Happy Law Notary Public

Mortgage Refinancing in Vancouver

Refinancing your mortgage involves replacing or changing the financing secured against your property. Once your lender has approved the new mortgage, a notary can assist with the legal documents, registration, payout of existing financial charges, and completion of the transaction.

Happy Law Notary Public provides appointment-based mortgage refinancing services from our Downtown Vancouver office for residential properties throughout British Columbia.

What Is Mortgage Refinancing?

Mortgage refinancing generally occurs when a property owner obtains new mortgage financing that must be registered against the title to the property.

Depending on the transaction, the new mortgage may replace an existing mortgage or be registered in addition to existing financing.

People refinance for many different reasons. You may be:

  • moving your mortgage to another financial institution;
  • obtaining additional funds using the equity in your property;
  • consolidating debts;
  • restructuring existing financing;
  • changing borrowers or ownership as part of a larger transaction; or
  • obtaining financing for another personal or financial purpose.

Your lender determines the financial terms of the mortgage. Once financing has been approved, your lender sends legal instructions to us to complete the mortgage transaction.

How a Notary Can Help With Your Mortgage Refinance

A mortgage refinance involves more than signing mortgage documents.

Your notary must review the lender’s instructions, examine the title to the property, prepare or review the required legal documents, verify identity, obtain signatures, and satisfy the lender’s requirements before mortgage funds can be advanced.

Depending upon the transaction, we may:

  • review the lender’s mortgage instructions;
  • conduct a title search;
  • review existing mortgages and other charges registered against the property;
  • prepare and arrange execution of mortgage and related documents;
  • verify the identity of the borrowers;
  • obtain information required to pay out an existing mortgage;
  • communicate with your lender and other financial institutions;
  • register the new mortgage at the Land Title Office;
  • receive and account for mortgage funds;
  • pay existing mortgages or other authorized debts from the mortgage proceeds;
  • provide remaining funds to you as authorized; and
  • report to you and the lender following completion.

The precise work required depends upon your lender’s instructions and the circumstances of your refinance.

Before Your Mortgage Appointment

Once your mortgage has been approved, ask your bank, credit union, mortgage broker, or other lender to send the mortgage instructions to PAUL WILLIAMS NOTARY CORP. The receipt of instructions from a lender does not create a notary-client relationship.

We recommend having the instructions sent as early as possible. Receiving mortgage instructions does not necessarily mean that the transaction is ready for signing. We must first review the lender’s requirements and the title to the property and determine whether any additional information or documents are required.

We will contact you to arrange an appointment once we have sufficient information to proceed.

Information We May Need From You

The requirements vary by lender and transaction. We may ask you to provide:

We will tell you what is required after reviewing the mortgage instructions

  • government-issued identification;
  • your current contact information;
  • information about the property;
  • details of existing mortgages or lines of credit;
  • recent mortgage statements;
  • information needed to obtain payout statements;
  • void cheques or banking information where required;
  • strata information, where applicable; and
  • information concerning any other charges registered against the property.

We will tell you what is required after reviewing the mortgage instructions

Your Mortgage Signing Appointment

At your appointment, we will review the mortgage documents with you and obtain the signatures necessary to complete the transaction.

You will have an opportunity to ask questions about the legal documents and the completion process.

The mortgage’s financial terms—including the interest rate, payment amount, amortization period, prepayment privileges, and lending conditions—are established between you and your lender.

Questions about the suitability or financial advantages of a particular mortgage product should generally be discussed with your lender, mortgage broker, accountant, or financial adviser.

Our role is to assist with the legal aspects of implementing the mortgage transaction.

What Happens to the Mortgage Funds?

Mortgage proceeds are not necessarily paid directly to you.

The lender sends the funds in accordance with its mortgage instructions. We receive and account for those funds and apply them as required by the Lender to complete the transaction.

For example, funds may be used to:

  • pay out and discharge an existing mortgage;
  • pay another debt that the lender requires to be discharged;
  • pay property-related amounts required for completion;
  • pay applicable legal or notarial fees and disbursements; and
  • provide the remaining balance to you.

Before completion, we can explain how the anticipated mortgage proceeds are to be applied. You cannot make last minute changes to the terms of the mortgage, after you have signed documents.

Paying Out an Existing Mortgage

If your refinance replaces an existing mortgage, we will normally obtain a payout statement from the existing lender.

The payout amount can be different from the balance shown on an ordinary mortgage statement because it may include interest, discharge fees, prepayment charges, or other amounts calculated by the lender.

Mortgage proceeds are then used to pay the existing lender in accordance with the transaction requirements.

The discharge of the previous mortgage may occur as part of the completion process or afterward, depending upon the lender and the applicable discharge arrangements.

Registration at the Land Title Office

A mortgage affecting land in British Columbia is generally registered against the property’s title through British Columbia’s land title system.

Before advancing funds, the lender will normally require its mortgage to obtain the required position on title.

This is one reason we review the existing title carefully before completion. Existing mortgages, judgments, liens, certificates, or other registered charges can affect whether the lender’s instructions can be satisfied.

If we identify an issue affecting completion, we will discuss the next steps with you.

When We May Recommend That You Speak With a Lawyer

Many residential mortgage refinances can be completed by a British Columbia notary public. Some transactions, however, involve legal issues beyond the appropriate scope of a routine mortgage refinance.

We may recommend or require that you obtain advice from a lawyer where the transaction involves matters such as:

  • a dispute between owners;
  • complex trust or beneficial ownership issues;
  • litigation or disputed claims against the property;
  • unusual contractual arrangements;
  • significant questions concerning capacity or undue influence; or
  • another matter requiring legal services outside the scope of notarial practice.

Where independent legal advice is required by your lender or by the circumstances of the transaction, we will explain that requirement before proceeding.

Request an Appointment

If you are refinancing a property, send us information about your mortgage and anticipated completion date.

Once we receive your inquiry, we can determine what information is required and whether we are able to assist with the transaction.

Book an Appointment