Jerome Tsang Notary Public

12/11/2021

Thank you for everyone's coming out on a rainy Friday night. Not only you are great at what you do, now we all know we have another skillset that we never know! On to 2022!!

05/24/2019

BC Notaries have been helping British Columbians in dealing with real estate transactions for many decades. Whether you are buying a brand new condo, selling a heritage home, or taking out equity on your farm, BC Notaries have the experience and expertise to guide you through the legal process.

There's more than meets the eye when buying a home. Legal professionals such as BC Notaries have the skills and expertise to guide you through the home closing process. We strive to take a very hands-on and personal approach to each and every client we deal with.

Thank you Stewart Title Guaranty Company for sharing this infomercial about BC Notaries.

09/17/2018

SHOULD I BUY TITLE INSURANCE?

In many instances, banks and financial institutions require the borrowers to obtain a title insurance. However, this policy only protects the bank’s interest and insures against financial loss in the event of a defects in title to the property. This article will explain to you the benefits of getting an owner's title insurance policy.

http://www.tsangnotary.com/news--resources/should-i-buy-title-insurance

08/10/2018

When a non-resident Seller disposes a real property in Canada, the profit from the sale of the property is, in most circumstances, subject to capital gain. If the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) cannot collect its fair share of tax that is supposedly remitted by the Seller, then the Buyer is on the hook and becomes liable for any tax owed by the non-resident Seller.

In order to avoid such situation in a purchase and sale transaction, the Seller’s legal representative must holdback 25% of the sale price for personal use property, or 25% of the land value and 50% of improvement value, prorated from current assessed values to actual price, for income generating property, until a clearance certificate is issued by the CRA. In order to obtain the clearance certificate, the non-resident will need to retain the service of an accountant to apply such certificate. The accountant will work closely with the Seller’s legal representative to ensure that the tax resulted in the disposition of the property is paid to the CRA from the holdback amount. This process can take up to 4-6 months.

Complication can arise if there is a mortgage on title. Since the holdback amount is quite significant, there is a chance that the sale proceeds after the holdback is not enough to pay off the mortgage. In such cases, the non-resident Seller will need to come up with extra funds from other sources to pay off the mortgage. To minimize the chance of this happening, the Seller can apply for the Clearance Certificate prior to the completion date, however, this can only be done if there is a subject free contract of purchase and sale. Since the process of obtaining the certificate can take up to 4-6 months, so in an ideal situation there would be a 4-6 months lead time between subject removal and the completion date. In most cases that we see nowadays, subject removal and completion is only a few weeks apart, sometimes days. Therefore, if you foresee such issue happening, please discuss with your lawyer or notary, and your accountant about your situation to ensure you have sufficient funds to pay off your mortgage on completion.

05/10/2018

When you are looking for a new home or an investment property, you will start by looking at the location and the appearance of the property. But have you thought about the legal status of it and see if there anything on “title” that might affect the property? Read the article below to find out more about title search.

When you are looking for a new home or an investment property, you will start by looking at the location and the appearance of the property. But have you thought about the legal status of it and...

05/04/2018

A Will can serve many purposes. Two important reasons of having a will are determining custody of any children under 19 and property distribution.

Every family's dynamic is different. The fact is, not all families live in harmony. There are many instances where one would decide to provide little support to or disinherit a certain family member in his or her Will. In this situation, the Will can potentially be challenged by the deceased person’s spouse or children in a “will’s variation” lawsuit.

Find out the differences between a Will maker's Legal and Moral obligations.

A Will can serve many purposes. Two important reasons of having a will are determining custody of any children under 19 and property distribution. Every family's dynamic is different. The fact...

04/10/2018

Make a Will Week 2018 is here!

An online survey (done on behalf of B.C. Notaries) found that 66% of 800 BC parents of children 18 or younger do not have a Will; only 44% of BC adults have a Will in place and only 57% of homeowners...

03/29/2018

Common Mistakes of POA: While there are pre-printed Power of Attorney forms available from websites or legal stationers, these forms are not tailor made to be suitable for all situations. Check out the post to learn more about the mistakes of POA.

In British Columbia, a Power of Attorney is effective when it is prepared in accordance with Power of Attorney Act of BC. While there are pre-printed Power of Attorney forms available from websites...

03/20/2018

What's the difference between Joint Tenancy and Tenants in Common?

Joint Tenancy vs. Tenants in Common Property owned by more than one person must be owned in one of two ways: Joint Tenancy or Tenancy in common. When a property is owned in a joint tenancy...

02/28/2018

BC HOMEOWNER GRANT THRESHOLD RAISED TO $1.65M

As real estate values continue to rise across the province, the B.C. government is raising the threshold for the homeowner grant to $1.65 million for 2018. The basic homeowner grant is $570 and will...

02/28/2018

The new Speculation Tax will target owners of residential property in B.C. who do not pay taxes in the province and owners who leave their properties vacant. Tax rate will be 0.5% of taxable assessed value for the 2018 tax year and 2% thereafter, and is forecasted raise $200 million each year.

The tax will apply expansively in Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Capital and Nanaimo Regional Districts, and municipalities of Kelowna and West Kelowna.

02/27/2018

Planning to travel out of the country with your child/children? Make sure you have the right documents needed!

​As Spring Break approaches, a lot of families are planning to travel out of the country with their child/children. If your travel plans do not include the other parent, a travel consent form...