- Agreement of purchase and sale
- The written contract between you and the buyer. Ontario's Statute of Frauds requires a sale of land to be in writing and signed to be enforceable. Read the answer ›
- Bridge financing
- A short-term loan from your lender covering the days between a purchase that closes first and a sale that closes later, repaid from the sale proceeds. Read the answer ›
- Caveat emptor
- Buyer beware: the starting rule in Ontario that a buyer takes the property as found, subject to the seller's duty not to hide dangerous latent defects or misrepresent. Read the answer ›
- Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee
- The court's confirmation of who may act for an estate, commonly called probate. The land registry requires it before an estate trustee can transfer a home. Read the answer ›
- Chattels and fixtures
- Fixtures are attached and stay with the house; chattels are movable and go unless the agreement lists them. The list in the offer decides. Read the answer ›
- Conditional offer
- An offer the buyer can withdraw from if a stated condition, such as financing or inspection, is not satisfied or waived by its deadline. Read the answer ›
- Deposit
- Money the buyer pays after acceptance as a show of good faith, held in the listing brokerage's trust account and credited to the price on closing. Read the answer ›
- Discharge of mortgage
- The document the lender registers, after being paid, that removes its charge from title. Your lawyer undertakes to obtain it and follows up. Read the answer ›
- Firm offer
- An offer with no conditions, or one whose conditions have all been waived. Once accepted, neither side can walk away without being in breach. Read the answer ›
- Holdback
- Money kept in a lawyer's trust account on closing until a stated condition is met, such as a repair, a discharge or a tax certificate. Read the answer ›
- Holdover clause
- A listing agreement term that keeps commission payable if you sell, within a set period after the listing ends, to someone introduced during it. Read the answer ›
- Irrevocable period
- The time an offer stays open for acceptance. Once it passes, the offer is dead and cannot be accepted, only re-made. Read the answer ›
- Latent defect
- A problem a reasonable inspection would not reveal. A seller who knows of one that makes the home unsafe or unfit to live in must disclose it. Read the answer ›
- Matrimonial home
- A property a married couple ordinarily occupied as their family residence. Neither spouse may sell or mortgage it without the other's consent, whoever is on title. Read the answer ›
- N12 notice
- The Landlord and Tenant Board form used to end a tenancy because the landlord or a purchaser needs the unit for their own or a family member's residence. Read the answer ›
- Patent defect
- A problem a careful buyer or inspector can see. The seller generally has no duty to point it out, but must not conceal it.
- Payout statement
- The lender's written figure for what it takes to discharge the mortgage on closing day: principal, interest, any prepayment charge and its fee. Read the answer ›
- Principal residence exemption
- The Income Tax Act rule that shelters the gain on a home you ordinarily lived in from tax, one property per family unit per year. The sale must still be reported. Read the answer ›
- Requisition
- A written objection to title raised by the buyer's lawyer before the requisition date. Your lawyer must answer it, or the buyer may end the deal.
- Section 116 certificate
- The CRA certificate a non-resident seller obtains so the buyer need not withhold part of the price. Until it arrives, your lawyer holds the withholding in trust. Read the answer ›
- Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS)
- An optional written questionnaire about the property. Once signed, each answer is a representation the buyer can rely on and sue over if false. Read the answer ›
- Solicitor's undertaking
- A lawyer's personal promise to do something after closing, such as register the discharge. Undertakings let a sale close before every loose end is tied. Read the answer ›
- Statement of adjustments
- The closing account that credits and debits the price for taxes, condo fees, rents, deposits and other items settled to the closing date. Read the answer ›
- Vacant possession
- Delivering the home empty of people and belongings on closing. A tenant in place means vacant possession cannot be promised without the Residential Tenancies Act being satisfied. Read the answer ›
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