With legal services being deemed essential since the initial lockdown imposed by the Ontario government, Mills & Mills LLP has revamped and tailored our real estate services to meet the demands of our new reality. Our firm has transitioned seamlessly to a virtual platform to better serve and benefit the health and safety of our clients without sacrificing results.
The three main areas of concern for most clients when facing real estate closings during COVID-19 are the signing of closing documents, the exchange of money, and the exchange of keys. With the firm’s transition to a virtual platform, clients can rest assured that all stages of the real estate closing process will be done virtually and will not affect the closing process.
With new social distancing rules in place, the Law Society of Ontario has allowed lawyers to meet with their clients virtually via videoconference, including verifying a client’s identity. To ensure the safety of clients and staff members, Mills & Mills LLP has temporarily stopped in-person office meetings. Instead, all closing documents are signed and reviewed with our clients in the comfort and safety of their own homes via a secure video conferencing meeting.
Traditionally, closing funds were paid by certified cheques or bank drafts delivered in person to the lawyer’s office. However, our firm has established secure procedures for delivering client funds via bank wires or by deposits made at the client’s local bank branch. On sales, funds can even be directly wired into the client’s personal account and accessed almost immediately.
To minimize person-to-person contact, it is now standard practice during the pandemic that keys are no longer be couriered and received at the buyer’s lawyer’s office. Instead, keys are securely placed in a lockbox and left at the premises, with the lockbox code released to the buyer upon successful closing. This is an added convenience for buyers since they no longer are required to travel to their lawyer’s office to pick up the keys.
With these measures in place, we give confidence to our clients that their health and safety are taken seriously at Mills & Mills LLP, while meeting their legal needs.
At Mills & Mills LLP, our lawyers regularly help clients with a wide range of legal matters including business law, family law, real estate law, estate law, employment law, health law, and tax law. For over 130 years, we have earned a reputation amongst our peers and clients for quality of service and breadth of knowledge. Contact us online or at (416) 863-0125.
2 St Clair Ave West
