There is a relatively new phenomenon involving the failure of a property to meet appraisals standards, following bidding wars. So, let’s look at a scenario. Bob puts his property on …
Agreement Date or Just an Offer Date?
There is a common misconception concerning the Agreement date. Sometimes, it’s actually just an Offer date. If there is an Agreement, it may indeed be sometime later. This runs the …
Adding or Substituting Parties to an Agreement
Agreements often start out with the wrong people involved, or not enough of the right people. For some reason, this issue seems to create some complications. How do you add …
Moving the Deposit from one Agreement to Another
Obviously, you are going to need a clause for this. I am assuming that you have a deal between the Seller and the Buyer with a deposit paid to the …
Waivers and Notices of Fulfillments
The Notice of Fulfillment was created specifically to firm up a transaction that included a True Condition Precedent like a property severance. You can’t really just waive this. You don’t …
Vacant Possession and Occupancy
Question: Assuming the deal closes at 2:00 pm, the APS says 6:00 pm, the Registry Office closes at 5:00 pm and the end of the day is 11:59 pm, WHEN …
Understanding the Doctrine of Merger: Simplification
The doctrine of merger is a legal principle associated with making things “simpler”. The doctrine goes back hundreds of years. Adjacent Properties If two properties sitting side by side are bought …
Sellers Avoid Lawsuits: Factor Defect into Price!
Everyone wants to negotiate and get a good price for their house. But, when the deal is closed and the sellers have moved on, they really want to be DONE …
Preventing Disaster if the Renovator Goes Bankrupt
Recently, there have been reports about a renovation building contractor who ran into financial difficulty and has left as many as 15 families in a mess with partially completed projects. …
Power of Attorney Use
QUESTION Helen, the daughter holds a Power of Attorney (POA) from her mother Gertrude, who has been diagnosed with dementia. Gertrude called a real estate agent to list her property …