What the lawyer actually does
Searches title for registered interests, encumbrances, and prior charges. Orders off-title searches: tax, utility, zoning, work orders, sewer impost. Reviews any condo status certificate. Reviews the agreement and waivers. Manages requisitions with the seller's lawyer. Receives mortgage instructions and prepares closing documents. Collects funds from the buyer for the closing balance. Registers the transfer and charge on title. Provides reporting letter and the original transfer and title documents after closing.
Land Transfer Tax, the big line
Ontario LTT scales with purchase price. Toronto applies an additional municipal LTT roughly equal to provincial. First-time buyers receive a partial rebate (provincial maximum $4,000, Toronto maximum $4,475). Above the rebate cap, full LTT applies. For a $750,000 Toronto condo, expect roughly $20,000 in combined LTT after the first-time rebates. Plan for this number specifically; many first-time buyers under-budget for it.
Title insurance, what it covers
Title insurance covers undiscovered title defects, fraud, forgery, certain encroachments, and survey-related issues. Premiums are typically $300 to $600 on a residential purchase. It does not cover issues you knew about, environmental contamination, or future events. Most Canadian closings use title insurance instead of an up-to-date survey.
New build closings, the curveballs
New build purchases include HST, Tarion warranty enrolment, development charges, education levies, and builder add-ons. These can add $30,000 to $60,000 on top of the purchase price in the Greater Toronto Area. The statement of adjustments on closing day routinely surprises buyers who did not budget for them. A lawyer reviews and explains every line before closing.
Common deal-killing issues
Unregistered easements crossing the planned garage location. Outstanding work orders. Sewer impost charges. Builder add-ons that were verbal. Spousal interests not properly handled. A previous mortgage payout figure that comes back several thousand higher than the agreement statement. None of these are exotic. They are caught early by a real estate lawyer.
How early to retain
The day the offer goes firm. The lawyer needs time to search title and run off-title searches. Last-minute retainers create avoidable risk and stress. Most law firms offer a quick quote and onboarding in a single phone call.