Solution:

• Best bet is to ask the Realtor or Lender for a referral to a lawyer or a Home Closing Service. First Canadian Title operates a Home Closing Service that can arrange a lawyer for you almost anywhere in Canada. In the alternative, your Realtor or Lender 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 CAPITALInsurance
  • Tax on CMHC/ GE CAPITAL (PST)
  • Property survey (maybe)
  • Title Insurance *
  • Legal fee for purchase*
  • Legal fee for Mortgage*
  • Disbursements incurred by lawyer* ( WARNING : the disbursements should be the same regardless of which lawyer you choose -beware of lawyers who "estimate" disbursements too low or too high - ask the lawyer to place a "cap" on this cost)
  • Land Transfer Tax
  • Adjustments - property taxes, public services, home/fire insurance, condominium fees etc.
  • Property Insurance
  • Mortgage Brokers Fee (maybe)
  • Registration of document charges
  • Transaction levy (Ontario)
  • These items are all included in the package offered by Home
  • Closing Services

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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