Craig Johnston Personal Real Estate Corporation · Brokerage: Royal LePage Elite West
Buyer / Seller · Closing
Closing day in BC is when ownership transfers from seller to buyer through the Land Title Office. The mechanics happen mostly behind the scenes through your lawyer or notary. Here's the verified read on what each party does.
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What happens on closing day in BC?
In BC, the day people call closing day is the completion date. Your lawyer or notary pays the purchase price and submits the transfer to the Land Title Office by 4 pm. Possession — when you get the keys — is a separate date in your contract, usually one to three days later. Taxes and utilities are split as of the adjustment date.
Verified · Buyer / Seller · Closing
Pre-closing — Buyer
Wire down payment funds to your lawyer's trust account a few days before closing. Lawyer prepares the Statement of Adjustments showing every closing-cost line item. Sign the mortgage and other documents at lawyer's office.
Pre-closing — Seller
Sign the Transfer of Land at lawyer's office. Hand over keys, garage door openers, etc. (often via the REALTOR®). Leave the home vacant (unless a tenancy is listed in the contract) by the possession time and date written into the contract — usually a day or more after completion.
On closing day
Your lawyer or notary submits the transfer (and any new mortgage) to the Land Title Office electronically — the contract requires this by 4 pm on the completion date. It becomes a pending application and is registered after the LTSA examines it. Funds are released from buyer's lawyer to seller's lawyer (less mortgage discharge, taxes, adjustments).
Possession transfer
Possession happens at the time and date written into your contract — in BC that is usually one to three days after completion, most often the day after. Keys are released once the lawyers or notaries confirm the sale has completed.
Mortgage discharge
The seller's mortgage is paid out from the sale proceeds on completion; the discharge is registered on title afterwards, under the lawyers' undertakings. Funds go directly to seller's bank to pay off the old mortgage; balance to seller.
Property Transfer Tax (PTT)
Buyer's lawyer remits PTT to the BC government as part of the registration.
Adjustments
Property tax, strata fees and some utilities are adjusted between buyer and seller as of the adjustment date in your contract — usually the same day as possession, not completion. — buyer reimburses seller for prepaid amounts; seller credits buyer for unpaid amounts.
Insurance
Have your home insurance start at 12:01 am on the completion date — that is when risk passes to you under the standard contract. Sellers should keep their own policy in place until after possession. Lender requires proof before funding.
Final walk-through
If your contract includes a viewing clause, a final walk-through shortly before completion lets you spot problems early. The contract's test is that the home is in substantially the same condition on the possession date as when you viewed it, so check it again when you get the keys.
Common issues
Funds not arriving in time (wire delays). Lender funding delays. Title issues discovered late. Most are resolvable but can delay closing by hours or days.
| Date | What happens | Who does it | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completion date | The purchase price is paid, the seller's mortgage is paid out, and the transfer (plus any new mortgage) is submitted to the Land Title Office. Property Transfer Tax is paid at registration. Risk passes to the buyer at 12:01 am. | Buyer's and seller's lawyers or notaries; buyer's lender advances funds | Date written in the contract. Documents must be lodged by 4 pm. |
| Possession date | The buyer gets vacant possession and the keys (subject to any tenancy listed in the contract). The home should be in substantially the same condition as when the buyer viewed it. | Seller vacates; REALTORS® release keys once completion is confirmed | Specific time and date in the contract — usually one to three days after completion |
| Adjustment date | The buyer becomes responsible for property taxes, rates, utilities and strata fees from and including this date. Prepaid or unpaid amounts are prorated on the Statement of Adjustments. | Buyer's lawyer or notary prepares the Statement of Adjustments | Date written in the contract — often the same day as possession |
Sources: BCREA Legally Speaking #566 and #565; LTSA registration process; Province of BC property transfer tax filing; Fulton & Company. Your own contract's wording governs.
The contract and the Land Title process are the same across BC. What differs locally is when each municipality bills taxes and utilities, and that decides which way the money moves on your Statement of Adjustments. All five Tri-Cities-area municipalities set a July 2 property-tax due date for 2026. The utility bills differ.
Property taxes are due July 2 (2026). The flat-rate utility fee for water, sewer, and garbage and green-waste collection covers January 1 to December 31 and was due March 31, 2026. That means a seller has usually prepaid the whole year's utilities before a mid-year completion.
Water and sewer are flat annual fees billed in late February and due March 31 (2026). Solid waste is billed separately on the annual property tax notice, and taxes are due July 2. The City tells new owners to check with its tax office for any outstanding taxes.
Port Moody bills earliest. The 2026 utility bill (water, sewer, recycling, green waste, glass and garbage) was due February 27, with 5% penalties after that and again after March 31. Property taxes are due July 2, with a second 5% penalty after September 15.
Village of Anmore tax notices go out in late May or early June and were due July 2, 2026. The Village says it has no involvement in septic or sewer system management. Ask your lawyer or notary which water and service charges apply to your property.
Village of Belcarra taxes were due July 2, 2026. The tax notice includes a utility portion. Every home in Belcarra uses a septic system, so there is no municipal sewer charge to adjust. Belcarra's late penalty is 10%, higher than the 5% first penalty in Port Moody and Port Coquitlam.
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By the time closing arrives, most of the hard work is done — but knowing how the final days unfold keeps the process calm. Here is the shape of a typical BC closing.
The three dates
BC contracts usually name three dates: completion, when title and money change hands; possession, when you receive the keys; and adjustment, which sets who pays for what from which day. They often fall a day or two apart.
Your professional
A conveyancing lawyer or notary handles the title transfer, mortgage registration and movement of funds. You will typically meet to review and sign documents a few days ahead of the completion date.
The paperwork
Buyers sign mortgage and transfer documents and bring the balance of their down payment plus closing costs; sellers sign to discharge their existing mortgage and transfer title to the new owner.
The money
On completion your lawyer or notary releases funds, registers the transfer at the Land Title Office and confirms the deal is done. Keys are then released to you on the agreed possession date.
Budget
Buyers should have Property Transfer Tax, legal fees and adjustments such as prepaid property tax ready well before the day. Surprises here are the most common cause of last-minute stress.
For you
Closing is largely paperwork handled by professionals. Small delays — a financing hiccup, a document error — can ripple, which is why staying organised in the final week pays off.
Exact steps and timing depend on your lawyer or notary, your lender and the terms written into your contract, so confirm the specifics for your own transaction rather than assuming a standard script.
Craig keeps buyers and sellers aligned as completion approaches, so the day itself is uneventful — which, when it comes to closing, is exactly the outcome you want.
Because nobody can be sure exactly when the money will land on completion day. The standard BC contract doesn't fix a time for closing, but it does fix a specific possession time and date — which BCREA says is usually one to three days after completion. That gap gives both lawyers or notaries time to confirm that funds have moved and the documents are lodged. It also gives the seller a full day to move out after they are paid. You can negotiate same-day possession, but it squeezes everyone, so I only suggest it when the seller is already out.
A late completion is a breach of contract, so it needs to be dealt with the same day. The standard contract makes time of the essence, and the seller can choose to end the deal if the balance isn't paid on the completion date. Documents must also be lodged by 4 pm. BCREA reports a BC case where buyers lost their purchase because their lender's money came in after that deadline. If you see any risk of delay, your lawyer or notary should ask the seller's side for a written amendment to the completion date before the deadline. To avoid this altogether, get your own funds into trust days ahead.
On completion day, after your documents are submitted to the Land Title Office. The standard contract lets a buyer who is financing wait to pay the seller until the transfer and new mortgage have been lodged for registration — but only if three things are done first. The part of the price not covered by the mortgage must already be available. All of your lender's conditions must be met. And your lawyer or notary must give an undertaking to pay. In practice that means your down payment and closing costs need to be in trust before completion day, and your lender's conditions — including proof of insurance — need to be cleared early.
Call your REALTOR® and your lawyer or notary before you do anything else. The standard contract promises vacant possession at the possession time, apart from any tenancy actually listed in the contract. A seller who is still there, or who has left belongings behind, is in breach. Most cases are sorted out within hours through the agents. If they aren't, the buyer's lawyer can put the seller's side on notice and keep a record of the costs the delay causes you — movers waiting, storage, hotel nights. Don't move your things in or throw out the seller's belongings without legal advice.
You get the keys at the possession time in your contract, once the sale has completed. The seller usually leaves keys, fobs and garage remotes with their REALTOR®. That agent releases them to your agent only after the seller's lawyer or notary confirms that completion happened and the funds arrived. BCFSA describes the keys changing hands as the last step, after documents are signed and funds are paid. For a strata unit, check that you're getting building fobs and mailbox and parkade access too, and count them at handover — these items are easy to miss.
It is the exact money summary for your transaction. Your lawyer or notary prepares it to show everything you owe and the funds you need to complete. For a buyer, it starts with the purchase price and subtracts the deposit and the mortgage advance. It then adds or credits prorated items as of the adjustment date: property taxes, strata fees and any prepaid municipal utilities. Legal fees and Property Transfer Tax are often shown alongside it. Read it line by line a few days before completion. Our closing costs guide explains the typical items.
Only one owner can claim the grant on a property in a given tax year. If you buy part-way through the year, you can claim it only if the previous owner hasn't. Applications go to the Province online, up to December 31. However, a claim made after the tax due date can mean late-payment penalties on the unpaid portion. Check your own municipality's due date. In Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore and Belcarra, for example, 2026 taxes were due July 2. A completion in spring or early summer is when to ask your lawyer or notary who will pay the tax and who will claim the grant.
Completion day — at 12:01 am. Under the standard BC contract, the property stays at the seller's risk until 12:01 am on the completion date. After that, it is at the buyer's risk, even though you won't have the keys for a day or more. Your lender will also want proof of coverage before it advances funds. Sellers should keep their own policy in place until after possession, because the contract still expects the home to be in substantially the same condition on possession day as when the buyer viewed it.
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Most closing-day problems start weeks earlier: a missing document, a late lender instruction, or funds that arrive the morning of. This is the sequence I run so completion day is quiet.
I send the accepted contract, subject-removal documents and deposit details to your lawyer or notary and your lender, so both files open right away.
We confirm your lender has sent instructions, your home insurance is in place for the completion date, and you know how much to bring for the down payment and closing costs.
Before you sign, we go through the adjustments line by line: property tax, utilities and strata fees for your municipality, and any credits you’re owed.
Your lawyer or notary registers the transfer at the Land Title Office and releases funds. I confirm completion with the other agent and arrange the keys for the possession date in your contract.
Want to see how this played out for real clients? The case studies walk through Tri-Cities files from offer to keys. Read the Tri-Cities case studies →
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“Throughout our journey, Craig demonstrated immense patience and understanding. He went out of his way to provide extra resources and various options to consider on both the buy and sell side.”Justin J.
“Craig assisted in every aspect of the purchase of my Bowen Island home, including the building inspection, the follow-up inspection, and ensuring deficiencies were repaired. He was thorough and protected my position every step of the way.”Roberta Shaw
“Craig was patient throughout the entire process. He never pushed us to buy something we weren't sure about, and when we decided to wait six months and save more, he just said ‘good call’ and stayed in touch. When we did finally buy, the math was so much cleaner.”Susie & Hans
I work with buyers across Metro Vancouver, with a focus on Coquitlam and the Tri-Cities. A 20-minute strategy call covers budget, neighbourhoods, timing and the questions specific to your situation — and ends with a written one-page plan. No pressure, no obligation.
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