Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca April 4, 2001 Squatter’s rights a tricky issue Encroachment disputes can be bitter, hostile and and costly With the possible exception of family law, few areas of the law inspire litigation as bitter and as hostile as land boundary disputes. Often referred to as squatter’s rights or adverse possession, the law, in […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Unfortunate ruling for home-buying publicThe Granite Gates community is in the picturesque Sawmill Valley area of Mississauga. It was marketed in the early 1990s as a multi-phased condominium development. Each phase would have a different style and density (some high-rise and some townhouses) resulting in a unique urban community with a rural […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca March 17, 2001 Using kit to write will can be risky Litigation lawyers get big bucks to sort out mess A client called last week to say she had just purchased a do-it-yourself will kit for herself and her husband after hearing it advertised on the radio. Was it okay, she asked, […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca March 10, 2001 Condo or co-op? Co-op units cheaper but with few safeguards A client called me last week to say that her son was leaving the family nest and looking for a place of his own. Since condominiums were beyond the family budget, their agent had been showing them co-op apartments. […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca March 3, 2001 Why racist restrictions no longer apply in land deals< Today, anyone can buy a house, but it wasn’t always that wayWhen London, Ont. lawyer Edward Richmond died in January at the age of 80, he left behind a a legacy which ensures to this day that no resident of […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca February 24, 2001 Beware the `Oklahoma’ swindle Buyer rebate scam is not legal Last month in this column, I wrote about the "Oklahoma" swindle, a scam where the purchase price of a house is artificially inflated by a device like a kickback of the deposit, or a non-existent down payment. I told […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca February 17, 2001 Cement case hard to work out For 137 people in eastern Ontario, the purchase of their homes was the realization of a dream. For some it was their first home, and for others it was their retirement home. None of them could have foreseen the nightmare that awaited […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca February 8, 2001 Should homeowner pay off mortgage or invest in RRSP? It’s RRSP season, and, judging from the avalanche of promotional hype, it may seem there’s only one choice for Canadians: invest as much as you can afford into a Registered Retirement Savings Plan, and do it every year until you […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca February 2, 2001 Who’s liable if dog bites? Home or auto insurance should cover legal damagesIn the 25-plus years I have been living in the same house, no four-legged creature ever crossed the threshold – until last month. Succumbing to a phenomenon that occasionally strikes empty-nesters, my wife and I recently acquired […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca January 26, 2001 `Oklahoma swindle’ is just plain real estate fraud Inflating purchase price on home sale is illegal What should you do when your real estate agent suggests something that sounds just a bit suspicious? That was the dilemma Mike Westward faced recently, triggered when he read the column on real […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca January 18, 2001 In pursuance of plain English, forthwith It’s time for lawyers and contracts to use plain EnglishOne of the worst examples of outdated legal writing style today is the document most familiar to the home-buying public – the standard form Agreement of Purchase and Sale used by the Toronto Real […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca January 11, 2001 What if your house was sold out from under you? How would you feel if you woke up tomorrow morning to find out that someone had placed a fraudulent mortgage on your house, let it go into default, completed a phony foreclosure, and then sold the house – with […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca January 4, 2001 Why condo cash deal caused concern Big bucks in a bag viewed with suspicionTim was in his early 20s when he bought his first condominium home a few years ago. He told his lawyer he was self-employed “in the computer business” and wouldn’t need a mortgage to close his […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca September 22, 2001 Flood of reaction greets call to regulate salespeople Unlicensed agents sell one in every four new homes – but not everyone agrees that’s a problemWhen I wrote the column Wild West tactics must be corralled published Aug. 11/01, I had no idea it would result in a storm of […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca September 22, 2001 Condo Act guide is user friendlySPECIAL TO THE STAR EASY DOES IT: Guide to new Condominium Act is designed for layman use.The new Condominium Act, which came into force on May 5 of this year, is the first change to Ontario’s condominium legislation in more than 20 years. During […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca September 15, 2001 Big win for B.C. condo owners City of Delta ordered to pay damages for leaky unitsAfter years of grief and waiting, a group of owners of leaky condominiums in Delta, B.C. has finally had its first big win. Late last month, Judge William Grist of the B.C. Supreme Court […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca September 8, 2001 Look before you waive a contract condition And if something goes wrong, try to settle out of courtAlmost every agreement of purchase and sale these days – whether for a new or resale home or condominium – has a condition of some kind in it.When the time comes to […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca September 1, 2001 This odour problem `mushroomed’ Whitby residents protest `putrid, really obnoxious’ smell from mushroom farmI’m the only person I know who will sit down to a delicious Chinese meal and pick out all the mushrooms. What broccoli is to former president George Bush, mushrooms are to me. But even if […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca August 25, 2001 Class action suits expected to multiply Four class actions now wending their way through the judicial system may be the tip of the iceberg for a whole new method of suing builders and developers of new home and condominium projects. Toronto lawyer Steven Stieber, who represents a defendant in […]
Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca August 18, 2001 What lies beyond your walls? When buyers of new homes or condominiums examine floor plans, model suites, and agreements of purchase and sale, they are typically concerned more with everything inside the house or condominium unit than with anything beyond the perimeter walls.This can sometimes lead to unfortunate consequences […]