What exactly is a condominium, anyway?

Condos were created in Ontario by the Condominium Act in 1967; the legislation has changed many times, and the most recent version is the Condominium Act, 1998, which was passed in (naturally) 2001. There has been some talk of some updates recently, but the legislation is still substantially the same as it was ten years… Continue reading What exactly is a condominium, anyway?

What to do when your new house isn’t empty

Here’s a situation that happens more often than you might think: your lawyer calls to say that your house is closed, you pick up the keys, you go to the house….and the old owners are still there. If you are a first-time buyer, you are most likely staying in your rental for a few days… Continue reading What to do when your new house isn’t empty

Breaking up is hard to do

What happens when one joint tenant (or tenant in common) wants out of a property and the other says no? There is a piece of legislation in Ontario called the Partition Act that governs the concept of partition and sale, when a court can order that property be apportioned according to interests and one or… Continue reading Breaking up is hard to do

What you don’t know can, in fact, hurt you

There was a case a while back in British Columbia that involved a house the buyers ended up not really wanting. In Cardwell v. Perthen, the buyers found after purchasing their home that there was shoddy workmanship, leaks, deterioration of structural components and mould. They chose not to get a home inspection at the time… Continue reading What you don’t know can, in fact, hurt you