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Do I have to tell my real estate agent my basement leaks. s, somewhere in ontario |
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My son is buying a house in Pa. that has tested positive for radon. Is it legal to sell a home with radon in Pa? Also is the seller obligated to pay any portion of the expense to have it corrected? Bev, James Creek, Pa |
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The title on my house is only on my name so is the mortgage. Now, I am having problem with my second mortgage which is due May, 2009. The private lender wants his money back.I have a poor credit. Can my husband buy my house? Will my mortgage lender allow it? Maria, near Toronto. |
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(Abridged Email) I'm in the middle of a divorce. We have sold our matrimonial home thats closing in a few months but my wife and I have a (newly built) house we purchased previously thats scheduled to close the end of this month. Out of good faith I was willing to have my name removed from title before the last day without penalty but my wife declined for her own reasons. She is willing to take over and assume any obligations of the house, which has been outlined in letters between our lawyers (I assume she will eventually be getting a cosigner because she wont be able to obtain a mortgage without a secondary income)but due to her own reasons she wishes to continue to keep me in the agreement I guess till closing. Because I know that she wishes to have the house its obvious though unspoken that the only way to assume responsibility of house is for her to get a co signer, What are the consequences if I choose not to sign the final mortgage papers? Anonymous from Ontario. |
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I have a 4 bedroom home. I use one as an office. We are getting ready to re carpet the bedrooms. Would it be better to put hardwood in the office for resale value. Scott. Indianapolis, Indiana |
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I entered a rent to own contract to buy my house in October of 2003. My contract is very clear, and I made the final payment in Sept. 2004. The seller was supposed to sign the house over to me when that final payment was made. I have been living in the house ever since. I have never paid or been asked for rent past Sept. 2004. The thing is, he has made absolutely no effort to come to the village office to sign the house over. I've contacted him countless times over the past 4 years, and each time he has an excuse why he can't. Now, I've discovered that his ex-wife's name is also on the title, so he is saying that I have to find her and get her to sign first and then he will sign it. He also claims he hasn't seen her in 10 years, and refuses to track her down himself. The village office told me that the only thing I can do is to get them both to go there and sign them in front of a notary public, but short of physically forcing them there I dont think that's ever going to happen. I dont know what I can do, I just want the house signed over. I feel like he is waiting for me to just give up and move out, is there any other way I can force it, without having to hire a lawyer because I really cant afford it. (From a small place in Saskatchewan) |
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(Abridged Email) I live in Surrey BC in a 16 year old 2350 sq foot 2 story home. I have had a couple of quote for gas furnaces with and without heat pumps. If there were 3 identical houses where one had a regular mid efficiency furnace, one had a high efficiency furnace and the third one had a high efficiency furnace with an air to air heat pump(which also provides cooling in the summer), how would the differences affect the selling price? What about the windows - how much added value would replacing my current (aluminum???) ones with energy star vinyl one? Over the years I have also experienced condensation in the to the extent that at times I have had to soak it up with towels. Laurie. Surrey. BC |
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I have a friend who, recently worked with a realtor to sell her house, which was basically forced by divorce. Said realtor, even after numerous requests to cease relaying information between my friend's ex-husband and my friend, continued to involve herself in "he said" "she said" conversations with my friend while they were still going through court hearings regarding said divorce. My question is, "Is this not unethical"? I am not inquiring to bring any legal action against the realtor, I am just appalled that the realtor continues to engage in such practices and it has caused a disagreement between my friend and me. I say it is unethical, she disagrees....Can you give me an answer? Whether it be your professional opinion or an actual (un)ethical realtor pratice does not matter.....Thanks for your time...Denise |
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I bought a house in may of 2001 and on the listing paper with the realty it said the house furnace and central air was 4 years old and we just had a major breakdown with furnace(400 dollar band aid) and the original installers came and worked on it and said it was 20 year old this year so doing the math the unit was about 13 yrs old when I bought the house! My question is what can I do because I will have to buy a new one next year that is if it makes a year. Is It a legal Issue? Or should I just eat the cost and go about my life? Robert, Mattoon, Ill |
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Previous Q & A's: (search by topic.) |
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I'm on a rent to own basis for a trailer and land. He did this lease where at the bottom itsays other: rent to own for 15 years. Am i responsible for the repairs needed to fix the trailer, especially the roof. He was suppose to fix the roof but what he did was useless. Now I need a new roof. Am I liable for this as well? Also, by the property still being in his name, but I'm on a rent to own, who is responsible for paying the annual property tax, and property insurance. Where can I go to get more information on this matter. Is there any way other than a loan, in which I'm not qualified for, get the property deed placed in my name? Shanda, GA |
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We currently own a house that we rent to my husband's daughter. She is interested in purchasing the house from us, but they have bad credit and no downpayment etc.How does the "rent to own" work? I am having trouble finding any good info on this topic. Kathy, somewhere in Ontario |
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My husband and I land-contracted our home that we still owe on; for just one year, ending Sept 2005; They have been late with payments since Jan 2005 and now they havent' made April's, May's and June's payment; Can i evict them and sell the house to someone that will pay our mortgage off and not ruin our credit. We are renting a place and cant afford to pay the land contract house payment for them and our rent; please help me; i cant get a response from anyone Angie, Kentucky |
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I got some helpful answers about renting to own. There is not a lot of clear answers on the internet about this so thanks. What I am wondering though is there any sort of fees associated before you move into the rent to own? I mean I assumed of course there would be lawyer fees to draw the agreement up, but I came acroos things that mentioned an Equity Fund Payment???? Things about Down Payments??? Do you have any info on this. We would really like to look into this option but have such little knowledge on it. Any help you could give would be great. For some extra info we would be looking in Alberta I believe you are in Ontario are there large difference from province to province? Thanks so much. Jamie. Alberta |
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We are currently looking at a rent to own proposal. Is there a difference between rent to own and rent with option to buy? We are wondering who is responsible for repairs on the property, roof, water system, sewage system...? What are the rights and responsibilities of the "tenant" and the "landlord"? Any information you have would be greatly appreciated. Thank-you! Dennis |
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I would like to sell my home by Rent to Own. How does it work? Natalie (Michigan) |
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How do i get a rent to own house? We would like to get a rent to own. Byrd (Jackson City TN) |
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We are trying to find rent to own homes in Barrie or surrounding areas. Is there a web address for listings? Can you help us with this. Shannon |
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This is a bit unusual. But, basically, I'm looking for some information from a seller's point of view for "Rent To Own". My Mother is currently a guarantor on her grandson's mortgage. This is NOT working well, and we have finally convinced my nephew that we can get a better interest rate if Mom remortgages on her own. (He does not have a good credit rating, but she has an excellent one). As a bit of incentive, we told him that he could Rent To Own and therefore, as long as he keeps up with his monthly rent to his Grandmother, then eventually, when his credit rating improves, he can buy her out. I'm not sure if we're playing with fire on this one or not. I know there are normally lots of stipulations for this type of rental. Since it is in the family, we would not be overly concerned with the normal amount over and above the rent, which would go as a "downpayment". All we want is for my Mother to be protected and to hopefully be able to let my nephew assume the mortgage in a couple of years or so. We will be visiting a lawyer next week, but I just thought maybe I could get an advance "heads-up" on what we may need to do or be careful about. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated! Brenda |
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We have made my landlord aware that our vents are filthy (there is a lot of dust and dust "chunks" in the vents. My fiance is allergic to dust mites and all of the dust is making him ill. It is even starting to bother me as well. The dust is everywhere. We have had to place filters in the vents in order to block the dust from coming out, but it still does not catch all of it. When we asked our landlord to come and clean the vents, they refused, telling us that we could contact a company in order to repair the damages and then deduct $100.00 from our rent. This is not acceptable to us and we are thinking of contacting a lawyer. Do we have a case? We live in Raleigh, NC. Wendy. |
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My husband and I have a condo in Belleville, Ontario. We rent it out for 750.00 a month, with the renters paying their own heat and hydro. There was no lease signed when they started renting in Feb of 2006, or was last months rent given. Now the renters are continuously late paying their rent. We listed the unit for sale. When we do sell it what is our requirement to them. Do we have to give them two months notice? Can we give then 1 months notice? Can we go for the last months rent to get them out, and let them use the money to rent a new place.Rosanne |
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Thinking of buying a house the basement is fineshed and it is a two family. i will be getting rents from one floor can i rent the basement for extra income ? what is the risk? and the law rigarding that?and please direct me to find the answer if you do not know it Thanks a lot. Carol. Medford Mass |
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I was wondering if you could either point me in the right direction or answer my question. I am wondering where I could find the rules and regs. regarding basement suits? what constatues a basement suit? is is leagle? if it is illegal will i get in truble for having one? that sort of stuff. any help you could give me in this area would be greatly appriciated. Marlo, Nanaimo |
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Can I make an apt in a backsplit house.no windows in the basement. Tony, Ashawa |
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I am thinking of purchasing another home as a rental property approx $150 000. My son will be living in the home while he is attending university and friends living with him will help pay the rent. I already have another rental property near my home that I have a mortgage of $56000 remaining. Should I try and combine the mortgage of the new purchase with the original or have a new mortgage. I have heard that I require a 25% downpayment for a second mortgage on the new purchase. What is my best option or do you now any different options. Merrill, Newfoundland |
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I am looking for information on the regulations in regards to building/renovating my home to build an inlaw apartment. Emeline, ON |
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Bill what your saying I shouldn't buy now? I am looking for a duplex or triplex in the GTA to offset the mortgage. Should I still wait? Trevor, Toronto |
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My husband and I are a year away from paying off our house and we'd like to either rent out our home and purchase another, or buy a rental home or even a du-plex or tri-plex to supplement our income. I was wondering if we can use the equity in our house tax free to accomplish that since it is an investment for our retirement, and if not, what would be the best route to go so we accept the least amount of tax...Thank you so much! I wish our capitol gains tax was the same as the United States!!! Nicole, Lethbridge |
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I have come close to buying a townhouse for sale on Trevino Circle.While browsing the net, I came across your website. I am a new immigrant, my wife's studying nursing in Georgian college and will be there for 2 years.I work in Mississauga. The reason for me wanting to buy is that I have a short term requirement and I see a rental demand (because I could not find good rental accommodation within my budget when I was looking) wherein I could rent the house after the 2 years. I am not sure if this is the right approach. Also how do you foresee the housing market in Barrie in the future (2 years down)? I am going to sign a purchase and sale agreement on the 15th of October. Any feedback before then will be greatly appreciated Thanks DJ |
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If we have a co-signer to buy a house, do we need any money down? Djianne |
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I no 2 people that own homes and they are forclosing on them. They are renting both homes out to renters that have no idea the home is being forclosed on. Is this legal to forclose on a home , not pay any morgage on it and rent it out for profit? Chris, Florida |
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My mother owns a house in downtown Toronto and she wants to put my sister and myself on the deed. My sister is 65 and I am 60. Will this affect the property tax rebate my mother receives as a senior? Lynda, Little Current, Canada |
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Need to know what the tax repurcussions are for transfering title to a family member, he will be refinancing the home under his name therefore paying off loan under my name. He has been leasing the property for the last 10 years with intention to eventually purchase. Want to make sure there is no gift tax issues by doing it this way. Patty, Redlands,California |
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How do I get a list of foreclosure or judicial homes for sale?? I've been in touch with a couple of realestate agents here in calgary alberta. They send me listings but none that reveal that they are foreclosures or emergency sales. Is there any agent or bank contact that would be willing to send me such material?? thanks Lin, Calgary |
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If u assume a mortgage in alberta and it goes into default before the first year of payments who is resposible for the balance owing upon point of sale. the original person that took out a brand new loan or the person that assumed the mortgage. Richard, Calgary |
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My husband and I are looking to purchase a home from his brother, the house was inherited by all of them but his brother bought everyone out and refinanced and gave each a small portion. Now my brother-in-law is splitting with wife and wants to sell home to us to get out of it. We have come to find out the home has been re-financed twice, they owe around $89,000. His wife has filed a chp 13 bankruptcy which includes the house. But they are really pressing the issue of having us buy the home, but we don't know if it would be good for us and our future. Also the house needs some work done to. Kawawn, Nashville |
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Can i buy a foreclosed home with a contigency to sell our home, without having to get a bridge loan and all my options- to get this dream home. Jon, Greensburg IN |
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We are about to lose our home under power of sale and will be declaring personal bankruptcy. What is the legal consequence of selling off some of the pool equipment we recently purchased and other moveable upgrades like kitchen island, ac unit etc. French doors etc? Since any deficit what be under the bankruptcy can we be legally charged for doing this? Ontario |
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I have been reading your website for quite some time and have to say that I am impressed by the info and the insight you provide. What do you think of the Tax Sale properties in general (i.e. properties that are auctioned for unpaid property taxes)? Do you think one can find good value at a bargain price for investment purposes? Do you think that one can still buy real estate property for investment purposes these days or should wait and if yes, how long until it makes sense to buy as an investment? Filipe, Richmond Hill |
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How long does it take to have a foreclosed property go up for resale? We were talking to a real estate agent and she said it could take up to six months? I think she was trying to deter my husband and self to buy other properties she had, am finding it hard am anxious to look at this property, but how long do I need to be patient? Any information on the proper way to do this and any information on how to properly obtain the home when it has been foreclosed on would be greatly appreciated. Angela, Toledo ON |
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My husband and i are currently looking for a home in alberta,He has gotten a job there.I heard that it is very easy to buy a house through a mortgage broker,is this true?How do we go about this?Also,Do you have any names of brokers in the slave lake area?We were also going to see if we could get a foreclosed home.Is this a good idea?Is there a lot involved in buying a foreclosed home? Thank you. Lisa. Nova Scotia |
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Everyday I pass a huge boarded up house and am interested in buying and making renovations. There is no house/lot number. How do I get information on finding out ownership status? Jaiede, Harrisburg PA |
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Can i take over ownership of a house that's been abandoned? The taxes are due this year and there's no one to pay them. I want to pay the taxes and move in. Colorado |
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How can I obtain listings of foreclosed/power of sale houses? Cherrie |
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My husbands mother has to sell her house (per her divorce) she wants to remain in the house she has asked my husband to co-sign with her boyfriend. She has stated that in one year she will switch the house in to her and her boyfriends name and remove my husbands name. I am not sure about this action. what are some issues that could arrise and potentially cause problems for my husband and i? please respond as fast as you can. Jenny, Massachusetts |
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I bought a house 2 years ago with my sister on the Mortage as a co-signer. Is she entitled to a share of the profit when i sell? Do i need her consent to sell the house? If she is entitled to a share of the profit or i have to have her consent to sell, is there anything i can do to have her remove as a co-signer? I have not missed one payment, and I now have a good credit report! Minda - Alberta |
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Me and my husband bought a house 4 years ago with my husbands Father on the Mortage as a co-signer. Is he entited to a share of the profit when we sell? Do we need his consent to sell the house? If he is entitled to a share of the profit or we have to have his consent to sell, is there anything we can do to have him remove as a co-signer? We have not missed one payment, and we now have a good credit report! Tanya - Alberta Canada |
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My daughter, her husband their 2 year old daughter own a beautiful large trailer in Hanmer. They are growing out of it, as he also has 2 teenage boys on visitation. Anyhow, they want to buy a larger home but have bad credit from a long while ago. she is on ODSP and he doesnt have a job. I cant co-sign. but want to help them. I can vouch for them being, very responsible. Is their any way they can buy a larger home? Are their people who hold the morgage? Thank you. Lynda, Sudbury |
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I am in the process of buying a home and I am needing a co-signer. My mom stated she would co-sign and has very good credit A-1. My question is can she be a co-signer even though she doesn't have a job. I have the income and she has the credit. Takiyah, Greenville, NC |
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My son and husband co own a house.. My husband and son both on title and my husband co-signer for the morgage..Now my husband wants off as promised by my son for over a year..My husband and i have no real equity in the home but my son ownes us money and we would like to know if we can force the sale of the house and just get back what he owes us..thks Anna, BC |
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What is the difference between a collateral loan and a mortage? Deb, Huntsville |
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My mother in law is dying and has a reverse mortgage on her home. She wants my husband and i to purchase the home after she passes which will be soon. How do we go about doing this? She states the house mortgage at this point in time is $105,500. Neither my husband or I have a good credit standing. Beth, Portland. |
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I have a co-signer on my house. It is up for renewal and she wants to come off. Please tell me the process that that involves. I appreciate. Sylvia, Brampton |
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What happens if a person cannot come up with the downpayment on the specified date? Our offer has been accepted on a house but we are having more trouble than anticipated arranging the money for the downpayment. We have until the 15th of April to come up with it. Our mortgage has been approved providing we have this money and the bank has told us by May 2 we will have 7 percent of the mortgage back. Jennifer, Ont |
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Can a person with good or excellent credit cosign for more then one apartment rental agreement involving different tenants? Tamara, Oxnard California |
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Can you borrow money to build a house, when you own the land out right? Joyce, Barrie |
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Can a person be held responsible for a mortgage even if they have signed a quit claim deed? Gail, West Palm Beach |
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If I needed a co-signer to purchase my home if I wish to sell do I need their consent and are they allowed any funds from the sell? Mellissa, Charlotte NC |
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Bill, got a question about cosigners. Am I looking into to buying a new home with my girlfriend who is half a year from finishing graduate school, but unfortunately the bank requires a co-signer for my mortgage other than my girlfriend. I have one in mind but they have alot of questions about it. One, how difficult is it to take the co-signer off of the mortgage? Two, can that co-signer go and purchase their own condo/house without repercussions? Drew, Toronto |
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I am thinking of purchasing another home as a rental property approx $150 000. My son will be living in the home while he is attending university and friends living with him will help pay the rent. I already have another rental property near my home that I have a mortgage of $56000 remaining. Should I try and combine the mortgage of the new purchase with the original or have a new mortgage. I have heard that I require a 25% downpayment for a second mortgage on the new purchase. What is my best option or do you now any different options. Merrill, Newfoundland |
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I need a co-signer for my mortgage. I am going to ask my aunt but will her co-signing on my mortgage cause her assets to go up? If she was ever to be in a nursing home would they take my house from me? Does she need to be listed in the newspaper or just myself because I would be on the deed only? Please answer me ASAP. Thanks Mark NY |
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I have a friend who has been asked to cosign on a mortgage. Does this give her property rights and include her name on the deed to the house. Jennifer, Las Vegas |
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My husband and i are currently looking for a home in alberta,He has gotten a job there.I heard that it is very easy to buy a house through a mortgage broker,is this true?How do we go about this?Also,Do you have any names of brokers in the slave lake area?We were also going to see if we could get a foreclosed home.Is this a good idea?Is there a lot involved in buying a foreclosed home? Thank you. Lisa. Nova Scotia |
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Is there a certain period of time after you sell a home, that you can be considered a first time home owner again? Trinity, AB |
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My sister refinanced her house allowing her roommate to have her name on the deed in agreement that the roommate was to help fix the house up, which she has not done. Is this arrangement legally binding, or what options does my sister have to get her friend off of the deed? Tane, Mobile Alabama |
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What are the obligations of a co-signer when the principal borrower defaults on payment? If it is a car and the co-signer becomes liable.....does that entitle the co-signer who is now paying to become the principal OWNER of the vehicle? D. Somewhere in ON |
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If I cosign on a mortgage, can the person holding the loan do a quick claim deed to release my responsibility if the morgagee defaults? Jean, Illinois |
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Can a lender come after my property to take possesion even after receiving all mortgage dues paid up to date after being at a little default. Jonty, Toronto |
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I am in the process of buying a house here in Sask I was approved through the bank but now CMHC wants a co-signer. The house was appraised at 10,000 more then what I need for a mortgage so why do I have to have a co-signer and if I get one do they have to stay on the mortgage for 25 yrs? Also what are my rights in this situation, will the house be MINE or our's. I don't want anyone else on the mortgage. Jessie, Regina |
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I bought a house this past Feb. Since I am only 20 I didn't have the credit to put it in my name but I made enough money for someone to cosign for me. My mom cosigned for me. My question is her new husband recently totaled her truck and wasn't put on her insurance yet. If for some reason she got sued can they go as far as to take my house away since she cosigned. I'm kind of freaked out about the whole thing. Thanks for the help. David, Indiana |
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If i am the co- signer on a home, will I lose my first time home buyers rights, and what are the benefits for first time home buyers? David, Whitman, Ma |
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I have an irresponsible son therefore he and I have agreed to execute a quit claim deed and I pay him the equity of his house. Given that there is still a mortgage, can I simply take over the payments and assume ownership after I file with my local county? Ben, Huntsville AL |
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The cosigner of our house won't sign off on our house that has been sold. Ingrid, Sask Can Does a co-signer have to sign off or have any responsiblities when we sell our home? Victoria. Somewhere in Canada |
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My husband are first time home buyers and everything is really confusing. Now we have been pre-approved for a loan from a lender. we have already selected our home and the offer was accepted. In fact the couple signed their end of the agreement today. Now since we have a pre-approval letter ect. all we are doing now is waiting for closing right? Is our approval for sure now, if the house is ok that is? The lender set up an appt. for an appraiser next week. I'm so afraid that after being soooo excited for my new home our broker is going to say, sorry for the inconvience I can't find you a lender after all. Is this possible????? Please, explain Thank you sooo much. Melissa, New Castle PA |
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I am considering acting as a guarantor on my niece's mortgage (she is re-financing and currently her credit rating is not good enough). Will this affect me when I want to lease a new apartment, for instance, as the amount of her mortgage will show up as a liability on my credit history? Thanks! Deborah |
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If a person is buying a house and there is a existing mortgage can the house be rented to another party? |
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I would like to know after I have informed my bank that I intend to sell, do I continue to pay the mortgage or do they wait until the house is sold? Ivan |
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I am almost 10 months behind on my house and it is in foreclosure. Is there anyway I can keep my house? I now have a job and I want my house for my wife and children, Please Help.Chadwick |
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I am trying to purchase a home and am approved for 80% LTV. The loan officer told me that the purchase contract for the home would have to state that the home is selling for 125000 (the appraised value) when the purchase price is only 96000 so that my down payment is covered. How will this affect the seller since he is really not making any profit from the sale?? Thank you for your time. Crystal |
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If we have a co-signer to buy a house, do we need any money down? Djianne |
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I am a single mother and have been renting the same apartment for approximately 25 years or more. I am now paying a rent of $954 and change per month...I am tired of renting and would like to own my own home. The problem is that the bank (Scotiabank) has only approved me for $151,000.00. Honestly, in the Scarborough area, these houses are NOT readily available. I have two parents that I need to be close to because of their health. How can I be approved for more than the initial (amount?) I am totally ignorant of mortgages, approval, costs and everything that is involved in this process. I desperately need help in owning my own home. Could you please advise me as to what is available for me out there. I would appreciate any help that you could give me. Jessica |
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I bought a home with my wife and her parents put their name and house up as collateral for our house. They now want their name off our house. How do i go about this problem without selling the house? Dave |
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My sister and I were pre-approved to buy a repo property from the bank, whom is using a real-estate co. to sell this property, since we already know everything about this home, which was my deceased neighbors, do we have to pay for a private inspection? and do we really have to give an honest money deposit, since the bank know that we are very serious and have been working with us to get this house as well as our loan officer sending the pre-approval letter to the bank repo mg. as well as the real-estate co? Also is there any other form of deposit other than honest money that can be used if the buyer does not have the funds the agency is requesting? at that moment? Antoinette |
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I'm asking for my parents. They have a 3 unit apart. building that is draining them financially, they put it up for sale and now have a closing date this week. Problem? They have 2nd & 3rd mortgage, banks aren't budging to make things easier, my parents have already found a smaller home and have started to move and now the closing my not happen. What would happen if my parents just walked from the old home to live in the new? looking for the worst case scenario. Thanks Bobbie |
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Is there anything that will "automatically" disqualify me from getting a bank load even if I have > 5% downpayment? My credit has been atrocious because of a recently diagnosed ADD. I am a former bankrupt > 10 years ago, but my credit since then has not been good. Phil |
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We purchased our house in july of 1999 and was told by the bank that we needed a co-signer to be able to purchase our house. My inlaws co-signed for us and signed all papers that we did but the mortgage insurance papers. My mother in law passed away in November of 2001 and what my question is do we have a legal right to have our house paid for by the bank because they co-signed? Cathy |
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I have a question regarding cosigners. When the bank said no for my mortgage the real estate company that I was dealing with cosigned for me. My question is what rights do they have to my house? It is now 13 years later, they have never contacted me over the years but when I tried to sell the house she is refusing to sign off. My lawyer says I have nothing to worry about but I am bothered by this to the point where I can't sleep at night. Any advice or info similar to my case would be appreciated. Thanks, Brianna |
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Hi Bill. A friend is trying to buy a HUD multi family (4 apartments) house in Brooklyn, NY. She has asked me to co-sign. What would be expected of me? What happens if she's late on payments. I have not done any thing yet. I have a good credit rating and want to keep it that way. Please advise. Thank you, Melissa. |
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Divorce |
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My ex and I have agreed on a "fair market value" of our house based on MLS listings in the neighbourhood, for my buyout of his interest. Should the final buyout price be discounted by the 5% real estate commission that we're not paying out but that the MLS listings contained in their "fair market value" selling price? Shelley, Toronto |
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I had the buyer for my house back out the day she was suppose to pick up the keys. She signed agreement 3 months earlier. I was in the middle of a divorce so the sale was crucial as I could no longer afford the mortgage. The bank agreed to hold off taking the home because we sent all the paperwork that the house was sold, the knew they would get their money. When she backed out, the bank took over we now had more fees than imagined I lost about 30,000. Is there any thing I can do to recover what I lost? Dawn, Oshawa |
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My common law has up and moved leaving the province and i have no idea how to reach him, he will not return my emails and his family will not tell me where he is, i can't even sell the house unless i have his approval, both our names are on the mortage. what are my legal rights? Diane, NFL |
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I am in the middle of a divorce..in my separation agreement I signed over 100% of the house to my ex and all the responsibilities of the house to her. The house is now sold, with me signing the house over do i still have to sign off on the house in order for the divorce to go through. Sandy, The Soo |
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My boyfriend and I split up and we bought a house together. My parents gave me the downpayment and he has agreed to take his name off the land title and has agreed to take his name off the morgage. He does not want any money from the home just to walk away. I have hired a lawyer and he has drawn up the title transfer documents which we will sign later his week. If I do all this than is the house legally all mine or can he still get money out of it. Cindy, Saskatchewn |
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My ex-husband transferred our home to a corporation we formed while married. We have been divorced for almost 4 years and I have retained the home for the last 6 years and have been making the mortgage payments; however, he never advised the mortgage company and they will not allow me to assume the mortgage without applying for a new mortgage. I now want to apply for a mortgage with a different bank but need to transfer the property from the corporation to myself to do so. I have been the sole director and shareholder of the corporation for 3 years. Does this present a problem? N. Calgary |
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I have a home that is owned by myself and my ex-boyfriend as tenants in common. I wish to sell my interest in the property. However my ex, with whom I have a child, is not cooperating. My ex is the custodial parent. I have not lived at this home for 4 years but he still resides there. I want to either force a sale or a buy out by having him re-finance the property. I am still paying mortgage payments on the home. I want to pull my equity so that I can have the money I need to pay child support. Is there any way that I can force my ex out of the home or have her evicted? Lisa, Philadelphia |
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My partner & I listed our home back in June 2006, we then pulled it off the market, but the contract goes till Sept. 2006. Now because we are seperating I want to put the house back on the market, my question is.........can I call the real estate agent and have the house put back on the market without my partners consent, we both signed the contract. Will the real estate agent do this. Also do we have any commitments with the real estate agent if the house does not sell in this time. J. Cambridge ON |
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I bought a house with my comman law and 15 months later she moved out to be with someone else. Now 3 years later her name is still on the title and she has put nothing in to the house. I want to sell it now. Do I have to have her signature to sell the house. Ken, Edmonton. |
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I've been married for 8 years and have 2 children. My name is not on the mortgage or deed to our home and my husband feels its not necessary because we have a will. My family says will or no will my name should be on the deed. I know my husband had troubles in his prior divorce dealing with these matters and perhaps he doesn't want to be bothered with adding my name but if it's important I want my name added and want to be able to explain why it's important. I really appreciate any advice you can offer. Many thanks Kristi in New Jersey |
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My husband co-owns a 2 family house with his brother. My husband and I want to sell the house and and have both families make the profit and go our seperate ways, but his brother and his wife may want to buy us out. Which option would be more beneficial for us? Thank you. Kym, New York |
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My home is in my name and my husband is a co-signer not a co-owner, Can I sell my home without him? Julie |
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I recently purchased a home with my fiance, and now we're splitting and his name is on the loan but both of our names are on the deed. Does he has the legal right to sell this house without my approval? Conekia |
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If I list with a Realtor to sell my home, and it does not sell, am I, the Seller, held to the 120 period? If I decide to buy it if it's not sold (it's a divorce), does the holdover apply to me?I want to list and hope we will get a good price for our home, but if not, I might decide to buy my partner's interest. Thanks! Kim |
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My husbands parents gave us their house and put our names on the deed to their property, with them having just living interest. My husbands dad died ten years ago and my mother in law is unable to care for herself so she is in the hospital awaiting for an opening in a nursing home. We had a mortgage out in the past which is now paid off. Because their names were on the mortgage they had to sign too. My concern is she has her mental capacity right now, there is no power of attorney, if we wanted to take equity out in the house a couple of years down the road I can't see how we will be able to do it, as she still has living interest on the deed. If her mental capacity has goes down hill. What recourse do we have? Can she sign something at land registry to take her name off the deed before we get to that point. Its inevitable. Thankyou so much for your help.Debbie, New Brunswick |
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My wife and I are currently living in her house and want to sell to purchase a bigger home. My questions is with the quick claim deed, when my wife and her previous husband divorced all the paperwork was signed for him to quick claim the house to her, upon trying to sell the house his name is still on the deed with the town records. I guess my question is which lawyer is responsible for filing the paperwork with the city? As it stands now we cannot sell the house without his signature which really is a problem since he does not live in this country anymore. Do we have any legal recourse to hold the lawyer responsible? Steve, Bristol CT |
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My husband and I recently bought a home and used a lawyer to take care of all the necessary tasks involved. About 6 weeks after moving into our new home, we received a notice from our Town informing us that the previous owners had an unpaid water bill for aprox. $700 and that they were putting a lien on our home. My question is, was it my lawyer's job to have known and inform us about this outstanding bill before closing on this home? We were under the impression that the lawyer would be making sure all bills by the previos owner were paid . Annette, Aurora ON |
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So glad I found this website! My common Law spouse and myself purchased a home together 2 years ago. My name is NOT on the title, but we would like to add my name. How do we go about this? and how quickly can it be done? Rhonda, Courtney BC |
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Can a property owned by two people in "joint tenancy" be changed without both parties consent and signature? Don, Stoufville |
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Is there such thing as having no legal fees? Sherrie, London |
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How do I add my son's name to my home deed and by doing so will it affect his opportunities for being a first time buyer when he decides to buy a home? Vanessa, Baltimore. |
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I'm trying to find out if I have a case. We sold our house, but the closing didn't happen and the sale fell apart the night before close. It fell apart because of several reasons: The biggest being that our realtor made an agreement with the buyers (who we found out at the last minute that she was also representing) that we the sellers would pay all closing costs and a portion of their down payment, and give them a carpet allowance. She also prepared the contract for $4000 above the listing price because the buyers needed extra $ to help them with the down pymt. We did not make this agreement with anyone and were surprised and taken aback when the night before close the closing attorney told us that we needed to come to close with a certified check for about $9000.00. We also found out that the ammendment stating that we would pay these costs was signed, with my husbands name, by someone other than my husband or I (in other words it was forged) Our realtor is not returning calls or msgs since that night (and neither is the broker), and I have no idea if the buyers were even informed about closing not taking place or why. Do we have a case for some legal ramifications? Can the buyer sue us for not going thru with the sale? Can the realtor sue us for her commission anyway? Can we get out of the purchase contract (a new one was drafted, and our realtor never had us sign it). Please help me determine if there is anything we can do besides filing a complaint with the Board of Realtors. I really feel that there should be damages awarded.... to us and the buyer - its not their fault either, as I'm sure our realtor was being deceitful to them as well by telling them that we agreed to pay all those fees for them. Patty, Georgia USA |
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I recently purchased a Condo.When we viewed the Condo on an Open House and Revisited before our offer went in we did not see any Pet Stains however after Taking possession we found pet stains everywhere. We are looking at going to Small Claims Court.Have you heard of any other instances of this sort? Terry, Winnipeg |
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If someone builds a house on some else's land, could they legally get a deed just for the house? Brenda, Virginia |
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Our home is in my husband name. We have been married for 10 years. We want to put my name on aor home. How do I quick deed the home so it can be in both our names? Eula, Michigan |
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If I want to add my name to the deed for the house that my son owns free and clear. What form do we use? And can I get this form online. Mary-Lou, Arizona |
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We are planning on purchasing a condo that our son will live in for about 2 years before he graduates medical school. Is it better to have him on the title initially or to do this upon transfer with a quit claim after graduation. I was thinking it would be best to wait until the later date as the appreciated basis would be higher for him. Please advise. Pam. Clifton VA |
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Everyday I pass a huge boarded up house and am interested in buying and making renovations. There is no house/lot number. How do I get information on finding out ownership status? Jaiede, Harrisburg PA |
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I discovered that a quit claim was filed on my property; however I never signed my house over to the person who has the claim. My signature had to be forged, what can I do. Frankeeta, Detroit |
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My sister refinanced her house allowing her roommate to have her name on the deed in agreement that the roommate was to help fix the house up, which she has not done. Is this arrangement legally binding, or what options does my sister have to get her friend off of the deed? Tane, Mobile Alabama |
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I am selling my house and have already signed a contract, is the contract legal and binding if the property address is incorrect on it? Kristi, Maryland |
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I was wondering if you knew the answer to my situation. I was widowed last year and my daughter moved home with her 5 children. I decided to buy a house that would accomodate all of us. I put my own house on the market and purchased this home. I added my daughter's name to the deed and the mortgage. I then put an additional $40,000 into renovations. The situation didn't work out well and I want to sell the house so we can part ways. She isn't willing to buy me out (which would have been fair since I am the one who has put all moneys in to date). Do I need to get a lawyer to sell at this point or can I just put the house on the market and split the proceeds with her. John. Cambridge ON |
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We were under contract to buy a home if our home sold. There was a person ready to by our house,he made an offer and we accepted. We found a home and made a contingency offer, that we would purchase if our home sold. Well, the person that wanted our home, has backed out of the deal, stating that he didn't get a good interest rate and now can't afford the house. Because we went ahead and accepted his offer, we made a full offer (no contingency) on the house we wished to purchase. Since he has backed out of our offer, we went ahead with our offer. We will have to back out of our offer now, could the owners of the house sue us? Angela, NC |
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My husband is trying to sell land in Florida that he acquired when his grandmother & father passed away. The Deed was in their names & he can't seem to locate it. How would he go about getting a copy of the Deed & transferring it to his name? Robyn, New York |
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I'm buying a home and the mortgage papers came in late. I'm wondering what happens when the deal is not closed on the closing date? Who pays the interest and how much would it be? Is there a way the lawyer can get me in on the closing date, and is there a fee for that? Misty, Slave Lake AB |
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Can two people buy one duplex? If so, how can the property be "divided?" Cary, Austin Tx |
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How is an attic divided in a shared freehold if it is only accessible via the top flat and has nothing in it that supplies the flats below? Hilary, Dorset UK |
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I bought a business for $40,000 without a financing condition. Now (after closing date) the deal is falling apart because I dont have the money. Can you please tell me what the Seller can sue me for. Masha, Toronto |
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We have a contract on a home advertised for 2600 sq. ft for 325,000 in North Carolina where other similar properties have sold for 122.14 a sq. ft. When we recieved the appraisal they only found 2340 sq. ft. From day one they misrepresented the square feet and we feel that it would only be fair to multiply 2340 by 124 a sq. ft. and offer then close to 295,000 for this home. We are taking into consideration location and updates. Do we have a legel case with the realty board because of the obvious misrepresentation of sq. ft. and if the deal falls through because of it could reatlors be laible for any of our incurred expenses like storage, and living in a hotel expenses because we have everything planned already for a July 28 closing. Or could they be liable for the difference between the last buyers offer of 315,000 and our appraisal offer. Claudia, Hartford CT |
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I have recently purchased a home, and I'm preparing to move, but my landlord is still trying to hold me to my rental agreement and force me to continue to pay rent on the property that I'm moving from. Is that legal? Tonja, Jackson MS |
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I have accepted an offer to purchase my home. The subjects have all been removed and the deposit is in trust. My wife is getting cold feet about moving. What will happen if we break the sales contract? Keith, BC Canada |
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I've been married for 8 years and have 2 children. My name is not on the mortgage or deed to our home and my husband feels its not necessary because we have a will. My family says will or no will my name should be on the deed. I know my husband had troubles in his prior divorce dealing with these matters and perhaps he doesn't want to be bothered with adding my name but if it's important I want my name added and want to be able to explain why it's important. I really appreciate any advice you can offer. Many thanks Kristi in New Jersey |
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My mother passed away some time ago and now I need to assume her reverse mortgage. Do I require the original deed to the house to transfer to my name? My mother was not a very good record keeper and I can not find the deed anywhere! Where would I get a copy of the deed...who deals with this sort of thing? Michelle, St Catherines |
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MY BROTHER IS ON THE DEED TO MY HOUSE. THIS PAST NOVEMBER 2004 HE SHOWED UP AT 2:30 IN THE MORNING---HE IS RUNNING FROM THE LAW AND KNEW THAT I WAS LOOKING FOR HIM TO SIGN A QUIT CLAIM DEED. I HAD TWO POLICE OFFICERS WITNESS HIS SIGNATURE ON THE QUIT CLAIM DEED. HE WAS HERE LESS THAN 20 MINUTES AND AGAIN ON THE RUN. I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE HE IS. CAN I BRING THIS TO THE STATE RECORDER TO HAVE HIS NAME REMOVED FROM THE DEED? WILL IT HAVE TO BE NOTARIZED EVEN UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES? I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT I CANNOT USE THIS EVEN WITH THE TWO WITNESS SIGNATURES BECAUSE IT WAS NOT SIGNED IN FRONT OF A NOTARY. IS THIS TRUE? IF IT IS--HOW CAN I GET HIM OFF OF THE DEED? Laura, Tennessee |
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My husband co-owns a 2 family house with his brother. My husband and I want to sell the house and and have both families make the profit and go our seperate ways, but his brother and his wife may want to buy us out. Which option would be more beneficial for us? Thank you. Kym, New York |
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If my parents have passed away how can I get the house signed into my name inexpensively? I'm an only child, a single mother & I don't want to lose our house. I have little money & can't really afford to get a lawyer. I don't know where to turn or what my options are. Can you give me any insight? Aimee |
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My mother passed away in Feb 2005. I was willed the cottage. What do I need to do at this point? I would like to keep the cottage and the property but I am clueless as what my next step is.. Tamara |
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i want to purchase my mothers home. She says we need to go through a lawyer. What would closing fees be like? |
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Thank you so much, Bill. I pay the mortgage, had my home refinanced a couple of years ago. How can I get a "quick claim deed" so that I may place my daughter on the deed? I know you are in Canada; however, you seem to be very bright re this subject. As is said, I live in Tampa, where we have many "snowbirds", people who come to Florida for the winter. I thank you, and would appreciate any info re this matter. Which is the cheapest way to do this, Bill? Love and prayers, Pat. |
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Deals/ Listing Contracts and Offers/Agreements to Buy and Sell, or Share |
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My brother is selling a home in CT. The original selling price was 389k and dropped to 349k and then to 300k. He is now being told that it is his responsiblitiy to by his realtor that the buyer expects him to do some minor things i.e. spray for carpenter ants and termites. I told him his contract was "as is" and he should not have to do anything else after dropping his price 89k. Please advise me if there is any CT law that requires him to do this.Stephanie, Connecticut |
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I bought a house with a closing date of August 01st. Late that day, my lawyer informed me that the owners had a lien on the house and wanted an extension for the possession date. I agreed. The extension date came and went and my lawyer then informed me that there were several liens on the house. Now, I want to withdraw the agreement. I don't think my lawyer did the necessary background checks on the owners. Do I still have to pay all the legal fees? Can I ask for some compensation from the owners? Sam, Ottawa |
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I own 25% of one acre of land and want to sell my share.What do i do to sell it without a realtor. do i have to get a surveyor first? Marlene, Charlston |
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I am in the process of buying a home that is for sale by owner and I am having trouble filling out the purchase agreement. If you may have a sample agreement that I could see would be greatly appreciated. Jason, Hammond, La. |
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I had the buyer for my house back out the day she was suppose to pick up the keys. She signed agreement 3 months earlier. I was in the middle of a divorce so the sale was crucial as I could no longer afford the mortgage. The bank agreed to hold off taking the home because we sent all the paperwork that the house was sold, the knew they would get their money. When she backed out, the bank took over we now had more fees than imagined I lost about 30,000. Is there any thing I can do to recover what I lost? Dawn, Oshawa |
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My real estate agent contract expired 31-jan 08. In my contract is said after it expires 30 days period if someone comes to buy the house my realitor will be able to claim the commission. Please give me add vice. After the 30 days can I sell my house with out paying the commisson. Marie, Virginia |
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I bought a house last week. The sellers have 14 days to get their belongings out. Do I own the house? I have a key. Can I go into the house and begin a painting project? I have insurance on the new home, the utilities have been switched over to me also. Donna, Donalsonville, GA |
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Is the holdover period in a listing agreement negotiable? Looking over a couple of old listing agreements we see one at 120 days and one at 90 days. We also read an opinion by a real estate lawyer that anything over 30 days was excessive. Do you have any information on this? Jean, somewhere in Ontario |
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Our real estate listing has expired...how long do we have to wait to sell privately? Grace, Comber, Ont |
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My wife and I just moved into our new house and have found that the previous owners have left everything behind. We were informed they were coming to get it the day after we moved and that never happened. We were then told that they would make arrangements the next day and again, that never happened. How long must we keep there possessions before we can discard them? Mike, Oshawa |
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My wife and I recently bought a home (before listing and selling ours). Our home is on the market now, but we have had no offers. We were approved for the financing, but all of my equity is tied into my existing home. I am worried I won't be able to sell before the closing date. What happens if we do not sell by that date. We really want the new house, and hope we can sell in time. In case we don't what can we do?/ What will we be liable for??? Vince in Vaughan |
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I recently closed on the sale of my home and the Purchasers are complaining that we took the central vacuum unit and hose. Even though the CVAC was listed on the listing agreement I'm aware that is only advertising. The Purchaser's real estate agent did not include the CVAC in the agreement of purchase and sale. They were specific to include the garage door opener and two controls and the CAC with equipment but not the vacuum. I assumed since they did not include it AP&S it was mine to take. Can they sue me for it. Lisa, Toronto |
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If a home has central air and it is put in the offer to purchase that the air conditioner will not be sold with the house, can the central air be removed? Also is it law to have a house inspection done? Thanks, Barry, Pickering |
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My sister signed a purchase agreement and for some reason agreed to cross out a clause which allows her deposit to be refunded if the mortgage did't go thru. Now the closing date is tomorrow and she is short on the down-payment. Is her deposit forfeited? it is quite a large amount,$40,000.She said there were lots of bidders so to outbid she placed a large deposit.Pls give us some advice. Meaghan, Toronto |
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(Abridged email:) My wife and I sold our home. A couple of days after the home inspection the buyer says he not able to follow through with the purchase of our home due to the fact that his mortgage company , who approved him 2-3 weeks earlier, said that a Tax Lien came up on his most recent credit report and they are not able to approve his loan anymore. We lost 5-6 weeks with our house off the market which now we are going to incur extra cost do to this. Did I mention that we bought a house with a settlement date most likely going to come before we can now sell our home. Now with my question, the buyer put down a $5000.00 deposit at time of signing contract. The buyer is now demanding we sign off of his deposit so he can get his $5,000.00 back. All this said I dont belive I will be signing off on anything soon, I believe we are entitled to keeping his deposit, the only problem is he wont sign off ether. How does one go about forcing him to release funds to us. The letter from the Mortgage co was signed by the President of the Mortgage Company. We have found out that the President of the Mortgage Co. is a bussiness associate of the buyer. Now we think the Pres forged a document to get his associate/freind out of this contract. Brian and Valerie, Delaware |
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Does the buyer or the seller pay for surveying the land in Illinois. Mark, Princeton IL |
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I made an offer on a house with conditions of home and EFIS (:Exterior Finish and Insulation Systems or EIFS: Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems) inspections. The closing should have taken place on May 31st. Repairs to EFIS had not been done and closing was delayed, the seller refused to let me out of the deal. Final inspection came back two weeks after closing should have happen and conditions of addendum had not been met. I signed a release which included the signature of my broker. The seller signed in the wrong place and her broker "cannot be found" for a signature. It is now 18 days after closing should have happened and three days after I signed the release. I would like to make an offer on another home. How long can the broker legally make me wait for their signature to release me from this deal? Heather, Richmond, VA, USA |
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I would like to know the process of closing on a house after the due date has passed. I had sold my house, went to hand in the keys and sign all documents to close only to find nobody knew where the buyer was. How far in advance should the buyer be in with the lawyer and sales agent with the mortgage papers all signed and ready to go. The day before closing our lawyer told us the buyer was not his client but the real estate agent told us he was his lawyer. Shouldn't all papers mortgage arrangements and agreements been signed long before the closing date. Now we are being pretty well ignored I woke up the other morning to see that my house had another for sale sign on it and nobody had spoke to us on how we wanted to handle this. (portion of email omitted) This buyer (apparently) went to Ireland to see a sick brother is what we were told. But he works here. Aren't the agent lawyer somebody suppose to do something to track him down because the lawyer says he's on hook legally but have said nothing else to us. (portion of email omitted.) Whose job is it to make sure the paperwork was signed before the closing date as we were given instructions on what we had to do on our end 3 weeks before closing (portion of email omitted.) Helen, Bowmanville ON |
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I have purchased a home on condition of selling my home. Its only been a week on the market and have had two showings. What if I change my mind and dont want to sell? I am in a stressful situation in my personal life and have realized this is not the right time for a move, can I get out of my listing and offer without any legal action against me? Angela, Barrie |
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I listed my house with a broker, but I have found a buyer on my own. Do I have to pay the the realtor all of the commission amount? Sharon, Apex NC |
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How long; or can you cancel an agreement of sale if you were told by your agent that there is no GST on your house and then they sent a coworker to close the deal. I noticed after we had signed that the buyer wanted the GST included. If the GST is included, then I will lose a lot of money. How can I deal with this? The buyer has until the 3rd of April to back out. Thankyou, Tanya, Deseronto |
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We accepted an offer to purchase on our home with 10 banking days to waive condition to financing and home inspection. The first deposit cheque they left went NSF. Does this nullify the offer? We have little confidence in this buyer and would prefer to avoid dealing with them as a result of the fact that we anticipate nothing but problems. Lisa, Wallaceburg |
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My wife and I bought a new (off the plan) house in Fall of 2006. We of course need to sell our house that we have been living in for 7 years. I have had a real estate agent make an offer on my house. Her intentions with the property are to rent it out at first and perhaps relist on the market. On the offer she presented, beside GST, there are two choices to type in "included in" or "in addition to". Right now it reads "included in". If I were to sign on the dotted line, would I be facing GST charges on this transaction? My fear is that because she wants to use it for profit, that wording would come back to haunt me. Am I wrong to think this way, is it ok to leave the wording as is? Is the Gst applicable or not in this case? Mark, Toronto |
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What happens if a person cannot come up with the downpayment on the specified date? Our offer has been accepted on a house but we are having more trouble than anticipated arranging the money for the downpayment. We have until the 15th of April to come up with it. Our mortgage has been approved providing we have this money and the bank has told us by May 2 we will have 7 percent of the mortgage back. Jennifer, Ont |
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When property is sold in the middle of the year, who is responsible for paying the land taxes? the previous or the new owner? Jacob, Williamsport, Tn |
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My friend and his brother co-own a house together.one of them lives in the house while the other is with his wive in another house.the problem/question is the one who lives with his wive wants to sell the house while the other does not.the one with a wive is threating to get a lawyer to force the other to sell.is this possible?what are the laws governing this situation?can you help with some advice on the current problem between the fueding brothers? Jim, Calgary |
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My wife and I went to view a property and by the time we wanted to put in an offer (that afternoon) our agent checked and told us that one was already sent that morning.Eventualy it was accepted (two days later) conditional on financing. Question is, can't we offer our offer?It seems unfair that we cannot even put in our own offer? Is there some sort of rule that once an offer was submitted they all have to be submitted at the same time? Paul, Mississauga |
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What is a dry closing? Laquita, Lafayette, LA |
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I need a clarification on property rights.... I jointly own a cottage property (8 acres) with my brother. We are stalemated on the property, neither wants to sell or agree on any changes. There is no joint ownership agreement. I wish to place a small sauna on the property, it is a package that requires no foundation or building permit (<10 sq. meters) and can be easily removed. Do I have to have my brother's permission to place this personal property on the cottage land? I do not intend to place it where it would interfere with any travel on, or use of, the property? David, Thunder Bay |
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I've put my house up for sale, it's only been on the market for 30 days and I've decided not to sell it. I listed my house through a real estate agent. I'm wondering if there's any way to break the contract and will I get charged for breaking the contract of 90 days with my real estate agent. Michelle, Oshawa |
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Great website! In September '06, I called a listing agent to view a property he had listed on MLS. He would not show me the property unless I signed a Buyer Agency Agreement with him. The OREA contract was for a residential property in Toronto that expired in 48 hours. However, under the holdover section of the contract, the term listed was for 90 days. The commission stated as per MLS listed. So this is my question: Can I sign another buyer agency agreement with another real estate agent/ broker? Can I purchase a property using another agent (not the one I viewed)? If I do so, do I owe the first agent commission? Does signing a new buyer agency agreement void the first one? The first agent's high-pressure tactics totally turned me off, and I've found a great agent I'd want to sign a new contract with. Anna, Ontario |
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Very informative site, my question: I made an offer to purchase land in Alberta for 68,000.00. My realtor called and advised that the sellers had countered with 72,000.00 firm. We agreed to this ammount, signed the papers and celebrated. The next day our realtor called to say that the sellers had recieved multiple offers and we had to come up with our very best offer immediatley. We said that we had thought we had in fact already purchased the property. The realtor said that our offer was notbinding as the sellers had not signed it. (We thought we were acepting the sellers counter offer to our initial offer). We panicked and said we woulf offer 80,000.00 this was accepted by the seller. This realtor works in the same office as the sellers realtor, when we had calmed down we called and asked why the papers had not been presented the day we signed them, when did these counter offers come in, and could we have verification of the counter offers. We were told that they do not have to provide verification of the other offers, we said we did not want the purchasers name or ammounts or anything, just verification by the other realtors, we were told this was never done. It is a hot real estate market and multiple offers happen all the time. We think it is funny that the agent could get back to us with the sellers "firm " counter offer immediatley but could not bother gettng the deal the sellers wanted to them the day we signed it - in such a hot real estate market, but over the next 12 hours they ended up with multiple offers. We would like to investigate this further, how do we go about this? Is the counter offer by the sellers not binding in any way? D. Edmonton |
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What is an unconditional sale? If I put an "unconditional" offer to buy a house and my offer is accepted, can I walk away? Actually, I just brought a house with a agent. When we prepare the offer, the agent suggested me to put an unconditional offer. I told him I don't know what is an unconditional offer and why we put such an offer. He just explained this will make our offer stronger. The offer was accepted. And now the problem is, I called him to arrange a time with the buyer side to let my electritian to estimate the electrical panel and electric wire, so that my electritian can apply to the city authority (Ottawa Hydro)for the approval(permit) to change the electrical panel and some wire work(I know this should be done because I had the home inspection before putting the offer). But the agent now just don't call me back to tell me if he arranged the time or not. I have been waiting for his call for about 10 days. I lost my patient. Can you give some adive? Can I walk away from uncontional sale agreement? Shu, Ottawa ON |
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We have made an offer to purchase and now for various reasons do not want the house. Can we get out of the deal? We have conditions to be met such as the sale of our house by Sept 21st and a satisfactory home inspection on the new house. Anything we can do before not meeting our conditions? Kim, Winnipeg |
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Once an offer to purchase is accepted on a private sale is there any way the seller can get out of it? Ms Johnston, Edmonton |
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In a Buyer Agency Agreement it says that the holdover period is 90 days. We have to consider those days as business days or just 3 months? Alejandro, Toronto |
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I'm trying to find out if I have a case. We sold our house, but the closing didn't happen and the sale fell apart the night before close. It fell apart because of several reasons: The biggest being that our realtor made an agreement with the buyers (who we found out at the last minute that she was also representing) that we the sellers would pay all closing costs and a portion of their down payment, and give them a carpet allowance. She also prepared the contract for $4000 above the listing price because the buyers needed extra $ to help them with the down pymt. We did not make this agreement with anyone and were surprised and taken aback when the night before close the closing attorney told us that we needed to come to close with a certified check for about $9000.00. We also found out that the ammendment stating that we would pay these costs was signed, with my husbands name, by someone other than my husband or I (in other words it was forged) Our realtor is not returning calls or msgs since that night (and neither is the broker), and I have no idea if the buyers were even informed about closing not taking place or why. Do we have a case for some legal ramifications? Can the buyer sue us for not going thru with the sale? Can the realtor sue us for her commission anyway? Can we get out of the purchase contract (a new one was drafted, and our realtor never had us sign it). Please help me determine if there is anything we can do besides filing a complaint with the Board of Realtors. I really feel that there should be damages awarded.... to us and the buyer - its not their fault either, as I'm sure our realtor was being deceitful to them as well by telling them that we agreed to pay all those fees for them. Patty, Georgia USA |
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I have a problem with the closing date and have requested for an extension of 15 days, which the buyer and his agent are not agreeing to. Hence, I wish to get out of this agreement to sell. What are the consequences of breaking an agreement to sell? Bob, Toronto |
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I was shown a townhouse in Montreal, Quebec about 2 months ago by a real estate agent. The price was too high for my budget, so I told her and the owner (who happened to be home at the time of my visit) that I was not interested. I happened to run into the owner a couple of days ago in the street, and he remembered me and told me that his contract expired last week and that he would be willing to significantly lower the price for me. My questions are: is the seller legally allowed to sell me a house that was shown to me by the real estate agent while the contract was active? How soon after the contract expires is the seller allowed to sell the house on his own, even to people who saw the house through the previous real estate agent? The seller does not appear to be aware of certain laws, and I wouldn't want him to lower the price, only to be contacted by the previous agent to pay him the commission (thus further increasing his out-of-pocket amount). Please advise. Christina, Montreal. |
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I recently purchased a Condo.When we viewed the Condo on an Open House and Revisited before our offer went in we did not see any Pet Stains however after Taking possession we found pet stains everywhere. We are looking at going to Small Claims Court.Have you heard of any other instances of this sort? Terry, Winnipeg |
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There is a house that I had looked at and decided to put an offer on, but when I called to talk to my real estate agent about it, someone else had put an offer in. I was told it appears that the offer/contract is solid. Is there anyway of this property still being available to me? I know that if the seller or the buyer backs out the house will go back up for sale, but i guess I am wondering if the contract means that unless someone backs out there is no chance of me getting this property. This is a dream house of mine and I would do anything for it. Anonymous |
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We have made an offer to purchase a house - the offer was accepted. The home inspection showed issues with galvanized plumbing and knob and tube wiring still being present in the house. We amended our offer with the condition that the galvanized plumbing and the knob and tube be removed prior to closing and we also requested a signed statement from licensed electrician and plumber be submitted to us before closing. We completed the home inspection today - galvanized plumbing still present and we are unsure of knob and tube. vendors have provided a statement from themselves stating knob and tube and plumbing have been removed. We are very uneasy about closing on this deal. we would like to cancel the deal. How can we do this without being sued? Allee, St Catherines ON |
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When buying a home through a private sale,what are the steps after the offer is made and agreed upon? Do I make a written agreement with the seller; stating price, contingencies, and closing date, also subject to financing? Then take this agreement to a lawyer/notary? Do I need to give a deposit cheque to the seller?and why? I know inspections are needed. When do I go to the bank to start the paperwork? I've already been preapproved. I just need to know what needs to be done and the purposes behind them on a private sale. It's a little confusing! Thank you |
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If we have a contract on our home but it is contingent on the buyer selling her home- after 30 days of waiting and no movement on her part- can we take another offer with a fixed date of closing? we have no date in the first offer in writing. Edward, Suffolk VA |
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We placed an offer on a home. There was already an offer on it, but the other buyers had to sell their house. On May 1 at 11 am, we remove all of our conditions, so it is now a firm offer. The first people get 48 hours to either remove their conditons or they lose it. The people who own the house that we bid on are separated, and they could only give the husband our firm offer, they said they had to wait a day to get a hold of the wife, and therefore it would be 72 hrs. Is this right? Why should the first offer get another whole day to sell their house? I thought as long as one of the parties were notified, then the 48 hours would begin. We are afraid the extra day will make us lose the house of our dreams !! Janice, Warkworth |
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Question regarding multiple offers which is getting more and more common in today's market. And it's very frustrating for the buyers. As a buyer, we have to reply on the agent of the seller to tell us how many potential buyers have registerested offers. In the case when offers are asked to be faxed in, we have no way to confirm if the number of offers that the agent claims is true, which could greatly affect how much we would bit on the property. Can we trust the seller's agent? Is it a serious professional misconduct for the seller's agent to make up the number of registered offers in an attempt to get a higher offer from a serious buyer? Thanks, Hong, Scarborough |
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Am I legally required to accept an offer if it is at or close to my list price? Judy, Ontario |
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We sold our house. We are still waiting for the buyer to get the mortgage approved from the bank. When we signed the counter offer, our real estate agent advised us not to put the clause on condition, if we do not find another place it will be cancelled. Our problem is, we can not find anything. Is there a way of getting out of the sell? We should have looked before signing, but she said we will find something. We have not. Hazel, LaValle PQ |
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If two couples want to buy a duplex that is being sold for 1,100,00.00, is there a way for each couple to apply for a seperate mortgage for each unit? If so, when one unit is three bedrooms, 2.5 baths and the other is two bedrooms, two baths, how do you figure out the percentage of each mortgage? However, if the answer is that both couples have to go in on one mortgage, I assume amongst ourselves we would have to set up an account to make the payments and amongst ourselves we would have to figure out the percentage of responsibility. But, if the latter is the correct scenario, at the end of the year, how do the couples do their taxes, in regards to who gets to write off interest,etc.? Ana, San Carlos CA |
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Hi Bill, I recently put a bid on a house, and it was excepted. There was a mistake in the contract about the closing date which I have not intialed. Am I still binded to this contract even though they accepted the price but there is a mistake on the contract?Is there something else I must sign before the deal is concrete? Tom, Hamilton ON |
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I am selling my home and I am about to sign an agreement with a real estate agent. I've noticed in the OREA Form 200 a clause which seems to imply that I am required to pay the realtor's commission when my house sells, even if the transaction is not completed due to my default or neglect. What does this mean? I understand that this clause is set up to protect the agent from the possible scenario that the seller backs out of the signed 'Offer to Purchase' at the last minute. But, what if the deal doesn't close due to reasons the seller cannot control? i.e., What if a tree falls on my house before the closing date and I cannot afford repair the house in order to complete the transaction? Would this be considered my 'default' or 'neglect'? Am I still legally obligated to pay a commission to the realtor, even though the transaction falls through at the last minute? Should I put my own clause in the agreement that bars 'Acts of God'? Danielle, Brighton ON |
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How does the new home owner(me)get the old owners to give me the second garage controler and get them to co-operate with the city to make the property comply. Tina, LeDuc AB |
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My house is up for sale at the moment but I have already seen the house I want to buy. I am worried that someone will put in an offer before I sell my house. Is there a way in which i can buy the house I like before I sell mine ? M. Owen, Somewhere |
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I am selling my house and have already signed a contract, is the contract legal and binding if the property address is incorrect on it? Kristi, Maryland |
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We were under contract to buy a home if our home sold. There was a person ready to by our house,he made an offer and we accepted. We found a home and made a contingency offer, that we would purchase if our home sold. Well, the person that wanted our home, has backed out of the deal, stating that he didn't get a good interest rate and now can't afford the house. Because we went ahead and accepted his offer, we made a full offer (no contingency) on the house we wished to purchase. Since he has backed out of our offer, we went ahead with our offer. We will have to back out of our offer now, could the owners of the house sue us? Angela, NC |
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I sold my home subject to a building inspection. The inspection revealed some issues (house almost 100 yrs old) that has the purchaser wanting to renegotiate price. Actually I'm happy with the results of the inspection. Nonetheless,what is the time period involved here in Ontario where the purchaser either accepts the property as is, or walks away from the deal. I'D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW IF I'M MOVING OR NOT. Robert, Hawkesbury ON |
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My fiance bought a house with 2 of his buddies in Aug/04. We purchased a home in Sept/05 together. The agreement was that he would pay his 1/3 of the mortgage but would no longer be paying utilities since he no longer resided there. We have come to find out that the other two guys have moved someone in and are collecting rent even though it had been decided that this would not occur without being discussed. They do not want to have a rental agreement with the tenant so my boyfriend is now looking to sell the house but the other two can't afford to buy him out. He would like to force the sale of the house but we are unsure how he goes about doing so. There is a possibility that one of the other owner's father would like to be put on the house as an investment but all conversations between the 3 seem to break down. What are the steps that he needs to do in order to remove himself from the mortgage but still get what he's invested into the home? How difficult and expensive is it to force the sale of a jointly purchased home? Your help in this matter would be greatly appreciated as it has been much frustration for both of us. Thanks so much. Sheri, Brampton |
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I have had my house listed for several months. It came off the market about a month ago and we decided to put up a private sale sign. A couple that viewed the house while it was on the market now want to buy it. They had put in a previous offer but we had refused it as it was too low. Now they feel that there would be no real estate fees involved. What is the time limit we would have to wait to sell our house to this couple as a private sale. Thanks for you time. Lori, New Brunswick |
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How binding is an accepted agreement for sale and purchase? In particular, can the seller walk away from the deal without recourse? Or could the buyer walk without losing the deposit? Marc, Toronto |
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Hi, I am selling my home by For Sale By Owner. I have a signed agreement. Then some one made me a better offer . Is there a time limit to get out of the first deal. Do I have 48 - 72 hrs to change my mind? Does the buyer have the right to change his mind? Jeff Pittsburgh |
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My boyfriend and I have purchased a house from a local homebuilder. Our realtor was also involved so we had signed a contract with him and the homebuilder's contract. everything was finalized, financing, final acceptance. etc. However, now the homebuilder is saying that they are not going to approve it. Can they back out of a deal after they have given final acceptance to our offer? Personally I believe they are trying to back out because the same house is selling for $31,000 more than what we paid for it one month ago. Isn't a contact final? Rennelle, Grand Prairie AB |
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We have recently sold our home and have an accepted contract to purchase another home. Our closing was to be Aug.30, 2005. Just before 12:00 noon on Aug.30 I received a call from my agent saying we had a problem. My agent noticed that the home we had an offer on (subject to financing), had been edited and instead of the 1338 sq.ft the new MLS had it listed as 1255 sq.ft. Of course this was a cause for concern as we felt we were already paying top dollar for the property at 1338 sq. ft. We did get financing, no problem but now we have a problem with the fact that the seller's agent did not disclose this information in the a.m. We have advised our agent to advise the seller's agent we are no longer interested in the property at the asking price. It was only after the appraisal was completed the morning of Aug. 30th that the MLS magically changed to the smaller sq. footage. Again this information clearly known to the selling agent was not disclosed to our agent. Bill do we have any concerns with backing out of the deal and what recourse do we have as we now have till Oct. 14 to be out of our home???? Ken, Lethbridge Alberta |
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I'm buying a home and the mortgage papers came in late. I'm wondering what happens when the deal is not closed on the closing date? Who pays the interest and how much would it be? Is there a way the lawyer can get me in on the closing date, and is there a fee for that? Misty, Slave Lake AB |
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Can a real estate transaction in California be cancelled if the buyer does not perform in the specified period of time? The buyer has gone past the 30-days and is now at 60-days. The seller wishes to cancel and/or renegotiate the price since the value has gone up. Is that possible? Javier, Norwalk Ca |
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I sold my income property (in less than 3 days) and the buyer has not come up with the cash at closing. I've been very patient with the buyer (was told he was very experienced income investor) and have extended the closing date for another week in order for him to get financing. In the meantime, i'm in limbo. If the financing does not materialize, what are "reasonable" costs that i can recoup from the buyer. I sold the house in the peak time in a peak market and now i'd be lucky to get anywhere close to what he paid. Even if i got what he paid and collected on the deposit, listing and trying to sell again will be nothing but a headache. Trevor, Ottawa. |
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We are selling our house and have accepted a conditional offer. We have other parties interested as well. If an unconditional offer comes in and the first offer is put on notice do they have to match the competing offer or simply remove their conditions? Andrew, Ontario |
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What is a schedule "B"? Jeff, London ON |
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How valid is the following clause in the OREA agreement of Purchase and Sale? "The Seller warrants and represents that all electrical, pluming and mechanical components and any appliances included in the Purchase Price shall be in working order on closing" We just purchased a two-year old house, privately. We had a two hour walk through inspection done (which revealed some minor problems), we saw the house twice before closing - one month before and four days prior... we move in and discover the air conditioning (during a major heat wave) is not working. We call in a service and it's a major problem that just didn't "happen" and the repair will run us between $700-1300. What is the likely hood of us successfully having the owner uphold the above clause? Christina, Markham |
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I have accepted an offer to purchase my home. The subjects have all been removed and the deposit is in trust. My wife is getting cold feet about moving. What will happen if we break the sales contract? Keith, BC Canada |
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I sold my house in 2000 for $ 775,000. I had a real estate agent handle the sale. In the contract she put the closing date before the date on which the buyer had to get his financing. I had the problem of not knowing if I would have to move out on closing date or not. I realized this only a few days after signing the contract. I had the problem that I couldn't even buy another home because when I put the contingency "dependent on sale of my home" the other agent woulldn't accept. She was and is a very experienced agent. Was it legal to do what she did ? I still get nightmares when I think about the situation. Thanks in advance for your answer. Susanne, Casselberry Florida |
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If I list with a Realtor to sell my home, and it does not sell, am I, the Seller, held to the 120 period? If I decide to buy it if it's not sold (it's a divorce), does the holdover apply to me?I want to list and hope we will get a good price for our home, but if not, I might decide to buy my partner's interest. Thanks! Kim |
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What happens if the buyer does not close by the closing date on the sales contract? Sandra |
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We were in the middle of buying a home when the deal fell through if i already paid for the appraisal and that was coming off my closing cost do i get back my money? Susan |
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I sold my house quite unexpectedly. Someone knocked on the door. I had it on the market for one year and it did not sell due to unqualified agents and unqualified buyers. I took it off the market and the prices in the area skyrocketed. Therefore, this buyer and I made an agreement that is entirely too low. It is an elegant French Normandy 3 bdrms 2 baths with guest house over garage. I added central air and electrical rewire. I sold for $830,000. It should be $1 million according to comparables. I realize you are in a different area, however, escrows and cancellations should be similar. I want to cancel escrow which I have done with the escrow company, cc to buyer. He wants to still buy the house and I want to get out of it. What is going to happen to me other than specific performance. The escrow co. is not going to charge me, but buyer is pressuring me. What can I do? Donna LA California |
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I would like to know, when you are giving an offer on a house what amount of money you have to give with the offer.Thank you Alicia. |
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I do not live in Canada, and am in California and was reading your very informative information on your site. In reading through your material, it was stated that if you decide not to buy a house, that the money you put up initially should be returned to you. I put up $3,000 and I decided not to buy the house at the escrow stage. I was not offered my money back, but was sent a list of charges that used up all of the money and I was asked to sign the paper and return it to the escrow office. These charges were broken down in this manner: Escrow cancellation fees $1,000; NSF check fee $30.00; Federal Express $80.00. The Seller $1795. Should this money be divided this way or returned to me? Connie |
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When changing from a Realtor to Private Sale, how long do I have to wait to sell my house to someone who "has" and "has not" previously viewed my home? |
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My husband and I just purchased a home, and used a realtor- a buyers agent- to help us with the process. Our realtor ended up giving up part of his commission-$3000, to help us get the deal. Everything went fine, and now I want to know the protocal in thanking the realtor. I told him that I would give his name out to people we know who will be moving in the near future, and he told me not to tell everyone that he gave up part of his commission. From talking to people though, it seems that him giving up commission is not an uncommon thing, esp now that the market is so slow. How do I thank him appropriately? A thank you card? And am I allowed in it to say "thank you for giving up part of your commission"? Should I also send a small gift- like a gift card to a nice restaurant- and if so, for what amount? What is appropriate? Please advise me. Stacey, MD |
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My question is not about buying a home, I just want to ask if you know if a misdemeanor exempts a person for becoming a realtor? Petit Theft to be exact Jackie, Polk County FL |
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I've listed my house with an agent, two months ago.I've had only had one client.What do you thing the problem is? Paola, Manitoba |
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I have put my farm (100 acres) on sale a month ago.No one even came to look at it? Should I wory about that?? or is it common with the rural properties. Will I be able to sell it?? Please advise. BB, New Tecumseth, ON |
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We live in Michigan and purchased a home after being told the total taxes for village, township and county were $1,500 per year. Our loan was set up to include those in the monthly payment. Now 1 year later the mortgage Company is raising our payments by 33% to cover taxes.Our realtor forgot to file for Homestead Property Tax Credit and our taxes are now over $6,000 a year. Is our realtor responsible for seeing that the credit was applied at the closing? Can we hold her or the company she works for responsible for the credit not being filed properly, and recoup the difference in the taxes? Is it the realors job to file all the necessary paper work? Kevin, Marcellus, MI |
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I am in the process of buying a home that is for sale by owner and I am having trouble filling out the purchase agreement. If you may have a sample agreement that I could see would be greatly appreciated. Jason, Hammond, La. |
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I bought a home last summer and part of my contract was that it be in the same condition it was viewed in and that it be reasonably clean. When the previous owners moved out, they damaged the hardwood floors in 3 rooms in places that cannot be covered up. I have been told that as the floors have a coating on them to make them more durable, the boards cannot be filled and must be replaced. It has come to pass that I was told the flooring was readily available at a few wood flooring stores and it is not, it was actually purchased by the previous owners at auction. My realtor has been of NO help in dealing with this despite being alerted to the damage (as was the sellers agent) before we moved in. What is our recourse if we cannot get the same flooring? What is our real estate agent obliged to do for us? Lisa, Victoria, BC |
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Dear Bill, I am going to sell my house by myself. I plan to get a comparative market analysis from 2 realators and then ask about $10,000 less, in attempt to split the saving from the realator's commission between myself and the buyer. The house is about 50 yards from the ocean and has a great view, which some buyers may find desirable and underestimated in value by the market analysis. If I add the words, "or best offer" to my asking price, will it allow me to delay accepting an offer that meets my asking price? For example, if I ask $100,000 and get 3 offers for $100,000 on the first day, can I delay a week to see if I get a "best offer", which is more than my asking price? I want to avoid asking a very high price to start with, which may discourage buyers from viewing the house, but on the other hand I don't want to give it away because I misgauged what the house was worth because of the ocean view. Do you have any advice??? thanks Len, Kodiak Alaska |
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A friend recently made an offer to purchase a home... (Abbreviated) ...He thought he had purchased a home until the day he went to move he was told he didn't own a home because a lien holder was rejecting the sale of the property. Originally, he was told by his lawyer that a mortgage was showing on the house for $100,00 and the city had a registered lien for outstanding taxes and water services. At the time he was informed the taxes and lien holder would be paid by the monies that were being held in trust from the sale of the home. The day he was suppose to take possession he found out that the seller had re-mortgaged his assets six months earlier and the $100,000 that was registered as a loan was no longer owing, but rather as a result of the refinancing the seller owed a different finance company $183,000 that was a result of upgrades to several different properties. The company that refinanced the seller never dissolved the original $100,000 lien and failed to register a lien on the property until after the sale agreement. In fact, the lien was not registered until the day after he was to take possession of the home. These actions abandoned the deed transfer. Everybody involved appears to be at a loss and the realtors and lawyers are all saying they have never seen this before. He can't determine who could possibly be at fault , or even what to do next. The only response from lawyers is you better find a place to live. Here he stands homeless, a truck load of boxes and furniture. A house that is equipped with utilities in his name that now apparently he doesn't own. His first project was to gut the kitchen where he already spent thousands with contractors to start renovations. This situation certainly has taken the fun out of being a first time home owner. Do you have any suggestions on where to turn under these circumstances. Heather, Halifax |
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I put an offer for a property with a 5000.00 dollars deposit on 18 of september 2007 also get the house inspected at our cost.there was some minor repairs also i asked for proof of the new roof repair that was done in 2004 .its been 9 days now and our real estate rep hasnot got back to us whether the offer is good or not neither if they will fix or comply with my request for proof on roof.our rep been telling us he cant get hold of sellers rep.right now we think that we are getting screwed and we want our deposit back so we can look elsewhere(we do have a contract with our rep )please advise .we are nearly out of our mind right now. B. Brampton |
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Abridged email: My fiancé and I found a house we liked and we were told there was another offer on the house. We put our best offer in (a lot higher than we wanted to go). After accepting and doing some research, we discovered the 5-acre lot was not as potentially valuable as we expected and the house was positioned three miles from and directly in the flight path of a major commercial airport. Also, we had a home inspection that revealed a couple of issues (radon, bacteria in water, AC, pool filter leak). The seller's realtor said they would not fix anything because they had a full-price backup offer. We still put in our request for remedy asking for the items to be fixed, plus reduced our offer due to the land and flight path. They didn't accept our offer. Through the whole process, our realtor seemed to talk with the seller personally and would defend him and his house quite often. Since this deal fell through, I have not heard from her. The seller updated the status of the listing to active and within a week of our deal failing, the seller reduced his price. So, I assume there was never a backup offer either. I feel like both realtors have influenced us as well as the seller and in the end prevented the sale. Since we found out the house has radon, is the seller obligated to disclose this to future buyers (it is on the sellers discloser form)?Is the seller/realtor obligated to disclose the fact they are in the flight path? Was the seller's realtor legally able to mislead us with other false offers? As a buyer, is my realtor obligated to represent me? The listing also overstating the square footage. Would this be considered misrepresentation? |
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My questions; 1. IS A REALTOR REQUIRED TO INFORM A BUYER THAT LISTING PROPERTY IS IN THE FLOOD ZONE? 2. CHANCES THAT A REALTOR WILL ADVISE CLIENT THAT 'OFFER PRICE/BUYING PRICE'IS TOO HIGH FOR PROPERTY? Mar, Innisfil |
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I made an offer on a house with conditions of home and EFIS (:Exterior Finish and Insulation Systems or EIFS: Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems) inspections. The closing should have taken place on May 31st. Repairs to EFIS had not been done and closing was delayed, the seller refused to let me out of the deal. Final inspection came back two weeks after closing should have happen and conditions of addendum had not been met. I signed a release which included the signature of my broker. The seller signed in the wrong place and her broker "cannot be found" for a signature. It is now 18 days after closing should have happened and three days after I signed the release. I would like to make an offer on another home. How long can the broker legally make me wait for their signature to release me from this deal? Heather, Richmond, VA, USA |
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Why do we not see prices on for sale signs? Even when buying a car its nice to see a price in the window! People look at houses and figure its out of their price range and never bother.What's wrong with putting the price on the realty sign in the yard? Ken, Barrie |
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My wife and I went to view a property and by the time we wanted to put in an offer (that afternoon) our agent checked and told us that one was already sent that morning.Eventualy it was accepted (two days later) conditional on financing. Question is, can't we offer our offer?It seems unfair that we cannot even put in our own offer? Is there some sort of rule that once an offer was submitted they all have to be submitted at the same time? Paul, Mississauga |
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I purchase a house 12 months ago and have just discovered that details on the listing and feature sheet were wrong, dates of work done is way off, ie, told 2 parking pads, turns out only one legally and now have to pay to have soft landscaping put in. Told windows were 3 yrs old, turns out they are 20, roof 5 yrs, turns out to be 12, furnace 1 year, turns out to be 7. These were all written up on the listing. Did the seller's and his realtor lie, misrepresent, give false information. What are the realtor's obligations to check these facts before putting them in writing. is the realtor breaking the law, code of ethics, etc. This is gross misreprensation on his part. i am shocked. Should he not have asked the owners to show proof of the dates these things were done. can realtors just write anything they want to entice a sale and have no obligation to the buyer. Can u please give me some direction on this and what I should do. I relied on those facts being true when buying the house and would have gone a different route had I know it would cost me money to landscape, the city is really on my back about this and I have to comply even though I did not convert the pad and believed as informed in writing that the parking was legal and for two cars, I may have to put in new windows, and have less life on my roof and furnace. Is this a breach of contract. do i have any recourse. Please help. 1st time buyer. Anne. Toronto |
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Great website! In September '06, I called a listing agent to view a property he had listed on MLS. He would not show me the property unless I signed a Buyer Agency Agreement with him. The OREA contract was for a residential property in Toronto that expired in 48 hours. However, under the holdover section of the contract, the term listed was for 90 days. The commission stated as per MLS listed. So this is my question: Can I sign another buyer agency agreement with another real estate agent/ broker? Can I purchase a property using another agent (not the one I viewed)? If I do so, do I owe the first agent commission? Does signing a new buyer agency agreement void the first one? The first agent's high-pressure tactics totally turned me off, and I've found a great agent I'd want to sign a new contract with. Anna, Ontario |
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Very informative site, my question: I made an offer to purchase land in Alberta for 68,000.00. My realtor called and advised that the sellers had countered with 72,000.00 firm. We agreed to this ammount, signed the papers and celebrated. The next day our realtor called to say that the sellers had recieved multiple offers and we had to come up with our very best offer immediatley. We said that we had thought we had in fact already purchased the property. The realtor said that our offer was notbinding as the sellers had not signed it. (We thought we were acepting the sellers counter offer to our initial offer). We panicked and said we woulf offer 80,000.00 this was accepted by the seller. This realtor works in the same office as the sellers realtor, when we had calmed down we called and asked why the papers had not been presented the day we signed them, when did these counter offers come in, and could we have verification of the counter offers. We were told that they do not have to provide verification of the other offers, we said we did not want the purchasers name or ammounts or anything, just verification by the other realtors, we were told this was never done. It is a hot real estate market and multiple offers happen all the time. We think it is funny that the agent could get back to us with the sellers "firm " counter offer immediatley but could not bother gettng the deal the sellers wanted to them the day we signed it - in such a hot real estate market, but over the next 12 hours they ended up with multiple offers. We would like to investigate this further, how do we go about this? Is the counter offer by the sellers not binding in any way? D. Edmonton |
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Is there a way that a person can search concluded MLS listings to do their own Comparative Market Analysis? |
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I had a very low offer on my home. I countered with what I though was reasonable they again went too low. I then made a counter that I wasn't to happy about but they said yes we were in agreement then after about 1/2 hr the agent called back and reduced their offer. We said no we are not desperate and our home is in exellent condition. the next day our realtor said that he and his company would pay the different in what was offer and what we want. I am uncomfortable about this and of course the buyers said that this agent could also handle their house to sell. We are not happy about the selling price and not sure we should continue in the deal please advise is this normal. Helen, Weymouth MA |
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Sent As Feedback: I dont agree. 3 times we sold in high end east oakville, 3 times screwed. Very important life saving/changing industries dont make as much as you do for the little that you do. We are paying too much commission for your precious MLS. No real skill set except the ability to 'smoosh', talk slick and drive expensive cars. Britain has the right idea. You pay 1% for the MLS privilege and do the rest. I hope the Competition Bureau changes things. Someone needs to. If it was 1% from the begining you guys would either not have chosen the field or excepted it and work within the confines just like any other industry that people chose to work in. (No name or location provided.) |
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We have privately listed a house on the market which we have just fully renovated. The agent that we purchased it from called to say he had clients interested in seeing it once it was completed. When asked what the commission rate would be he said 6%. Now I understand all the tasks involved when selling through an agent. In our situation, we have not listed with anyone, there's no contract, no advertising, no open houses, etc. We have had 2 other agents offer us a listing at 4%, including 1 who quoted 2.5% if he sold our house without us listing with him. From a professional standpoint, shouldn't this first agent we bought from have sat us down right from the start and negotiated a commission rate then? We were up to our eyeteeth in work (it was a fixer-upper) so we really didn't focus on details of this nature at the time. This appears to be a win/lose situation for him and we do not feel in any way that our interests are being considered. We will be losing money on this property whether we sell through him at 6% at a higher listing cost or whether we sell ourselves at a lower cost. What are our obligations towards him? Ana, ON |
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We recently put an offer in on a house that was full asking price but with condition of sale of our house, our offer was bumped by a lower offer but firm..understandable. Now my agent offered to pay bridge financing payments if we went firm then listed our house she would cover the payments using her commission...she obviously has no doubt that our house will sell but could she state we have to accept any offer........we only hope to get a certain amount any lower we can not afford. I dont really know too much about this sort of thing, any advise you could give would be appreciated. Thanks. Kelly, Stoney Creek ON |
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I fired my realtor 2 months ago and another realtor contacted her to ask me to sell the house at a extremely low price, is she still entitled to a full commission afterwards? Terry, Sask |
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I'm trying to find out if I have a case. We sold our house, but the closing didn't happen and the sale fell apart the night before close. It fell apart because of several reasons: The biggest being that our realtor made an agreement with the buyers (who we found out at the last minute that she was also representing) that we the sellers would pay all closing costs and a portion of their down payment, and give them a carpet allowance. She also prepared the contract for $4000 above the listing price because the buyers needed extra $ to help them with the down pymt. We did not make this agreement with anyone and were surprised and taken aback when the night before close the closing attorney told us that we needed to come to close with a certified check for about $9000.00. We also found out that the ammendment stating that we would pay these costs was signed, with my husbands name, by someone other than my husband or I (in other words it was forged) Our realtor is not returning calls or msgs since that night (and neither is the broker), and I have no idea if the buyers were even informed about closing not taking place or why. Do we have a case for some legal ramifications? Can the buyer sue us for not going thru with the sale? Can the realtor sue us for her commission anyway? Can we get out of the purchase contract (a new one was drafted, and our realtor never had us sign it). Please help me determine if there is anything we can do besides filing a complaint with the Board of Realtors. I really feel that there should be damages awarded.... to us and the buyer - its not their fault either, as I'm sure our realtor was being deceitful to them as well by telling them that we agreed to pay all those fees for them. Patty, Georgia USA |
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What are the regulations for measuring square footage when listing your home in Niagara County NY? Also, if your house is on tiered land of sorts and your finished "basement" is on ground level at rear with walk-out sliding doors to patio can this be included as square footage? I would appreciate any info.....very confused? THANKS !! Janet, NY State |
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My husband and i are currently looking for a home in alberta,He has gotten a job there.I heard that it is very easy to buy a house through a mortgage broker,is this true?How do we go about this?Also,Do you have any names of brokers in the slave lake area?We were also going to see if we could get a foreclosed home.Is this a good idea?Is there a lot involved in buying a foreclosed home? Thank you. Lisa. Nova Scotia |
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We recently purchased a new home and have found that the Main Floor is approximately 850 ft2 less than what was advertised in the MLS Listing. Also, the house did not come with a Central Vacumum as advertised. What is the realtors responsibility in this case? The agent was acting as dual agent. Tanya, Peterborough ON |
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Can I fire my agent? Mark, Hamilton ON |
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We are selling our home privately and are faced with a dilemma belonging to a potential buyer. Hope you can clarfiy a few things. The potential buyer is not from the area and had contacted an agent in the area simply to make an offer on another home. That deal fell through (buyer got bumped) but the agent had them sign a 'buyers agent agreement' until Dec 31. The buyers were not aware of the ramifications of this agreement until now. They found our place on their own and have been to view our home 3 times now - making appointments directly with us. Now their agent is telling them that according to their agreement with her - she can collect 6 % commission if they buy our home. She has told them that she will "be nice" and cut that to 3 %. As I said - the agent has never been involved in introducing or showing our property and our home is not listed with MLS......does this agent have any claim to commission where she has done no work and has had no involvement? I know this isn't really our problem....but the potential buyers are asking us to consider lowering our price to compensate for them having to pay this commission......on the one hand we are willing to negotiate on price - on the other - we do not particulalry want to contribute to this agent's income! Gillian, Paris ON |
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I am buying a condo for the first time and it will be a lease with option to buy in one year. I will be putting 2 thousand down for my option now. and in a year, I will be buying it at a set price. my question is this...when a realator runs your credit report and stuff, does he have to pay 30 dollars out of pocket for them to run it? and it gets added to the closing costs? who pays seller? or buyer? I just want to know becuase my realator says I owe him 30 bucks for running my credit report. thanks Colleen, Pheonix AZ |
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What are the regulations concerning a seller paying closing costs on the sale of a single manufactured home in Texarkana, Texas? I feel we are being misrepesented in our contract by our agent. He is charging $1500 and seems to be working to get rid of our trailor 'very quickly' to a lady who is licensed the the TX Real Estate Commission and is a Principal of Texarkana Star Real Estate. What does this mean? Kelly, Sherrill, NY |
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We have a contract on a home advertised for 2600 sq. ft for 325,000 in North Carolina where other similar properties have sold for 122.14 a sq. ft. When we recieved the appraisal they only found 2340 sq. ft. From day one they misrepresented the square feet and we feel that it would only be fair to multiply 2340 by 124 a sq. ft. and offer then close to 295,000 for this home. We are taking into consideration location and updates. Do we have a legel case with the realty board because of the obvious misrepresentation of sq. ft. and if the deal falls through because of it could reatlors be laible for any of our incurred expenses like storage, and living in a hotel expenses because we have everything planned already for a July 28 closing. Or could they be liable for the difference between the last buyers offer of 315,000 and our appraisal offer. Claudia, Hartford CT |
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I sold my house in 2000 for $ 775,000. I had a real estate agent handle the sale. In the contract she put the closing date before the date on which the buyer had to get his financing. I had the problem of not knowing if I would have to move out on closing date or not. I realized this only a few days after signing the contract. I had the problem that I couldn't even buy another home because when I put the contingency "dependent on sale of my home" the other agent woulldn't accept. She was and is a very experienced agent. Was it legal to do what she did ? I still get nightmares when I think about the situation. Thanks in advance for your answer. Susanne, Casselberry Florida |
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Hi Bill. I wish I had found you before I listed my house! I had it on the market for 6 months. We listed it at the price I needed to pay for all of the upgrades I put in. It didn't sell at $550,000. I dropped the price to $500,000, then the buyers came in. I had several lowball offers that I wouldn't consider. The last offer was reasonable and my agent stopped all showings while the offer was on the table. One of the previous buyers came back with another offer, but my agent told them to hold off because there was an offer on the table. We eventually sold to that last offer for $20,000 off my asking price. Did we do the right thing? Garry, Oak Ridges |
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I own 5 acres of rural land in Tipton County, TN. I purchased this property in 1998 for $32,000. At the time of purchase this property was listed through a realtor who said this was a fair price. It was owner financed for 10 years with a balloon payment. We are now trying to sell the land for $36,000 and have been told that it only appraises for $26,700. The property was originally purchased in 1994 for $15,000 according to sales data now available to us. I feel the realtor misrepresented the value of this property to us. Can he be held accountable for any losses we incur in the sale of this property? If we do find a buyer can they get financing for more than the appraised value? Carol |
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How do I calculate the square footage of my two story home? Anonymous |
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My neighbour had a furnace oil leak and there was some contamination of my property. My property has now been remediated to "residential standards" but not pristine. In addition the neighbour's property has been partially remediated, however remaining high contamination is being managed through an underground ground water collection system connected to an oil seperator. Can you tell me how this will affect the sale value of my home. (Name withheld) |
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My partner and I bought a house last summer. During repairs to the foundation, the workers dug up several old oil tanks, hot water heaters, and a selection of other miscellaneous garbage next to the house. An old election sign amongst the garbage indicated that it was buried fairly recently and that the previous owners must have known about this waste. Had we been aware of this, we would have made the sale conditional on the removal of this garbage. Were they obligated to disclose this? Also, what recourse, if any, is left to us at this point? Jeff, St. John's |
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We sold our house on december 10th...buyer knows that we have water coming in basement which is partially not finish the house is about 100 years old..but we had someone look at the foundation and he made us an estimate which will cost about $23000 thousand to repair..my agent told me not to tell guy what should we do...he has only to the 17 december to have house inspect which he should be doing tomorrow...should we tell them and show them estimate |
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My wife and I just moved into our new house and have found that the previous owners have left everything behind. We were informed they were coming to get it the day after we moved and that never happened. We were then told that they would make arrangements the next day and again, that never happened. How long must we keep there possessions before we can discard them? Mike, Oshawa |
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I bought a house in Lindsay, Ontario 2 years ago. I was told by the owner (who lived there for 11 years) at that time there was one line of Knob and tube only. His brother's and him did alot of work on the house from setting up a shop in the basement to finishing the attic. He told this to his agents and my Real Estate Agent, it was verbal. Now I have just sold the house and had to get the whole house rewired after a home inspection, to my surprise there was more knob and tube then what was stated. My agent called the previous owner and he said that the second floor was all knob and tube. If I had known that the whole second floor was knob and tube I would not have purchased the property in the first place. I have replaced the knob and tube through the whole house basement to attic. Is there any recorse I can take? Or is it buyer beware. My agent is saying nothing was in writing which I understand but he gave false information to the agents in the first place. Lisa, Toronto |
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A friend of mine bought a home (3 months ago) & has just found out that there's a huge problem with the crawl space that makes the structure of the house unsafe & the house unfit for living. There's an opening from the top of the basement wall to where the first floor starts. That opening was covered with chipboard that has completely disintegrated with rot & ants have been coming into the house from there. This opening stretch through half of the front of the house. Thus, more critically, the wooden structure that support the front half part of the house have started to rot & the vertical struts have started to buckle (twist) under the weight. On the exterior side, soil completely covers the outer wall of the basement & that's where the ants have their nests (!) plus the whole area is located UNDER the large concrete front steps and is therefore not directly accessible. It was the exterminator who came to fumigate the ants who detected the whole thing. The inspector in his report had indicated that he had not been able to inspect the crawl space owing to boxes that had been put in front of that particular wall. On inspection, one finds that the plastic vapour barrier had been cut before & repasted with a red tape. It certainly looks as if the previous owner knew about the problem. Genevieve, Ottawa |
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If a home has central air and it is put in the offer to purchase that the air conditioner will not be sold with the house, can the central air be removed? Also is it law to have a house inspection done? Thanks, Barry, Pickering |
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Abridged email: My fiancé and I found a house we liked and we were told there was another offer on the house. We put our best offer in (a lot higher than we wanted to go). After accepting and doing some research, we discovered the 5-acre lot was not as potentially valuable as we expected and the house was positioned three miles from and directly in the flight path of a major commercial airport. Also, we had a home inspection that revealed a couple of issues (radon, bacteria in water, AC, pool filter leak). The seller's realtor said they would not fix anything because they had a full-price backup offer. We still put in our request for remedy asking for the items to be fixed, plus reduced our offer due to the land and flight path. They didn't accept our offer. Through the whole process, our realtor seemed to talk with the seller personally and would defend him and his house quite often. Since this deal fell through, I have not heard from her. The seller updated the status of the listing to active and within a week of our deal failing, the seller reduced his price. So, I assume there was never a backup offer either. I feel like both realtors have influenced us as well as the seller and in the end prevented the sale. Since we found out the house has radon, is the seller obligated to disclose this to future buyers (it is on the sellers discloser form)?Is the seller/realtor obligated to disclose the fact they are in the flight path? Was the seller's realtor legally able to mislead us with other false offers? As a buyer, is my realtor obligated to represent me? The listing also overstating the square footage. Would this be considered misrepresentation? |
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Hi Bill, I was wondering, if a property is condemned and repairs total more than fifty percent of the house's value new, does a disclosure statement have to be provided at sale when there is too much to disclose, and is there any case in which a disclosure statement could be skipped? Brad, Springfield, IL |
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I am selling my house and it is on a sandpoint well. We replaced the pressure tank in the fall of last year, and all of a sudden we had very little water. We called a local plumber who said the only remedy was to replace the well with a drilled one. My husband decided to do some research, and it turns out that the pump wasn't primed correctly. Now our water has returned to the way it was for the last 3 years. Thing is, it is a sandpoint well, and still is not as efficient as a drilled I am told. When filling up the bathtub, you sometimes have to turn off the water and let the pump catch up (about 5 minutes), then continue. But like I said, for my husband and I and our son and 2 dogs, we are used to it and have no problem. I filled out a SPIS statement saying that it was adequate water supply and worked well (pump and pressure tank are both less than a year old). Now, according to me it does. I am afraid that if the city dwellers who bought my house don't think so, they will turn around and come back at me. Do they have any recourse? My other concern is that it is a small community, and my neighbors saw the plumber working on our well last year. What if they tell them we have a plumber come and give us advice? Even though it was an installation issue? I will be the first to admit that the pressure isn't the best, but it has suited us just fine for the last 4 years.... Louise, Ottawa, ON |
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Bought my home in October, I didn't know the downstairs had a preexisting leakage problem, water leaking from ground through foundation. After 3days of rainfall one of my downstairs bedrooms flooded. This was not disclosed at closing. I'm getting the run around from realtor and seller. Mold is now growing in the room, and I haven't had the carpet removed that I had to pull up from the floor, to wet vac over 2 inches of water. My homeowners ins. stated the costs are not covered. What is my legal recourse? Chantal, Brooklyn Park, Mn. |
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We bought a house in East Vancouver a year ago. The owner had a certificate that no oil tank could noy be found and our inspector claimed that there was no indication however we have found a pipe bihnd the clothes dyer and one outside. It was not hard to find. Should I get a further inspection and if we do find one what is our position - is the pervious owner or inspector accountable? Jane, Vancouver |
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Hi Bill me and my husband are thinking about saleing our home next year. My question to you is when we brought the house there was evidence of water leakage in the basement. I told my husband that I would like to fix this problem before we sale. What do you thing? I don't want this to be someone else problem. Thanks Anne, CT |
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We purchased a house 3 years ago in Hillsdale.. The first rain we had the basement leaked. we phoned the previous owner and the admitted that they had a leak previously. They signed the real estate document that stated that they had no previous knowlegde of a leak or foundation problems. well we removed the drywall recently and found that the drywall had been removed and replaced and that the outside of the house had been patched and the problems hidden from our knowledge. Do we have recourse or what can we do, or who could you recommend. Mark, Hillsdale |
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On October 31st, 2006, my husband and I bought an older home and we bought it from people who had been living there for over 17 years. Prior to closing on the home, we had a home inspection and the real estate agent "representing US" was there. During the inspection, the home inspector noticed some signs of water damage on the walls in the basement. At the time, he noted that there was no water leaking but suggested that we ask the homeowners about this. We spoke with the real estate agent who said he would contact the homeowners. A few days later, he informed us that the homeowners had said that the water stains were from a hose leak. We ask him to confirm this because we were unsure. Again, the real estate agent contacted the homeowners and he told us that it was from a hose leak. We closed on the house. On December 1, 2006, there was a lot of rain and my husband was home. He found that the walls were letting in water like Niagara falls! I contacted the real estate agent and he stated that he would find out from the sellers. He did not reply so I contacted him again, this time asking for him to put in writing that we had asked about the leak. I did this because I was getting concerned because I realized that the real estate agent should have put a clause in the sale of the home stating that the owners said there was no leak (my lawyer had informed me of this). The real estate agent told me that he would send us a statement to this effect. Weeks later, we had still not heard from him, and he would not return our calls. I contacted the Broker for the firm and was told that they would not do anything because the deal was closed. We got three estimates for the repairs and our lawyer sent them to the old homeowner's lawyer. He did not receive a response. He sent them a final letter but still did not get a response and advised us to go to small claims court. The cost to repair the damage is close to $10,000 (which includes the lost rental income because we can't rent the basement with a leak). Further, had we known about the leak, we would have insisted that the price be dropped by $15,000 (as we had also discussed with our now completely absent real estate agent). We have been taken advantage of by these real estate agents and by the previous homeowners and we are quite upset by this. We don't have the funds to fix our basement as this is our first home and we are newlyweds. Can you help us? Laura, Mississauga |
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My husband and I purchased a 50 acre property with a 5 year old Cape Cod style on it. We had a professional home inspection done and everything was fine. We removed all conditions on the purchase as each one was found satisfactory. We have since been informed that this property was possibly used as a dump site and there is the possibility of contaminated soil. We did not request soil tests as the seller stated on the SPIS that there was no contaminated soil to the best of his knowledge. We have not yet taken possession. What do we do? This is our dream home that is turning into a nightmare! Ann, Peterborough |
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I purchase a house 12 months ago and have just discovered that details on the listing and feature sheet were wrong, dates of work done is way off, ie, told 2 parking pads, turns out only one legally and now have to pay to have soft landscaping put in. Told windows were 3 yrs old, turns out they are 20, roof 5 yrs, turns out to be 12, furnace 1 year, turns out to be 7. These were all written up on the listing. Did the seller's and his realtor lie, misrepresent, give false information. What are the realtor's obligations to check these facts before putting them in writing. is the realtor breaking the law, code of ethics, etc. This is gross misreprensation on his part. i am shocked. Should he not have asked the owners to show proof of the dates these things were done. can realtors just write anything they want to entice a sale and have no obligation to the buyer. Can u please give me some direction on this and what I should do. I relied on those facts being true when buying the house and would have gone a different route had I know it would cost me money to landscape, the city is really on my back about this and I have to comply even though I did not convert the pad and believed as informed in writing that the parking was legal and for two cars, I may have to put in new windows, and have less life on my roof and furnace. Is this a breach of contract. do i have any recourse. Please help. 1st time buyer. Anne. Toronto |
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If a house was purchased and an inspection performed then while doing some minor renovations in the first week of ownership, mold was found behind baseboards. what recourse does the new purchaser have. Also items were left behind to indicate some plants may have been grown in the house, like large halogen light bulbs etc. Is the previous owner liable for repairs or can the deal be reversed. Sandy, Ottawa |
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We have been to view a house which the seller's realtor advised us that there are 2 sump tanks on the property - one at the front of the house & one in the basement. Having previously lived in England and are not familiar with sump tanks, could you please confirm what they are for and whether this could indicate that there is a problem. Why would there be 2 tanks on one property? The basement appears to be a bit damp but has not been used by the current owner who has lived there for 12 years. The small back yard seems to be all moss rather than grass even though it is west facing - could this also indicate a problem. Chris, North Vancouver |
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My husband and I have been looking for a home in VA for about 3 yrs now, the house that we were looking for needed to have certain items, acerage, pond/lake low traffic area. Well after years of searching we finally found the house with everything that we have been looking for. We had a home inspection done a couple of days ago, and the inspector found a mild mold problem(mild) this put red flags up for me and my husband. We started the addendam process sellers will fix this or no they will not. They keep crossing out the mild mold issue. What should we do?? Carol- in Virginia |
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I purchased a home 2 years ago and the owners' did not disclose ponding in the front acerage. Neighbors will testify that the sellers knew of the ponding in the front and that it was due to broken field tiles. The sellers live in Arizona and the realtor doesn't know how to get a hold of them. I've tried white pages. com and the postoffice to no avail. Can I go against the realtor? I don't like the idea of doing that but I'm sure they can locate them if they try. Amber, OH |
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I'm currently having my home listed for sale. It is a newer home and still covered with 2-5-10 new home warranty. There is some honeycombing on the crawl space wall and water leaked through it but builder came back and patched it from both inside and outside and no problem was discovered since, even after extreame heavy rains. There is a question in the property disclosure statment "Are you aware of any water or moisture problem in the basement and crawl space?" Do I answer Yes or No? Do I need to disclose that even though problem has been fixed? Cherry, BC |
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I recently purchased a Condo.When we viewed the Condo on an Open House and Revisited before our offer went in we did not see any Pet Stains however after Taking possession we found pet stains everywhere. We are looking at going to Small Claims Court.Have you heard of any other instances of this sort? Terry, Winnipeg |
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We have made an offer to purchase a house - the offer was accepted. The home inspection showed issues with galvanized plumbing and knob and tube wiring still being present in the house. We amended our offer with the condition that the galvanized plumbing and the knob and tube be removed prior to closing and we also requested a signed statement from licensed electrician and plumber be submitted to us before closing. We completed the home inspection today - galvanized plumbing still present and we are unsure of knob and tube. vendors have provided a statement from themselves stating knob and tube and plumbing have been removed. We are very uneasy about closing on this deal. we would like to cancel the deal. How can we do this without being sued? Allee, St Catherines ON |
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My husband had purchased a house before we met. We have been married for 9 years and he passed away last year. I have been noticing small sink holes in our yard and around the foundation of our home. The house was built in 1854. Our garage used to be a blacksmith shop. I also noticed recently that there are metal pipes sticking out of the yard by the garage. I never noticed these before because my husband always did the yard work. Do I have to turn this in to someone? I am trying to remodel my home to sell it, but can I with these pipes here? HELP PLEASE! Fay, Wisconsin Dells |
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We have found an older home we like: a bungalo on a quiet street in Ottawa. But we are very nervous because the UFFI clause indicates the presence of UFFI in the house. The listing is accompanied by a test result indicating low emissions...we are not worried about heath problems. We realise that the UFFI scare never was anything but a scare nevertheless, we are nervous about resale values because of the stigma of a UFFI branded home. Your thoughts please.? |
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"Satisfactory home inspection" - what does this refer to? Can a buyer walk away from an agreement to purchase if an inspection report shows very few problems or the problems represent few dollars? Is the buyer obligated to share the information with the seller? Never having owned a home I find the phrase satisfactory home inspection extremely grey. Bill, Toronto |
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We purchased an older house to fix up at the time of sale both realtors sold the house as a 3 bedroom house. Now that we are starting the process of remodeling the health dept is saying it is only perked for a one bedroom home, so now we are stuck with a two room house bascially and cant get a permit for an addition. We are thinking of taking legal action because they have sold us a house with false information and told us the health dept had only one sheet of paper on the house when really our file with them is an inch and a half thick. What do we do? Kira, Virginia |
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I'm trying to sell a farm house, which I've gutted and rewired. This area is a good market, with excellect schools. How do I sell the house for someone to fix up? Missy, Tennessee |
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I have a question about vermiculite and asbestos. While looking for a house, we found one that we really like. However, the disclosure indicates that insulation has vermiculite which may contain asbestos. I have looked around web and found some info. However, I am not able to find much info on how such houses do at sale - If I bought the house and covered the rafters area in attic with plywood to cover the underlying vermiculite - will the propertybe treated as untouchable by potential future buyers. My real estate agent and her network do not seem to know much about this.I am specifically interested in remedials for this problem and marketability of this house in future. Many thanks for your help. Sanjay, Longmeadow Mass |
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My husband and I just took possession of our house two weeks ago. It is an older home and we knew there would be a few problems, but we are discovering issues every day and are beginning to wonder if we have been "had". It seems like there were things we should have been told. The shower leaked water into the basement on the first day! When the plumber came he ended up spending the entire day here because there were so many problems.The roof was warranted as a new and proper roof. But it leaks in several places. The sump pump output pipe froze after two days. (We currently have a hose runing up the stairs, through the kitchen and out the window!) And now as the thaw has begun it runs every three minutes or less!! What is most alarming is that as the snow melts we are finding areas of foundation at which the insulation is exposed, we can see it from outside...and there is debris all over the ground that leads us to believe there has been a house fire at some point!!! Lady bug infestation, unfinished window frames etc etc...There is more - but I think you get the point. Are we stuck - did the seller have an obligation to disclose these things? What do we do? Kate, Pembroke ON |
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I purchased a house about two years ago in Welland, ON. Aproximately 6 months after we moved in the spring came and so did the basement leak. The basement was clear of any signs of water damage and nothing was in the basement upon inspection. The basement looked immaculate. Part of my problem is we didnt invest in an inspector. The house looked to be in prestine condition, which it was aside from the now obvious basement. They applied fresh paint the floor and concrete block walls. After this mold quickly settled on the basement walls. The problem is with seepage at the footings. They must have done one heck of a clean up job. Our neighbors mentioned that the sellers were aware of the problem prior to the sale. Is the seller under any legal obligation to disclose this information during the course of the sale? Their real estate agent i believe to be a cousin of their's or a friend. My real estate agent who represented me in the sale felt bad and came around in the spring time. She paid for inspection to get a quote even though she was under no obligation. She is also willing to testify in court. Would my case hold up in small claims court as it has been 2 years since the purchase of the home? Is it really worth it to go to civil court? I am considering small claims where the limit is 10,000 to avoid costly legal representation where i would likely have to absorb 50 percent of all costs anyhow. Do you know how long this process usually takes to get your money in small claims? Any advice is more than appreciated. I understand i am going to have to partially swallow my pride and learn from my mistake but as i said any advice would be greatly appreciated. Jay, Welland ON |
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We recently purchased an acreage and our possession date was November 5th. When we arrived that day to move in, the previous owner had left many possessions. Since living here, there have been numerous individuals here taking things out of storage buildings and in the yard. Since the previous owners have been paid in full for this property, are we not entitled to everything that was left behind? Also the previous owner makes frequent trips out here, we have lived here a week and he has been here at least a dozen times, looking through things in the yard and buildings, we are desperate for some privacy and would like to enjoy our new home, what are our options? G Pitt, Sask |
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We sold our house, that was on 10ac, in Feb2004. Now the buyer is taking us to court because he says there was stuff buried in the woods on the property. We know nothing about any of this debris that he says is there. Does he have a case after all this time has elapsed? Nick, Bowmanville ON |
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I sold my home subject to a building inspection. The inspection revealed some issues (house almost 100 yrs old) that has the purchaser wanting to renegotiate price. Actually I'm happy with the results of the inspection. Nonetheless,what is the time period involved here in Ontario where the purchaser either accepts the property as is, or walks away from the deal. I'D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW IF I'M MOVING OR NOT. Robert, Hawkesbury ON |
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We recently purchased a house and the owners lied about the condition of it, can they be held liable? Kelly, Sask |
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If you are selling your house and you have an old oil tank buried in the yard. What is expected of the seller? Fill it in, dig it up, have it inspected? Marcia, Richmond Indiana |
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My brother just took possession of a 2 storey home in Stoney Creek that has a completely finished basement. He had a certified home inspector come in for an inspection prior to firming up the deal in June of this year. The lower part of a basement wall, the baseboard, and the carpet in one area of the basement has considerable water damage that was clearly there prior to the closing date, however, it was not disclosed by the vendor. The house was built in 1999. Today, we found further water damage throughout the basement behind the insulation. He hasn't even been in the house for a week and we are tearing up parts of walls to expose the problems. Who is liable for these repairs? Basically, we are going to gut the outside walls in his finished basement to correct the problem. Two real estate agents were involved in the transaction. The home inspector came back and only now discovered the problem because it was hidden by furniture during the original inspection. Please help. Nick, Hamilton |
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We bought a small home in Welland and had a building inspection. There were no apparent problems and so we completed the deal. When my husband started working on the home he found powder beetle damage, water damage and many more problems. The home does not have a basement and the problems are under the home. Do we have any recourse after the first year to get either the former owner or the building inspector to take any responsibility? Donna, Newmarket |
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How valid is the following clause in the OREA agreement of Purchase and Sale? "The Seller warrants and represents that all electrical, pluming and mechanical components and any appliances included in the Purchase Price shall be in working order on closing" We just purchased a two-year old house, privately. We had a two hour walk through inspection done (which revealed some minor problems), we saw the house twice before closing - one month before and four days prior... we move in and discover the air conditioning (during a major heat wave) is not working. We call in a service and it's a major problem that just didn't "happen" and the repair will run us between $700-1300. What is the likely hood of us successfully having the owner uphold the above clause? Christina, Markham |
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What is the best way to handle a situation wherein the seller has not been honest about the condition of the house and is attempting to avoid thoroughly completing repairs as was stated in the contract after the home inspection? The seller has signed a contract stating that he will pay for remediation of a plumbing leak (to be done by a professional) including the remediation of any resultant mold. Last week the fellow attempted to tell us that it was fixed when he had only dealt with the problem himself. Last night our insurance agent called and told us that there had been a water loss on the property in 2003. We were not informed about this. We're doing the walk through today and I am fearful about the results of these things. It's our first home and we are working with a realator (who we will be discussing this with tonight), but I would appreciate another professional opinion to assure me that we are handling these issues properly. Jacklyn in Montana |
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I bought a freehold townhouse in August 2003 in the Whiby area. I hired a home inspector before purchasing the house and he did discover some mould in the basement and simply suggested to have it inspected by qualified contractor. He couldn't tell me more about it since the basement was completely finished and I opted not to break down the walls. From the outside walls, nothing was visible. I did most of the recommandations to try to fix the problem such as removing the vegetation from the house walls. We still have been getting some leaks due mostly to rain and snow melting in spring and it's been getting worse. I know for a fact that there has been some leaking before we moved in, maybe not as serious as now but the previous owner never informed us of the leakage problem. Can he still be held responsible for the damages after a year and a half later. What are my rights? Syvain |
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I am buying my condo "as is." I have been a renter there. There is mold in the air conditioner closet that has leached out into the hall bedroom carpet from water damage via an air conditioner leak. Does the seller have to recarpet or can he sell it to me in this condition. Doug, Maple, Florida |
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Bill recently we bought a house that had a home inspection done on it. We noticed a leak. The real estate agent told us it was from a leaking pipe that had been fixed. Now 2 weeks later we find the basement leaks like a sieve. Can we go after the home inspector the sellers or the real estate agent? Its constantly leaking so there is no way they would not have known about it. Gloria |
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My son-in-law purchased a house this Spring and had the house inspected. He recently turned the furnace on for the first time and found that it did not work and soot and carbon monoxide escaped. The furnace has to be replaced. The vendor did not disclose that there was anything wrong with the furnace. Would there be any recourse on the vendor at this stage? Joe |
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If you have already bought a home and you are having major problems with the home that were not disclosed, what can I do. I did have an inspection that was not done properly. Everyone involved just sluffed me off. Can you please give me some advice. Rona |
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When we purchased our small house over a year ago, we waived off the inspection requirement in order to compete with the other bidders (in retrospect, this was a mistake that we will not repeat in the future). We knew that the house needed some work, but when we recently started removing the floor, we discovered that the house has some major structural problems that were covered up by a "cosmetic" renovation. I have heard that previous owners have been held liable for selling houses with major defects (i.e. structural problems) and I am wondering if you have any information about this legal option. Most importantly, if the option to pursue such legal action exists, do we have to the right to do so even though we did not have the house inspected? Fern |
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Our home was contaminated by lead, how does this affect the resale value of the house? It is an older house. We hired a contractor to remove the lead paint from the old section and in doing so he did not seal off the rest of the house properly. The find dust was distributed throughout the entire house. When the clean-up was completed, there were still traces of lead throughout the entire house. I understand that the EPA has standards, however, these meet most of the people most of the time, therefore, I wonder if in selling the house we notify the buyer, would they hesitate to buy due to the unknown fact as to how their body would react to the lead? Terry |
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Appraisals, Home Equity, Sustaining Value, Value of Features, Using Home Equity to Invest , Flipping |
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My neighbour had a furnace oil leak and there was some contamination of my property. My property has now been remediated to "residential standards" but not pristine. In addition the neighbour's property has been partially remediated, however remaining high contamination is being managed through an underground ground water collection system connected to an oil seperator. Can you tell me how this will affect the sale value of my home. (Name withheld) |
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Hi - We are going to remodel our kitchen in an 2800 sqft upscale home in W.Covina, CA. We would like to remove our double oven and add a pantry. We would install a high end oven/stove instead of the double oven and cook top. Will this take away appeal or resale value from the home. Thank You Very Much, Tami, W. Covina, CA |
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I own a 2 family house i rented it out for a few years inow live in it for 6 months can i sell it put all of my profit into a new house for myself or will i get hit heavy on taxes ? or how can i find out? Eddie, New Jersey |
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Hi Bill, I am inspired as to what you are doing. My goal is to sell my land and house in Newnan Ga to gang funds to invest into other properties, but at the same time I have been trying to get rehab loans but my credit score is not good enough. The City has condemned my house but I need money to bring it up to code before May 22nd. Therefore, they will demolish it and what do I do then. Help! Anonymous, GA |
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My sister in law is always saying you can't flip houses in Canada. Is this true or is it something she heard incorreclty and is passing on as fact. Does it have something to do with capitol gains. If you really don't want to have to write me a novel, I understand, could you point me in the right direction. Waiting to flip in Brantford Ontario, Lisa |
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We have found an older home we like: a bungalo on a quiet street in Ottawa. But we are very nervous because the UFFI clause indicates the presence of UFFI in the house. The listing is accompanied by a test result indicating low emissions...we are not worried about heath problems. We realise that the UFFI scare never was anything but a scare nevertheless, we are nervous about resale values because of the stigma of a UFFI branded home. Your thoughts please.? |
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We are planning on purchasing a condo that our son will live in for about 2 years before he graduates medical school. Is it better to have him on the title initially or to do this upon transfer with a quit claim after graduation. I was thinking it would be best to wait until the later date as the appreciated basis would be higher for him. Please advise. Pam. Clifton VA |
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I' m a current student and we are working in an essay in my writing class and the theme is homeownership. What my class would like to know is what does real-estate peoples what to know about homeownership in a 17 year-olds point of view. Mariela, Tucson |
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I am having a 22 x 26 garage built in my back yard. The question I have is I told the contractor that I wanted a flat floor because it would mainly be used as a workshop and not used for daily parking of cars. I do have a project truck that will take another 3 years to finish that will also be stored there. He got a permit as a workshop so the floor can be flat and not sloped towards the door if the permit was pulled as a garage, I think for gas fumes. Will I have issues if I decide to sell the house and call it a garage? Joe, Fairfax VA |
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We are buying a house and 2 acres with a shop from a developer that bought the 43 acres next to it. After we put a contract on it with him we were told he has decided to just put a row of apartments on the far edge from us and on the rest put duplexes on two sides of us. We already new that they were building duplexes across the street but we thought they were putting houses next to us. My question is, if we go ahead and buy this house will we loose equity because of the duplexes and will make the value of the property be less? Pam, Republic MO. |
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I want to start a corporation that purchases and sells houses and want to establish this company with purchasing my current home within that company. Is this possible? Rozy, Toronto |
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If i payed for an appraisal for this house i want to purchase, and the house fell out of escrow & i am unable to purchase can i get the money back for the appraisal fee? Anthony, San Bernadino |
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As feedback: The only thing I found confusing was the explanation about a loan to renovate. You said your lenders only consider footage. I have been told that upgrading your kitchen, adding new sturdy windows, and etc. could also add to the value of a home. Perhaps I would be a little hesitant with learning that from your site. Lydia, Virginia |
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WHAT UPGRADES IN YOUR HOME WILL MAKE YOUR PROPERTY VALUE INCREASE? Jackie Il USA |
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I am in the process of refinancing and have a question about the second bath that is in the middle of being installed. It is currently roughed in, but I don't know if the appraiser will determine it a bathroom or not because it is not yet functional? Brad |
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How can I add value to a house? Richard |
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Hi - We are going to remodel our kitchen in an 2800 sqft upscale home in W.Covina, CA. We would like to remove our double oven and add a pantry. We would install a high end oven/stove instead of the double oven and cook top. Will this take away appeal or resale value from the home. Thank You Very Much, Tami, W. Covina, CA |
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Hi. I am wondering how much of a reduction is reasonable to expect in real estate purchase for cosmetic updating. To clarify, I am interested in a duplex which was on the market last summer with no reductions and no offers. It reappeared about 10 days ago on the market with a $10,000 price reduction. When I viewed it, I saw why it sits on the market. Though it is only 16 years old, there is a big need for new paint (horrible bright colors and dark wallpaper in poor condition) and flooring (owner has 3 cats and carpet is original - some peeling of vinyl flooring). I like this place and can certainly see how to update it easily. However, it appears it is putting a lot of clients off and I am wondering if I can use that to my advantage when making an offer. How much below asking price can I go when this is clearly a huge factor? This is also in a town with a pretty hot ongoing real estate market. Thanks. Liz, Victoria BC |
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I was e-mailing about the legal implications of buyers purchasing a duplex and converting it back to a single family home. Are there taxes they have to be concerned about? George, Embrun |
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My sister in law is always saying you can't flip houses in Canada. Is this true or is it something she heard incorreclty and is passing on as fact. Does it have something to do with capitol gains. If you really don't want to have to write me a novel, I understand, could you point me in the right direction. Waiting to flip in Brantford Ontario, Lisa |
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We are looking for the chance to find a fixer upper in the Brampton area and work on it and sell it in the future for a handsome profit. The houses that we've been looking at in the area are more or less the same (they need a new kitchen and a bathroom, update on the flooring, and finishing up the basement (potential for in-law suite.) There are plenty of these homes in Brampton that sell for little below market value. It seems that it would be hard to recoup the enhancements I've listed above when you factor in the commission and the selling costs. Our agent doesn't seem to knowledgeable in what we are looking for and it seems paint is her magic answer to everything. Is it possible to make money with the average house in a suburb in the GTA by doing what I plan on doing with it? Dylan, Brampton |
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I'm trying to sell a farm house, which I've gutted and rewired. This area is a good market, with excellect schools. How do I sell the house for someone to fix up? Missy, Tennessee |
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My husband and I would like to get into buying houses, fixing them up, and then selling them for profit. BUT we don't know the first thing about it. How long do we have to live in a house before we can sell it again? Thank you in advance for your help. Kristin, Newmarket ON |
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We recently had our basement renovated, and had a deck put up in the backyard. The contractor finished the major jobs a week later than agreed upon. It has now been three weeks, he promises to show up but never shows up to complete the job. My husband and I have called this contractor every morning, and several times during the day, he does not answer his phone. He called one day early in the morning, around 6 a.m. to ask if he can pick up his tools, and promised to show up the next morning to complete his work, to date he has not shown up as promised to complete the job. What should be my next course of action? How long can I wait until I can take legal actions again himI I cannot use the basement as intended. What are my choices here? Sherry, Mississauga |
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I currently own a house and have decided to fix it up and sell it. I own a renovating and paiting business so I have decided to start buying fixing and selling houses. I have many questions however about what I should do and how I should go about it. My main concern other than what reno's should I do, is that I know capital gains can be huge. So if I sell the house I'm in (which I need to do to free up money) and move in to another am I going to have to be there a year before I can sell it. And of course my other question is what fix ups should I do and whats the best way to find out if the house I am buying will increase in price enough to make it worth while. Thank you for your time Victoria, Brantford |
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I live in Ont. I built my home my self ,moved in jan 2008 how long do i legally have to live in it befor i can sell it with out a tarrion warranty. Mel, Niagara Falls |
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We just built a home. We're not in yet. Builder said we were going to get a "walk-out basement." Nothing to the contrary showed on blue prints without being advised. No diagrams etc We have a stairwell with stairs up to the ground level. I call it a cement pit. Builder says their definition of a basement walk-out is what we got, but it's a walk up, costing me $100000!! That's not what I wanted. What recource to I have? Bev, London. |
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We recently purchased a new home and have found that the Main Floor is approximately 850 ft2 less than what was advertised in the MLS Listing. Also, the house did not come with a Central Vacumum as advertised. What is the realtors responsibility in this case? The agent was acting as dual agent. Tanya, Peterborough ON |
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Hi Bill, this is quite a service you offer. Good on you. My question is this. I have just bought a freehold townhouse built brand new. I paid for a 3 piece washroom to be installed in the basement. On the plans that are part of the agreement of sale my bathtub/shower is against the outer wall of the house(I am an end unit). In the actual house they have reversed this on the ground but not in the ceiling resulting in my heat vent being right above the shower/bath. This will no doubt result in rust in my duct work. What are my options? Do I have any? The other issued is the "snake-out" drain. They have it placed in the floor of my basement washroom. Quite unsightly. In all their model homes this is in another part of the basement. Do I have the right to withold monies or to ask them to remove it? Thank you. Elliot, Barrie |
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I am in the process of building a home. I just went for a walk-through of the property. I had been informed that my property is close to underground cables. I was not prepared to see the big poles and metal boxes in a corner of my back yard. Will this un-sightly scene affect potential re-sale values of my home? M. |
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What are the legalities for putting a mobile home on land you have purchased, presently there are 2 barns on the property, which is zoned agricultural, on 4.29 acres?? Caroline, Brantford ON |
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My question is regarding land. I am planning to buy a land for the first time and i would like to know information on what i need to know to purchase a peace of land. The location would be mississiuga rd. & dundas in mississaug ont. Pedro, Toronto |
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Can I buy land in Ontario and put a mobile or manufactured home on it? Audrey, St Thomas |
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I think you may have answered this question but if not HELP! I found a piece of vacant land I would like to purchase and build on. The bank of course won't fiance on it because there is no existing building/house. How do people do buy property and can you recommend lenders for these types of situations. Thank you..Michele Jacksons Point Ontario |
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Can i buy land and put a mobile home on it?If so where in durham,barrie areas. |
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I have been looking for a building lot to buy and hold as an investment, or to build my retirement home on in the distant future depending on how things unfold. I'm confused by the vacant-lot listings that I have been looking at. Some claim to be worth more because of fees that have been pre-paid. Some talk about zoning. I'm not sure which ones are good deals and which ones are ripoffs. What does it all mean? Victor |
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I have 15 1/2 acres of land. i told my children they will split it 3 ways. One of my sons said he will turn his part into a subdivision. Can he do that? Louise |
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Update 2008: The Ontario Road Access Act prevents land owners from blocking an existing roadway to prevent access to neighbouring properties. (I'm not sure if it's useful when you want to create a new roadway. If you're in that position, please consult with a lawyer and let me know what you find out.) If you're outside of Ontario or Canada, there could be similar legislation in your province or state. Please consult with a lawyer or attorney to determine your rights and options. Bill |
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I have recently put in an offer on a 150 acre land-locked property near Sudbury. It can be reached by a trail (old railbed) that is likely to become the Trans Canada Trail. Our realtor said that there was some legislation passed around 1999 regarding landowner's "right ot access" their own land legally. Do you know any thing about this? We are first and foremost hoping to buy the section of trail that leads to our land...We can physically reach it now, but we are hoping to have frontage so that we can eventually build. If we are unable to buy it, do you know if having an easement would provide us the same status as ownership of it as far as future building and application for a zoning change? Also, the person living there before was living there, I suppose "illegally", and there are a couple of run-down shacks. Is there some kind of loop hole that allows us to rebuild these existing buildings even if we are not permitted to build a new one? This is a difficult property, as you can see, but we are really hoping to find a way to make it work, as it is very beautiful and something we can afford! Thanks. Amanda, Bracebridge |
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My husband & I purchased 6.17 acres last August just outside the City limits of Clanton, Alabama. There are 2 other parcels of land behind us (belonging to Byrom & Fancher) that we provide a 40 foot easement to off the side corner of our property. Our immediate neighbor to the right- McGee- owes approx 15 acres that butting all 3 or our properties. Since we purchased this land, the McGees have been using the easement entrance to drive around to the backside of their property. They have recently worn down a path. I should mention that the McGees have 2 other paved drives to their relatively flat property as well as one dirt drive. They are extremely difficult to deal with so, we along with Fancher & Byrom, would like to build a connecting privacy fence on the outside of the easement to separate the property line. Should they tell us we could not build this fence, would they have any legal standing? Our property along with the 2 pieces behind us were surveyed by the same surveyer and written up to sell at the same time by the previous landowner - he had purchased one huge 20 acre section. It is my understanding that the McGees property was not figured anywhere into the layout. I should mention that they have a small construction business office (trailer) between my property and their house. It has its own drive as well. Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated! |
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How can I access land-locked property? What legal paperwork is required. I must clear brush by order of the fire dept. and I do not have access to do so. Can you please help? Ken |
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Hi. A question. I bought some land in Arizona over the net. It's a remote 5 acre parcel. Turns out it is land locked! and open grazing. What do you know about land locked properties? Gene |
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How do you handle a sale of property that requires road access in legal terms of another property crossing another in terms of access to that property? Marlene |
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We own a house with a mutual driveway. The house we share the driveway with sold last year and the new owners are adding on a second storey. Having done the same thing several years ago, we are aware that we need to co-operate with their needing to use this shared driveway. They have become increasingly inconsiderate -- most recently erecting scaffolding that blocks the driveway without warning us this would happen, so we are now parking on the street. Also, their power was cut off by the city; they wanted to use our power, and we said no because they couldn't tell us how long they would need to do this. They have since got permission to use the power of the neighbour on the other side of us and now cross our yard (trespassing) to run the cord every day. They never asked us for permission, even initially. Is there a website you could suggest that would inform us of our rights? Do you have any suggestions other than, "Grin and bear it"? Karen, Toronto. |
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My wife and I just purchased a house in Brantford, and met our new neighbours who we have a shared driveway with. More of the driveway is on our property, but there is a right of way on the driveway so that they can access their garage in the back. The driveway is shaped like an hourglass where the front is wide enough to fit two cars side by side, then it narrows between the houses (not wide enough for two cars) then gets wide again past the houses where we each have a two car garage. The neighbours park a minivan at the front of the driveway close to the sidewalk (leaving enough room to access the back), and claim that because they have a right of way they are allowed to leave the minivan there and we aren't allowed to park beside it because we would be blocking them from accessing the back of their property. Is this in fact how a right of way works? Because of the shape of the driveway it basically forces us to only park in the garage because parking anywhere else will prevent them from getting to the back of the property. That's fine now, but in the winter it might be an issue. Scott, Brantford |
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My lot extends from one street to another. For as long as I have lived here (30 years), my tenants and myself have been able to access our parking spaces along the pathway in between my house and my neighbour's house. Unfortunately, my new neighbour has decided that we could no longer access our parking spaces this way. Can I claim an easement of access, and if so, how does one go about processing one? Françoise, Ottawa. |
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I currently own a house with a mutually shared driveway---my neighbours are putting their house up for sale---my questions is----can I buy the "driveway" from them before they sell? Debbie, Welland |
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I have a dispute with my neighbour in regards to whether or not an easment exists over the driveway between our house. In the meanwhile, I have ground water seeping into my basement that I need to fix and neighbour is refusing to allow repair vehicles on the driveway. This is not a problem with city pipes or drainage. Can my neighbour prevent me from repairing my house? I am afraid that if I wait until our other dispute is resolved that the cost to fix the problem and repair damages will be high. Shannon, Mississauga |
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I purchased my home about 6 months ago. We have what is considered a "mutual driveway". The neighbours that we are currently sharing the driveway with are renters (it is a semi). They tend to block my vehicle in sometimes and we have not been able to contact. Visually the driveway appears to be completely on my property and the measurements of the lot would have it on my property. On my deed it says "mutual". How can I go about determining whether the driveway is really mutual? Ideally, we'd like the driveway to be ours and put a fence up. Valerie, Welland ON |
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Hi I would like to ask a question they are building a house beside me and there seems to be a problem with the lot line my servey is a little different then his and the man who did my survey has passed away this same piece of property has been sold a couple of thimes since we have lived here and there was never any problem.They are telling me that at one point the line is like a pie shape and we are out by a half foot to almost the back of the property were it is two feet we really haven't done anything about this but we have been here for 36 years and there has been a fence up for that length of time if it turns out he's right will I have to move my fence. Joyce, Holland Landing |
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Sent as Feedback: This is just to let you know that in Ontario there is something called the fence viewers act, which you can employ to force an adjoining property owner to share in the cost of a borderline fence. (No name or location provided.) |
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My husband & I purchased 6.17 acres last August just outside the City limits of Clanton, Alabama. There are 2 other parcels of land behind us (belonging to Byrom & Fancher) that we provide a 40 foot easement to off the side corner of our property. Our immediate neighbor to the right- McGee- owes approx 15 acres that butting all 3 or our properties. Since we purchased this land, the McGees have been using the easement entrance to drive around to the backside of their property. They have recently worn down a path. I should mention that the McGees have 2 other paved drives to their relatively flat property as well as one dirt drive. They are extremely difficult to deal with so, we along with Fancher & Byrom, would like to build a connecting privacy fence on the outside of the easement to separate the property line. Should they tell us we could not build this fence, would they have any legal standing? Our property along with the 2 pieces behind us were surveyed by the same surveyer and written up to sell at the same time by the previous landowner - he had purchased one huge 20 acre section. It is my understanding that the McGees property was not figured anywhere into the layout. I should mention that they have a small construction business office (trailer) between my property and their house. It has its own drive as well. Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated! |
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I live in a freehold end unit townhouse, someone said that I couldn't fully fence my yard because I would be land-locking my neighbours. Everyone on our street that has put a fence up in their backyard has not left open panels or has gates to allow for acess of the neighbors. Is this true or does it depend on the city you live. Sally, Burlington ON I have purchased an end unit freehold town home in Ottawa, Ontario. There are four homes attached to each other. In my contract, it states that I must provide a rite of way to the tenants that are directly attatched to my home through our backyard. I understand the legalities as far as how much space I must allow but they seem to think they can walk through my backyard anytime and as often as they want. I understand when they need to mow their land, or do yard maintenance it is necessary to access through my property. However, I find it difficult to accept when their children have friends over that they continuously run back and forth. Do I have any legal rights to request them to not do that? I thought they would have to have a real purpose to use this right of way or easement. Unfortunately we have had other issues with this neighbor without much resolve. Darlene, Ottawa ON |
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My Neighbour is not cooperating to put up a side fence to enclose each one's back yard. I have a dog and I cannot leave him in my back yard. Without a fence it is an open space. I suggested to my neighbour that we will put up the fence and share the cost ( basic ) equally. He is not interested. Is there any legal obligation for my neighbour to share the basic cost of the fence if I put it up initially at my own cost. Yes, I have few quotations from couple of Fence companies. I will go with the lowest quotation. Is there any office that I can seek a legal permit to do so and claim half of the cost legally from my neighbour? Leo, Mississauga |
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My son bought a new house in Barrie. He wants to put up a fence in his backyard. Are the neighbours on either side and behind responsible to pay for their portion of the fence? He asked the two on the side and they are willing to pay their share. The one in the back said he doesn't want to pay, so does that leave the total for the back part of the fence totally on my son? Joane |
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I have a copy of the survey of the property I bought in River Road Estates, Redfield Arkansas. My question is this...It shows the fence to be on the property line, so who's fence is it? Mine or my neighbors? I purchased my home before her and the fence was up when I purchased my home. The corner post connections all go to the fence going from the fence between our homes to the fence that runs up to my house. |
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What are your expectations for the real state market in Barrie in the next few years especially after the Go Train will come to Barrie 2007, I'm thinking of buying an investing property. David, Barrie |
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Just wanted to thank you for the oven thermostat info. Can't find the manual, and have been having some reeeely bad results lately. Thanks for your email, and for visiting this website! I'm surprised that you found that tidbit of information (food) and it tells me that all of my work is paying off in packing the website with information that will keep visitors coming back. Thanks again! |
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Hi I just would like to say I am a new Realtor in the Atlanta area and your questions and answers sessions are so helpful. I mean you have truly answered all lot of the questions that I expect my clients to ask. Thank you sooo much for your assistance. Yolanda Thankyou Yolanda! I'm encouraged to hear that my website is as useful to other Realtors as is it to buyers and sellers. Bill |
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Bill Rinehart |
705 436-5111 |
Toll Free 1-877-436-5111 |
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Learn even more on my Frequently Asked Questions page. |
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Bill's Answers: |
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We were in the middle of buying a home when the deal fell through if i already paid for the appraisal and that was coming off my closing cost do i get back my money: we were in the middle of buying a home when the deal fell through if i already paid for the appraisal and that was coming off my closing cost do i get back my money Whether or not you get back the money for your appraisal depends on your bank. Generally they don't like to pay for things! However, it's a competitive mortgage market and it's easier to negotiate with lenders. If they were willing to lend you the money to make the offer, I'm guessing that you're a good customer in their eyes. I'd suggest negotiating with them so they pay the appraisal fee on the next deal ! |
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When we purchased our small house over a year ago, we waived off the inspection requirement in order to compete with the other bidders (in retrospect, this was a mistake that we will not repeat in the future). We knew that the house needed some work, but when we recently started removing the floor, we discovered that the house has some major structural problems that were covered up by a "cosmetic" renovation. I have heard that previous owners have been held liable for selling houses with major defects (i.e. structural problems) and I am wondering if you have any information about this legal option. Most importantly, if the option to pursue such legal action exists, do we have to the right to do so even though we did not have the house inspected? I'll answer your last question first. When you did not have the house inspected you only waived the option of making the SALE conditional to a home inspection. You did not release the sellers from any responsibility they normally have for being honest about the condition of the house. I'll preface the rest of my comments by saying that I am not a lawyer and that you should consult with one to see if what I'm saying is really true in your case. If the owners that you bought your house from were the same ones who did the cosmetic repairs, and if you could prove that they understood that there was a major structural problem and that their repairs were not going to resolve that problem, then you likely could successfully sue them. If someone did the repairs before they owned the house and if they were unaware that there were structural problems with the house then they sold to you in good faith and you would likely not be successful in suing them. If the former scenario is the case, then the question is one of money. Does the amount of money that the courts would award you surpass the legal and court costs of suing to get it? I would, again, encourage you to run this situation by a lawyer. I'm trained as a Realtor and there might be twists to your scenario that I'm not aware of. I'd be interested to know how this turns out for you though and I hope you'll get back to me when it's resolved! |
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My sister and I were pre-approved to buy a repo property from the bank, whom is using a real-estate co. to sell this property, since we already know everything about this home, which was my deceased neighbors, do we have to pay for a private inspection? and do we really have to give an honest money deposit, since the bank know that we are very serious and have been working with us to get this house as well as our loan officer sending the pre-approval letter to the bank repo mg. as well as the real-estate co? Also is there any other form of deposit other than honest money that can be used if the buyer does not have the funds the agency is requesting at that moment? Antoinette Yes you do need to have an inspection done on the house before you buy it, unless you have tons of money to fix up whatever you don't know about the house or land. Even people who live in a house that they have owned for years are surprised by the work that should be done on it to keep its value. The home inspector is your friend. Use his services to help budget for future repairs, but also to keep you from buying a property with expensive hidden problems. A complication in your situation is that the banks generally do not accept offers with a lot of conditions in a Power of Sale or Foreclosure. I'd recommend having the home inspection done BEFORE you put in the offer. As for the deposit, as long as you are the only people putting in an offer, you might get away with submitting a one dollar deposit with the offer. That would only work in the circumstances that you are in, i.e., being financed by the same bank that is selling the property. As for substituting some other asset for a cash deposit, because it's a bank, they will only accept cash as a deposit on an offer. If it was a private deal, with no Realtors involved, you could submit your 57 Buick or some other asset as a deposit with the offer. However when a real estate Broker is involved there are rules about deposits being deposited in trust accounts that would mess the whole thing up. So, generally no, you need to submit a cash offer. Good for you for recognizing an opportunity to buy and for taking the plunge! The fact that you're asking such innovative questions tells me that you've covered your bases and will come out on top. Congratulations on your purchase! |
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I'm asking for my parents. They have a 3 unit apart. building that is draining them financially, they put it up for sale and now have a closing date this week. Problem? They have 2nd & 3rd mortgage, banks aren't budging to make things easier, my parents have already found a smaller home and have started to move and now the closing my not happen. What would happen if my parents just walked from the old home to live in the new? looking for the worst case scenario. Thanks Bobbie It's not good news unfortunately. Bankers don't get rich by being stupid and when they give out their money they make sure their interests are covered. When you read your parents mortgage documents you'll find something in the fine print that says your parents have to pay the money back, and if they don't, the banks can take legal action to recover their loss. In Canada that can either happen through Foreclosure or through a Power of Sale. I'm not certain that the same proceedings follow the same path in the U.S. In Canada, under a Foreclosure the borrower can "walk away" and the bank assumes the property and can sell it for whatever it wants to sell it for, under market value obviously. Those are the deals that most buyers are looking for when they are after a bank repossession. Foreclosures are more expensive, more timely, and yield less for the bank than a Power of Sale. For that reason the banks usually opt to force a sale under a Power of Sale. The borrower is still liable for all of the money in a Power of Sale, meaning that the bank will come after your parents to get whatever money they don't get out of the forced sale of the triplex. I would suggest that you consult with a lawyer in this matter. They can review the mortgage documents, discuss your parent's financial situation and, with the help of an accountant, recommend some solutions to your parent's dilemma. I'm always distressed to hear of buyers whose dreams have not been realized or whose investments have turned to nightmares. I've been down the same road. You have my sympathies and I hope you are able to turn the situation around for your family quickly. |
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I sold my house quite unexpectedly. Someone knocked on the door. I had it on the market for one year and it did not sell due to unqualified agents and unqualified buyers. I took it off the market and the prices in the area skyrocketed. Therefore, this buyer and I made an agreement that is entirely too low. It is an elegant French Normandy 3 bdrms 2 baths with guest house over garage. I added central air and electrical rewire. I sold for $830,000. It should be $1 million according to comparables. I realize you are in a different area, however, escrows and cancellations should be similar. I want to cancel escrow which I have done with the escrow company, cc to buyer. He wants to still buy the house and I want to get out of it. What is going to happen to me other than specific performance. The escrow co. is not going to charge me, but buyer is pressuring me. What can I do? Donna LA California Unfortunately, escrow is a purely USA phenomenon. We have nothing like it in Canada and I can't entirely understand it, much less discuss it. In Canada, the period between the deal firming up and the name change on the deed usually is less that 6 weeks so there is less chance for a situation like yours to arise here. Having said that, contract law there is likely not that different than here. Once a contract is signed and agreed to by both parties, they are both locked in. That's to your advantage as well as the buyer's. Suppose the price of properties had gone DOWN instead of up. Would you be happy to give the buyer back part of what he agreed to pay you at the time you did the deal? You're talking about a significant amount of money, and I'd encourage you to not rely on my musings but to discuss your options with your lawyer. Good luck and feel free to let me know how it works out. It's an interesting situation! |
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How can I add value to a house? Richard The only way to add value to a property is to make it larger. That means either adding more land to the lot, or adding more heated livingspace to the house. There are not many ways to make the lot bigger. In Canada we have 2 systems for registering land ownership. New lots are registered under a different system, but under the 300 year-old system it's possible to take adverse possession of a neighbours land if the land has not been used by the real owner and it has been used by you with his knowledge. All of my parents neighbours lots have been extended into the farmer's field behind them because of one neighbour who took possession of the strip of land that the farmer did not use, and that they did use. For the rest of us, the only way to add value is to add heated square footage to the house. That means adding an extension to the house or finishing the basement. The problem with that is that adding living space to the house costs you more money than the value it adds. UNLESS you can do the work yourself. There are people who buy houses, fix them up, and sell them at a profit. They can only do it at a profit because they do it themselves. The same principle applies to adding living space. If you're paying others to do it, you're spending more than you're making. If you have the skills to do the work yourself, go for it! There's is more information on my FAQ page about renovating for money. It tells you what not to spend money on. |
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Is there anything that will "automatically" disqualify me from getting a bank loan even if I have > 5% downpayment? My credit has been atrocious because of a recently diagnosed ADD. I am a former bankrupt > 10years ago, but my credit since then has not been good. Phil Lenders today are falling over each other to lend money and are lending in situations that they wouldn't consider in the past. I'd suggest approaching a mortgage broker. They shop your mortgage around to different lenders and, depending how much interest you're willing to agree to, they can get just about anybody financed. I've seen buyers get turned down by a bank, then the mortgage broker comes back with the same borrower and an even higher mortgage, and the same bank accepts the loan! Lenders today are offering no-money down financing, and are willing to finance even 107% of the cost of the home, lending buyers the money to cover the usual 95% of the value, plus the 5% down, plus the legal and closing costs. I guess my short answer is, no I don't think anyone is automatically disqualified anymore. Good luck ! |
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Our home was contaminated by lead, how does this effect the resale value of the house? It is an older house. We hired a contractor to remove the lead paint from the old section and in doing so he did not seal off the rest of the house properly. The fine dust was distributed throughout the entire house. When the clean-up was completed, there was still traces of lead throughout the entire house. I understand that the EPA has standards, however, these meet most of the people most of the time, therefore, I wonder if in selling the house we notify the buyer, would the hesitant to buy due to the unknown fact as to how their body would react to lead? Many older homes have old paint that contains lead and they do not sell for less than a similar house in which the lead paint has been removed. Now that the lead had been disturbed and there are trace levels of lead in the atmosphere in your house, yes I think an average buyer would be more reluctant to buy your house. You definitely have to advise a buyer of the lead contamination before they put in an offer. If you don't, under contract law, the buyer could get out of the deal because they submitted an offer on a house that was substantially different than they thought it was in terms of it's safety and liveability. They will eventually find out, even if the deal goes through. Neighbours love to share information about stigmatized properties and they usually start by saying, "Wow I didn't think anybody would buy that house after (fill in the blank) happened over there." If you have documentation from experts saying that the lead levels inside your house are within safe limits, then you might be able to convince a buyer to buy. I would still expect them to pay less for the house than for a house on your street or in your area that was identical to yours in every way except for the lead contamination. In your shoes, I would hire a local real-estate Appraiser to determine what the value of your house would be if it was not contaminated, and then what it is worth with trace levels of contamination. If there is a substantial difference then my next step would be to consult with a lawyer to determine if it is worth suing the contractor to recover that amount of loss. The legal fees and court costs might be more than the loss in value though. I'm not an expert on lead contamination or law-suits. I hope I've shed some light on the workings of a buyer's mind and your obligations to inform them. |
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I would like to know, when you giving an offer on a house what amount of money you have to give with the offer? thank you bye Alicia. The money that is submitted with an offer, called the "deposit," is an up-front payment to the seller that shows the seller how serious the buyer is about buying the house. If you end up not buying the house, you get the money back, but it is tied up for a while. The deposit is a cheque that is cashed and is deposited into a trust account at the Brokerage. If you only send a cheque for $500, the seller thinks, "If this is all they can come up with now, can they get enough money to pay for the house later?" If you send a cheque for $10,000, the seller thinks, "Holy crap! I can't even write a cheque for $10,000!" Generally speaking, sellers are looking for around 5% of the offer as a deposit. So, on a $150,000 offer, a deposit of $7,500 would be considered a very serious deposit. In that price range, the deposit is usually around $5,000. Some people send a $2,000 deposit, but that raised concerns in the sellers mind. There is a time when you have to offer more than usual. If there is more than one offer coming to the seller, the one with a higher deposit will often be accepted. The seller is trying to figure out who is more likely to buy the house. The seller thinks the one who has more money in his chequeing account is more likely to buy, and the other offer with the lower deposit will be set aside. As with a lot of real estate issues, the best course of action to take depends on your own circumstances. I can help you figure out which is the best choice for you, if I can meet you and get to know you. I'm only a phone call away :-)
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Hi , A question, I bought some land in arizona over the net . Its a remote 5 acre parcel . Turns out it is land locked ! and open grazing , What do you know about land locked properties ? Gene I know that they are the kind of things people buy when they are not making use of the expertise that a Realtor brings to the table :-) As you've discovered Gene, a landlocked property is a lot that has been severed off from an earlier larger piece of land, but no provision has been make for road access to the property from any surrounding roads. Usually the owner of that lot arranges for an "easement" across a neighbouring piece of land, meaning that you would pay a neighbour for the right to cross a specific part of his land to get to your lot. If you cannot negotiate an easement with one of the neighbours, you might consider approaching one of the adjoining land owners to see if they would be interested in buying your lot. They might not have been aware that it was for sale when you bought it. Your problem is compounded by the 'open grazing' zoning which I suspect prohibits the erection of a building that would house anything other than farm animals. I hope my website has convinced you to use a Realtor if you're going to make any further purchases or sales. Being your own Realtor is like being your own Dentist or gall-bladder Surgeon. What you lose may be more costly than anything you could save by going it alone. |
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I have a copy of the survey of the property I bought in River Road Estates, Redfield Arkansas. My question is this...It shows the fence to be on the property line, so who's fence is it? Mine or my neighbors? I purchased my home before her and the fence was up when I purchased my home. The corner post connections all go to the fence going from the fence between our homes to the fence that runs up to my house. If the River Road Estates homes were built by the developer, there's a chance that the fences were put up by the developer. Usually when that happens all of the fences in the neighbourhood are of the same style. If that's the case, I suspect that the fences are sort of co-owned and there might be some subdivision covenant on your deed that addresses shared maintenance of the fences by adjacent owners. If the River Road Estate homes are custom homes, or were sold by the developer without fences, then there are some clues to look for. If I put up a white picket fence around my house, I get to look at the ugly side of the fence, meaning, the face of the pickets are on the street side of the fence, and on the neighbours' side of the fence. Same for a chain link fence. There are some fence styles where both sides of the fence look the same in which case the only clue is the one that you've mentioned. Since the fence connects to your house, but not the neighbour's house, it seems logical that a previous owner of your house put up the fence. I'm not sure how things are done in the land of the free and the home of the brave, but in neighbourly Canada, quite often if I want to put up a fence, the neighbours help pay for their part of it because they benefit from it too. The good news is that your neighbour didn't chip in to the cost of the fence because she wasn't there at the time. I'd say it's yours. One thing that wasn't clear in your email was, do you WANT to own the fence? If it's rotting and falling down and needs to be replaced, it might be better to not own it. On the other hand, if you want to paint it purple and orange, it's nice to have the power of ownership in your paint-stained hand. |
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We purchased our house in july of 1999 and was told by the bank that we needed a co signer to be able to purchase our house. My inlaws co signed for us and signed all papers that we did but the mortgage insurance papers my mother in law passed away in November of 2001 and what my question is do we have a legal right to have our house paid for by the bank because they co signed. Cathy I'm sorry that you had to endure the pain of losing a loved-one, and so soon after Sept 11. The insurance papers that you signed are not connected to the documents that you signed for the mortgage, so the insurance does not cover all of the people who signed the mortgage documents. A company separate from the bank or mortgage company insured the life of the people who were buying the house and making the mortgage payments, in this case, you and your husband. You could have bought mortgage insurance for other people at the time, including the cosigners, but at the time your inlaws probably would not have agreed to paying the cost of insuring themselves. I hope you are enjoying your new home and enjoying the time you have left with your father-inlaw. |
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Thank you so much, Bill. I pay the mortgage, had my home refinanced a couple of years ago. How can I get a "quick claim deed" so that I may place my daughter on the deed? I know you are in Canada; however, you seem to be very bright re this subject. As I said, I live in Tampa, where we have many "snowbirds", people who come to Florida for the winter. I thank you, and would appreciate any info re this matter. Which is the cheapest way to do this, Bill. Love and prayers, Pat. My first advice is, hire a lawyer because this is not my area of expertise, especially in another country! Generally speaking though, it's easy to put someone else on the deed for your property. The deed is filed at the local land registry office, or the equivalent in the USA, and it spells out the names and addresses of the people or corporations that own the land. It costs a few dollars to file a new one but it's not a big deal. The only people who really care are the people holding the mortgage. If they have a mortgage signed by one person but there is another person who has a claim to the property, because they are on the deed, but they have not signed the mortgage documents, then the mortgage is not valid. This is not a do-it-yourself project Pat. You will need a lawyer to steer you through the process but it should not be expensive. You should speak to the lender that holds your mortgage first and outline your intentions. Bankers don't like surprises. Good luck with this and say hello to the Canadians down there for me! I might be one of them in , oh, 30 years or so if I'm lucky. |
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I do not live in Canada, and am in California and was reading your very informative information on you site. In reading through your material, it was stated that if you decide not to buy a house, that the money you put up initially should be returned to you. I put up $3,000 and I decided not to buy the house at g the escrow stage. I was not offered my money back, but was sent a list of charges that used up all the money and I was asked to sign the paper and return it to the escrow office. These charges were broken down in this manner: Escrow cancellation fees $1,000; NSF check fee $30.00; Federal Express $80.00 The Seller $1795. Should this money be divided this way or returned to me? Connie Fortunately for us, in Canada we do not have to go through the escrow process because clear title to any piece of land, and the location of the corners of the lot, can be traced back to the first owner that bought it from the Crown. In early U.S.A. history, landowners basically put stakes in the ground and claimed the land. Often more than one landowner thinks they have title to the same piece of land. Escrow is a period where the lawyers try to determine who actually owns the land, and to give other people, who think they own all or a part of the lot, a chance to come forward. A simple house sale can be in escrow for years. If you were making an offer on a property in Canada, you would submit a deposit with the offer. That deposit would be returned to you if the seller did not accept your offer. If your offer was accepted, your deposit would be set aside while the conditions of the offer were being met. If one of the conditions was not met, for example if the house did not pass the home inspection, and there was subsequently no firm deal, then your deposit would also be returned to you in full. If all of the condition were met and you and the seller accepted the agreement of purchase, that agreement would be considered a binding contact. You and the seller would be locked into it. If one of you decided you wanted out of the deal, the other party could force you to complete the deal as agreed to. In order to get the seller to let you out of the deal, you would have to offer the seller money as a settlement. That's a case of a deal having gone very badly and is very rare. My understanding is that once the house is in escrow, in the USA, it is considered sold. That would be similar to the cancelled deal that I describe in Canada above. It does not surprise me that there would be fees and costs that you would have to pay, and that they would take them out of your deposit in order to ensure that the fees were paid. I don't know exactly what those fees are, or how the money would be distributed so I can't answer your questions directly. I expect that you were represented by a lawyer during the escrow process. I am not a lawyer and I would suggest that, if you think you paid fees that you shouldn't have, you should either consult with that lawyer about the fees that you paid overall, or consult with a different lawyer if you feel that your original lawyer was not dealing fairly with you. Thankyou again for visiting my website and for submitting your question! |
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How do you handle a sale of property that requires road access in legal terms of another property crossing another in terms of access to that property? Marlene I am not a lawyer and my advice is to consult with one before following any opinions that I have regarding legal matters. Having said that... An "easement" gives a person the right to cross over land that belongs to someone else. The only way to get to a landlocked piece of land is to negotiate an easement with one of the neighbouring landowners. If you were buying landlocked property, I would draft your offer with a condition that the deal would not go through unless either: 1/ your lawyer confirmed that an existing easement across a neighbour's land would be transferred to you after the sale, or 2/ if there is no existing easement, that you were able to negotiate an easement with one of the neighbours. If I was working for the seller of that property, I would ensure that we had documentation on the easement and proof that the easement would be transferred to the buyer. That would speed up the whole process and get the house sold faster. I hope I've addressed your question adequately. Thankyou again for visiting my website and for submitting your question! |
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My son bought a new house in Barrie. He wants to put up a fence in his backyard. Are the neighbours on either side and behind responsible to pay for their portion of the fence? He asked the two on the side and they are willing to pay their share. The one in the back said he doesn't want to pay, so does that leave the total for the back part of the fence totally on my son? Joanne Your son's neighbours have no obligation to help pay for the fence. Many neighbours do pay for part of a fence so that they can have some influence on the colour and style of the fence. It sounds like your son has 2 good neighbours out of three. Those are pretty good averages! It could be though that the rear neighbours are good people but just can't afford to pay for the fence. Owning a home, especially a new one, is an expensive proposition with many surprises. I hope the fence will become a common topic of discussion with the rear neighbours, rather than a bone of contention that will turn into a long term battle. Perhaps the key to that is to ask them for their input on the design and colour, even though they are not contributing to the cost. |
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How can I obtain listings of foreclosed/power of sale houses? Cherrie Generally you're going to have to work with a Realtor to find the power of sales or foreclosures. There are a few websites that claim to have listings, but they don't when you get to them. The power of sales are listed on the mls system, just as regular homes are. As a Realtor, I can use 'power of sale' as one of the criteria to search the mls database, however the public does not have that ability on www.mls.ca or www.realtor.com in the USA. There is a lengthy discussion of the savings in buying a power of sale or a foreclosed home on the FAQ page in the buyer's questions section on my website (click here) I hope that helps! |
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I have a question regarding cosigners,When the bank said no for my mortage the real estate company that i was dealing with cosigned for me .My question is what rights do they have to my house.It is now 13 years later ,they have never contacted me over the years but when i tried to sell the house she is refusing to sign off. my lawyer says i have nothing to worry about but i am bothered by this to the point where i can't sleep at night. Any advice or info similar to my case would be appreciated, thanks Brianna Thanks for your question Brianna. I don't have your email address to send a personal response so I hope you've found it here. I'm surprised by a lot of things in your story. Finding a Realtor or a Brokerage willing to cosign a mortgage application is definitely unique. My Broker has been known to accept a mortgage from buyers in the past, but he had mortgage documents that protected him if the buyers had defaulted on the loan. Your Broker, on the other hand, would have had to come up with the cash to pay off the bank if you had walked away from the bank. They took an incredible risk. Having the same people not contact you for 13 years after that is astounding. I guess they assumed that they had bought your loyalty by backing you on the mortgage, and that you'd call them. It sounds like you did not call them to sell your house, and that's why they are digging in their heels. To directly answer your question, no I haven't seen that situation before. I can only think of one instance where the cosigner would be able to stop the sale of a home. If you sold the house, and there was not enough money left after the sale to pay off the mortgage, and if you did not have any cash of your own to pay off the remaining balance, the bank would not release the mortgage without the cosigner continuing to support the loan and paying the balance. You didn't pass on information about your finances, but after 13 years you should have made a significant dent in the mortgage. I suspect that is why your lawyer has said not to worry; because you do have enough money on your own that you don't need a cosigner anymore. My advice? Go to sleep :-) |
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Hi Bill, A friend is trying to buy a HUD multi family(4 apartments) house in Brooklyn, NY. She has asked me to co-sign. What would be expected of me? What happens if she's late on payments. I have not done any thing yet. I have a good credit rating and want to keep it that way. Please advise. Thank you. Mellissa.. Hi Melissa When you co-sign a loan, you are assuming responsibility for any obligations the borrower is committing to in the loan agreement. As an example, if your friend defaults on payments, after about 3 months of late payments the lender will be looking to you for either the late payments or repayment of the total amount of the loan. Co-signing a loan is something that I consider beyond friendship and would be reluctant to do even for a family member. I hope that helps! |
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When changing from a Realtor to Private Sale, how long do I have to wait to sell my house to someone who "has" and "has not" previously viewed my home? Elan There should be a clause in the contract with your Realtor that spells out a "holdover" period. On the boards that I work under it is either 60 days or 90 days. If you did sell your house privately during that period, your original listing Realtor would have to prove that the buyer came through the house while it was listed. Usually we only have the open-house register to document such buyers' visits. If the buyer didn't sign anything at an open house, and did not see the house with another Realtor, you likely would not have a problem with the Realtor, but it's risky. I've heard of Brokers hiring private investigators in cases where the commissions were in the 10's of thousands of dollars. They would likely not go to such lengths for a couple of thousand dollars. To confuse the issue even more, if the buyer was working under a Buyer-agency agreement with another Realtor, the buyer could be liable for the other Realtor's commission too. I hope I've answered your question. Good luck with the sale of your home! |
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I am in the process of refinancing and have a question about the second bath that is in the middle of being installed. It is currently roughed in, but I don't know if the appraiser will determine it a bathroom or not because it is not yet functional? Brad Hi Brad. Your email address didn't work. I hope you've found the answer here. Appraisals are done on an "as is" basis and would be based on the state of your home at the time that it is done, in your case with an unfinished nonfunctioning bathroom. Good luck with your refinancing and thankyou for visiting my website! |
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How do I calculate the square footage of my two storey home? Anonymous Good question! If you have been looking at MLS listings from Toronto you'll notice that most of the listings don't mention square footage. That's because most of the Realtors there were unable to measure square footage properly in the past and there were so many lawsuits over house sizes that the Board made square footage an option in listings. Our local Barrie Board is more strict and we do have to include an accurate square footage. Square footage includes only space above grade, so the basement is not included in basic square footage measurements. Some Boards list "finished square footage" as a second measurement to include the basement. Square footage also only includes heated living space. If there is a 400 square foot enclosed porch on the back of the house, it's not included in your measurements unless it is heated. Heated means controlled by a thermostat so a porch with a woodstove also is not included in your measurements. A continuously heated garage also does not qualify as "heated living space" unless you're "living" in it. Square footage is measured from outside corner to outside corner, so the square footage includes living space plus exterior wall thickness. A rectangular ranch is easiest to measure. The length of the foundation outside along the front wall in feet (or metres) multiplied by the side wall feet. If the house is L shaped or some other odd shape, measure the square footage of the boxes that make up the floor plan, then add those numbers together to get an overall square footage. OK, now we'll add a second floor. Using the same criteria, add whatever heated living space exists on the second ( or more ) floors and add them to the main-floor square footage. The total is your overall square footage. What if your second floor has the sloping ceilings found in many mid-century homes? These houses are the ones that caused all of the lawsuits in Toronto. The sellers' Realtors measured the liveable space from where the floors meet the walls, even though only an 8-year old can stand up in that part of the room because of the sloping ceiling. The buyer's Lawyers measured the liveable space up the point in the room where an adult can stand up without hitting his head on the ceiling and considered the short-people parts of the rooms to be unlivable and not part of the square footage. House values are based primarily on square footage. Hence the lawsuits. Check with your local Realtors if you have sloping ceilings. In our local trading area, covered by the Barrie and District Real-Estate Board, square footage is measured up to where the floor meets the wall. Happy measuring! Back to Mailbag |
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If you have already bought a home and you are having major problems with the home that were not disclosed, what can I do. I did have an inspection that was not done properly. Everyone involved just sluffed me off. Can you please give me some advice. Rona When people use the word 'major' in relation to housing problems they usually mean 'expensive'. I will assume for the sake of the other folks reading this that the repairs to your house are necessary for your continued occupancy of the house and not smaller items. I will also assume that you bought a "used" home rather than buying from a builder. There are New House Warranty issues affecting new homes. The courts have made a distinction between 'patent' faults that should be obvious to anyone, (like the water damage to the walls and the missing roof) and 'latent' faults that are hidden and should be picked up by a professional (like the mold growing in the attic under the leaky roof sheathing.) If the defects at your house should be obvious to the average person, but you missed them, you still have some recourse with the Home Inspector. Your comments about everyone sluffing you off suggest that your home's faults were not obvious to your Home Inspector either. I'm not a lawyer and I will first recommend that you run anything that I say past a lawyer before you believe it, but, to go after the Home Inspector you would have to have expert witnesses on your side, who are also Home Inspectors, saying that a competent Home Inspector should have picked up on the major defects in your house. If they find the Home Inspector was a fault you win, if not, the seller is the next in line. I'm not sure if they are using the Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS) in Thunder Bay, where you bought. It is mandatory in Barrie, an option in Toronto, and the same mix across the country. It is a detailed statement from the seller stating the house's flaws. If the sellers wrote on their SPIS, for example, that the basement had never leaked, and if you could prove that they had a quote from a basement leakage expert for the costs to repair their leaky basement long before you bought, you'd have a case. You have to prove that they KNEW that those faults in your house were there and that they knew that they were there If you can prove that they lied, you might win. If you prove that they had no clue, you lose. There's another party with a responsibility in this. The Realtor who wrote up your offer to purchase. If you signed a Buyer Agency Agreement with that Realtor, they were obligated to protect you in the purchase. If you did not, they were working for the Sellers and you were only a customer. If you did have a Buyer Agency Agreement, the courts might find that your Realtor did not represent you well in letting you accept the Home Inspectors report if there were faults that the Realtor recognized, even if you didn't. Your suggestion that everyone is sluffing you off suggests that your Realtor is not acting as an advocate for you either, which disturbs me a lot! I'd need to know what your relationship is to him/her to go any further in that regard. So, where are we now? You might be able to sue the vendor, the home Inspector, or the Realtor who represented you when you bought. Or go for all three! You will need to weigh the costs of suing against what you will recover if you win. If you win, the court might make the other people pay your legal and court costs, or it might decide that you are partially at fault too and not award you your legal and court costs. If the costs of repairing the faults in the house are more than the cost of hiring a lawyer plus the court costs, the law suit might be an option. The next concern is, having sued and won, can you collect anything? You'll need a minimum of $5,000 to hire a lawyer. That will be eaten up quickly and the ongoing expenses will add another $5,000 or so. That's before you even get to court. I once spent $10,000 to sue for my $15,000 loss, and won the case. But the other guy declared bankruptcy and I was out my original $15,000 plus the other $10,000. I'm told that is not an uncommon story. It's always easier to find solutions to other peoples' problems that for our own. We never have the full story. As someone famous once said, the Devil is in the details. I don't know all of the other details that affect what you can do and I apologize for giving you a simplistic approach to your situation. If you love the house, and have the money to make the repairs, swallow your pride, spend the money, and do the repairs. Revenge is sweet but why not take the money that you would have put your lawyer's kid through college with, and spend it to make your house better? If you don't have the resources to repair the defects, put the house up for sale. Don't do what the previous owners did though. You have to disclose the faults that you have knowledge of. The next buyers might be even more vengeful and you'll spend thousands on legal fees defending their lawsuit. And you won't sleep at night because you'll know they are right. Yes, you will lose money by being honest, but not as much as you might think. Let me explain: Every house has faults. I often have buyers who think that buying a house is like buying a dented fridge at Sears. They want to subtract the home inspector's cost estimates from the asking price of the house. It doesn't work that way. You could take the same Home Inspector to any house that sold for the same price and he would find things to spend many thousands of dollars on to turn the perfectly acceptable house into the perfectly perfect house. Perfectly perfect houses don't exist. Even brand new houses have things you can improve on with $1,000 here and $1,000 there. Put your house on the market as it is. Don't hide the defects. You won't get the top price for a house of that size in your neighbourhood because any buyer will see it as a fixer-upper. To approach it from a more personal level, you will never be happy with that house. When you come home at night you will always remember the water in the basement or the mold in the attic. It will be a daily reminder that you were taken. The same memory will be |
