Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca August 5, 2000 Seller’s existing mortgage can be superb marketing tool When sellers and their agents list a property for sale, they often overlook an item that’s a superb marketing tool and that could add thousands – even tens of thousands – of dollars to the value of the house. That […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca July 29, 2000 City’s gouging home buyers with hefty fee hike In a blatant cash grab last month, the City of Toronto instituted a 30 per cent fee increase for its tax certificates from $50 to $65 without any notice to the real estate bar. For home purchasers, this fee for […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca July 22, 2000 Hallelujah! Land transfer tax refund here to stay. Good news and bad news arrived from the Ontario government in recent days. First, the good news. The Taxpayer Dividend Act, making permanent the land transfer tax refund for purchasers of newly-built homes, received Royal Assent on June 23. In his […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca July 15, 2000 Purchaser cancels deal and gets deposit back But future buyers who attempt same thing will not be as lucky. What happens when you sign an offer to buy a new house to be constructed by a builder but change your mind and cancel the deal before the building […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca July 8, 2000 Up-to-date survey is vital It can save a lot of confusion. With the growing popularity of title insurance in recent years, there seems to be a widespread misconception that it is no longer necessary to have a survey for a residential property purchase. Even though title insurance will, in […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca July 1, 2000 Proceed with caution with clauses found on contract’s ‘extras’ Make it clear you won’t take house without requested features. Maria and Tony are a nice young couple in their early 20s. Their names have been changed, but their story is true. After their wedding, they visited a number of […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca June 24, 2000 Those ‘extras’ certainly add up The market for new homes and condominiums is very active, and buyers by the thousands are streaming through builders’ site offices. With rare exceptions, here’s what they don’t tell you in the sales showrooms. Virtually every agreement of purchase and sale in use […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca June 17, 2000 Paralegal proposals a recipe for havoc Letting paralegals handle real estate sales could have unfortunate consequences. Retired Supreme Court Justice Peter Cory released his report to the attorney-general on paralegal regulation last week and two of his recommendations, if implemented, could create havoc in the field of real estate […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca June 10, 2000 No-fee mortgage marketing plan has costs A new mortgage marketing scheme of the Bank of Nova Scotia has been withdrawn and revised after lawyers complained the program encouraged consumers to close their real estate transactions without the advice of a lawyer. The brochure, distributed in recent months through […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca June 3, 2000 Be cautious when buying property with a partner What happens when you buy a property with a partner? How do you protect yourself if something goes wrong? These questions were raised in an e-mail received last week from Star readers Colleen Hart and Kim Aspin. Hart writes, "A friend […]
This case will show you why. Last week, I received a strange telephone call from the client of another real estate lawyer. He explained he was in the process of buying a house and had just come back from his lawyer's office. He was upset because his lawyer had asked...
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca May 20, 2000 Trouble Free? Putting an offer in and buying a cottage is a lot different from a home purchase in the city. Today Bob Aaron begins a new column on real estate law. Aaron is the president of the Ontario Real Estate Lawyers Association and a director of the Law […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca December 21, 2000 Municipality liable for faulty construction Town inspector failed to spot building defects When construction defects are found in a new home, a homeowner usually looks to the builder or the Ontario New Home Warranty Program for redress. But ONHWP coverage typically applies only to homes where both the builder […]