Residential Real Estate Lawyer in Vancouver, BC

In Vancouver, buying or selling residential real estate is a fraught legal process. Make sure that you are protected legally by working with a Mandarin-Chinese speaking real estate lawyer. If Chinese is your first language then you’ll have the chance to benefit from top-notch legal services in your native tongue.

We serve both families seeking to purchase homes and high-class investors buying multiple multi-family properties. We provide complex business solutions for investors who wish to enter the thriving residential real estate market here in British Columbia, as well as provide a solid team of real estate litigator both when you need to press your own lawsuits and when you need to defend against them.

Our team has decades of experience in this area and is prepared to help with any concern that might arise. 

How We Help with Residential Real Estate

We help with the following real estate matters:

• Writing offers
• Negotiating buy/sell contracts
• Drafting boiler plate lease agreements for residential tenants
• Landlord/tenant disputes
• Partitions and co-ownership disputes
• Financing, including the drafting and registering of mortgages
• Family Transfers
• Title Transfers
• Clearing Title Issues
• Researching restrictive covenants
• Discovering easements
• Documenting and filing easements, covenants, rights-of-way and subdivision plans
• Co-ownership agreements
• Real estate litigation and disputes
• Purchasing foreclosures
• Zoning issues
• Boundary issues
• Ensuring homes are in compliance with the Homeowner Protection Act
• Preparing Statements of Adjustment
• Developing joint ventures and limited partnerships
• Construction law
• Due diligence

In short, we guide our clients through every part of the buying, selling, and leasing process. We can help you avoid legal trouble whether you are buying a primary home or investing. Our support for investments includes support for Chinese real estate investors who wish to buy and hold, flip, or lease. 

Investing in Residential Real Estate in Vancouver

Vancouver offers one of the hottest, most profitable residential real estate markets in the world. Yet you’ll need legal support on the ground if you’re going to stay profitable.

Any purchase or sale can spark real estate litigation. Buyers can dispute that you offered the proper representations and warranties. Deals can fall through. Sellers can dispute that contingencies were met that were not, which means you could lose your earnest money.

If you’re taking on tenants, then you take on a whole host of responsibilities and liabilities that can lead to lawsuits.

Our team helps you reduce risks and liabilities by identifying potential problems and helping you to navigate them. We help you come up with best practices that can protect your real estate investment portfolio. We can help you defend your interests from unscrupulous sellers and tenants. 

When you work with our law firm you avoid unwanted surprises regardless of where you are in the real estate process. 

Purchasing Condos (Strata) in Vancouver 

Are you purchasing the entire condo building? Then you’ll need to provide paperwork for both buyers and sellers when you start moving those units. We can help you prepare the proper documents so that you can continue to make a profit on your strata. 

If you are building a new strata development then you’ll need to get records from the owner developer and meet a whole host of regulatory requirements. We can also help in this regard. 

If you are renovating a building envelope then you must apply for a license and arrange for a building warranty.

Building Residential Real Estate in Vancouver

In order to become a licensed residential builder in British Columbia you must apply for a license. A residential builder is defined as a company which “arranges fo ror manages all, or substantially all, of the construction of a new home, or agrees to do any of these things.”

Investors who wish to develop and build residential properties must also arrange for home warranty insurance from a third party provider. You must cover all the homes you sell with this warranty. You will also need to obtain building permits. 

As may be apparent, becoming a licensed residential builder is highly regulated. You may need a lawyer even to advise you on the right type of license, as there are three of them.  You must meet certain qualifications and meet consumer protection disclosure requirements.

To become licensed, you must demonstrate competency in seven core competency areas, including:

• Relevant enactments
• Construction management and supervision
• Construction technology
• Customer service and home warranty insurance
• Financial planning, management, and administration 
• Legal issues
• Business planning, management, and administration

There are also steps you must take to remain licensed once you have received your license.We can help you stay on top of these requirements. 

Becoming a residential home builder creates certain responsibilities and liabilities. As real estate lawyers we can advise you on the risks and help you prepare for them. There are steps that you can take that can minimize those risks and can help us defend you in any litigation that might arise. 

Special Issues for Foreigners Buying Real Estate in Vancouver

Keep in mind that you’ll be subject to the Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST), which adds 15% to the purchase price of all residential real estate. In addition, non-residents who wish to collect rent in Canada will pay a 25% tax on rent received. Filing annual taxes with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will give you the opportunity to deduct some expenses and perhaps receive a tax refund.

All the same, foreigners can purchase any kind of residential real estate they want. This includes single family homes, condos, luxury homes, farms, and more. 

FAQ

Can You Buy Residential Real Estate in British Columbia without Permanent Residency?

Yes. You can buy real estate regardless of immigration status. Your purchase will simply be subject to the NRST. By the same token, neither owning nor buying property will give you any special immigration privileges. 

To figure out whether there are immigration benefits available to you, call us. Our law firm also offers immigration services.

What is Residential Conveyancing?

Residential conveyancing is the process by which the legal title to any piece of real estate transfers from the seller to the buyer. We ensure that the records of ownership are safely registered and stored with the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia to ensure that none can question your ownership.

We ensure that your title is clear from encumbrances, liens, and third party claims of any kind. We also ensure that you know exactly how much money you’ll need to bring to closing to cover all the taxes and fees that you will be required to pay to take ownership of the property.

When you sell, we review all the paperwork presented by the buyer’s lawyer to ensure accuracy and adherence to the terms as negotiated. We then receive and disburse the purchase money in accordance with the legal forms as filed, whether to a mortgage company you owe money to or to your own business account. 

How Can a Vancouver Residential Real Estate Lawyer Help?

Residential real estate purchases are legal matters just like commercial real estate purchases are. We protect you by doing due diligence, negotiating buy/sell agreements, and more.

For example, we do the due diligence which helps determine if there are rights on the property that aren’t being offered up for sale. Your lawyer can also help you determine whether there are any registered easements or restrictive covenants.

We also look for title issues. For example, we make sure the seller’s mortgage has been properly discharged and confirm that the seller has made all payments for which they are responsible. 

When you are purchasing a strata, whether you’re purchasing an individual condominium or the entire building to sell out the individual units, we prepare, manage, and examine all the necessary paperwork, which can be hundreds of pages long. 

Get Help Today

We are experienced real estate lawyers with a long history of providing our clients with the kind of tough negotiation that it takes to successfully close deals. In addition, our long history of success with real estate litigation makes us alert to potential liability issues, allowing us to help you avoid them wherever possible. And we’re not just real estate lawyers: we’re business lawyers too. This means we can advise you on all aspects of your residential real estate business, whether you’re going in as a property manager, as a builder, or as an investor. 

As top-notch litigators, we are also prepared to press your case of court if you are accused of wrongdoing, or if you sustain damages due to a seller’s negligence or misrepresentation. You can count on us to defend your interests wherever we are required to. 

You can also count on us to have an understanding of your culture and of the international laws which might govern your case. This helps you avoid major issues that could prove disastrous to your business.

Chinese Lawyer Vancouver serves clients in Vancouver, Abbotsford, Langley, Surrey, and White Rock. Call to set up an appointment today.