Can you close on a house remotely?

Yes. Virtual real estate closings are widely used across Canada, with e-signatures and live video replacing the in-person boardroom closing. Buyers, sellers, agents and lawyers join a secure online session, sign the same documents on screen, and the recorded session becomes part of the closing file. Requirements vary by province and by the type of mortgage lender, so confirm with your lawyer and lender.

Is e-signing legal for real estate in Canada?

Yes. Electronic signatures are legally recognized across Canada, including for most real estate documents. The main exceptions are the few documents that require a traditional signature, sealing, or certificate-based digital identity — some land-registry filings and certain lender packages. Your real estate lawyer will tell you which documents in your closing still need a wet or certified signature.

Do you need a notary to close real estate?

In many provinces, a notary or lawyer is involved in closing real estate — in Quebec a notary is required, and in Ontario a lawyer typically handles the transfer and mortgage. In provinces where a lawyer is the norm, the closing documents are usually signed with e-signatures under the lawyer’s supervision, with remote online notarization or commissioning used where a signature must be witnessed.

How do sellers sign remotely?

Sellers sign the same way buyers do: they open the email invitation, join the video signing session from their browser, verify identity on camera, and sign the transfer, statement of adjustments and other seller documents on the shared screen while the agent or lawyer watches. The recording shows they signed voluntarily and understood what they signed.

Are virtual real estate closings legal?

Yes, in most cases. Virtual closings are legal and common across Canada when the documents are signed electronically and, where required, witnessed or commissioned over video. A recorded video signing session strengthens the evidence that everyone signed the right documents at the right time. Confirm lender and title-insurance requirements, since some still prefer an in-person signing.

What documents are signed at a real estate closing?

The core package usually includes the purchase and sale agreement, addenda and schedules, property disclosure statements, the statement of adjustments, mortgage or mandate documents, the transfer or deed, and closing instructions. Some of these are signed by the buyer, some by the seller, and some by both — a video signing room keeps them all on one shared screen.

Can buyer and seller sign at different times?

Usually not at a closing, but often with conditional steps. Most closings happen in one scheduled session because the exchange is simultaneous. With a video signing room you can still work asynchronously where the parties and lawyers agree — each signer completes their assigned fields — while the recorded session captures the act of signing. Your lawyer will advise on what your specific transaction requires.

Real Estate Closing Online: How to Sign Purchase & Sale Documents Remotely With Video

For decades a real estate closing meant a boardroom, a pile of documents and everyone signing in the same room at the same time. That is changing fast. Real estate closing online — also called a virtual closing or remote signing closing — uses e-signatures and live video so buyers, sellers, agents and lawyers can sign purchase and sale documents from anywhere, with a recording of the session as proof.

In this guide, we’ll explain why virtual closings are growing, how a video signing room replaces the boardroom closing, what documents get signed, and the exact workflow for running one.

Why virtual closings are growing

Clients live in different cities. Sellers move before the close. Agents are on the road, and lawyers juggle ten files at once. A traditional closing requires everyone to coordinate a meeting time and place — and when one party can’t get there, the close stalls.

Virtual closings remove that friction. The closing package is prepared once, sent out for e-signature, and everyone signs from their own device. What used to take a scheduled hour in an office now takes a scheduled session online, with the added benefit that a recording preserves exactly what happened. The growth has been driven by the same forces that normalized e-signing everywhere: speed, convenience, and legal recognition of electronic signatures across Canada.

How a video signing room replaces the boardroom closing

A Video Signing Room is a PRO feature of EZ PDF Editor that turns a routine e-signature request into a live, recordable signing event. For real estate it behaves like the closing table you already know:

Everyone sees the same document. The closing package is screen-shared, so the buyer in Toronto and the seller in Vancouver are looking at the exact same page.
Signatures happen live. With the room’s signing control, each party’s signature appears on the shared document as it is applied — no “it’s been signed, trust me” moments.
Identity is verified. Parties show government photo ID on camera before signing, so the agent and lawyer know who they are dealing with.
The session is recorded. The recording and the session audit — IP, device, join/leave times, recording start/stop, signatures — become part of the closing file.

It is the boardroom, minus the geography.

What documents get signed at a virtual closing

The package varies by province and transaction, but most closings include:

Purchase and sale agreement and its addenda and schedules
Property disclosure statements (seller declarations, status certificates where relevant)
Statement of adjustments — the buyer and seller side, signed by both
Mortgage and mandate documents — signed by the buyer, often under the lender’s rules
The transfer or deed — signed as directed by the lawyer or notary in your province

Prepare all of them as PDFs, place the signature fields, and send the whole package out for e-signature in one request. That is the e-sign real estate documents workflow in practice.

How to run a virtual closing

Here is the step-by-step workflow for agents, brokers and closing coordinators:

Prepare the closing documents. Compile the purchase agreement, addenda, disclosures, mortgage and mandate documents into one PDF package in the editor, with signature fields placed at every required signature line.
Send the package out for e-signature and schedule the session. Send the package out for e-signature and schedule a video signing time. Buyers, sellers, agents and the lawyer each get an email with the date and a one-click join link.
Verify everyone’s identity. On joining, confirm each party’s identity on camera with government photo ID so there is no doubt who is signing.
Walk through the documents on screen. Screen-share the package so everyone — including remote parties — sees the exact same pages in the same order.
Sign together with Let’s Sign. Use the room’s signing control so signatures appear live on the shared document, one at a time, as each party signs.
Record the session and retain the file. Keep the recording running through the final signature, then retain the signed PDF, the recording and the session audit for the closing file.

For signers who are new to this, our guide to getting documents signed online covers the basics.

Compliance note: recording, share links and the audit trail

The recording is your proof that the close really happened the way the file says it did. Retain it with the signed PDFs, and keep the session audit alongside — the technical record of who joined, when, from which device and IP, and when each signature was applied. Where a document must be witnessed, notarized or commissioned, review the rules first: some land-registry filings and lender packages still require a traditional, certified or in-person signature. When in doubt, your lawyer or notary sets the requirements — see our remote notarization guide for the witness side of that process.

Ready to hold your first virtual closing?

Upgrade to Pro to unlock the Video Signing Room — prepare the package, invite buyer, seller and lawyer, and close with everyone on the same screen.

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Who it’s for — and best practices

Virtual closings are for real estate agents and brokers, mortgage brokers, real estate lawyers, closing coordinators and property managers — anyone who moves purchase and sale documents between parties. Best practices:

Prepare once, sign everywhere. Place every signature field before you send the request — it is far easier to fix fields than to resend a closing package.
Verify before signing. Confirm identity on camera for each party, especially when you have never met them in person.
Stay on one screen. Keep everyone on the shared document so no one signs a different page than everyone else sees.
Record the whole session. Start before the first signature and stop after the last — a partial recording is a weaker record.
Retain everything. Signed PDFs, recording and session audit together, stored securely and per your obligations.

The short version

Real estate closing online is legal, fast and increasingly the norm across Canada. Prepare the closing package, send it out for e-signature, and host the signing in a video signing room so everyone sees the same documents, signs live, and is recorded doing it. Retain the signed PDFs, the recording and the session audit, and you have a closing file with proof baked in. Start with the free editor, and upgrade to Pro when you are ready to hold your first virtual closing.