The new annual tax kicks in on January 1 and home buyers should be vigilant to avoid being on the hook for penalties of up to $10,000. Toronto’s new annual tax on vacant residences kicks in on January 1, and it will have a significant impact on how real estate...
The old legal principle of ‘equitable conversion’ gives the buyer ownership once both sides have signed the deal, writes Bob Aaron. A compelling situation was raised in a Facebook group for real estate professionals last month by a realtor in Mississauga. The...
The plan to begin mandatory public listings of homes for sale on Jan. 1 will now be put to a vote at the next annual general meeting, writes Bob Aaron. In the wake of a torrent of negative feedback, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has suspended its new...
Is the new law a genuine effort by Parliament to regulate immigration and citizenship, or a back door attempt to regulate property law, asks Bob Aaron. After January 1, 2023, it will be illegal for any non-Canadian to purchase residential property anywhere in Canada....
Many sellers choose exclusive listings because they don’t want their homes’ details and sale prices known, writes Bob Aaron. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has announced a change in its rules that will work against the best interests of home sellers...
A buyer is obliged to complete the deal whether or not the deposit is paid, writes Bob Aaron. If a buyer has a change of heart after signing a purchase agreement, but before paying the deposit, is the contract still binding? That was the issue in a Superior Court case...
Construction problems such as foreseen costs, and shortages of labour and materials, are issues for builders — not purchasers — to resolve, writes Bob Aaron. Just because a builder demands more money to build a new home or condominium does not mean that it is...
Additional and high closing fees should not be billed to buyers in the final hours before their deals close, writes Bob Aaron. A group of buyers of new townhomes in Mississauga got the shock of their lives when, a few days before closing their purchases last month,...
Superior Court orders a buyer to pay over $600,000 to the builder of a Thornhill development where she walked away from her deal. Over the last five years, Ontario’s courts have been busy with litigation involving failed residential real estate transactions. When the...
‘This singular issue has been outstanding ... for the better part of 10 to 11 years,’ writes the justice in her decision about garbage room clamour. A case released by the Superior Court last month is a textbook example of how condominium boards should respond to...
Make sure your lawyer confirms the unit you’re buying matches the building plans, writes Bob Aaron. A near disaster in closing 173 units in a new Guelph, Ont. condominium project last week underscores that the most important documents in any condominium purchase are...
Our strange mix of using both Imperial and metric systems is hard to fathom by any measure, writes Bob Aaron. As Britain prepared to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee last week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to announce the country’s return to...
Superior Court justice compares events to Ripley’s iconic tagline in his decision on litigation, writes Bob Aaron A court case involving the appraisal of a fire loss on a Toronto home was described in a Superior Court ruling last month as a Ripley’s Believe It or Not...
Property speculation is targeted in the recent federal budget and has the potential to cause upheaval, writes Bob Aaron. The 2022 federal budget has the potential to create a huge upheaval in the market for pre-construction condominiums. The government plans to reduce...
The Ontario government wants public input about how to stop developments from being cancelled. Now’s your chance to speak up, writes Bob Aaron. The issue of condominium project cancellations is the subject of a public consultation by the provincial government. This...
Buyers who gamble on flipping their purchase deals may be in financial trouble if the move is denied and they’re forced to close, writes Bob Aaron. Toronto real estate lawyer Mark Morris has raised a red flag over growing numbers of pre-construction buyers who are...
The issue of a garage built partially on a neighbour’s property was resolved under an obscure law, writes Bob Aaron. What happens if you build part of your house, cottage or garage on your neighbour’s land and your neighbour wants it removed? That’s what happened not...
An Alberta court decision last month provides a useful lesson about how living in a condominium complex requires tolerance — and sometimes the compromise of deeply-held views and principles. Lillian Lupuliak is the owner of a residential condominium unit in Calgary....
Home prices would plummet, as they did with the new levy in ’74. I vividly recall that the housing market crashed overnight, writes Bob Aaron. My award for the worst real estate idea of the year — possibly the decade — goes to Toronto city council for approving a...
The price increase by a software provider has been met with a class action while homebuyers face paying the extra cost. A sudden price increase by a supplier of software programs to real estate lawyers last month will cost many homebuyers an additional $135 (including...