Home & Property

Legal Guidance for Property Transactions

Buying or selling property is one of life’s biggest financial decisions. You need experienced legal guidance to protect your interests and ensure everything goes smoothly, whether you’re a first-time buyer, selling the family property, or developing land for the future.

With one of the highest volumes of real estate transactions in the Halifax Regional Municipality, we bring deep local knowledge and understand Nova Scotia’s unique requirements, including complex conversions under the Land Registration Act. Our full-service approach means we coordinate seamlessly with our estates, family law, and business teams when your transaction requires it, handling everything under one roof.

Buying or Selling a Home or Condo

We guide you through each stage of purchasing or selling your home or condo.

• For buyers: We review purchase agreements, conduct title searches, advise on easements and restrictions, coordinate with lenders, and manage the closing process. For condos, we also review bylaws, reserve funds, and financial statements.
• For sellers: We prepare deeds, coordinate mortgage payouts, distribute proceeds, and ensure all legal requirements are met. We work with realtors or assist with private sales.

Financing & Refinancing

We handle mortgage financing and refinancing for all property types: residential, multi-family, condominium, commercial, and mixed-use.

Our team reviews financing terms, ensures proper registration, and coordinates with lenders throughout the process. For refinancing, we help with debt consolidation, accessing equity, or changing lenders for better rates.

Migrations & Easements

Nova Scotia’s Land Registration Act requires one-time property conversions when selling, mortgaging, or subdividing properties that are older than a certain age. These conversions must be completed before closing and often reveal title issues that require attention.

We handle high-volume conversions: conducting 40-year title searches, resolving title defects, preparing documentation, and coordinating with surveyors. Contact us early, as conversions take several weeks. We also review easements (including utilities, shared driveways, and beach access) to explain their impact on your property.

Property Transfers

We handle ownership changes without sales: adding/removing spouses, separation transfers, gifts to children, and estate planning transfers.

Our team prepares deeds and transfer documents, obtains lender approval when needed, manages tax implications, and completes Land Registry registration. Most transfers are completed within two weeks.

Purchasing & Selling Vacant Land

Vacant land requires investigating issues that may not be visible but could restrict use or development.

We review zoning and building potential, environmental concerns, road access, utilities, wetlands designations, and subdivision potential. We help negotiate protective conditions to ensure you understand what you’re buying or selling.

Subdivisions & Developments

We handle all subdivision and development projects, from family lot splits to major developments.

Our services include preparing applications, coordinating with surveyors and engineers, negotiating municipal agreements, registering plans, and managing road dedications and parkland contributions. Our HRM experience streamlines approvals.