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New Houses and Condos: Review Your Contract Immediately with a Lawyer!

By Kormans LLP

You walked into a sales office one Saturday afternoon. You have seen the ads for the new construction project for weeks. You can’t wait to finally purchase your first new home!

 

The salesperson put the agreement in front of you. Everything is standard you are told. Just sign. Should you? If you remember one thing, it’s this: make sure you review the agreement with your real estate lawyer while it is still conditional!

 

There is a big difference between agreements to purchase a new house and a new condominium unit. By law, the new condo agreement has a 10-day rescission period. So as long as you write to the builder’s office within 10 days of signing the agreement, you can get out of the deal. But a new construction house- if it is not conditional on lawyer review, the deal can be firm upon the agreement being signed by all parties. Translation? If you do not have the lawyer review clause, you are likely going to have to complete the house purchase, even if you change your mind.

 

The moral of the story? A new house and condominium unit agreement are both contracts. They outline the rights and responsibilities of the parties involved. If you are able to review the agreement with your lawyer before signing it, that would be great. But most sales offices will not give you a copy of the agreement unless you sign it first. Make sure that you have the lawyer condition clause in the agreement if you are purchasing a new construction house. And regardless of the type of new construction property you are buying, make sure you send the agreement to your lawyer right away!

 

I have many clients that retain me before they even put in an offer to buy a property. We make the initial contact and I go through any questions they may have. Then once the client signs their agreement, they come to the sales office better prepared and ready with the timelines before sending me the agreement. Then I proceed to review the agreement, outline my comments and recommended changes, receive the client instructions and very often negotiate with the builder’s lawyers for better terms. Having a professional real estate lawyer on your side means better information and knowledge going into the transaction and very often cost savings on closing! Don’t trust your most important purchase to any lawyer. Make sure they are real estate law experts and have closed many new construction transactions in the past. With the right legal support on your side, your chances of a successful closing have increased greatly!

 

 

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Jonathan Hacohen is a Partner at Kormans LLP. His practice areas include Real Estate & Corporate Law, as well as Wills/Estates law. You can reach Jonathan at jhacohen@kormans.ca.

All blog entries are for your reading pleasure only and are not posted to provide legal advice. For your matter, we encourage you to consult with a lawyer to review and discuss your specific facts and circumstances.