Law Times

Law Times • June 11, 2012 Rules unclear on disclosing stigmatized properties Issue surfaces in complaint related to sale of Sonia Varaschin's home FOCUS dered before the deal closes. The body wasn't found in the home and it's not even clear A suicides, owner had been mur- fter agreeing to pur- chase a house, the buyer finds out the owner died there. But that doesn't matter. The buyer was unaware and still wants out of the deal on the grounds the sell- er should have said something. But did the selling agent real estate lawyer Shari Elliott, the answer is no. "No, not Elliott. "That is the short answer. That is not the full answer. in Ontario," could fall under the Real Estate Council of Ontario' Elliott believes murders, and other " deaths ethics that determines what's a A broker or salesperson who material fact. " has a client/customer in respect of the acquisition or disposition of a particular interest in real estate shall take reasonable steps to determine material facts relat- ing to the acquisition or disposi- tion and, at the earliest practi- cable opportunity, shall disclose the material facts to the client/ customer, fact affect whether someone would purchase a property or the pur- chase price, says Elliott. "It' In simpler terms, a material is " the code states. something that would involved to determine whether [a death] is a material fact," she notes. "Each agent has a differ- ent take. s really a call of the agents example actually happened in Orangeville, Ont. Sonia Varaschin was found murdered six days after The aforementioned " planned to buy the Spring Street home, according to a story in the Toronto Star. He put a $5,000 deposit down. But his excitement changed went missing on Aug. 30, 2010. While police never revealed whether the 42-year-old Orangeville nurse died in her Spring Street home, there was blood throughout. A year later, Samuel Jacques she Built just for you Together we have all the tools The TitlePLUS® Program works with you to help protect your clients from title risks.1 assist you, through our legal services coverage2 after he turned on the evening news and saw a story about the anniversary of the unsolved death. "It' should find out about a situa- tion like that," the paper quoted Jacques as saying. He immediately tried to get real estate partner! result of an error or omission in your real estate transactions. To ensure your clients get the most comprehensive coverage in one policy, take a look at the TitlePLUS Program, your Bar-related® s not the way a person out of the deal. He was success- ful and got his money back three weeks later. Then he filed a complaint with the council. Jacques said the broker rep- resenting the estate of Varaschin PROTECTION AS GOOD AS IT GETS 1-800-410-1013 2 Excluding OwnerEXPRESS® policies and Québec policies. ®TitlePLUS, the TitlePLUS logo, OwnerEXPRESS and LAWPRO are registered trademarks of Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company. ®BAR-RELATED Mark is a registered Mark of North American Bar Related Title Insurers used by LAWPRO under License. titleplus.ca 1 Please refer to the policy for full details, including actual terms and conditions. The TitlePLUS policy is underwritten by Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company (LAWPRO®). Contact LAWPRO for brokers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta and Québec. With the right tools we , by reducing the inconvenience of dealing with a loss as the s code of says BY KENNETH JACKSON For Law Times misled him intentionally. The home was listed for $209,000 and labelled a "first- time buyer dream home. the ad also said it had been fresh- ened up. When contacted by Law " The Times, a spokeswoman for the council didn't provide much information. " any information that I am able to provide to you, At this time, have an obligation to share the information? According to Barrie, Ont., Haigh in an e-mail. "Unfortunately, we are not I don't have " said Sherri permitted to confirm specific complaints but we do review all complaints carefully and if there is evidence that warrants an inves- tigation, then we may proceed with disciplinary proceedings or enforcement action depending on the nature of the complaint. If there is a discipline decision or a conviction, that information will become public and can be accessed on our web site. Quebec has to tell a buyer of a death if it was within the last three years. The majority of states south of the border also require disclosure of deaths, she adds. "I just think the problem is there is no guidance there. Every agent is treating it differ- ently, to Ontario. She notes that in her opin- ion, if buyers ask agents about a murder, suicide or even a haunting, they have an obliga- tion to tell them. "If you are asked, believe under the code of eth- ics where you have to act with integrity and be honest, you do have to tell. then I TitlePlus_LT_Nov3_08.qxd 10/27/08 11:11 AM Page 1 " to a large realty firm and says most of the questions she receives are about stigmatized properties and what agents do Elliott provides assistance " The rules on disclosing events such as murders in a home are a 'grey area,' says Shari Elliott. and don't have to disclose. She suggests the Orangeville case could potentially provide some " says Elliott in reference Elliott notes an agent in insight if the council actually investigates and determines changes are necessary. "When they make a deci- sion, there will be guidance. Right now, it' is no guidance. I have no idea how long it takes for them to go through their process." It' s a grey area. There it comes to marijuana grow operations. Agents must s a different story when buyers if the home was a grow- op, says Elliott. "Brokers and salespersons are obligated to disclose any material fact about a proper- ty that they are aware of that could affect a person' to buy, including if the home is a former grow-op, s decision RECO's website states. Two guilty of not disclosing grow-ops received fines of $15,000. decisions show agents found LT recent " a notice on disciplinary tell potential PAGE 11 www.lawtimesnews.com

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