Having a place to call your own in the Bahamas is akin to owning a piece of heaven on earth. The real estate market in the Bahamas has always been open and lucrative to Canadian prospects. Perhaps your investment is a vacation home for yourself. Or many you realized how valuable a waterfront property could be for short and long term rentals. However, property transactions in the Bahamas requires a few additional steps. Just as is the case here in Canada, you will need to have a lawyer draft a conveyance deed. A conveyance deed serves as the proof of “transference” of a title from one owner to another. On top of that, it also needs to undergo Bahamas authentication and legalization. What are the next steps you should take?
The First Step to Recognition of Your Deed
If you find yourself in a situation where you need to use your conveyance deed for a transaction, simply presenting this deed will not be sufficient. Even though the document is regarding a property in the Bahamas, your deed will need to undergo attestation. Attestation is another way of saying “Bahamas authentication and legalization”. The terms are interchangeable and the process is the same, regardless of what you call it.
In order to complete attestation, you will need to follow a certain process. After certifying your signature on the Deed by a Canadian lawyer or notary public, you will need to submit it to Global Affairs Canada (GAC) in Ottawa for authentication. GAC is the government body in Canada that authenticates all legal documents. They will review the signatures on your deed for trueness and once they are satisfied, GAC will place a stamp to indicate that it has been authenticated.
Legalization via the Bahamas High Commission
Following authentication, your document will need to be submitted to the Bahamas High Commission in Ottawa. This step is for the process of legalization, which serves as the second step of attestation. The High Commission will review your document further for accuracy and validity of the GAC stamp. Once they are satisfied, they too will place a stamp or certificate indicating that the document has been legalized.
The Benefits of Choosing Legalization Service Centre
The process of authentication and legalization can be time consuming and expensive to do by yourself. This is because authentication professionals such as Legalization Service Centre have existing networks within GAC and embassies through years of experience. You can save money and time, and your documents will be free of errors. For example, whereas the turnaround time for authentication is 20 business days, we can have your documents processed within one business day. Our location, service level, and connection can make all the difference in how fast and effectively you have your deed of conveyance ready for use.
While property transactions anywhere can be challenging, there is an added layer of bureaucracy involved when the transactions are in a foreign country. Property dealings in the Bahamas are no exception to this. Contact us today to speak to one of our professionals to make the process easier and quicker to handle.
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