News & Resources
Closing a Calgary Purchase from Out of Province: Remote Signing and ID Verification
By Lev Kramar, Integrity Legal Solutions · Calgary, Alberta You do not need to be in Alberta to buy property in Calgary. Your lawyer verifies your identity by ID verification software under Law Society of Alberta rules, emails you the documents, you sign in front of…
Adding or Removing a Name on Your Alberta Title: What It Costs and What It Triggers
By Lev Kramar, Integrity Legal Solutions · Calgary, Alberta Adding or removing an owner on an Alberta title is a Transfer of Land, not a form update. If there is a mortgage, your lender must consent. If the property is a matrimonial home, dower consent may be…
Selling a Home in Alberta: What Your Lawyer Does and Who Pays What
By Lev Kramar, Integrity Legal Solutions · Calgary, Alberta If there is a mortgage involved, a lawyer is not optional when you sell property in Alberta. Your lawyer reviews the contract, prepares the Transfer of Land, obtains your mortgage payout statement, holds the…
Your Statement of Adjustments, Explained Line by Line
By Lev Kramar, Integrity Legal Solutions · Calgary, Alberta The statement of adjustments is the closing math. It starts with the purchase price, subtracts your deposit, adds credits owed to the seller for costs they prepaid, subtracts credits owed to you, and arrives…
What a Real Estate Lawyer Actually Costs in Calgary: Fees, Disbursements, and the Full Bill
By Lev Kramar, Integrity Legal Solutions · Calgary, Alberta Legal fees for a residential purchase in Calgary generally run from roughly $800 to $1,500 plus GST. Disbursements are separate and are dominated by Alberta Land Titles registration fees, which since October…
Real Property Report vs Title Insurance in Alberta: Which Do You Actually Need?
By Lev Kramar, Integrity Legal Solutions · Calgary, Alberta A Real Property Report is a survey drawing prepared by an Alberta Land Surveyor showing where every structure sits on the lot. A Certificate of Compliance is the City of Calgary confirming those structures…
How to Hold Title in Alberta: Joint Tenants, Tenants in Common, and Dower Rights
By Lev Kramar, Integrity Legal Solutions · Calgary, Alberta Joint tenancy carries the right of survivorship. When one owner dies, their interest passes automatically to the surviving owners outside the estate and outside probate. Tenancy in common carries no…
GST on a New Home in Alberta and the New Housing Rebate: How It Works at Closing
By Lev Kramar, Integrity Legal Solutions · Calgary, Alberta GST of 5 percent applies to newly built homes in Alberta. Resale homes are exempt. The long-standing GST New Housing Rebate returns 36 percent of the GST to a maximum of $6,300, phasing out between $350,000…
Condo Document Review in Calgary: Estoppel Certificates, Reserve Funds, and What Kills a Deal
By Lev Kramar, Integrity Legal Solutions · Calgary, Alberta When you buy an Alberta condo you buy a share of the corporation along with the unit, including its debts, its deferred maintenance, and its litigation. The document package tells you what you are inheriting….
Closing Costs in Alberta: What Buyers Actually Pay, and Why There Is No Land Transfer Tax
By Lev Kramar, Integrity Legal Solutions · Calgary, Alberta Alberta charges no land transfer tax. Instead, buyers pay Land Titles registration fees calculated at a $50 base plus $5 for every $5,000 of value, applied separately to the title transfer and to the…