When you buy a home, you’re not just buying bricks and a backyard. You’re also taking on the property’s legal history. Before closing, your real estate lawyer runs a series of searches to make sure that history doesn’t come with surprises.
1. Title search
This confirms that the seller actually owns the property and shows anything registered against it, like mortgages, liens or easements. The goal is simple: you should receive the property free and clear of other people’s claims.
2. Utility search
We contact the water, hydro and gas companies serving the home to confirm the previous owners paid their bills up to the day you take possession. In some cases unpaid utility charges can attach to the property, so this matters.
3. Execution search
An execution is a court judgment against someone who owes money. If it’s registered, it can bind that person’s interest in land. We search everyone who had an interest in the property, right up to closing, so you get title free of executions.
4. Tax search
Under Ontario’s Municipal Act, unpaid property taxes take priority over almost everything else registered on title. A tax search makes sure the previous owner’s unpaid taxes don’t become your bill.
The bottom line: these searches happen quietly in the background, but they’re one of the most important ways your lawyer protects your investment.