Make sure home seller’s promises are met before closing

by admin | Oct 8, 2016 | 2016 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Court decision emphasizes it’s the house buyer, not the seller, who is most at risk. A small claims court decision released last year underscores the importance of careful wording of seller promises in agreements of purchase and sale. Back in...

Be wary of buying illegally built homes

by admin | Sep 24, 2016 | 2016 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Tarion’s enforcement arm is set to target real-estate agents who are involved in selling unregistered homes. Tarion Warranty Corporation has warned Ontario’s builders and real-estate agents they can be charged and fined if involved in the sale...

Tarion needs to increase homebuyers deposit protection

by admin | Sep 10, 2016 | 2016 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Tarion’s limit for deposit protection — $20,000 on condos and $40,000 on homes — hasn’t changed in years. An interim report on the Tarion warranty corporation should have gone further to protect home buyers’ purchase deposits. Special adviser J....

Extravagant fees crush legal basement apartments

by admin | Aug 27, 2016 | 2016 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Over-charging homeowners to help intensify urban housing defeats the purpose. In the face of a serious housing shortage in the GTA, the City of Toronto is actively discouraging homeowners from legally adding one or two units to their houses by...

Tenants shouldn’t be able to ‘game the system’

by admin | Jul 30, 2016 | 2016 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Too many renters are getting away with not paying rent, then appealing eviction orders. How many times do Ontario judges have to cry out for changes to the landlord and tenant court procedure to prevent tenants from “gaming the system” before...

Dangerous real-estate document a path to court

by admin | Jul 16, 2016 | 2016 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Since 1997, 94 court cases in Ontario have been pinned to the Seller Property Information Statement. The Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS) continues to be the single most dangerous document in current use in the real estate market....