Conveyancing in BC

Rimpy Sadhra

BC Notaries offer a variety of legal services including notarizations of various documents, preparation of Wills, Powers of Attorney and Representation Agreements, independent legal advice, and real estate conveyancing.

Conveyancing is the process of transferring the legal title of real property from one person to another. That transfer of interest is known by the majority of the public as buying and selling a property.

As trusted and well-trained legal professionals, BC Notaries have been extremely busy assisting the public during the past 18 months in buying, selling, and refinancing property. Notaries have managed to keep pace with the needs of the public while implementing new office procedures and protocols to adapt to new legislation and changing provincial health orders.

We have worked longer days with remote staff or no staff at all during the pandemic, while dealing with one of the hottest real estate markets! Like you, we Notaries have not been able to see each other faceto-face to share a warm handshake, a hug, a laugh, or even a few thoughts. I know we have missed being able to give comfort to each other, especially since we have all been going through the same challenges.

BC Notaries have shown resilience and strength. For that, I want to personally commend my colleagues for stepping up to the plate and putting in those long days and countless hours. Together, we have been able to meet the needs of the public in providing professional legal services, particularly residential conveyancing.

Each Notary runs his or her Notary business office independently and uniquely. Notaries have a very handson approach to each file and transaction.

Like many other Notary practices, our office offers a variety of notarial services. We handle residential conveyancing for sales, purchases, refinances, private mortgages, leasehold properties, and family transfers.

Conveyancing is a big part of our practice. With multiple offices and Notaries, it is crucial that we maintain strong organization skills and communication between our Notaries and our staff. We continuously update our intake sheets, checklists, and digitalfile organization so we may easily access any file from any of our offices. That allows us to be on top of our files and readily available to assist our clients efficiently and effectively.

We make it a priority to have a Notary contact the client to have an initial conversation. Being available to coach and support our staff to deal with clients and manage files is an integral part of our work culture.

We connect with our clients at the earliest opportunity so we can set the expectations for the transaction. Spending a extra few minutes at the beginning of the transaction to explain the overall process goes a long way to ensuring a smooth transaction. That can be especially helpful to those who are new to the conveyancing process

We have worked longer days with remote staff or no staff at all during the pandemic, while dealing with one of the hottest real estate markets!

or who have not bought or sold property in a long time.

There are several important parties involved in a conveyance transaction and each party plays a key role in the process. For example, • realtors provide us the fully executed contract, addendums, and commission reports; • mortgage brokers and lenders provide us mortgage instructions and requirements; and • buyers and/or sellers provide us with their personal information.

The Notaries are responsible for obtaining and confirming that the correct information is received. That is the most crucial part of the entire process. We conduct our due diligence through searches and enquiries and confirm the details that have been gathered from the various parties.

We rely on municipalities and strata companies to provide necessary details for all the required adjustments so we can finalize the numbers.

When calculating the final down payment required for a purchase, we must consider all the strata fees, tax adjustments, and provincial property transfer tax.

For sales and refinances, we must obtain a final mortgage payout statement (including any applicable pre-payment penalties) to determine the remaining balance owing to our clients.

Clients rely on Notaries for accuracy when preparing their legal documents. That is why it is helpful to have as many of the required details in hand as soon as possible from the parties involved.

Once all the mortgage and title legal documentation has been prepared, we meet with our clients to sign the paperwork. On the date of completion of the transfer of title or mortgage refinance, Notaries register those transactions at the Land Title Office and report to all the relevant parties in the transaction. We do that type of careful detailed work every day, all day!

I recently passed my 10-year mark as a BC Notary Public. I remember as a student talking about a “simple” conveyance. I have not yet seen a “simple” conveyance but I have seen less-complicated conveyance transactions.

Buying and selling property is not simple; laws are revised, new processes are introduced often, and the legal forms used for webfiling are constantly being updated. BC Notaries are always on their toes to use the most current versions of the documents for their clients to sign.

As legal professionals who handle a large percentage of the residential conveyancing work in BC, it is our job to be current with legislation. Notaries need to know all the information required so they may best inform, explain, and advise their clients in legal matters.

The learning in our industry is continuous. Well-trained staff members are essential to a Notary’s success. They help generate the confidence and trust of our clients. A strong Notary Practice requires a strong team that can work together to assist in meeting the needs of clients.

New Course

On that note, the BCNA is excited to introduce a new course for Notary staff, offered in early 2022— an introductory conveyance course for support staff. The course will be ideal for those who are looking to work as conveyancers or staff wanting to grow into that role.

The 5-day full-time course will be delivered through a combination of Zoom and face-to-face teaching. It will focus on the administrative conveyancing process and provide the students with the basics of preparing conveyance files. I am personally excited to be a part of this new project and look forward to its success.

As a Director of the BCNA, I personally acknowledge and appreciate the hard work of my Notary colleagues over the last 18 months and look forward to seeing them in person at our annual Notary Conference in February 2022. s Rimpy Sadhra is a BC Notary with West Coast Notaries; they have offices in Vancouver, Burnaby, and Coquitlam.

There are several important parties involved in a conveyance transaction and each party plays a key role in the process.

BC Notaries are always on their toes to use the most current versions of the documents for their clients to sign.