Ruling that failure to disclose safety risk when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, partner bought mansion was fraudulent misrepresentation is not reliable precedent. With all the publicity surrounding the recent court decision involving an $8.4 million Burlington mansion,...
When home buyers or sellers find out too late that they aren’t aware of some of the finer details in their agreement. In the excitement of signing an offer to buy or sell a home or condominium, it’s often tempting to blindly sign the agreement presented by the real...
Pawel Kosicki and Megan Munro found they didn’t, and a judge ruled an individual can’t acquire ownership by encroaching on public land, says Bob Aaron. When Pawel Kosicki and Megan Munro discovered they did not own their back yard, I imagine it spoiled their whole...
Does it make sense for neighbours to spend tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees over what a judge described as an insignificant piece of disputed land along the shared boundary? Donald Milne and Theodosius Margaritis own adjacent houses on Pears Ave. in central...
When the value of a house is affected by a history of murder, suicide, ghosts, or hauntings, it is generally referred to as stigmatized. Would you live in a house where the dismembered body of the owner’s husband was cremated in the furnace, and the body of a newborn...
Case shows using joint ownership as an estate planning tool to avoid the payment of probate when one owner dies is risky, writes Bob Aaron. Should the question of ownership end up in court, legal fees can outstrip the savings on probate. A decision of the Superior...
Door-to-door sales of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment prohibited in Ontario. Judge finds supplier made fraudulent misrepresentations. The experience of Ottawa homeowner Kim Thompson with a company promising energy savings on her heating equipment...
Jeffrey Lem, 61, director of titles, responsible for administering registration of province’s 7.5 million parcels of land, dead at 61. Ontario’s real estate community suffered a tragic loss on September 3 with the sudden, unexpected passing of Jeffrey Lem, the...
Builder tacked on $30,533 in cost increases. Case shows importance of reviewing clauses in proposed purchase agreements, writes Bob Aaron. An itemized list provided to the buyers detailed higher charges for subfloors, masonry, rooftop deck, parapet and lumber. Sayers...
What happens when homes get built in the wrong place? Two cases show the perils of not doing your homework, writes Bob Aaron. I’ve always found it fascinating to see what happens when a builder builds a house on land it doesn’t own. The latest example of this dilemma...
Case suggests certain items of city infrastructure, such as backyard catch basins, can be the property of the homeowner to do with as they please. A decision of the Ontario Superior Court last month has allowed 4,000 Vaughan homeowners to disconnect their homes from...
Anyone these days can generate an emoji, but without ample evidence to confirm the source, its use is neither efficient, nor reliable, says Bob Aaron. Is it possible to buy or sell real estate by attaching an electronic emoji to an agreement? The question arises in...
Agreement at centre of case required buyers pay for extra increases in construction costs as sworn to on behalf of builder. The judge wasn’t having it. It has become an unpleasant fact of life in new home construction that some builders have implemented creative...
Cover for water damage deemed not in place despite daily visits to vacant property. Talk to your broker about any change in risks, says Bob Aaron. A homeowner in Hamilton learned the hard way that there are huge differences between insurance policies, and that the...
Case illustrates the vital importance of getting a building location survey, as house is built, in part, on neighbours’ land. What happens if you build part of your dream home on land owned by your neighbour? Peter Armstrong and Shelly Martin are a married couple who...
Bob Aaron says justice of the peace found noise caused by pickleball was unreasonable and disturbed inhabitants, and this breached town bylaws. With the warmer weather finally upon us, millions of people across Canada, the United States and around the world are...
Despite the new rule, there are ways for home-sellers to avoid being forced to list their property on Multiple Listing Service (MLS), says Bob Aaron. At its annual general meeting last month, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) voted to implement a highly...
It failed to consider these fairly, take his concerns seriously, and provide timely responses and decisions during the process, explains Bob Aaron. A Superior Court ruling in November cost a Mississauga condominium corporation more than $50,000, plus its own legal...
It’s time to change law to protect consumers who buy pre-construction homes from builders who do not own the land they are built on, says Bob Aaron. Gary Howard and Julia Niblett signed an agreement in 2015 to buy a house to be built by a company operating as Above...
“Why would anyone pursue seemingly hopeless litigation over the right of way to a mutual driveway?” wonders Bob Aaron. This is the story of a $150,000 driveway. Hayley Fromstein and James Albiez own a house on Northcliffe Blvd. in Toronto. Their neighbour to the south...