We have the experience to get the job done! 

Since 1975, the Real Estate Team at Cooper & Company has assisted thousands of clients within the community of Fort McMurray and throughout Alberta with their real estate transactions. Whether you are first-time home buyer, a builder, an investor or a developer, we have the experience to help you.

Why do you need a lawyer?

Clients often don’t understand what lawyers do in a real estate transaction.  They mistakenly think it’s just about signing forms.  When things go well it means we have worked behind the scenes to close your deal on time and the client wonders why they needed a lawyer.  They think we are a necessary evil.  When things go sideways, and it does happen, they are happy they have an experienced lawyer handling their transaction - Terry Cooper

Buying or selling a home is usually the largest financial transaction you will ever make. When you are selling a home, you usually need that money to complete other plans you have for your family, whether it is a new home or retirement. When you are buying a home not only is the purchase the largest purchase you will make but your mortgage payment will likely be the biggest expense in your family budget, usually consuming 30% of your income.

As a buyer you have also likely scrapped together all of your available funds to put the largest down payment on the home. If you are selling your home you likely have already made commitments for the money you will be receiving.

If the transaction goes wrong, this will not only create unanticipated costs as well as additional stress for you and your family.

In a real estate transaction, our job is to help you avoid problems and to ensure you get what you bargained for. 

How can we help you?

In most real estate transactions the client usually contacts us after they have entered into a binding contract and all conditions have been released. This is not the best situation as it restricts what we can do to help you. In this situation our job is restricted to ensuring you get what you bargained for and to identify aspects of the transaction that could possibly cause delays and cost you money. Our real estate team prides itself on its ability to help our clients complete their transactions on time.

However, there are other ways that we can help you before you have entered into a binding contract.

We can:

• Discuss with you aspects of a real estate transaction that you should be aware of;
• Explain to you your Purchase Agreement;
• Explain to you your mortgage and any pre-payment penalties and any ways to reduce pre-payment penalties;
• Discuss with you any restrictions on the land you are buying that would affect your future use;
  (restrictive covenants); and
• Discuss with you the condominium documents especially the reserve fund and condominium bylaws if you are buying a condominium property.

Some of these services would result in extra legal fees.  We are always happy to discuss with potential clients what our real estate legal team can offer to assist them in their transaction and to help our clients decide what services they need us to provide. 

Clear quotes for legal fees

When we provide a quote to our client we prefer to quote not only legal fees but all other expenses we pay on their behalf and any other charges that arise so the client gets a realistic idea of what they need to budget for.  In a real estate transaction these expenses (lawyers call them disbursements) and related charges can be more than the actual legal fee. This is especially true when you are buying a home. 

We will take the time to talk to you about the other expenses that may come up on closing.  Most clients are not in the business of buying or selling a homes and therefore we feel that our job as your lawyer is to ensure you have all the necessary information to budget yourself properly.  Therefore, do not expect us to low-ball the fee quote in hopes of hiring us.  We want you to choose Cooper & Company because we provide great legal services at reasonable cost.  

Not having a complete quote is like getting an estimate from a mechanic on replacing the transmission for you car and they only quote on labor and not the parts. We do not want our clients having unexpected expenses.

At Cooper & Company we have clients not customers.  We want to be your lawyer,  not just for this one real estate sale or purchase. 

It is important to us that when the transaction has concluded you come away knowing that our team has worked hard for you and that you have the confidence to know that whenever you need legal advice in the future we will be there to help you.