Canada offers numerous investment opportunities for private clients and businesspeople, especially in the real estate sector. Whether you plan to invest in multi-family residential real estate, shopping malls, commercial buildings or simply wish to buy a vacation property, we can connect you to real estate brokers, appraisers, and property managers in every province as well as the three Canadian territories. With almost 30 years of experience, we can advise you about which markets are hot, what consequences arise from signing an agreement of purchase and sale, how to obtain financing for your large projects, how to refinance existing projects, and handle relevant capital gains and other tax issues as well as to assist you in structuring new investments, divestitures, and sales transactions, including estate planning involving the next generation.
The same applies for Canadian clients wishing to invest in Germany, lease property, or sell real estate assets, for example in connection with winding up an estate.
.Real estate transactions in Canada and Germany are very different. In Canada, transactions often start with clients signing a purchase agreement in a standard form set up by a real estate association. Once the agreement has been signed, the transaction must be handled by a lawyer. These transactions can be closed quickly, after the completion of due diligence in connection with the purchase or sale and receipt of the purchase funds onto a lawyer’s trust account. A transfer of the legal title will take place on the day the purchase funds are received. In Germany, transactions must be notarized in order to be valid. Title is not transferred quickly due to the requirement to place a notation on title in favour of the purchaser before the purchase funds are transferred. Cross-border transactions can be handled with special powers of attorney or an attendance by a foreign vendor or purchaser at a consular office to approve of the transaction.
The tax consequences of a sale in Canada will also differ from the tax treatment in Germany. In Canada, it will be important to make the required tax filings quickly after a sale and it may be necessary to make an additional tax filing in a subsequent year to obtain a tax refund. It can take up to two years to obtain a clearance certificate.
Whether you are buying or selling real estate, we have the experience to structure the transaction properly and provide comfort that all necessary aspects of the transaction will be completed from advising you before you sign an agreement of purchase and sale in Canada to completing due diligence and closing the deal. In Germany, we will review the draft deed and attend at the notary’s office to complete the transaction as well as to handle the required steps prior to a transfer of title.
We have engaged in real estate transactions for clients from Nova Scotia to Vancouver Island as well as in all of the German states. We have successfully closed transactions involving multi-million-dollar commercial buildings and small condominium apartments to give you a pied-a-terre in either Germany or Canada.
FROM PROPERTY VALUATIONS TO TAX FILINGS
The JACOB LAW founder is a Notary in the Province of Ontario. She can notarize Canadian legal documents enabling our clients to avoid costly travel. Our documents are prepared in English and German, sometimes also in French to avoid language barriers and provide legal certainty.
Our real estate services include:
- Arranging for appraisals or valuations of real estate, whether in Canada or Germany
- Completing title searches in local title registers in both countries
- Preparing or reviewing purchase offers, agreements of purchase and sale, due diligence searches and the necessary closing documents for Canadian transactions
- Drafting or reviewing notarial deeds of purchase and sale in Germany and handling the closing requirements
- Representing you in the sales transaction, either in Canada or in Germany
- Making all required tax filings in Canada or in Germany.
Our staff and network of experts can assist you in all aspects of a cross-border real estate transaction so that you can have legal certainty and fully understand the relevant tax issues in Germany and in Canada.
As a cross-border law firm, we offer legal expertise and bridge the legal differences between Canadian law and German law.
For a quick initial consultation, simply download our digital contact form and enter your legal issue and details under CONTACT/Request-initial-advice.