Blaze reveals why bargain hunting for property insurance is playing with fire

by admin | Sep 13, 2019 | 2019 Toronto Star Property Law Column, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca There’s nothing like having your property burn to the ground to focus your attention on the need for good property insurance. Three years ago, my business partners Ben and Jill, and my wife Dorothy and I, purchased a $230,000 triplex in a small...

Pre-construction contracts don’t leave wiggle room for market drops

by admin | Sep 6, 2019 | 2019 Toronto Star Property Law Column, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca In today’s real estate market, it’s not unusual for new home buyers to find themselves in a dilemma. One situation can be that the value of the pre-construction house drops below the contract purchase price, and they cannot get enough mortgage...

Does First Canadian Title Live Up to it’s Marketing Promises?

by admin | Aug 17, 2019 | 2019 Toronto Star Property Law Column, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Property owner stuck with $25,000 in court costs over cottage’s pre-existing issues Will a title insurance policy protect a buyer when the house has a serious construction deficiency making it unsafe and unmarketable to a future buyer? That was...

Shared maple tree pits neighbour against neighbour in court battle

by admin | Aug 2, 2019 | 2019 Toronto Star Property Law Column, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca “What could be more Canadian than Toronto neighbours arguing about building an addition on a house?” asked Justice Ed Morgan in one of his decisions released earlier this year. “Homeowners arguing about a maple tree, of course,” he continued....

Court gives a jolt to joint property owners

by admin | Jul 19, 2019 | 2019 Toronto Star Property Law Column, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca An Ontario Superior Court decision may change the law of joint land ownership and the right of survivorship when one owner dies. Going back hundreds of years, the common-law rule has always seen the survivor of the joint owners — “joint tenants”...