Earth Day is coming up next month, so here is a question along environmental lines: If a tree falls in your yard, who has to pay for its removal? A tree belongs to the property owner whose land the trunk is on. If it straddles two properties, it belongs to both owners. Any owner of… Continue reading If a tree falls….
Tag: real estate law
Toxic walls
In most agreements, you will see a clause called “UFFI”. This stands for urea-formaldehyde foam insulation, and is a material that is carcinogenic and hasn’t been used at least since the 1980s. The clause in the agreement will state that, to the best of the seller’s knowledge and belief, there is no UFFI insulation in… Continue reading Toxic walls
Tax time
With tax time coming up shortly here in Canada, I thought I would revisit a topic: when do you have to pay HST on a house? The short answer: always, unless there is an exemption. One major exemption is for resale homes; as long as it has been used for residential purposes, there is generally… Continue reading Tax time
Put it in writing
It might go without saying, but it is important to have all of the details of your real estate contract written down at the time of agreement. I have seen many people who had a verbal agreement that the sellers would leave a particular item, but it wasn’t in the written agreement and so there… Continue reading Put it in writing
Bridging
Last week, I blogged about timing. This week, I wanted to touch on something that Tim has mentioned before in his Mortgage Monday posts: bridge financing. From the legal standpoint, bridging makes your move go much more smoothly. If you have bridge financing in place, I can close your purchase before your sale is closed,… Continue reading Bridging