top of page

Title Remediation & Old Mortgages

An old mortgage, a missed discharge or a registration error can stop a sale or refinance at the last minute. We clear title across Ontario. We track down lenders and estates, obtain discharges where someone can still sign one, and bring court applications where no one can.

 

Much of this work reaches us on a deadline, from homeowners, estates, closing lawyers and title insurers. If an old mortgage or title problem is holding up your sale, refinance or estate, contact us for a title review. Tell us your deadline and we will tell you what can realistically be done before it.

Old Mortgages on Title

Paid-off mortgages that were never discharged, private mortgages where the lender has died, and charges held by banks, trust companies or corporations that have since merged or dissolved. We trace the lender, its successor or its estate, and obtain a discharge wherever someone can still sign one.

Court Orders to Discharge

Where no one can or will sign, we apply to the Superior Court of Justice for an order discharging the mortgage or rectifying the register, supported by the title searches, payment records and estate or corporate evidence the court expects. We then register the order and confirm clear title.

Solicitor Errors on Title

Discharges never registered despite a lawyer's undertaking, documents registered against the wrong property, incorrect names or legal descriptions, and transfers that were signed but never registered. We correct them by consent, through the Land Registry Office, or by court order.

Urgent Timelines

Many of these files arrive with a closing date, a frozen line of credit or a holdback already in place. Where the facts support urgency, we ask the court for an urgent hearing. In suitable cases we have obtained a court order and registered it on title within four to five days of being retained. Timing always depends on the facts and the court's schedule, and past results do not guarantee a particular outcome.

Closing Lawyers & Title Insurers

We take referrals from real estate lawyers who have given or accepted an undertaking to discharge a mortgage, and from title insurers resolving covered title claims. We take the file from intake to registered order, keep the referring lawyer informed, and report so the undertaking can be satisfied and the holdback released.

Other Title Defects

Inadvertent merger of title, fraudulent or unauthorized registrations including Notices of Security Interest (NOSIs), and errors or omissions in the parcel register that need Land Registry Office correction or a court order to rectify. Where title insurance may cover the defect, we work with the insurer to resolve it.

How we can help...

bottom of page