Property and land registration: how to hire a lawyer at a good price
Which kind of registration do you need
Very different tasks hide under this name. One is registering ownership of a house, another is getting title to a plot or regularising an unauthorised building. A third is checking documents before you buy a flat. The type of task decides both the set of documents and the number of offices you will have to deal with.
With BlaBlaPrice you do not hunt for a lawyer through friends. You describe your case once. Lawyers and firms reply with offers in the chat: what they will do, how long it will take and how much it will cost. It is free for the buyer.
What to put in your request
- What you need — registering ownership, getting title to land, checking documents, support with a purchase, regularising a house, a completion certificate.
- Property — flat, house, plot (in acres or square feet), commercial premises, garage.
- Documents you have — old title deed, local council or housing society records, building plan, survey number. Also write what you do not have.
- Type of deal — purchase, sale, gift, exchange, mortgage; and which side you are on.
- Land use — residential, agricultural, commercial; and whether it needs to be changed.
- Address — city, village, district.
- Extra work — land survey, valuation, notary services.
- Timing and budget — for example, the date of the deal.
Example request
“Village near Montreal. All I have is an old local council record from 1995 for a house, and there is no building plan. I need ownership registered for the house and a 1,000 sq. yard plot, including a land survey and a plan. Budget up to $510.”
How to compare offers
In this field it is easy to end up with a “cheap” offer that turns out to be incomplete. Ask:
- whether the price includes stamp duty, registration fees, the surveyor and the notary, or you pay them separately;
- what happens if discrepancies turn up in the documents during the check;
- how many stages there are and the approximate time for each;
- whether you will get the full set of documents in your hands, not just a message saying “all done”.
The platform shows the offer with the best overall terms first, and reviews of each provider are visible next to it. Each lawyer sees their place among the others, so competing for your request often improves the terms. Contacts are opened only to the one you choose. More on the “How it works” page.
What to watch for
For land, check the permitted use and the boundaries of the plot: mismatches between the documents and the actual situation are a common cause of delays.
Before buying property, have a lawyer check the position well in advance, not on the day of the deal. For the deal you will need a notary, and it is best to agree a date with everyone. If the owner has died and the title was never transferred, you will need inheritance and probate. See other areas in the “Legal help” section.
Questions and answers
Can property be registered if the documents are lost?
Often yes, but the route depends on the situation. Describe what you have and what is missing in the request, and lawyers will suggest how to recover or prove the title.
Which costs more: doing it myself or hiring a lawyer?
The cost of your own time and stress is often higher than it seems. Lawyers state their price and timing in their offers, so it is easy to compare.
Are the land survey and the plan included in the price?
Not always. Ask directly, or say in the request that this work is needed, so the offers can be compared.
Does the buyer pay BlaBlaPrice?
No, the service is free for buyers. A service provider pays a small fee only when you choose them.
