Solution:

• Best bet is to ask the Realtor or Lender for a referral to a lawyer or a Home Closing Service. They will know who has the most experience and who is fair in pricing in your area. Real Estate Law is a specialty and it is a mistake to assume that any lawyer will know how to efficiently process your deal.
• Ask the prospective lawyer how many transactions he or she has closed in the last year
• Find out if the lawyer or their staff will be available to deal with urgent situations.
• Get a firm answer on pricing.
• Components of the total cost of the transaction are as follows;
  · Appraisal fee (lender)
  · Home inspection fee
  · CMHC / GE CAPITAL application fee
  · CMHC / GE CAPITAL Insurance
  · Tax on CMHC / GE CAPITAL Premium (PST)
  · Property survey (maybe)
  · Title Insurance
  · Legal fee for purchase
  · Legal fee for Mortgage
  · Disbursements incurred by lawyer
  · Land Transfer Tax
  · Adjustments - property taxes, public services, home/fire insurance, condominium fees etc.
  · Property Insurance
  · Mortgage Brokers Fee (maybe)
  · Document registration charges
  · Transaction levy (Ontario)

Things about lawyers to watch out for:

• Flat "all in" fees - unless the transaction is title insured, by agreeing to an "all in" fee you are creating an incentive for the lawyer not to do full searches or to cut corners...BEWARE.
• Get a straight answer on pricing. There are three components to the lawyers' bill - base fees, fees for dealing with and reporting to the lender, and disbursements. Some lawyers quote artificially lower fees to lure you in and then charge a "markup" or profit on disbursements, making it difficult to assess what the true fee is...BEWARE.
• Ask what level of service you can expect from the lawyer.

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