Digging Deeper is Like Digging for Dollars

Real estate sales professional: aka sales guru, aka legal eagle, aka property expert… need we say more? In your role, you literally have to be a jack of all trades – and master of them all as well. With so many parties involved in a real estate transaction, you are the first in line and everyone from your client to all the other professionals that follow are relying on you to get the job done. No pressure or anything…

The biggest challenge you have to overcome is the unknown. It is the unknown that leads to snags on deals that result in closing day surprises that can make a deal extremely stressful for all involved.

So how can we see what we can’t see? Before ironing out the how, we should first iron out the what. What can you look at that will help you to mitigate problems on deals and shine in front of your client? Most of what you will want to look for exists within a property’s title.

• Who owns the home? Have all of the legal homeowners signed onto your engagement? Is your client the legal homeowner? This information is critical.
• Is there enough equity to cover the closing costs? Have you checked (despite what the client is telling you) how many actual mortgages are registered on title? Is it possible that there are any liens?
• Have you validated the property’s legal description?
• Are there any nefarious transactions on title – strange transfers or discharges?

You may be thinking that these are things that you leave to the real estate lawyer. Not so. Digging deeper is like digging for dollars. For every deal that turns up with an issue, you need to be able to resolve it. If it can’t be resolved, you can quickly move on to deals that will close. Knowing is step one in conquering sure challenges.

As you know, when a real estate lawyer closes a deal they perform a full title search. What you may not know is that the information associated to aspects of a title search are available to you too!

Real estate professionals often confuse the difference between a title search and a Parcel Register*. The confusion: many think that the Parcel Register* is actually a title search, which is why some think it is the lawyer’s responsibly to review the Parcel Register* and therefore beyond their means to access it themselves. Once again, this is not so.

In fact, a Parcel Register* is part of a title search – it is one search/document that provides you with a snapshot of important property-related information at the time it is requested. It provides information such as the property’s legal description, legal homeowners, types of ownership, percentage of ownership, property transfer history, registered mortgages, liens and more…

Is obtaining a Parcel Register* part of your professional, legal and ethical obligation as a real estate sales professional? Short answer: accessing the information contained in one arguably is. While it may not be listed as a requisite, it probably should be!

Not only does digging deeper mean more dollars for you – it means more dollars for the real estate lawyer, mortgage broker, and mortgage lenders that follow you. It means going above and beyond the call of duty, forging stronger relationships and becoming known for the stellar job that you do.

We challenge you: go the extra mile for your client, dig deeper, work on the deals that can and will close and realize the true financial potential that awaits you.

*An official product of the Ontario government pursuant to provincial land registration statutes.