depends mostly on the conditions in your agreement of purchase and sale, so your lawyer needs to read them against the problem found. A title problem is not automatically the end of the deal. Often the options are for the seller to fix it, for you to accept it knowingly, or for the parties to agree to change the closing terms.

Registration matters because it is notice to anyone who later claims an interest in the land, and an instrument that was never registered can be void against a later purchaser or mortgagee for value who registers first. The registry gives notice and priority, not a guarantee of title. On a sale for valuable consideration other than a mortgage, the seller is treated as promising full power to convey and that the property is free of encumbrances except those you expressly accept.

An old mortgage may appear on a title search only as a notice, not its full terms, and a lender must register a release within 60 days after the mortgage is fully paid. Ask your lawyer what the issue is, whether the seller can clear it before closing, and what your agreement allows if it cannot.