Selling Process

Family Law Issues in Real Estate (Part 1)

Don 0 Comments

two-hands-grapsing-a-model-house

A common problem in Family Law situations is when the client sells a matrimonial home and plans to use their share of the proceeds to buy another home. This “Dream Client” can become a nightmare if the agent is not careful. It is not uncommon for spouses to assume they will receive half (1/2) the equity of the house upon the sale. It is important for agents to ensure their client has a separation agreement in place, dealing with the proceeds of the sale of the house, or at least an irrevocable direction to the lawyer acting on the sale for what is required to complete the new purchase, before the spouse commits to a firm agreement of purchase and sale on a new house.

Spouses can get very vindictive, and on a sale, will often insist the proceeds of the sale be held in trust by their real estate lawyer until all Family Law issues are resolved. If the proper caution is not taken as mentioned above, the spouse’s purchase can be thwarted and the purchasing spouse can be exposed to damages for failure to close.

Always make your client aware of this, and do not let them firm up without clarification of who gets what of the sale proceeds. Spouses can never count on their spouse continuing goodwill.

Knowledge is Power, which results in more business!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.  If you have any suggestions for future topics please let us know.

Prepared by Don Travers, Solicitor with Paquette & Travers Professional Corporation

Contact toll free: 1-877-744-2281                                          Online: www.paquettetravers.com

Watch for more Travers Tidbits to follow each month!

What Is a Zombie Deed / Transfer?

Don 0 Comments

houseforsale

It has nothing to do with Halloween!  A Zombie deed is a transfer which is registered after the death of the owner of the property. In the past if an owner was dying, lawyers would get the deed signed before the closing date of a sale, and hold it until the closing day and register it then. If the owner passed away before closing, the transaction could still close on time without the need for Probate. These deeds were held to be valid in the case of Winarksi v. Sproul The Winarski case lead to the practitioners seeing the Zombie deed as a way of avoiding the provincial taxation or the value of the property. There were certain requirements for the deed to be valid , including that it would be binding after death and it was delivered to an Ontario Lawyer unconditionally and irrevocable. The registry office will now no longer permit the registration of Zombie Deeds, if discovered.

Knowledge is Power, which results in more business!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at your convenience. If you have any suggestions for future topics please let us know.

Prepared by Don Travers, Solicitor with Paquette & Travers . Contact toll free: 1-877-744-2281 Online: www.paquettetravers.com

Watch for more Travers Tidbits to follow each month!

What is “First Dealings for Estate Sales”?

Don 0 Comments

Dream house.

Recently I have had several agents raise questions on a clause in an Estate sale which referred to first dealings and the fact that probate might not be needed. So what is a “First Dealings for Estate Purposes.”

The requirement in Land Titles is that upon the death of an owner, the estate trustee must obtain probate. The conversion of properties from the old registry system to Land Title has lead to an exemption from the requirement for Probate for these converted properties to Land Title Qualified.

The First Dealings Exemption is applicable if the deceased acquired the property while it was registered under the registry system and was subsequently converted to Land Title Qualified and the deceased still owned the property, then the owner will be exempt from the requirement for probate. This First Dealings Exemption will still apply as long as the dealings do not transfer title, such as mortgages and discharges.

The exemption will still apply if a joint tenant has died on the registration of a survivorship application will not vitiate the first dealings exemption for the survivor. Inter-spousal conveyances due to the dissolution of a marriage will not disqualify the owner from the First Dealings Exemption. This exemption is only available where there is a Will and where the property is in the Land Title Qualified.

Knowledge is Power, which results in more business!  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at your convenience. If you have any suggestions for future topics please let us know.

Prepared by Don Travers, Solicitor with Paquette & Travers

Contact toll free: 1-877-744-2281 Online: www.paquettetravers.com

Watch for more Travers Tidbits to follow each month

Family Law Issues in Real Estate: Part 2 of 3

Don 0 Comments

homesplitting

A common problem in Family Law Situations is when the client sells a matrimonial home and plans to use their share of the proceeds to buy another home.  This “Dream Client” can become a nightmare if the agent is not careful.  It is not uncommon for spouses to assume they will receive half (1/2) the equity of the house upon the sale.  It is important for agents to ensure their client has a separation agreement in place, dealing with the proceeds of the sale of the house or at least an irrevocable direction to the lawyer acting on the sale for what is required to complete the new purchase, before the spouse commits to a firm agreement of purchase and sale on a new house.

Spouses can get very vindictive, and on a sale, will often insist the proceeds of the sale be held in trust by their real estate lawyer until all Family Law issues are resolved.  If the proper caution is not taken as mentioned above, the spouse’s purchase can be thwarted and the purchasing spouse be exposed to damages for failure to close.

Always make your client aware of this, and do not let them firm up without clarification of who gets what of the sale proceeds.  Spouses can never count on their spouse continuing goodwill.  Be prepared and ready to advise!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at your convenience. If you have any suggestions for future topics please let us know.

Prepared by Don Travers, Solicitor with Paquette & Travers

Contact toll free: 1-877-744-2281

Online: www.paquettetravers.com

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow – The Risk of No Conditions!

Cheri 0 Comments

Sold

In this very hot market, we are seeing most deals without any conditions, and in particular, no financing condition.  However, this is not necessarily a blessing for the Seller. Sales not being completed because of the Buyer cannot get financing.  The Seller believes they have a firm Agreement of Purchase and Sale act upon that information to buy a new home. Unfortunately, the Seller finds out when they get close to the closing, that the Buyer cannot close because the price paid for the house is not justified by the bank’s appraisal.  The Seller is left in the inevitable position of not being able to complete their purchase.

To make matters worse, there was a multiple offer, and unfortunately the seller selected the perceived best offer, which turned out to be the wrong offer.  The offer had only the minimal deposit, so the seller does not have much to fall back on for their damages.

In order for Agents acting for the sellers to protect their clients, the Agents should be making sure that the accepted Agreement of Purchase and Sale have larger deposits.  If buyers can not come up with a larger deposit, they probably cannot make up any shortfall in the bank financing either.

If you sold your home in 2016, you will have to report it to the Canadian Revenue Agency in your tax form that deals with Capital Gains, even though any gains remain tax free if you have lived in the house as long as you owned it. The basic information related to the transaction must be filled out on the income tax form including the year of purchase, the proceeds of the sale, and the description of the property.  The penalty for not reporting the sale of a home and not having your tax return amended if necessary is up to $8000. This change in reporting will make it easier for the CRA to catch taxpayers who try to claim the principle residence exemption on more than one property for the same period.

Knowledge is Power, which results in more business!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.  If you have any suggestions for future topics please let us know.

Prepared by Don Travers, Solicitor with Paquette & Travers

Contact toll free: 1-877-744-2281    Online: www.paquettetravers.com

Watch for more Travers Tidbits to follow each month!

The Importance of Communicating the Realtor Commissions Process

Don 0 Comments

realtorcommissions

These days agents are having clients sign Buyer Agency Agreements, usually providing for the payment of commissions at 2.5 %. Unfortunately many of the transactions involved for sale by owner deals, or deals with discounters, do not provide for the Buyer’s agent to get the 2.5%.  As such, the Buyer will be responsible for any shortfall in the commission that the agent receives as a result of these types of arrangements.

However we are not expecting commission statements on purchases. On a sale, if we do not have a commission statement, we would naturally call to get one.  On purchases, we would not, so it is imperative to not only fax or email the statement, but to also follow up to ensure it has been received by us. It is preferable to email us but please always follow-up to ensure we have the required commission statement by phone.

It is advisable to inform the Buyers of the likely situation that commission might be payable, so they are not overwhelmed or surprised during their signing process with our offices.  If and when a clear line of communication is addressed between all parties (Buyers, Agents and the Law Firm), the ability to obtain and remit commission to the brokerages is far easier.

A Buyer’s hesitancy to assist Agents throughout the transaction is due to the fact that they could be paying commission which was not contemplated in the situation.  As a result to avoid any miscommunication or delay, it would be prudent to explain all possible scenarios to the clients in light of the Buyers and Sellers communicating directly.

Prepared by : Donald J. Travers of Paquette Travers & Deutschmann

Toll Free: 1-877-744-2281 Email: Don@PaquetteTravers.com