Prospective purchasers cannot rely on a published listing when it comes to the interior size of a home, writes Bob Aaron. A decision of Ontario’s Divisional Court serves as a reminder that home buyers cannot rely on a published listing when it comes to the interior...
In April, 2017, the Ontario government introduced a 15 per cent speculation tax on residential real estate purchases by individuals who are not citizens or permanent residents. The tax had an adverse effect on the residential real estate market in the Greater Golden...
Laurie Stevenson thought she was buying a furnace and air conditioner for $7,335 when she signed a contract with a door-to-door salesman. Across the front of the document, she wrote “Total $7,335 0% int.” That wording, however, was inconsistent with the other terms of...
A fair ruling or is it just downright batty? A colony of bats discovered by purchasers inside their home sparked a dispute that ended in a B.C. court with Judge Judith Doulis pronouncing it “an archetypical case of buyer’s remorse.” Emmeline and Kevin Van Geemen...
One spooky surprise taught these homeowners an important lesson about disclosure. When Danielle Witt and Ben Rockey-Harris were successful with their less-than-asking-price offer on a house in Cottage City, Md., just outside of Washington, D.C., they were very...
Condominium owners who rent out their units without credit and reference checks run the risk of being financially responsible for their tenant’s misbehaviour. Heidi Yee Hui owns a condominium on Carlton St., in Toronto, which she leased out to a male tenant earlier...
Last September, a client of mine whom I will call Meghan purchased a beautifully renovated home in Midtown Toronto for a price well above asking. Built in the 1920s on a 30-foot lot, the home came with a private drive. The MLS listing shows three parking spaces, and...
A Superior Court decision in August provides valuable guidance on how buyers and sellers should act when a property suffers substantial damage before closing. In November, 2019, Sative Yan-Ling Tsui and Jonathan Simon Levert signed an agreement to buy a three-level...
When a title insurer pays a referral fee to a lawyer for arranging a policy on a client’s property purchase, who should get the benefit of the fee — the lawyer or the client? For more than 20 years, some Ontario title insurance companies have been paying lawyers a fee...
Ontario has finally repealed a law — after a 200-year delay — which even today requires landowners to perform road work for local townships. Two years after the province of Upper Canada was established in 1791, one of the first acts of the new legislature was to...
Anyone with a scheduled September 30 closing date on their real estate purchase or sale will have to change that date as the result of a new national holiday proclaimed in June. Bill C-5 is an act to amend various pieces of legislation making September 30 every year a...
It’s after 5 p.m. on June 30 and the home purchase transaction is complete. The new owner shows up with the keys and deed, only to be utterly shocked that the seller is still in the house — and doing nothing to pack or move. Sadly, this is a true story, posted on a...
With the rapid increase in the price of condominium units this year, some buyers are turning to co-ops and co-ownerships as an alternative. With the rapid increase in the price of condominium units this year, some buyers are turning to co-ops and co-ownerships as an...
A code of ethics for builders and their staff which comes into force on July 1 has the potential to create a sea change in the marketing of new homes and condominiums. The first in Ontario’s history, the code for the industry takes effect by way of a government...
Living in a condominium community requires a balancing of the interests of those who live there. But when it comes to residents who refuse to wear masks during a pandemic, the courts have to decide whose rights will prevail. Vily Mitrovic and Zoran Zupanc live in a...
In the early 19th century, the primary mode of transportation to much of the interior of what is now Ontario was by boat, along our lakes and rivers. When the colonial government provided free land grants to settlers — primarily British immigrants and Loyalists...
In the current chaotic residential real estate market, buyers are frequently submitting offers well in excess of either the listing price or the realistic market value. But transactions like this sometimes go off the rails when the buyers are unable to obtain...
Can a buyer terminate a transaction and get their deposit back if the published listing significantly overstates the size of a house? A Superior Court decision this past March addressed this question, and concluded the buyers in the case breached their contract by...
An interesting case from the Tax Court of Canada last fall explores the issue of how many times a taxpayer can flip personal residences during a short period of time before the government will tax the profits as income rather than tax-free capital gains. Rick Hansen,...
Last month I was asked to review an offer to purchase a $1.2 million waterfront cottage on Lake Simcoe. The experience underscored how important it is, especially in cottage transactions, to determine the exact size and location of the property being purchased with a...