Legal Office Procedures-Conveyancing

Curriculum Guideline

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Course
OADM 1328
Discontinued
No
Course Code
OADM 1328
Descriptive
Legal Office Procedures-Conveyancing
Department
Office Administration
Faculty
Commerce & Business Administration
Credits
3.00
Start Date
End Term
202030
PLAR
Yes
Semester Length
15 Weeks
Max Class Size
30
Contact Hours

Lecture: 2 Hours per Week

Seminar: 2 Hours per Week 

Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Learning Activities

A combination of lectures, guided practices, assignments and case studies will be used.  Active learning is an integral part of this course, and emphasis will be placed on a “hands-on” environment to allow students to work both independently and collaboratively to learn and apply procedures and tasks carried on in a legal office.  Both learning activities and evaluations will be structured to stress problem solving, accuracy, and working within time constraints.

Course Description
This course introduces the student to the role and responsibilities of a Legal Administrative Assistant employed in the field of conveyancing in British Columbia. Students will gain knowledge and practical experience in topics such as systems of land registration, land title searches, offers to purchase, methods to convey interests in land, registering and discharging mortgages and other interests in land, statements of adjustments, and the execution and registration of documents filed in Land Title Offices.
Course Content
  1. Employment as a conveyancer
  2. Understanding land and sale of land
    • The tangible and intangible elements of land
    • Determining ownership of land
    • Land registration systems and land tenure
    • Reading a title search and determining charges and encumbrances on title
    • Analyzing a land purchase transaction
  3. Sales Completion Model
    • Entering a Contract of Purchase and Sale
    • Four stages of the sales completion model for purchaser and vendor:
      • Information Gathering
      • Completion Preparations
      • Statement of Adjustments
      • Completion Procedures
  4. Information Gathering
    • Municipal and other third party information
    • Interpreting a Contract of Purchase and Sale
  5. Preparing documents required for completion
    • Land Title Electronic Forms
    • Form A – Freehold Transfer
    • Property Transfer Tax Form
    • Legal Account
  6. Statement of Adjustments and Trust Reconciliation for a cash only purchase
    • Definition and purpose of adjustments
    • Purchaser adjustments
    • Vendor adjustments
    • Calculating property taxes, utilities and the Home Owner’s Grant
    • Preparing Purchaser and Vendor Statement of Adjustments
    • Definition and purpose of Trust Reconciliation
    • Preparing Trust Reconciliation
  7. Procedures on Completion date
    • Pre-registration procedures
      • Execution of Vendor’s documents and undertakings involved
      • Execution of Purchaser’s documents and undertakings involved
      • Pre-registration requirements and preparation
    • Registration procedures
    • Post-registration procedures
    • Law Society Rule 3-89  
  8. Concepts for a financed purchase of new strata property
    • strata property
      • Strata corporation
      • Unit entitlement
      • Maintenance fees
    • Net proceeds of mortgage loan
    • GST and GST Rebates
    • Builder’s Liens
  9. Procedures for a financed purchase of new strata property
    • Information gathering
      • Mortgagee particulars
      • Strata information
    • Completion preparations
      • Preparing LTO electronic Declaration
      • Confirming net mortgage funds
      • Additional information for Property Transfer Form
      • GST Rebate calculations
    • Statement of Adjustments and Trust Reconciliation
      • GST and rebate adjustment
      • Strata maintenance fee adjustments
      • Builder’s lien and holdbacks
      • Mortgage adjustments
      • New Trust Reconciliation items
    • Completion procedures
      • Undertakings for mortgagee
      • Sequence for registering LTO documents
  10. Concepts and procedures for vendor in sale of property
    • Receiving documents from purchaser
    • Authority to Pay
    • Discharging existing encumbrances on title
    • Preparing Land Title Office electronic Form C – Release
  11. Mortgages
    • Mortgagee expectations
    • Acting for the mortgagee
    • Mortgage Terms
    • Mortgage Definitions
    • Preparing Land Title Office electronic Form B – Mortgage
    • Authority to Pay for mortgages
    • Procedures for registering a mortgage
  12. Acting for two parties
    • Conflict of interest
    • Procedures for a financed purchase when acting for the purchaser and mortgagee
  13. Situational Adjustments
    • Adjustment for property tax when amount is unknown
    • Adjustment for property tax when lawyer or notary will pay the amount on completion
    • Adjustment for assumption of mortgage
    • Adjustment for mortgage back to vendor
Learning Outcomes

The learner has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

  1. describe duties, employment conditions and employment forecasts in conveyancing;
  2. identify what tangible and intangible elements are included in the concept of “land”;
  3. identify what interests must be protected when acting for the purchaser client;
  4. analyze the parties and responsibilities of each party involved in conveyancing transactions;
  5. analyze and solve problems using conveyancing concepts and theories;
  6. interpret a Contract of Purchase and Sale;
  7. describe the stages of a sales completion model;
  8. create electronic Land Title Office documents relating to registration;
  9. calculate the amounts involved to create Statements of Adjustments, Trust Reconciliation, and Statements of Account;
  10. observe professional standards in the maintenance and use of checklists;
  11. calculate Authority to Pay for sellers and mortgagors;
  12. prepare correspondence and documents for a simple cash purchase file acting on behalf of the purchaser;
  13. prepare correspondence and documents for a financed purchase file acting on behalf of the purchaser;
  14. prepare correspondence and documents for a sale file acting on behalf of the seller;
  15. prepare correspondence and documents for a mortgage file acting on behalf of the mortgagee;
  16. prepare correspondence and documents for a financed purchase file acting on behalf of both purchaser and mortgagee;
  17. describe issues, rules and procedures involved when acting for both a purchaser and a mortgagee in the same transaction;
  18. keyboard with accuracy; and
  19. demonstrate the ability to meet deadlines in a manner required to meet legal industry standards.
Means of Assessment
Assignments  5 - 11%
Simulations 35 - 40%
Midterm and/or Test(s)   25 - 30%
Final Exam 20 - 25%
Keyboarding Speed 4 - 5%
Total 100%

 A maximum of two evaluations worth up to 20% may be assigned and due in the last 14 days of
class. (Some class time is provided to work on any evaluation due in the last
14 days of class)

 THERE ARE NO ORAL PRESENTATIONS IN THIS COURSE.

Textbook Materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

Introduction to Residential Conveyancing. DFC Publications. (Current Edition) or other conveyancing textbook as determined by the department.

Department approved keyboarding material and software.

Course packs as determined by the instructor.

Prerequisites

(OADM 1218 AND (OADM 1103 with a grade of B+ or better or OADM 1206 or OADM 1303 or 45 NWPM)) OR (OADM 1246 with a grade of B+ or better AND (OADM 1103 with a grade of B+ or better or OADM 1206 or OADM 1303 or 45 NWPM))