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New Houses and Condos: Review Your Contract Immediately with a Lawyer!
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Jonathan A. Hacohen
October 17, 2018
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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!
Jonathan (aka “The Chosen Lawyer”) was called to the Ontario Bar in 2002, graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2001 and completed his Bachelor of Business Administration at The Schulich School of Business (York University) in 1998. In addition to being a Partner at Kormans LLP, Jonathan’s journey in law started as an Associate with a large Bay Street law firm, as well as enjoying a secondment working in-house at Tim Hortons (TDL Group) for almost a year!
Jonathan was an Instructor with OREA, teaching the Real Property Law course to future realtors in Ontario. The Chosen Lawyer is a sought-after lecturer at seminars, team meetings and conferences—often speaking to groups including realtors and mortgage brokers on a variety of legal topics including real estate, corporate/commercial and wills/estates law. He also speaks on non-legal topics including Organization, Productivity, Motivation, Work/Life Balance and Mindfulness. Jonathan adopts a zen-like approach to the practice of law and shares his real-life experience with others in order to help them achieve success and happiness! In order to book The Chosen Lawyer for your next session, please email Jonathan at info@kormans.ca
Before entering the legal field, Jonathan chose to study business as he envisioned having a background in all aspects of business (including accounting, economics, finance, marketing and HR) would prove to be very useful as a lawyer—in understanding and communicating with business clients on their respective businesses and industries. Jonathan has a diverse client base, including many first-time home purchasers, residential clients (purchases, sales, refinances, assignment transactions), corporate/commercial clients (real estate transactions, leases, incorporations, shareholder agreements), as well as assisting clients with preparing wills and powers of attorney.
When he is not in the office or in front of a computer, Jonathan can either be found in the gym, boxing ring, learning a new recipe in the kitchen or on a yoga mat. Jonathan has competed with UFE (Ultimate Fitness Events) and is a double medal winner in the physique category! Jonathan is also an avid animal lover and can usually be found with his trusted pal Ollie (Shih-tzu dog) by his side.
Don’t forget to watch episodes of Podcasts/Docuseries hosted by Jonathan “The Chosen Lawyer”TM on the Kormans LLP YouTube channel or listen to it across all podcast players, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify!
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