The services that LCRi provides buyers are detailed in the Services Offered to Tenants section of the website. There is little difference in their requirements and substituting ‘buyer’ for ‘tenant’ is appropriate most of the time. LCRi’s job in assisting buyers is first to determine if the need is real and if the financial capability is there to effect a purchase. The most significant aspect of working with buyers relates to financing the transaction. LCRi always encourages buyers to discuss their strategy with a banker or mortgage broker to determine the level of financing that will be available, assuming the property meets the lender’s expectation of value.

As with tenants, buyers are encouraged to employ a broker to pursue property. The fees charged by buyers’ brokers are usually paid entirely or in good part by the seller of the property. LCRi’s experience suggests that finding the property is usually the easiest part of the transaction. The rest of the work begins with negotiations on the buyer’s behalf to arrive at a win-win for both parties on terms and conditions.

Buyers ought to be aware that there are fees involved in addition to realty fees, if a purchase is anticipated. Lender’s fees, appraisal fees, environmental auditor’s fees and finally legal fees all add to the cost of a purchase. HST is charged on commercial transactions;, however purchasers who are registrants are allowed a flow-through and typically do not need to come up immediately with the current 13% HST.