Legally Speaking Know Your Seller #513

Seller’s agents must be certain that they are dealing with the person with authority to list and sell the property…

Legally Speaking Don’t Forget About Council #511

In the many years that I have taught the Legal Update course, most REALTORS® have shown understandable interest in court decisions…

Legally Speaking Disclaimers Against Reliance: Not Always a Magical Cure #510

In a recent case from the BC Provincial Court, the following disclaimer was found ineffective in defending the buyer’s claim that the…

Legally Speaking Third-Party Recommendations and REALTOR® Liability #504

Could a licensee be held liable for the poor performance or negligence of another professional such as a home inspector…

Legally Speaking Seller’s Remorse Not Rewarded #494

Too often this column focuses on a REALTOR®’s error or mistake resulting in the REALTOR®’s censure by either a court or the Real Estate Council of British Columbia…

Legally Speaking Nude Beach – Disclosure or Not: Latent or Patent Defect?; Limitation Act – 30 Year Limitation Period: Right to Sue Municipality Lost #346

Full disclosure and view property take on entirely different meanings when a nude beach is involved. Some buyers might think a nude beach next to their lakefront property is an asset…

Legally Speaking Negligence – on the Base Path – Play Ball (Carefully) #315

With so many licensees involved in recreational team sports, such as softball, hockey or basketball, the question of the liability of a person who injures another during the course of a game may be of some interest…

Legally Speaking Property Condition Disclosure Statement – Licensee's Liability for Failure to Deliver and Obtain #281

An owner was ordered by a health officer to make repairs to, or replace, a malfunctioning sewage disposal system. Instead, he decided to sell the house and in doing so refrained from disclosing the problem…

Legally Speaking Contract with Unincorporated Company a Nullity; Unlicensed Person Posing as Licensed; Residential Assessment – Market Value Included Not GST; Cheque Yore Spilling #265

Two decisions illustrate the risk of not using the full name of a company purchasing property, or the failure of a company to be incorporated at the date it received the benefit of an assignment of a contract…

Legally Speaking Negligence by Licensee #256

Small mistakes lead to big problems, which proves yet again that eternal vigilance is the price to be paid to avoid having to check your E. & 0. insurance to see what the deductible is…

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 Negligence in Measuring Area of Commercial Property, Commission Claim Successful #196

An Ontario real estate agent who was found by a judge to have negligently measured the area of his client’s commercial property, was still held to be entitled to payment of the commission earned upon the sale…

Legally Speaking Licensees' Duty to Know Basic Municipal Bylaws #187

The decision of the city of Cranbrook to extend its boundaries led to a lawsuit against the owner of a small vacant lot and the listing and selling agents involved in its sale to a purchaser who found that the bylaws…

Legally Speaking Actions Against Licensees – Negligence and Interfering With Contractual Relations #152

Chutzpah is a Yiddish word meaning “brazen nerve”…

Legally Speaking Negligence of House Inspector: Licensee’s Liability #140

The answer to this question was given in a 1977 case in which a purchaser was concerned about the soundness of the structure and foundations of an old house he wanted to purchase…

Legally Speaking Residential Mortgage or Residential Agreement for Sale – Continued; Negligence, Liability of Owner/Employee of a Limited Company #126

Column 125 discussed how a mortgagor may be able to limit liability under the personal covenant of the mortgagee, upon the sale by the mortgagor…

Legally Speaking Conditional Sale and Purchase by Vendor – Licensee's Duty to Vendor #118

An unconditional offer from a purchaser flush with funds is as welcome as the first spring day in Dawson Creek and as rare as a double-ended commission…

Legally Speaking Bank Foreclosure – Customer Rights; CMHC Guarantee – Negligence #114

Financial institutions often demonstrate a casual if not contemptuous disregard for requests for pay-out statements or delivery of an executed discharge of a mortgage…

Legally Speaking Negligent Preparation of an Offer – Liability of Licensee for Damages #111

A month later Adam and Nester were back in Noel’s office, this time with a letter from the vendor’s lawyer. The letter contained a consent…

Legally Speaking Appraiser and Real Estate Licensees – Question of Liability #105

John and Joan were looking for revenue property which they found in 1980 thirteen miles east of Smithers Iying between the Yellowhead Highway…

Legally Speaking Property Manager’s Liability for an Assault Upon a Tenant #79

A case involving an assault upon a tenant will be of interest not only to property managers and owners of rental properties, but perhaps also to Strata Corporations…

Legally Speaking Prospectus – Receipts #49

The recently distributed Bulletin referred to the intention of the Superintendent to provide additional exemptions from the provisions of the Real Estate Act relating to prospectuses…

Legally Speaking Liability for Both a Limited Company and the Employee, Resulting From the Actions of the Employees #14

A recent case illustrates the liability which may attach to both a limited company and the employee of the limited company, resulting from the actions of the employees…

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…