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GTA Real Estate Lawyers

Woman packing up home
Whether you require legal advice and service for residential or commercial transactions, Cowan Law has the know-how to serve your needs.

Residential Real Estate
Cowan Law has handled hundreds of residential real estate (both condominium and house) transactions in the GTA. Our incredible team has a proven track record and pays attention to every detail to ensure your complete satisfaction. We’ve enjoyed an abundance of return and referral clients over the years.

The typical real estate purchase will include:

  • Signing of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale for your new home
  • Obtaining financing for your purchase
  • Retaining a lawyer to handle your transaction
  • Initial consultation with your lawyer to outline the legal process
  • Commencement of legal enquiries concerning your new property
  • Requisition date (generally two or three weeks before final closing) on which title research and other enquiries are complete and vendor’s solicitor is requested to correct any deficiencies
  • Documentation period in which all paperwork is prepared for signature by the purchaser and the vendor
  • Provision of dollar amount necessary to complete the transaction approximately 1-2 days before the closing date
  • Attendance at the law office to execute the documents and provide closing funds
  • Day of closing transfer of documentation and funds
  • Provision of keys for new home and pick-up at law office
  • Final report to follow in a number of weeks when all documentation has been received


Condominium Purchases
There are a number of considerations when purchasing a condominium. Some of the following are items that differ from a house purchase:

  1. When purchasing the condominium, you are paying for the possession of your unit and often a parking spot(s), with the potential exclusive use by you of some other building features such as balconies and storage lockers and utilization of common elements such as hallways, workout spas and garages by all building owners
  2. There is actually no land attributable to the condominium transaction which you can indicate is what you are purchasing other than the commonly owned underlying tract of land which is attributable to the entire condominium corporation
  3. There are generally a set of rules and regulations concerning such matters as minimum prescribed floor coverings, window coverings and pets
  4. Condominiums can take many forms from your basic apartment in a high-rise building, lofts in a converted building to semi-detached town homes
  5. A trusted GTA law firm like Cowan Law will examine the constituting documentation and provide advice concerning the nature of the condominium. Particular attention should be paid to soon-to-be constructed buildings and probable interim closings (a process whereby the client takes possession of the unit but does not obtain title until a later time)
  6. Final closing – transfer of title and generally, the commencement of the client’s ability to resell the unit.
  7. And more – these are just a few of the points to be discussed with your lawyer when purchasing a condominium

Commercial Real Estate
Cowan Law handles larger GTA commercial transactions on a frequent basis. The typical commercial real estate transaction can be standard but is never simple. With larger and more expensive buildings, more complex vendors and particularly lenders, as well as much more complex due diligence, the purchase or sale of a commercial building is a unique proposition that Cowan Law is expert at handling on your behalf.

Cowan Law deals with many major banks and lenders, including:

  • TD Canada Trust
  • RBC®, Royal Bank of Canada
  • BMO®, Bank of Montreal
  • Scotiabank™
  • CIBC
  • HSBC
  • Home Trust
  • First National
  • Desjardins
  • FirstLine
  • Equitable Trust
  • DUCA Credit Union
  • Alterna Savings
  • Computershare
  • CitiFinancial®
  • Manulife™
  • Effort Trust
  • Tangerine
  • Laurentian Bank
  • Meridian™
  • President’s Choice Financial®
  • AGF
  • Buduchnist Credit Union
  • BDC
  • Caisse Populaire
  • Clarica
  • Co-operators
  • Dundee Bank
  • Industrial Alliance
  • Maple Trust
  • MCAP
  • MERIX
  • National Bank
  • Street Capital Financial Corporation™
  • Wells Fargo
  • Xceed Financial Credit Union
  • Zurich®