Legal Stories:
John’s legal expertise benefits you – Your Double Advantage
With his “legal eagle” vision, John Callan’s Double Advantage assures that his clients interests come first. His 35 years of experience as an Ottawa real estate lawyer have brought him incredible insight into the myriad of legal issues that might escape the average Sales Representative. For example, you may be “wowed” by a property that John has shown you, he may not be as enthusiastic. This means his legal expertise “radar” is working on your behalf. Here are some of the stories where he has helped clients avoid legal pitfalls.
An Unopened Road Allowance raises legal questions
A client was looking to purchase a year-round waterfront home. While inspecting the survey, I noticed that it showed an Unopened Road Allowance.
A red flag came up and with it many questions. Could the road allowance be opened for public access in the future? If it did, how would that impact on my client’s privacy and enjoyment of their waterfront? Could an adjoining property owner purchase the road allowance from the municipality? It was essential to answer these questions before an offer to purchase was submitted, or, at least, to make the offer conditional allowing time for further investigation of these issues.
Closer inspection of survey reveals more land
The lot size for a property on a listing was described as 50′ wide and 100′ deep. After physically viewing the riverfront property, it looked much deeper than 100 feet. The survey revealed that the house was constructed some 20 feet away from the high water mark, but there was approximately an additional 70 feet of depth to the waterfront that was not part of the legal description the Seller had in his Deed to convey! I was able to determine, prior to finalizing the agreement, who owned the extra parcel of land and how to obtain title to it.
Buyer gets price reduction on condo purchase
As part of his Agreement of Purchase and Sale for a condo, a seller included the exclusive use of two parking spots. Upon review of the Condominium Status Certificate, I determined that the unit had the exclusive use of only one parking spot. Based on this fact, a price reduction was successfully negotiated. The bonus was that the buyer continued to have the use of the two parking spaces.
Client avoids legal pitfall in condo sale
My client was about to list her condo property. However, she knew about a structural issue (repair) in the building that needed to be addressed by the Condo Corporation and which might be levied before she listed the property. In view of this repair, the purchase price was reduced. I avoided a legal pitfall for my client, the seller, by understanding exactly what the wording in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale stated and by amending it to protect her interest. Otherwise, she might have been responsible for the repairs, or worse the buyer could have terminated the agreement, in spite of having received a price reduction.