In 2006, Glenda Halliwell made an offer on a home. She explained to her realtor, Lazarus, that she was sensitive to mould, and that she wanted to ensure that the house she was buying did not have mould. Her realtor recommended a particular home inspector, Edwards....

If you live in an urban subdivision built in the past ten or 15 years, chances are the borders of your property are exactly where they appear to be – right down the fence line and to the edge of the street. There is an extremely low likelihood that part of your deck...

I was reading the Globe and Mail yesterday and came across this article about an extreme surveying blunder. Essentially, because of surveying errors by the provincial government on First Nations lands dating back over 100 years, many people in the Squamish area of...

I attended a conference yesterday through the Ontario Bar Association called the Institute of Continuing Professional Development. It is an annual program for lawyers in Ontario that provides an overview of developments in every area of law. I spent the morning...

Most people will have heard the news announced by the federal government on Monday about the new mortgage rules that will take effect this spring. There are three main changes: the maximum amortization on federally insured mortgages will now be 30 years instead of 35;...

Last week, the Ontario Court of Appeal released a decision in Citi Cards Canada Inc. v. Pleasance. In this case, Citi Financial wanted to collect on a credit card debt of $11,000.00 through a forced sale of the debtor’s home. In order to do so, however, it needed...

It’s an all-too-common situation: you get the call from your lawyer that your keys are ready, you head over to your new home, and you find the vendors still there, packing up the house. What happens if the vendors haven’t moved yet? Technically, once the deal has...

Your home is likely the largest investment you will ever make. However, while most investments carry a large tax burden when you sell them for a profit, your home benefits from federal rules to encourage home ownership. As long as the property is your principal...

A condo declaration is a document that creates the condominium corporation. It defines what each unit is physically, establishes the common elements, and assigns responsibility for repair and maintenance of each unit and the common areas. It also sets out each owner’s...

Unfortunately, I occasionally have a client call me after a purchase has closed to let me know that there was damage in the house – a broken railing, a damaged pool filter, or even that the vendor took all of the light fixtures and curtain rods. If you arrive at your...