Frequently asked questions

Ownright is a digital real estate closing service that provides the legal services required to close on the purchase and/or sale of your property. Our proprietary technology and leading client support team enable a simple, transparent, and fully remote property closing process.

Ownright provides real estate legal services to facilitate the closing of property purchases and sales. To put it plainly, we take care of the confusing legal matters to ensure your property transaction is legally completed, without headache. We step into your property transaction once you’ve agreed to purchase or sell your property and then work with you, your Realtor, and the other sides lawyers to facilitate the property closing.

Yes, every single property transaction you close with Ownright has a lawyer and client support team working on it for you. Our lawyers operate under our partner law firm called Ownright Law. There are components of property closings that legally require the involvement of a lawyer and we believe this is an important standard to uphold. Our service delivery is a combined effort on behalf of your support team and lawyer to deliver a supportive, efficient, and affordable property closing.

We service all of Ontario. Being a completely remote service enables us to serve clients all across the province. Right now we are limited to serving Ontario as our lawyers are only licensed to practice in Ontario, however we expect to expand to other provinces in the near future.

Traditional real estate closing services are antiquated, relying on in-person meetings, fax machines, and a series of phone calls. This way of doing things has made it incredibly difficult for property buyers or sellers to track the state of their transaction in real time, to predict the cost of closing services, and track documents and communications related to the transaction. Not to mention the lack of support that makes people wonder what they’re even paying for.

To make a complaint about your experience with Ownright, please contact us directly at [email protected]. We take all complaints very seriously and will work to resolve the issue in a timely and effective manner. Upon receipt of your complaint we will document it, identify a resolution lead, and reach out to the the different parties involved (both internal and external to Ownright). The resolution lead will be responsible for seeing the complaint through to resolution, in consultation with Ownright leadership.

Yes. A lawyer is required on both sides of a property transaction (ie. for both the buyer and seller) in Ontario. There are aspects of every property closing that require lawyer involvement and there are other aspects that do not. At Ownright, we have combined the efforts of our lawyers and support team to provide you with the best property closing experience possible.

Your lawyer reviews your documents, checks the property title, prepares all legal documents, handles the exchange of money, and makes sure property ownership is officially exchanged on closing day. They protect your interests and solve problems if anything comes up.

It depends on how organized you are. If you already have all your documentation in place, the closing process can be quite quick, however you’ll always want to allow for a little bit of extra time in the event that issues arise. No matter how organized you are, engaging a real estate lawyer less than a week ahead of closing would put your transaction at risk of delay. We typically advise engaging us for your property closing at least 30 days in advance of the expected close date.

Closing costs are the expenses you pay on top of the sale price when you buy or sell a home. If you're buying, closing costs usually include legal fees, land transfer tax, title insurance, government registration fees, and adjustments for things like property taxes and condo fees. If you're selling, your main costs are legal fees, real estate commission, mortgage discharge fees (if you still have a mortgage), and adjustments for property taxes or utilities that cover any prepaid amounts.

Land Transfer Tax is a provincial tax you pay when you buy property in Ontario. If you are buying in Toronto, there is a second municipal tax as well. First-time buyers can get rebates that cover some or all of the tax, which can save thousands of dollars.

Disbursements are expenses paid by Ownright upfront that you reimburse us for at the close of the transaction. The types of disbursements may vary depending on the law firm that you’re dealing with, but typically fall into two categories - Administration Fees and Third Party Fees. Administration Fees are the overhead costs incurred to deliver the legal service, including things like paper, printing and postage. Third Party disbursements are the costs incurred by a lawyer that are directly related to the closing of your property, charged by other service providers. These include title search fees, writ search fees, land transfer registration fees, etc. At Ownright, we don’t charge any Administration Fees back to our clients. The only disbursements that we charge for are Third Party fees incurred. Our belief is that costs of administration are a part of doing business and should therefore not be passed along to our clients.

Title insurance is a one-time purchase that protects you from certain problems with the legal ownership (or “title”) of your home. It can cover issues like unpaid liens, fraud, survey mistakes, or someone else claiming a right to your property. Your lawyer arranges it for you during the closing process, and once you buy it, it lasts as long as you own the property. Most lenders require it for mortgages, but even if yours doesn’t, it’s strongly recommended because it can save you from big costs and headaches in the future.

While title insurance is not a legal requirement in Canada, we require our clients purchasing a property to get it. For a relatively small one-time fee, it provides you with protection against unforeseen title or off-title issues that may arise. The downsides of not getting it drastically outweigh the upside of saving a little bit of money.

If you cannot get financing, you should let your lawyer know immediately. Depending on your contract, there may be ways to extend your closing date, negotiate with the seller, or use your deposit to cover damages. Acting quickly gives you more options.