Toronto Real Estate and Neighbourhoods Blog | Move Smartly

SPIS Results in Rocky Legal Ride for Ontario Home Buyers and Sellers

Bob Aaron in Legal

An Ontario court decision released last month serves as a potent reminder of the dangers of using a Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS) when selling real estate.

In December 2003, Paul and Judith Riley signed an agreement to buy a home in Tavistock from John and Kimberley Langfield.

Prior to signing the offer, the sellers completed and delivered to the buyers an SPIS on a standard real estate board form.

The form, in wide use throughout parts of Ontario, asks questions about the condition of the home. It states that the answers are being provided for information purposes only and are not warranties. It also warns that sellers are responsible for the accuracy of all answers.

In the Tavistock transaction, the sellers stated in the SPIS that there were no defects in any included appliances or equipment, that the fireplace was in working order, and that the sellers were not aware of any problems with the swimming pool or any moisture or water problems in the basement.

After the closing in April 2004, the purchasers discovered a "flood" in the basement and some of their possessions were destroyed or damaged by the water. They also found that the swimming pool filter and pump were not working.

That summer, a public health inspector visiting a house under construction next door discovered a pipe coming from the Riley property containing raw sewage. He also discovered an abandoned well.

Media Roundup - June 27th 2008

Media Roundup

Canada's housing boom is over, bank says (Globe and Mail)

$7-a-gallon gas, 10-million fewer cars: Rubin (Globe and Mail)

Terrorism law puts onus on realtors (Toronto Star)

Toronto in decline, think-tank warns (National Post)

Durham housing market doing just fine, say experts (News Durham Region)

Canadian Home Sale Market Continues to Slow (CEP News)

Uber-luxury hotels for uber-rich (Toronto Star)

Hip and sophisticated? Say hello to the new T.O.(Toronto Star)

Greening Greater Toronto (blogTO)

Hall Monitor: Bloor St. transformation gets green light (Posted Toronto)

The Future of the Online Real Estate Search in Canada

John Pasalis in Real Estate Trends

The Globe and Mail interviewed me for an article published this weekend about a local real estate site called Housing123.com that the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) threatened to sue if it wasn’t shut down.

Housing 123 was downloading MLS information to their site allowing their users to search and browse homes on a Google map interface.  MLS.ca, the real estate search site operated by CREA, does not have any mapping functionality making it difficult for users to search for homes in a particular area.  The sites founders, Travis Fielding and Kevin Lai, launched Housing123 to ease their own frustrations with searching on MLS.ca 

The problem with the site was that the entrepreneurs were downloading MLS data without the permission of the real estate boards or the brokerages who own that data.  This violates the copyright laws that protect MLS information.

While I am a supporter of innovation in the real estate industry, CREA’s decision to shut down the site was ultimately the right one.  An entrepreneur may not agree with all of the laws or policies that govern the real estate industry, but they are obligated to work within them.   Housing123 wasn’t doing this.

What I find a little more interesting than the story about Housing123, is an issue that the writer, Hayley Mick, touched on in her article.

New FINTRAC Regulations for Realtors

Rachel Loizos in  Toronto Real Estate News

If your real estate agent seems a little suspicious of you, don’t worry, it's nothing personal. 

New regulations under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) now compel your real estate broker or sales representative to ask you to provide ID, personal information and financial information (including where your deposit money came from) when you buy or sell a property. 

The regulations, which came into force on June 23, 2008, will force realtors to start asking property sellers and buyers personal information never before required. Brokers will have to keep records and submit information on request to the Financial Transaction and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), a federal agency set up to track suspicious transactions.   

Interestingly, if some parties in a real estate transaction are not represented by a real estate broker or sales representative while other parties are, each real estate broker or sales representative that represents a party to the transaction has to identify or confirm the existence of the parties that are not represented.  I wonder how agents will feel about the requirement to perform due diligence with respect to the for-sale-by-owner crowd?

The new regulations are part of legislation aimed at stopping money laundering and terrorist financing.  Check out the FINTRAC website for more detailed information. 

Rachel Loizos is an associate lawyer at Sotos LLP in Toronto. She practices in the area of real estate law.
Email Rachel

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Toronto's 'Target 70': Multi-unit Buildings, It's Your Turn

Jesse Fleming in Urban Issues

As of July 1, 2008, residents of multi-unit buildings will be charged a fee for garbage collection.  In a previous post, I had explained the roll-out of Toronto’s green/grey/blue bin programs which, at the time, excluded condominiums, apartment buildings and certain town house developments - anywhere that communal garbage collection takes place.  Fellow building residents, our time is nigh.

According to the City of Toronto website, “building owners will be required to pay a fee for garbage collection based on how much garbage is set out by building residents.” The charge will be for the entire building and billed to the building owner, replacing the current $157 per unit fee that is included on property taxes.  A pro-rated refund will be issued for the amount that is equal to the average amount collected through taxes in the form of a credit on your new combined Water/Solid Waste utility bill.  Fees are subject to change according to the yearly budget.

Long-suffering homeowners need cement case resolution

Bob Aaron in Legal

The Great Eastern Ontario Cement Case is alive and well and thriving in Ottawa. In fact, after wending its way through the Ontario court system for more than 16 years, it may be the country's longest ongoing litigation.

It all began between 1986 and 1988, when a number of houses in eastern Ontario, between Rockland and Hawkesbury, were built with ready-mix concrete foundations containing fly ash, a by-product of coal-powered electrical generation.

Lafarge Canada Inc., a large multinational, supplied cement powder and the fly ash formulation. They were used in the preparation of the concrete by Bertrand & Frère Construction. Unfortunately, the fly ash was defective and within months of construction, the foundations began to deteriorate.

A total of 28 owners filed timely warranty claims with the predecessor of the Tarion Warranty Corporation and all had their foundations completely replaced.

In 1992, 137 other owners who failed to file their warranty claims in time sued Bertrand, Lafarge and others, and they in turn sued 30 different insurance companies.

Media Roundup - June 20th 2008

Media Roundup

Hundreds swept up in U.S. mortgage fraud arrests (Globe and Mail)

'Canada's housing boom over' (Toronto Star)

Study finds residents okay with high-density housing (Toronto Star)

Now we'll all be able to walk the walk on Bloor St. (Toronto Star)

Want a new urban model? Go west (Toronto Star)

City nixes condo tower on top of church (Posted Toronto)

Sold on Scarborough (Globe and Mail)

Toronto Real Estate Sales Continue to Drop in June

John Pasalis in Toronto Real Estate News

The story for Toronto’s real estate market continues to be consistent half way through June.  Prices continue to rise and sales continue to decline.  Prices are up 4% over the same time last year and sales in the GTA declined by 14%.

In Wednesday’s press release TREB tries to fight the doom and gloom story that has been dominating the headlines recently by comparing sales in 2008 to sales in 2006.  TREB is taking this approach because sales reached record heights in 2007 making it a bad year to compare current sales to when trying to assess the health of the real estate market.  The following chart shows that sales were relatively constant between 2004 to 2006 and increased suddenly in 2007 by roughly 10,000.  Much of the increase in 2007 has been attributed to the introduction of the 40-year mortgage.  The 40-year mortgage suddenly made home ownership more affordable thus driving up sales for that year.

Homebuying and Marriage Contracts

Rachel Loizos in Legal

If you already own a home and are considering marriage, you may be considering obtaining a marriage contract to protect your assets.  If you are considering buying a home with your future spouse, and you will be contributing most of the money towards the purchase, you may also be considering a marriage contract (commonly referred to as prenuptial agreements or prenups). 

Marriage contracts can be used for a variety of reasons, but they are typically used in the circumstance where one partner has a larger net worth or has a large family estate they would like to see protected in the event of marriage breakdown.  Recent case law warns those of you who are in this situation to be careful and be honest when dealing with your partner.

When people decide that they will agree to enter a marriage contract, there is a requirement that this agreement be entered into in good faith.  There are disclosure requirements, meaning that you are obligated to tell your partner what you own.  The importance of being honest when having these discussions is highlighted in the recent decision of the Court of Appeal, affirming the trial judge’s decision and handed down May 15, 2008.  In the facts of the case, the parties signed a marriage contract two days before they were married.  At the time the agreement was signed, the party with significantly higher net worth (the husband) did not disclose all of his assets or his income, among other things to his prospective spouse.  

Elia - A Neighbourhood Being Left Behind?

Jesse Fleming in Urban Issues

Some time ago, I wrote about the neighbourhood  of Elia. This community, pigeon-holed into a high-crime danger zone because it houses Toronto’s infamous Jane Street and Finch Avenue West intersection, had been the topic of a re-branding conversation - the goal is to “kick-start a renaissance of the area”, according to Councillor Perruzza. More recently, residents have been involved in a different battle, one that their community depends on.

The Humber River Health Coalition has been active in the fight against the closing and relocation of the Humber River Regional Hospital, currently at Jane and Finch, to a main Keele Street and Wilson Avenue location.  Amalgamating this hospital with two others, currently at Jane Street and Lawrence Avenue West and Keele Street and Eglinton Avenue West, will create the proposed new facility.

Both sides of the argument make strong cases. On one hand, a state of the art facility would provide advanced medical care and potentially attract much needed doctors to Toronto (who doesn’t like something shiny and new?); an ambulatory service is to remain at Jane and Finch. On the other hand, existing locations provide vital employment and services for their respective communities, especially in the north west portion of Toronto; the Jane and Finch facility could also house a potential medical school for York University and train the much needed doctors.

Having been selected as the location for Toronto’s first Africentric school, Elia had gained something to be proud of, something that was unique to the neighbourhood. Removing, instead of improving, the community hospital seems to keep this neighbourhood within the bounds of an marginalized equilibrium.  For every one thing gained, one thing is taken away.

Jesse Fleming is a freelance writer based in Toronto. Email Jesse

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