Real Estate Litigation Articles

CBC MARKETPLACE – NEW HOME NIGHTMARES – Wendy Mesley (with Mike Holmes and Bob Aaron)

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca The already battered real estate industry had reason for concern when Premier Dalton McGuinty said last month that "we owe it to ourselves to take a good, long hard look" at harmonizing the GST with the Ontario provincial sales tax. In his...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca British Columbia has become the first province in Canada to license home inspectors in order to protect buyers by ensuring qualified inspections. The B.C. model could well serve as a template for similar legislation in Ontario. In announcing the...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a decisive ruling that clarifies once and for all that the interest paid on a mortgage taken out to purchase a principal residence cannot be tax deductible under any circumstances (unless...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Is a real estate agent responsible for accurately advertising the lot size? What happens if he or she gets it wrong? Those were the questions facing clients of mine recently. Last August, Regina and Leon signed an agreement to buy a house in...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca A territorial judge in the Yukon has told the local real estate industry to take a hard look at one of its standard form documents. His comments were made in the context of a case involving what we in Ontario call a Seller Property Information...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Judge rules that deck should have been inspected at the end of construction, not earlier One of the reasons litigation is so expensive and time-consuming in Ontario is that too much court time is spent on cases that should never have gone there...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca December 27, 2008 Consumer protection common theme in 2008 When it comes to consumer issues, my goal in this column is to educate, protect, and occasionally, entertain. Over the past year, I emphasized how important it is to have a lawyer’s...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca December 20, 2008 Court is an expensive way to deal with a noise complaint issue A decision of the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto earlier this year clarifies the huge financial risks a condominium owner assumes if he or she is found to be...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca December 13, 2008 In litigation cases, often only the lawyers win In 1997, James and Barbara Dinsmore bought a new townhouse in Windsor for $177,000 from Masterpiece Homes. On taking possession, they noticed dampness on the basement floor, which...