Practice area

Completing on a new home in British Columbia

A resale purchase runs on a date two people agreed months ago. A new construction completion runs on a date the developer gives you by notice, within a window their contract allows them, and often with a right to extend it. Everything else follows from that: your rate hold, your movers, your existing sale. This page sets out what to expect and what the contract lets them do.

Typically · you
Subject removal
The date your conditions come off and the deal becomes firm. Financing, inspection and strata document review all have to be done by now. Your contract sets this date, not us.
If it slips
The contract can collapse. If you are not ready, the extension has to be agreed in writing before the deadline passes rather than after.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Set by law
Rescission period ends
The home buyer rescission period set by the Property Law Act, which runs from acceptance and lets a buyer back out of a residential purchase on payment of a fee. It applies whether or not anyone mentions it.
If it slips
This one does not slip. It runs from acceptance on a fixed basis and cannot be extended by agreement.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · you
Your file opens with us
We receive your contract, verify your identity, and check the completion, possession and adjustment dates against each other. The earlier this happens the more room there is to fix anything.
If it slips
Everything downstream compresses. A file that opens late is the most common reason a completion runs tight.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · us
Title search and strata documents ordered
We search title for what is registered against the property, and on a strata we order the Form B and the associated records. This is where anything unexpected surfaces.
If it slips
A charge nobody knew about, found late, is a much bigger problem than the same charge found early.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · your lender
Lender instructions received
Your lender sends us their mortgage instructions and we prepare the documents. They arrive on the lender's schedule rather than ours, so we chase them instead of waiting.
If it slips
This is the single most common cause of a late completion. We will tell you as soon as a date looks at risk rather than on the morning it fails.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · you
Document signing
You sign the transfer, the mortgage and the statement of adjustments, at our office, at yours, or remotely anywhere in the province. Bring identification.
If it slips
Signing has to happen with enough room to get documents where they need to be. Tell us early if you will be away.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · you
Funds to our trust account
Your balance of funds arrives by bank draft or wire. Never by email instruction, and never in response to a message that changes our banking details.
If it slips
Without cleared funds we cannot complete. This is a hard stop rather than a soft one.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · us
Completion
We register the transfer and the mortgage at the Land Title Office, the money is released to the seller's lawyer, and the property becomes yours.
If it slips
Registration and the release of funds happen in a set order. A late advance can push completion to the next business day, and your contract governs what that means for you.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · your realtor
Possession
The day you can physically move in and collect the keys. Frequently the day after completion rather than the same day.
If it slips
Possession is set by your contract. Confirm the key handover arrangement with your agent rather than assuming it.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file

Set by lawStandard practice, typically

Select a milestone for what happens there, and what it costs if it slips.

General information based on standard practice in British Columbia. Your contract governs your actual dates. This is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client relationship.

A newly built two storey home with cedar, stucco and stone cladding, fresh turf and a new concrete driveway, under a clear sky.

Who this is for

New construction

You are completing on a home bought before it was built, or on a house or unit that has just been finished. This covers the stretch from the developer's completion notice through the walkthrough to registration and the keys. If you are still deciding whether to sign the presale contract, or you want to sell it before it completes, that is a different conversation and we should have it earlier.

The work

What we do

01Read the contract, the disclosure statement and every amendment, and tell you plainly what you agreed to on the completion date, the price, the GST, and what the developer is permitted to add on completion.
02Confirm the strata plan has been deposited and title to your unit exists, because until the plan is registered there is no legal parcel to transfer to you.
03Check the developer's completion notice against what the contract allows them to do, including any right to extend, and tell you immediately if the notice does not match.
04Review the developer's statement of adjustments line by line against the contract, because it is drafted by them and it can include charges people never priced in.
05Work out the property transfer tax position, including whether the exemption for newly built homes applies to your circumstances and what conditions it carries after registration.
06Settle the GST position: whether it is included in the price, whether a new housing rebate is available, and whether you or the developer is claiming it. This depends on how you will use the home, and it is set by your contract.
07Take your lender's instructions early, and warn the lender in advance that the completion date can move so that a rate hold or an approval expiry does not catch you on the day.
08Register, fund, and confirm your title, your home warranty coverage, and that the deficiency list from your walkthrough is documented and acknowledged.

Your part

What we need from you

Gathering these early is the single biggest thing you can do to keep a file on schedule.

Two pieces of government-issued identificationOne has to carry your photograph. Names have to match the presale contract, and where they do not, that has to be fixed with the developer rather than by us.
The full contract, the disclosure statement, and all amendmentsEverything that governs your completion is in these documents: the date, the extension rights, the GST treatment, and what the developer can charge. Send the whole set, not the signature pages.
Whether you will live in the home, rent it out, or hold it for someone elseThis decides whether the newly built home exemption from property transfer tax and the GST new housing rebate are available to you. Both carry conditions about occupancy, and both are audited afterwards. An honest answer now avoids a reassessment later.
Your mortgage commitment, including its expiryApprovals and rate holds expire. When the developer moves the date, the question is whether your financing survives it, and the answer depends on a date printed on your commitment. Send it early so we can watch it.
Your walkthrough deficiency list, signed by the developer's representativeDeficiencies noted verbally are deficiencies nobody agreed to. A written list, acknowledged at the walkthrough, is the record you will rely on afterwards. Take photographs at the same time.
Insurance in place for the completion dateFor a strata, your own policy alongside the strata corporation's, and your lender may want to see the strata's insurance summary. For a house, a full policy naming your lender. Arrange it for the date, then keep it flexible, because the date can move.
Your balance of funds, ready earlier than you think you need itCompletion notices on new construction come with less warning than a resale date. Money sitting in a term deposit that cannot be broken quickly is a real cause of a missed completion.

Risk

Watch for

The things that actually derail this kind of file, rather than the ones that sound alarming.

The completion date moving, because the contract lets it

Construction dates are estimates until the developer gives notice, and most presale contracts allow the developer to set the date within a window and to extend it in defined circumstances. Your mortgage approval, your rate hold, the sale of your current home, your movers and your notice to a landlord all have to survive that. Plan for the date to move and keep every arrangement around it as flexible as you can.

Assuming you can hold money back for deficiencies

Most presale contracts do not permit a holdback, and refusing to fund because a cupboard door is wrong puts you in breach rather than in a negotiating position. The deficiency list is documented at the walkthrough, acknowledged by the developer's representative, and pursued through the developer and the home warranty afterwards. The leverage you have is a signed list, not withheld money.

GST and the new housing rebate, which depend on how you use the home

GST is payable on a new home. Whether it is already in the price and who claims the rebate is set by your contract, and the rebate carries conditions about occupancy. A home bought to move into and a home bought to rent out are treated differently, and the rebate is checked afterwards. If your plans change between signing and completion, tell us, because the paperwork has to match reality.

What the developer adds to the statement of adjustments

Developer statements can include items a resale purchase never sees: utility connections, occupancy or interim costs, the cost of preparing documents, and GST on those charges. Every one of them has to be permitted by your contract. We check them against it rather than paying what appears on the sheet.

Questions

Common questions

When will I actually get my completion date?

When the developer gives notice, which is governed by your contract rather than by anything we or your lender control. The contract usually gives them a window and a right to extend it. That is why the working assumption for anything you arrange around it should be that the date can move.

Can I hold money back for deficiencies?

Usually not. Most presale contracts require full payment on completion regardless of the deficiency list, and withholding puts you in breach. What you can do is document deficiencies thoroughly at the walkthrough, get the list acknowledged, photograph everything, and pursue it through the developer and the home warranty afterwards.

Do I pay GST on a new home?

Yes. GST applies to newly built residential housing. Whether it is included in the price you agreed and whether a new housing rebate reduces it are contract questions and use questions. We confirm both before completion so nothing on the statement of adjustments is a surprise.

What happens to my mortgage rate if completion is delayed?

It depends on the expiry printed on your commitment. When a completion date moves past it, the lender either extends the hold or reprices, and that is the lender's decision. This is why we send your lender the completion notice as soon as it arrives and flag the expiry ourselves rather than assuming somebody else is watching it.

Is my new home covered by warranty?

New homes in British Columbia are required to be covered by home warranty insurance, with separate coverage periods for materials and labour, the building envelope, and structural defects. The coverage runs from a date set by the policy, and claims have their own reporting requirements, so it is worth reading the policy when you get it rather than when something fails.

Talk to us about your file

We quote your file in writing before we start work, so the number on your statement of adjustments is the number you agreed to.

Start your file Send us your file: Purchase