Highfield Law Office

2024 TAXES

2024 property tax information has just been released for Edmonton properties; other municipalities will release them later this month.

As in previous years, taxes for the calendar year are due and payable by June 30; in this case, as June 30 is a Sunday, taxes should be paid by Friday, June 28. Homeowners generally have the option of paying monthly in 12 instalments directly with the municipality.

You must make payment, or arrange for payments, by the end of June. If you do not, the municipality will charge you late penalties.

If you purchased recently, please note that Land Titles registration turnaround times are getting longer; they have breached the 3-week mark recently. As such, you may not be registered as the owner on title prior to the tax bills being mailed out. If you have not received a bill by early June, we *strongly recommend* that you contact the municipality for the information. The municipality will NOT accept Land Titles delays as a valid excuse for late payment.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.

Thank you, and have a great day!

Send a message to learn more

LAND TITLES FEE INCREASE

In their budget update yesterday (February 29), the Alberta government has announced a noticeable increase to Land Titles registration fees, specifically the fees for registering a transfer of land and mortgage. For both documents, part of the registration fee takes the value of the property / mortgage into account. Under the change, though, that portion of the fee rises significantly, and the formula is now the same for both documents.

Previously, the government charged $2 for every $5,000.00 in property value for a transfer of land, and $1.50 for every $5,000.00 in mortgage value for a mortgage. Under the new budget, this will now be $5 for every $5,000.00 for both registrations. The base fee of $50 would remain.

If someone was buying a home for $500,000.00, with a mortgage of $400,000.00 (20% down), the fees would be as follows:

TRANSFER
(current)
$50 + ($500,000.00 / $5,000.00 x 2) = $250.00
(new)
$50 + ($500,000.00 / $5,000.00 x 5) = $550.00

MORTGAGE
(current)
$50 + ($420,000.00 / $5,000.00 x 1.5) = $176.00
(new)
$50 + ($420,000.00 / $5,000.00 x 5) = $470.00

TOTAL REGISTRATION FEE
Current: $426.00
New: $1,020.00

As shown above, the new registration fee total would be more than double the current amount.

Furthermore, this does not take into account the current popularity of collateral mortgages, in which lenders secure current and potential future loans by taking the property as collateral (up to a certain dollar amount). Collateral mortgages tend to have amounts on paper exceeding the actual mortgage amount at that time (up to, and sometimes surpassing, the property purchase price or appraised value). Such mortgages will therefore have even higher registration fees.

Lastly, please note that this time, there is no confirmed date as to when these fee increases will come into effect. We will inform you further once the budget is tabled and more information is released by the Alberta government.

Thank you!

Hello, and happy new year!

We wish to advise our followers on new tax reporting requirements that may affect your returns for this year and future years. Please note that as we are not accountants or tax lawyers, we cannot give detailed advice, but we wish to inform you accordingly.

With the news link ban still in place, we are unable to link the CBC article, but to confirm, bare trusts must now be reported to CRA. Bare trusts come in various forms, but some "accidental" trusts include parties (like parents) who co-sign a mortgage for someone else (like their child) or when parents add children to their property title for estate planning (inheritance) purposes.

While there are no tax consequences or payments as of yet, failure to report such bare trusts can come with penalties that can add up to thousands of dollars depending on the situation.

You can look up this news online if you search "CBC new tax rules 2024" or just talk to your accountant directly.

Thank you!

Hello, and happy new year!

CRA has brought in new tax rules for this year. While we are not accountants and cannot give any detailed advice, we wish to let you know of a new wrinkle in tax rules that may affect you.

As of this year, you must report any bare trusts that you are involved. While there are many examples of this, two possible scenarios that we see at our office are people who co-sign mortgages for others (the most common example is parents co-signing mortgages for a child) and when parents add children to property titles for estate planning / inheritance purposes.

While there are no payable taxes at this time, such trusts must be reported to CRA, and there can be significant penalties for those who do not report them, even if unintentional.

Please review the CBC article for additional details, and should you require further advice or information, please reach out to an accountant directly.

Thank you!

New year, new tax measures — what to expect in 2024 | CBC News New tax measures, and changes to existing ones, will begin affecting Canadians in 2024. But tax experts say the effects on most individuals are likely to be minor, unless they’re high-income earners.

We've been looking forward to this day all year! In keeping with our ongoing commitment to help neighbors in need, we are pleased to have donated an amount sufficient for 800 meals at the Hope Mission. And today, your donation is automatically doubled!

HAPPY GIVING TUESDAY!

https://hopemission.com/donate/

The federal government has just released amendments to their law regarding the restrictions on non-residents buying property. They have allowed those on work permits to buy property as long as they have at least half a year left on their permit. There are also numerous exceptions for bare land purchasers and those purchasing to develop land.

Should you have any questions or concerns about these amendments, please reach out so that we can assist you.

Thank you!

AMENDMENTS TO THE PROHIBITION ON THE PURCHASE OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY BY NON-CANADIANS REGULATIONS /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, announced amendments to the Prohibition on the Purchase of...

One of Highfield Law Office's former summer students was admitted to the bar today. Congratulations to Kim Rae Stone! Your achievements have been nothing short of stellar and I anticipate great things for you in the future.

Hello!

You may have read about a new law that came into effect earlier this year restricting property purchases to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or Indigenous people (with a few exceptions). Officially, it is the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, and while there are exceptions (for non-citizens or non-PRs to buy property), these exceptions are fairly strict and rigid.

If you are not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or Indigenous person, and if you wish to buy property, we STRONGLY RECOMMEND obtaining legal advice before entering into any purchase contract/agreement. Should you agree to purchase a property and find out afterwards that you are prohibited from buying it, you would be held liable for breach of contract; likewise, should you proceed with the purchase even though you do not qualify, you (and essentially anyone who helped you with the purchase) may face significant consequences and penalties as a result.

Again, this does not affect anyone who is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or Indigenous person; they are free to buy property without any such concerns or restrictions.

For those that are curious and wish to read through it all, the Act and its Regulations can be found here:
- https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-25.2/page-1.html
- https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2022-250/page-1.html
The Regulations discuss the exceptions in detail.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out.

Thank you!

HOLIDAY HOURS

We confirm that our last day of business for the year will be Friday, December 16. (We are limiting the number of files we have for December 15-16.) We will then be closed until January 2, reopening on Tuesday, January 3, 2023.

While it has been a very unpredictable year, it has been a pleasure to assist all of our clients with their files and transactions. We look forward to helping you out in the new year.

We wish you a merry Christmas and holiday season. Thank you!

The Bank of Canada has announced another interest rate increase to 4.25%, an increase of 0.5%. Should the banks fully pass on the increase, retail bank prime rates should go up to 6.45%.

We confirm that this only applies to those with variable rate mortgages and loans (such as lines of credit). If your lender has been increasing your mortgage payment amounts over the past year, expect yet another increase. If your lender has not, please note that with every rate increase, your amortization period is lengthened, and there is the danger of having the interest surpass your payment. Regardless of your situation, please contact your bank/lender with any questions or concerns regarding your mortgage.

Thank you!

After hiking interest rates 7 times this year, Bank of Canada opens door to standing pat | CBC News The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, to 4.25 per cent.

We have noticed an uptick in delays. As the summer season is the busiest in terms of our real estate market, we do not see any decrease in turnaround times until the end of the year.

Please contact our office should you have any questions or concerns about these delays. (This will only affect you if you are planning to buy/sell/remortgage your home, or have done so recently.)

Thank you!

Lag in Alberta land title transfers hits 4 months | CBC News Long delays in transferring property titles continue to frustrate people involved in real estate transactions in Alberta.

Good afternoon!

We wish to let everyone know that we will be having a fall break starting tomorrow, September 30 (the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation) to Monday, October 10 (Thanksgiving Monday). Any inquiries will be addressed upon our return to the office on Tuesday, October 11.

Should there be any urgent matters requiring immediate attention, please send us a message and one of us will do our best to respond. However, please note that we do not have remote access to our system, including our meeting calendar; any such inquiries must wait for our return.

Our fee post is pinned on this page for easy access, and many frequently asked questions are answered on our page (www.highfieldlaw.com).

We look forward to serving you upon our return to the office after Thanksgiving.

Thank you!

Good afternoon!

With the busy market, we are seeing an uptick in the number of transactions with Real Property Report issues, on both the buying and selling side. As a courtesy -- and for all of us to avoid future headaches and issues -- we wish to review RPRs with you.

As you may know, Real Property Reports are land surveys for your property, required by default in house and "bareland" condo sales. (Bareland condos are townhouse-like condos in which the owner also owns the lot that the townhouse is on. This is common for newer townhouses, but not always the case.) The Real Property Report is an important document as it confirms the location of all structures and -- with the Compliance Stamp or Letter from the municipality -- the legal/permitted status of structures on the lot. While there are alternate methods of closing real estate transactions without the RPR with Compliance, namely title insurance, the RPR is a required document in most transactions.

We wanted to provide an overview of how the RPR contract clause works in the contract.

1. Regardless of the age of the RPR, if the seller will be providing an accurate and valid RPR with Compliance, there is no need to change anything on the contract. RPRs are like any other map -- if nothing has changed on the property, the property does not have to be resurveyed. Under current law and standard practices, RPRs don't have an expiry date as long as they were done in the past 30 or so years (as the standards were last changed in the early 1990s).

2. If the seller will be providing an outdated RPR on an as-is basis, the contract should make clear that this is the case. Also, Clause 10.2 should be deleted from the contract to make this even clearer. This is currently the biggest source of issues right now, as there are vague and ambiguous clauses being inserted. For example, if the contract states that an RPR from 2010 will be provided, and if Clause 10.2 is still intact, this means that the 2010 RPR is valid and current. If it's not, then we have issues. Also, we've seen an instance where the contract stated that the RPR would not show, say, the deck, but the RPR was also missing the fences. As the provided RPR does not meet the terms of this clause, it also creates additional issues.

3. If title insurance will be provided instead of a valid RPR, this should be specifically mentioned in the contract, and again, Clause 10.2 should be crossed out in its entirety.

As we have seen a marked increase in files with RPR issues, we wanted to make sure that we got the word out to our followers so that we all can try to avoid such issues in the future. As always, should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Thank you!

Please note that if you’ve recently bought a property, the municipality may not have your information in time to send the property tax notice to you. Please reach out to the municipality to obtain the necessary tax information.

Interestingly, while the City of Edmonton stated otherwise to us, it appears that they will make accommodations for new owners to obtain tax information directly and to enrol in the monthly payment plan. Should you be an Edmonton property owner and are interested in the plan, please contact the City Tax Department at 780-442-0869.

Lastly, for residential transactions, these delays should not affect closing/possession. They are of course frustrating — for us as well — but as stated in the article, there are alternate methods of closing that do not rely on registration. Should you have any questions or concerns about this, please reach out to us.

Thank you.

Long delays at Alberta Land Titles office slowing down real estate transactions | CBC News Transferring land from one owner to another is taking a lot longer in Alberta than it used to.

Hello! We wish to review our fee quotes and general procedures at our office. Prices remain current as of May 1, 2024.

Our price quotes for our residential real estate files are as follows (as of May 1, 2022), based on a purchase price of $350,000.00:

*PURCHASE w/ MORTGAGE = $625+ disbursements + GST = $1250- $1350 average total.
*PURCHASE w/ MORTGAGE & CMHC INCENTIVE = $775 + disbursements + GST = $1400 – $1500 average total.
*PURCHASE w/ CASH = $525 + disbursements + GST = $900 – $1000 average total
*DRAW/CONSTRUCTION MORTGAGE = $775 + disbursements + GST = $1400 – $1600 average total (PLEASE CALL FOR ACCURATE QUOTE)

Please note that numerous factors will affect your fee total, including your purchase price, choice of lender, location of property, and type of transaction. Please reach out to our office for a more accurate quote.

*SALE TRANSACTIONS = $525+ disbursements + GST = $800 – $900 average total

While sale file totals are fairly consistent, condo sales will result in higher totals ($1050 estimated fee total) due to condo document requirements beyond what the realtors would obtain. Also, for houses and bare-land condominiums, you will normally have to provide an up-to-date REAL PROPERTY REPORT WITH COMPLIANCE. Please contact our office for additional information.

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**IMPORTANT NOTE**
Due to continued high volumes and issues arising from the ongoing pandemic, we have been forced to limit the number of files and clients we take on. We may not be able to take on files on short notice (with less than two weeks' notice) and **purchase clients** who are not in the Edmonton area. Please reach out to our office to confirm availability.

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Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. Otherwise, should you wish to go with our office, please ensure that we are in receipt of the purchase contract/agreement and (for purchases) the mortgage instructions in due course. To confirm, it would normally be your realtor’s responsibility to ensure that we get the contract, and your mortgage broker/specialist would ensure that we get the mortgage instructions.

Thank you, and have a great day!

Send a message to learn more

OFFICE HOLIDAY CLOSURE

We confirm that our last day of business for the year will be Friday, December 17. We will be closed for over two full weeks, reopening on Tuesday, January 4. Messages and emails will be checked on an infrequent basis during this time.

We wish you a pleasant and safe Christmas and holiday season, and we look forward to assisting you in the new year.

Thank you!

TEMPORARY OFFICE CLOSURE

We wish to advise you that we will be closed from Sept. 30 (the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation) to Oct. 11 (Thanksgiving Monday), reopening on Tuesday, October 12. We are unable to accept any files with possession/closing dates during our closure or immediately after. For any urgent matters, we will be checking emails during our closure but they would be on an infrequent basis.

Please be advised this closure is NOT due to any Covid cases within our office. We've been working nonstop since the pandemic began and we're SIMPLY EXHAUSTED!

We appreciate and thank you for your continued trust in our office over the past year and a half. We hope that you all stay safe and healthy in the coming months, and we look forward to helping you after our break.

If you are looking to close a transaction either right before or after our closure, please reach out to us to confirm our availability.

Thank you, and have a great day!

Effective July 1st, the Province has removed any remaining Covid restrictions and the City of Edmonton has rescinded its mask by-law. We sincerely hope that this latest relaunch will be safe and effective.

However, Highfield Law Office will maintain our safety protocols for the time being. We are a small firm with immunocompromised members as part of our Highfield family. Any outbreak could have a potentially devastating impact in their physical health, and it would also severely impair our ability to operate.

And so, in order to best protect our team and ensure our ability to continue serving the needs of our clients, our PPE safeguards will remain in place. Thank you for your patience and your understanding.

While the OSFI announcement was focussed on uninsured mortgages — ones with 20%+ down payments — the government has confirmed that the stress test changes will also affect insured mortgages (for those putting in less than 20% down).

If you are looking to buy or refinance your property in the near future, please talk to your mortgage broker or advisor to review your options.

New mortgage stress test rules are coming June 1 The qualifying rate for residential mortgages with a down payment of 20 per cent or more will rise to the contracted rate plus 200 basis or 5.25 per cent, whichever is higher.

Hello!

We wish to note that volumes remain high, as of the end of May. We ask all clients (and potential clients) to contact our office to ensure our availability. We may not be able to take on clients whose files are not fully ready to go at least two weeks before the possession date.

As you may know, the market remains unexpectedly busy, and this is causing delays across the board (for example, with banks and the Land Titles Office). We will use our best efforts to minimize any issues this may cause for our clients, but we ask clients to avoid rushed closings if at all possible. Please note that we cannot work on files until we have all the required documents (the contract and/or the mortgage documents, depending on the file) and even if we agree to represent you earlier, we may no longer be able to do so if the documents arrive later than expected.

The current health measures and restrictions allow offices like ours to continue operating, so we continue to meet with clients on an appointment-only basis. We will continue to work hard for our clients while taking the necessary steps to keep our staff and clients safe. We confirm that the Law Society continues to allow videoconference meetings for real estate files, and we remain available to meet with clients virtually as required.

Due to high real estate file volumes, our estate files are requiring more time. If you require your estate paperwork to be done urgently, please let us know so that we can prioritize your file accordingly. Please also note that while the Law Society of Alberta has allowed videoconference meetings for estate documents, such documents may NOT be legally valid; as such, we have made the decision to proceed with in-person signings only for estate documents.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have; we would be happy to help you in any way that we can.

Thank you!

The market is definitely hot right now, but it's still important to make sure you're properly protected when buying or selling your home. Highfield Law Office is happy to help to ensure your experience is as smooth as possible.

'A seller's market': Home sales in Edmonton continue to rise If a global pandemic was supposed to cool down Canadian housing markets, it seems no one told buyers in several cities, Edmonton included.

Highfield Law Office updated their info in the about section.