TITLE INSURANCE - AN EXPLANATION

Title Insurance is a form of insurance policy that protects purchasers from a number of potential risks.

These risks are usually matters which are not covered by a traditional lawyer's due diligence.  Briefly summarized, these added protections include the following:

1. Defects that would be revealed by a new Survey.  In the absence of an existing survey, Title Insurance may be ordered in lieu of a new survey.  Please note that this assumes that a new survey must be ordered.  If the vendor is able to provide an older survey or if the applicable City Hall has a survey certificate, these may usually be utilized.  Title Insurance also insures a defect that would be revealed by an existing survey such as an encroachment of a neighbour's building onto the adjacent property.  The most famous example is a swimming pool located on...

PROBLEMS WITH UNDERGROUND OIL STORAGE TANKS

 Many homes in the Greater Vancouver area built before 1957 were originally heated with

furnace oil. When natural gas became available, the oil storage tanks, which were
normally located underground in backyards, were filled with sand or capped. However, as
these unused tanks start to corrode and rust, the remaining oil can leak out and flow onto
the rest of the owner’s property, the neighbour’s property, storm sumps and waterways,
resulting in contamination of soil and water. Apart from the negative financial impact on
the market value of the property, the owner can face substantial legal liability under
various statutes and bylaws for such contamination.

The BC Fire Code and by-laws of twelve municipalities (including the City of
Vancouver) all essentially require that out of service underground oil storage tanks
(“UST”) be...

USING A POWER OF ATTORNEY TO BUY, SELL OR 

REFINANCE REAL ESTATE

October 19, 2011

It is not uncommon for clients to be away at the time they are closing a real estate
transaction. In this situation there are a few options to ensure the transaction closes on
time, one of them being the use of a Power of Attorney.

Legislation relating to the use of Power of Attorney’s was passed effective September 1,
2011. The changes were mostly to the form of the Power of Attorney, and do not
substantially change the use of a Power of Attorney for real estate. Below is a discussion
on how to use a Power of Attorney to sell, refinance or purchase a property.

In all of these situations we are assuming there are no trust issues between the person
giving the Power of Attorney (the "Adult") and the person who is allowed to sign
pursuant to the Power of Attorney (the "Attorney"), and all parties are acting...

Closer alignment between home buyer and seller activity helped bring greater balance to the Greater Vancouver housing market in February.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,545 on the MLS® system in February 2012. This represents a 61.4 per cent increase compared to the 1,577 sales recorded in January 2012, a decline of 17.8 per cent compared to the 3,097 sales in February 2011 and a 2.9 per cent increase from the 2,473 home sales in February 2010.

February sales in Greater Vancouver were the third lowest February total in the region since 2002, though only 151 sales below the 10-year average.

“With a sales-to-active-listings ratio of over 18 per cent, we see fairly balanced conditions in our marketplace as we move into the traditionally busier spring season,”...