Real Estate Law

The purchase and sale of residential and commercial property comprises another aspect of the services provided by Elliott McCrea Hill.

If you are purchasing your property, we will be responsible for verifying title to the lands and premises.

In 2001, the Province of New Brunswick introduced the Land Titles System throughout New Brunswick. Over time, all property in New Brunswick will be converted to the Land Titles system. A conversion is required where land is mortgaged or sold, subject to certain exceptions. Once a parcel of land has been converted to this system, title to the property is guaranteed by the Province of New Brunswick.

Conversion to Land Titles is done through an thorough exhaustive examination of the title deeds and other documents which are registered at the Registry Office. The information required by the Province is then submitted with a Certificate of Title. The province then issues a Certificate of Registered Ownership, which sets out ownership of the parcel, and any charges against it. As part of this process, we will take the steps to ensure that the Vendor is the proper owner of the property, and that the property is not subject to any charges, liens, mortgages or easements. We will arrange to have any discrepancies in the title corrected prior to the close of the transaction. If there are any existing mortgages other than your own, we will either have them discharged or we will close on the Vendor’s undertaking to provide us with the discharge at a later date. If we are unable to remove or correct any problems which may exist in the title, we will advise you as to what steps may be taken.

We will also verify real property taxes, water and sewage taxes and other municipal assessments and levies. When the transfer of the property occurs, we will have calculated and prepared a “Statement of Adjustments” between yourselves and the vendor with respect to the deposits and charges outstanding which were incurred while the vendor occupied the property, including real property taxes, water and sewage. We will examine the Deed from the Vendor to yourselves and we will prepare the necessary affidavit to have your Deed recorded in the Registry Office.

Following are some items which are not included in our services:

1. Certification of the positioning of the house and any improvements on the land which you are buying. This service can only be provided by a qualified land surveyor.

2. Examination of the real property on the ground to determine actual boundaries or any encroachments or any rights which may have been acquired by lengthy periods of use;

3. Compliance with any applicable zoning by-laws;

4. Verification of the quality of construction of the building, or its contents. We recommend that a professional inspection of the property be conducted.

5. Negotiations for insurance coverage; and

6. Connecting utility services. For further information concerning fees and disbursements, please feel free to contact our office.

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