Legally Speaking Powers of Attorney: A Minefield for REALTORS® #568

REALTORS® should exercise extreme caution when dealing with clients using powers of attorney for real estate transactions.

Legally Speaking Ownership Protected – Mortgage Fraud and the Land Title Act #432

There are very few instances of mortgage fraud involving the registration of fraudulent mortgages in the Land Title Office. A recent Court of Appeal decision . . .

Legally Speaking Legislature Trumps the Courts #408

A property owner with surplus lands may be tempted to lease a portion of a parcel of land to gain additional revenue…

Legally Speaking Title Insurance for Renovations Done Without Permits or Final Approvals; Hazardous Trees and Duty to Inspect #381

While BC is fortunate to have the Torrens system as the backbone of its land title registrations, some risks not protected by the Land Title Act may be covered by title insurance….

Legally Speaking Title Insurance – Part 3 of 3 #323

Some banks and credit unions are now requiring title insurance for the refinancing of consumer mortgages. This, according to a bank spokesperson…

Legally Speaking Subdivision Plan Not Registered By Completion Date #301

A decision made January 29, 1999 now gives us three decisions since 1983, each of which involved the sale of a lot to be created upon the registration…

Legally Speaking Sellers Take Back Part II of Mortgage #262

As anyone who has recently signed a mortgage will know, computerization of the Land Title Office has resulted in a mortgage consisting of two parts…

Legally Speaking A breach of Section 73 of the Land Title Act #255

A recent Court of Appeal decision concerning the validity of a lease, while affecting only a few landlord/tenant relationships, may have serious consequences for those few…

Legally Speaking Restrictive Covenants #197

The Land Title Act allows a developer who subdivides a parcel of land into lots to register a statutory building scheme which will be binding upon all purchasers and subsequent owners…

Legally Speaking Condominium Parking by Owner/Developer #185

Another failed attempt by an owner/developer of a strata development to grant exclusive use to a purchaser of a strata unit of a parking stall within the common property…

Legally Speaking Soil Contaminated Sites [Continued] #139

A whole new growth industry is developing of scientists, engineers, law professors, lawyers, columnists, experts and others, around the pollution of the environment and the liability for doing so…

Legally Speaking Delays in Completion – Wills Variation Act; Seat Belt Legislation #67

Delay in the completion of a sale may arise through the operation of the Wills Variation Act…

Legally Speaking Lease for More Than Three Years – Illegal? #32

The Land Title Act requires a tenant with a long-term lease who wishes to register it, to follow the same procedure as does an owner who wants to divide his land into a number of parcels. Specifically, Section 73…

Legally Speaking Land Title Office Records and the Highways Act #27

A purchaser entered into an agreement for the purchase of land adjoining the highway which, according to his search of title in the Land Title Office, was of a certain area. Subsequent to the completion of the…

Legally Speaking Changes to the Postal Service Means Businesses Will Continue to Use Couriers for Date Sensitive Mail #12

The transfer of the postal service to a Crown Corporation may improve relations at the post office, and it may even improve service in the long run…