Real Estate Agents, Beware!: Protect Your Deals - and Increase Your Success - by Avoiding These Legal Traps

233 Pages·2005·4.27 MB·English

by  Mark Weisleder

Real Estate
Agents,
BEWARE!
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Real Estate
Agents,
BEWARE!
Protect Your Deals —
and Increase Your Success —
by Avoiding These Legal Traps
Includes what you need to know about the new Privacy Act
MARKWEISLEDER
ECW Press
Copyright © 2005 by Mark Weisleder
Published by ECW PRESS
2120 Queen Street East, Suite 200, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4E iF.2
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process — electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the
copyright owners and ECW PRESS.
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION
Weisleder, Mark
Real estate agents, beware! : protect your deals — and increase your success — by
avoiding these legal traps / Mark Weisleder.
ISBN 1-55022-692-4
i. Real estate business — Law and legislation — Canada. 2. Disclosure
of information — Law and legislation — Canada. 3. Real estate agents — Canada.
I. Title.
KE1987.R4W44 2005 346.7104'37 C20O4-g07044-4
KF2042 R4 W44 2005
Editor: Tracey Millen
Cover and Text Design: Tania Craan
Production and Typesetting: Mary Bowness
Printing: Marc Veilleux Imprimeur
This book is set in Minion.
Passages from the Real Estate Council of Ontario Code of Ethics and the discipline proceedings
related thereto are reprinted with the kind permission of the Real Estate Council of Ontario.
The Ontario Real Estate Association copyrighted forms are used with the kind
permission of the Ontario Real Estate Association.
Although this book discusses legal and ethical situations and principles regarding the
practices of the real estate profession and practitioners, it is not meant to be advice
to the reader about specific legal situations that they may be involved with.
Such readers are urged to consult a lawyer.
The publication of Real Estate Agents, Beware! has been generously
supported by the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council, the Ontario Media
Development Corporation, and the Government of Canada through the Book
Publishing Industry Development Program. Canada
DISTRIBUTION
CANADA: Jaguar Book Group, 100 Armstrong Avenue, Georgetown, ON, 170. 554
PRINTED AND BOUND IN CANADA
ECW PRESS
ecwpress.com
To Jodi, Hillary, and Jillian,
for always making me appreciate that "these are the days.'
To my late parents, Ida and Harry Weisleder,
for their everlasting wisdom.
To Anne, Marsha, and Louis,
for their love and support.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
A Cautionary Tale xi
It's All about Loyalty xiii
Protect Your Deals xiv
Protect Your Reputation xv
Protect Your Customers xvi
About This Book xvi
Chapter 1
It's All about Disclosure, Disclosure, Disclosure 1
Gathering Information 3
Seller Property Information Statement 5
Understanding Conditions 16
Getting Paid - Holdover Clauses 26
Chapter 2
The Wheels of Misfortune 35
The Real Estate Wheel of Misfortune 37
The Insurance Wheel of Misfortune 38
An Overview of How Real Estate Council
Proceedings Work 39
An Overview of How to Work with Your Insurer 42
Chapter 3
Beware the Spokes of the Real Estate Wheel of
Misfortune 45
Ethical Behaviour 46
Unprofessional Conduct 57
Broker Responsibility 64
Competence 67
False Advertising 77
Name 91
Discovery of Facts 94
Misrepresentation or Falsification 99
Written Representation Agreements 106
Written Transaction Agreements 109
Financial Disclosure 112
Confidentiality 116
Primary Duty to Client 118
Disclosure of Role 122
Presentation of Offers and Multiple Offers 128
Chapter 4
Casting Light on the New Privacy Act 133
A Bird's-Eye View of the Act 134
What Gave Rise to the Act 136
The Privacy Act and the Real Estate Industry 138
10 Principles of Privacy 140
Issues Relating to Mortgage Brokers 161
Chapter 5
Risk Management 165
Legal Proceedings 165
RECO Proceedings 178
Privacy Act Proceedings 1 84
Conclusion
Forewarned Is Forearmed: The 14 Steps of Success 187
Appendix A: Seller Property Information Statement 193
Appendix B: Sample Privacy Policy 199
Appendix C: Confidentiality Provisions 207
Appendix D: Receipt of Privacy Policy 209
Index 211