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Real Estate Articles

Welcome to the real estate article section! Here are the general topics. Just scroll down and click on the title of the article that you would like to read. They will then appear in "pdf" format. As additional articles are added, they will be placed at the end of each section, so you only need to read the new ones.

Also, be careful about the older ones. They were published earlier, and while they were accurate at the time they were published, there may be some new and current information required for your circumstances. If they deal with taxation or government programs, then there may have been changes. If you are concerned , then please contact me.

   
Buyers
Sellers
Home Owners
Mortgages
Condominiums
Taxation
Insurance
Financial Planning
Realtors
 
Agency
Title Fraud and Identity Theft
Property Law
Market Conditions
Cottages, Chalets and Recreational Properties
Investment Property
Regulation of the Real Estate Industry
Consumer Protection
 
Seller Property Information Statements
Residential and Commercial Tenancies
Buying a Business
Family Law
Estate Planning
Standard Forms ~ Explanation and Commentary
Celebrity Real Estate
 

1. Buyers

What Are Chattels?

The Last Six Weeks ~ A Great Time to Buy!

Government Incentives for Home Buyers

Illegal Basement Apartments 

Home Inspection

Retail Sales Tax on Chattels

Doctrine of Merger

Do You Need Title Insurance?

15 Reasons to Buy Title Insurance

Looking for Real Estate Advice ~ Consider a Realtor

The Real Estate Procrastinator

Multiple Offers

The Phantom Offers

The Bully Offer

A Survey or Title Insurance

Are Corner Lots Good Value

Bidding Wars ~ The Successful Loser!

Basement Apartments ~ A Tale of Two Cities

Location, Location, Location

The Right of Inspection

21 Tips to Help You Win Bidding Wars

Lawyers and Bad Real Estate Advice

Ten Agents or One ?

Credit Restoration

How to Pick a Good Area

Bad Areas are Easy to Spot

Beware of the Last Model Standing!

Federal Aid for Home Buyers

First Time Home Buyers' Tax credit Explained

Want to Change the Use?

2. Sellers

Licensed Agent on Duty

The Two Spring Markets

Price to Sell

Home Staging

Fix Up the Basement

Take Some Pictures

A Low Cost Approach to First Impressions

Graduated Commisions

Don't Sign the Standard Listing

Be Cautious of a Due Diligence Clause!

Appraisals and the Cost Approach

The Rogue Home Inspector

Commission Entitlement

Don't Pay Double Commissions

Joseph the Patron Saint of Real Estate

Price, Price, Price

Price Reduction Strategy

The Ideal Buyer

Over-listing and the Seller's Needs

St. Joseph Retires from Real Estate

Who's Who in the Open House Zoo

Documents for the Purchaser

When Do You Give Vacant Possession in Real Estate?

Responsibility for the Missing Dishwasher

Seller ~ Accept, Reject or Counter Offer

The First Offer is the Best Offer

Home Inspections and Risk Assumption

Time for Closing ~ 5 o'clock or 6 o'clock?

Double Check Measurements

Noisy Neighbours ~ Do You have to Tell

Seller's Indemnity under the Listing Agreement

Noisy Sexual Proclivities ~ The Exception or the Rule

3. Home Owners

Good Fences Make Good Neighbours

Money Grows on Trees

Clean Out Your Eavestrough

Front Yard Landscaping

Swimming Pools

Construction Liens

Install Hardwood Floors

Open It Up

Homeowner Convicted ~ Illegal Basement Apartment

Perimeter Fencing

Private Deed Restrictions

Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions

The Major Renovation ~ Does it Pay

Home Renovation Tax Credit Explained

Plant Your Own Weeds

4. Mortgages

Interest Adjustment Date

Debt Service Ratios

Legal and Equitable Mortgages

Foreclosure and Power of Sale

Home Ownership ~ Genworth and Affordability

Putting the Brakes on a Power of Sale

5. Condominiums

Review Condo Certificate

Condominiums From Ancient Rome

Downtown Toronto Condos

6. Taxation

Toronto Land Transfer Taxes

Toronto Land Taxes: Should You Buy in Mississauga?

Toronto Land Taxes: Entrance or Exit Tax?

Provincial Land Transfer Tax

Sales by Non-Residents

7. Insurance

Fallen Trees

Beware of Environmental Liability

Insurance or No Insurance at all

Flying Marble and Old Insurance Policies

Fire Damage ~ Should the Tenant Pay Twice?

Fire Damage ~ Buyer's Options

8. Financial Planning

How would you like a Free Cottage in Muskoka? 

Thinking of Living Common Law? 

Joint Tenancy ~ A Poor man's Will 

Everyone Has a Will

Still Paying Taxes After You're Dead! 

10 Most Common Financial Pitfalls 

Your "Latte" Factor

The 5 Financial Reasons for Owning a Home

9. Realtors

Clarity Clauses, Agreements and Documents

Unpaid Deposits

Conditions and Escape Clauses

Execution of the Spousal Consent

Oklahoma Offer

Realtor's warning Clauses

Are You Related to Cousin Vinny

Deposit Submission

Eliminating Bidding Wars

Deposits ~ More than One

Listing Agreements and Future Interests

The Myth of the Local Agent

Three Agents ~ Who's the Bad Guy?

Do You Need a Commercial Agent?

Market Price and Market Value

Objective Value and Subjective Value

The ABC's of Value ~ the Principles

8 More Principles of Value

Agents ~ New Rules for Compliance with FINTRAC

FINTRAC ~ Identification of Individuals

FINTRAC ~ Identification of Corporations

Counting the Days for Cashing the Deposit

No E mails Permitted

Real Estate Agent Obligations ~ Charter of Rights

Real Estate Business ~ Industry or Profession

Apologies from Real Estate Agents

Lawyers' Pet Peeve About Realtors

Lawyers Who Kill Real Estate Deals

Disclosure Issues for Realtors

How Realtors Help ~ The Advertisement

9.1. Agency

Agency

Designated Agency

Real Estate Agents ~ Statutory Duties

Agency Loyalty

Beware of Double Agents

Buyers' Agency

Dual Agents

Real Estate Agents ~ Tricky Moves

Dual Agency ~ Concerns and Issues

Limited Dual Agency

Designated Dual Agency

Dual Agency ~ Supporters

Dual Agency ~ The Opposition

Dual Agency and Sub-Agency

Unintended Dual Agency

Dual Agency ~ Negotiator or Mediator

Dual Agency and the Legal Profession

Dual Agency and the Medical Profession

Dual Agency Resolved

Justification for Multiple Representation

Real Estate Agents ~ Tricky Moves

10. Title Fraud and Identity Theft

Title Fraud - The Problem

Title Fraud - The History

Title Fraud - An Interim Solution

Title Fraud and Identity Theft

How to Avoid Title Fraud

Mortgage Fraud ~ Two Innocent Parties

11. Property Law

The Definition of Common Law

The Doctrine of Escheat

Good Title and Better Title

Land Titles and Conflicting Rules

Documents Executed Under Seal

How Much is a Comma Worth?

Fee Simple Ownership ~ The History

Finders Keepers

Finders Weepers in Real Estate!

Wicks and Harnett ~ A case about Mislaid, Misplaced Garbage

Squatter Makes Millions

Agreements Of and For Sale

Tree Thieves

The Statute of Frauds Still Exists

Real Property and Real Estate

St. Patrick Discovered Canada!

Legal Non-Conforming Use

Waterfront Property: Do You Own It?

Air Rights

Allodial Title as explained by Thomas Jefferson

Protecting Buyers and Sellers from Leaky Basements

Aliens' Real property Rights

Do the Fish go with the House?

Minors Buying Real Estate

Mutual Driveways ~ Ownership, Use and Maintenance

Possessory Title Explained

Legal Issues Related to Improvements

Leased Heating Equipment

Ownership of Leasehold Improvements

The Building is a Fixture

Court Commentary on Chattels and Fixtures

Schedule A Interpretation

Counter Offer ~ Difficulties with Standard Form

Irrevocable Clause ~ Improper Use

Real Estate Contracts ~ Right of Assignment

12. Market Conditions

The Spring 2006 Real Estate Market

The Summer Market - 2006

Real Estate at 1995 Prices

Comparing Two 25 year old Subdivision Homes

What's in Store for the 2007 Real Estate Market?

Commercial Real Estate Values in the GTA

Waterfront Condos

ORES Real Estate GTA Housing Index October 2007

Toronto Office Market 2008

What is happening in the Ontario Market for 2008?

Effect of Gas Prices on Real Estate Values

ORES Real Estate Index for February 2008

Toronto Real Estate Values March 2008

ORES Real Estate Index for March 2008

Toronto Real Estate ~ Performance Anxiety

Real Estate Trends, Volumes and Prices (May 2008)

ORES Real Estate Index for April 2008

Real Estate ~ The Calendar Cycle

ORES Real Estate Index for May 2008

The May Numbers Tell the Story

ORES Real Estate Index for June 2008

June 2008 ~ Where have all the Buyers Gone

ORES Real Estate Index for August 2008

Sales off by 4% (August 2008)

September 2008 ~ First Half Performance

The Housing Crisis ~ September 2008

GTA First Half of October 2008

ORES Real Estate Index for October 2008

Toronto Commercial Market Thrives in October 2008

ORES Real Estate Index for November 2008

December Monthly Performance GTA

Consumer Confidence Returning to Real Estate Market

GTA February Market Up 5.14%

GTA Mid March Market Up 1.16%

ORES Real Estate Index for March 2009

The Auto Sector and Real Estate Values

International Monetary Fund ~Worldwide Housing Bubble

Time to Buy ~ May 2009

ORES Real Estate Index for April 2009

Toronto Housing Surges ahead of 2008

Toronto ~ Total Market Recovery

13. Cottages, Chalets and Recreational Properties

Now is the Time to Buy a Cottage

Transportation Drives the Market

What about a Cottage?

Trespassers should know Bumble Bee Law!

14. Investment Properties

Real Estate for Entrepreneurs

Don't Sell the Minivan by Mistake

Thinking About a Restaurant?

Rate of Return Analysis

Condominium Conversion

Discount Rates Explained

EBITDA

Real Estate with an Upside

Multi Unit Apartment Buildings

Retirement Homes ~ A Business Opportunity

Real Estate Futures

15. Regulation of the Real Estate Industry

Real Estate Council of Ontario ~ Discipline Role

RECO ~ Multiple Offers and Real Estate Duties

RECO Discipline: True Copy of Listing

RECO Discipline: Grow House Disclosure

RECO Discipline: Unpaid Deposits

RECO Discipline: Sewage Systems Disclosure

RECO Discipline: Zoning and Development Disclosure...

RECO Discipline ~ Holdover Clauses and Agent Liability

RECO Discipline ~ The Elusive Guaranteed Sale

RECO Discipline ~ The End Run around the Listing Agent

RECO Discipline ~ "Your House Sold or I'll Buy it"

Real Estate Business ~ Industry or Profession?

Phantom Offer ~ Agent Penalty $10,000

Real Estate Agent ~ Keeping Relatives Secret

RECO Discipline ~ Agent Concealing Listing and Offer

Theft by a Real Estate Agent

Agent's Failure to Co-operate with Investigation

Agent's Obligation to Protect the Public from Mortgage Fraud

Air Conditioners For Everyone!

Let's Monkey with Your Deal!

No Deposit ~ Agent's Responsibility

Rural Risks ~ Water and Sewage

The Unprofessional Advertisement

16. Consumer Protection

False and Misleading Statements

Consumer Reporting Act

Unfair Business Practices

Real Estate Agent ~ Early Termination

16.1. Seller Property Information Statements

SPIS ~ Sellers Property Information Statement

17. Residential and Commercial Tenancies

Be Cautious if You are a Residential Landlord

Getting Rid of Tenants for the Sale

Negotiated Rental Increase

Assignment or Assumption of Lease

Who Signs the Lease Renewal

Ignore the Landlord at your Own Risk

Removal and Restoration Clause

Avoid the Exit Tax Trap

Negotiate it in the Offer

As is Where Is ~ What's that?

18. Buying a Business

Looking for a Good Location

Restaurants and the Three Mice Theory

The Role of a Business Broker

10 Steps to Buying a Successful Business

10 Steps to Starting a Successful Business

10 Steps to Successful Business Financing

10 Steps to Successful Advertising

Ingredients For a Successful Business

Maintaining Good Financial Books and Records

Bulk Sales Act ~ Non-Compliance

Compliance with the Bulk Sales Act

Real Estate Exemption from Bulk Sales Act

19. Family Law

Joined Together even after Divorce

Matrimonial Home ~ Special Rights

Matrimonial Home Designations

Net Family Property Defined

Equalization Payment Calculation

Get Married and Get Half the House

Seasonal Residences as Matrimonial Homes

Keep the House ~ Get a Marriage Contract!

Designating More than One Matrimonial Home

20. Estate Planning

Joint Tenancy ~ Some Problems

Joint Accounts ~ Supreme Court of Canada

Joint Tenancy Declarations

Who Signs for the Estate?

Is a Holograph Will a Good Idea?

Legal Documentation ~ Courts look for Intention

Life Estates ~ Are they still Useful

Survivorship Agreements

Unjust Enrichment Demands Payment

Joint Tenancy ~ Statutory Termination

ADR for Estate Planning

Life Estates ~ Resurgence in Popularity

The Corporation as a Joint Tenant

Creation and Alienation of Life Estates

Creation and Termination of Joint Tenancy

21. Standard Forms ~ Explanation and Commentary

Agreement of Purchase and Sale (TREB)

Buyer Customer Service Agreement (TREB)

Buyer Representation Agreement (TREB)

Listing Agreement (TREB)

Confirmation of Representation and Cooperation (TREB)

Working with a Realtor (OREA)

Working With a Realtor ~ Explained

22. Celebrity Real Estate and Interesting Properties

Tiger Wood's Mansion in Hawaii

Paul McCartney Succeeds in Divorce Court

McCartney and Mills JUDGMENT (judicial reasons)

 

 
 
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