Refinancing, moving to a new lender, or taking a new mortgage on a property you already own — all handled remotely. Paper originals couriered, signing by video, a real estate lawyer on every file. Flat-rate fee with no surprises.
Whether refinancing, switching, or financing a new draw, your file is handled by a real estate lawyer from start to finish.
We prepare all documents from your new lender — reviewing terms, ensuring accuracy, ready for signing.
We contact your current lender, obtain a payout statement, pay off the existing mortgage from new funds, and register the discharge.
We update the title with the new mortgage and remove the old one, with full registration at Alberta Land Titles.
All communication with both old and new lenders flows through our office. Funds move through our trust account, registered cleanly on title.
Your legal team reaches out at every milestone — so you always know what's happening with your refinance and what's next, without chasing the office.
Sign your new mortgage documents by video from anywhere in Alberta. Same legal validity, same flat fee.
Refinancing your existing mortgage — accessing equity or restructuring terms. We handle the discharge of your old mortgage and registration of the new one.
Switching to a new lender — moving your mortgage from one bank to another. Same legal process as a refinance: discharge the old, register the new.
Adding a HELOC or second mortgage — registering additional security on a property you already own.
Renewing with the same lender at the same terms typically doesn't require a lawyer — it's handled directly by the lender. If anything changes (loan amount, borrowers, lender), a lawyer is required.
The rule is simpler than most lenders explain it: any time a mortgage is registered on or discharged from your title at the Alberta Land Titles office, a lawyer handles it. That covers refinancing for a new amount, moving to a different lender, adding a HELOC or second mortgage, and adding or removing a borrower. The one common exception is a straight renewal — same lender, same loan amount, same borrowers — which the lender processes internally with nothing changing on title.
Here is the part that catches people: your lender does not send the new mortgage money to you. It sends instructions to the lawyer, who registers the new mortgage, pays out the old one from the new funds, registers the discharge, and only then releases any remaining equity to your account. The lender requires this sequence because its security is not valid until it sits on title — which is also why a refinance cannot be rushed past the registration step, no matter how motivated everyone is.
A scenario that helps you self-select: if you are consolidating debt through a refinance, the lender's instructions often require us to pay specific creditors directly from the new funds — credit cards, a car loan, a line of credit — before any balance reaches you. That is normal, it is part of the lender's conditions, and we walk you through the payout list on your statement before you sign. If your title carries surprises, like an old lien from a paid-off loan that was never discharged, the title search we run at file opening finds it early. We open files within one business hour of intake, and a lawyer reviews every intake the same day.
The Land Titles office charges the same registration formula for a mortgage as for a transfer: $50 plus $5 per $5,000 of value, effective October 20, 2024 (source: alberta.ca, verified June 2026). On a $300,000 new mortgage, that is $50 + (60 × $5) = $350, paid to the province. Our legal fee is separate — one flat fee with standard disbursements included, confirmed in writing before any work begins, exactly as described on the pricing page. For a full itemized estimate, the free calculator takes about a minute and asks for no email.
Brokers use the terms loosely, but the distinction decides who pays the legal costs and how much paperwork the file carries. The legal mechanics — discharge the old charge, register the new one — are similar; the financial shape is not.
One honest note on fit: if your "new loan" is actually part of buying a different property — selling this home and porting the mortgage to the next one — that is a sale-and-purchase file, not a refinance, and the selling page describes the right starting point. If you are not sure which file yours is, call 780-473-7779 and describe the situation in a sentence; sorting that out takes two minutes and costs nothing. More answers live in the full FAQ.
Last reviewed: June 2026. Government fees cited are verified against alberta.ca as of the review date.
Yes. Any time a new mortgage is registered on title or an existing mortgage is discharged, a lawyer is required in Alberta. The only exception is renewing with the same lender at the same terms — that's typically handled directly by the lender.
Most new loan files close in 2 to 4 weeks from when we receive your lender's instructions. The timeline depends on how quickly your new lender sends instructions and your current lender provides the discharge statement. We keep you updated at every step.
If you're renewing with the same lender at the same terms, a lawyer is usually not required — the lender handles the renewal directly. If the loan amount, borrowers, or lender changes, a lawyer is needed.
We coordinate the full process. Once new mortgage funds arrive, we use them to pay off your old mortgage, obtain and register the discharge from your previous lender, and register the new mortgage — all handled for you.
The Land Titles office charges $50 plus $5 per $5,000 of value — the same formula used for land transfers, effective October 20, 2024 (source: alberta.ca, verified June 2026). On a $300,000 mortgage, that is $350, paid to the province. Our flat legal fee is separate and already includes standard disbursements; the free calculator shows your itemized total.
After the new mortgage is registered and your old mortgage is paid out. The lender sends funds to our trust account, we settle the payout list in the lender's instructions — old mortgage first, then any creditors named for consolidation — and the remaining equity is deposited to your account. We confirm each step as it completes.
Yes, and it is included at no extra charge. The paper originals are couriered to you before the meeting, you walk through them with the lawyer on camera at your own pace, and the signed originals are couriered back. If you would rather sign in person, the Edmonton office is available on request — same lawyer, same flat fee.
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