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How Can an Ontario Parcel Register Be Used to Perform a Property Credit Check?

By December 11, 2020No Comments
Image of a professional accessing a parcel register on her laptop

Real estate professionals face their own unique challenges. For one, like mortgage brokers, real estate sales professionals don’t actually get paid until the deal closes.

While mortgage brokers have the benefit of performing a credit check to validate their borrower’s ability to obtain a mortgage, real estate professionals have a powerful tool in their arsenal too – the Parcel Register*.

What Is a Parcel Register*?

A Parcel Register* is a record containing the property’s description as well as the list of instruments registered against the property, within the Land Registration System of Ontario, as of the date of the property search.

It basically contains the entire transfer and financial history of a property along with some other key details.

What Information Can I Get Access to?

When you access the Parcel Register* through the GeoWarehouse store, you can instantly get up to date insights on the property you are listing for the seller.

These include:

  • The property’s PIN (Property Identification Number)
  • A legal description of the property
  • Details of the legal homeowner(s)
  • Type of ownership
  • Easements
  • A history of property transfers, including details such as the names of transferees/transferors, dates, and amounts
  • Detailed history of registered mortgages
  • Detailed history of registered liens
  • And more

How Can This Work in Your Favor?

This helps you quickly validate your customer’s information and ensure that you don’t waste your time on a deal that is going to have multiple issues. Instead, you can focus your energy on a deal that has potential.

In essence, having access to a Parcel Register* makes your due diligence process smoother. Some things it can help you identify are:

  • By leveraging the information contained in the Parcel Register* you can validate if your client is the legal homeowner. This is particularly useful when you’re working with a new client.
  • You can also identify underlying issues instantly – like property liens exceeding the value of the property or odd transfers that can indicate fraud.
  • You can see the mortgages currently registered against the title of the property. You can also identify potential problems when it comes to registered mortgages. For instance, the seller could have taken a mortgage that is not from a chartered bank, trust company, credit union, or a similar institution. In the case it is a private mortgage, a standard clause may require the mortgage to be discharged prior to closing. In this case, you can work with the seller to clarify this information and if needed, amend the agreements of purchase and sale accordingly.

Learn how you can benefit from this tool when it comes to the research required to make informed real estate transactions by calling 1-866-237-5937 or visiting www.geowarehouse.ca.

Do you perform a property credit check before listing a property? Share your insights with us on social media. GeoWarehouse is on TwitterFacebook, and LinkedIn.

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