Expert advice, market reports, and tips from the Niagara Region real estate professionals.
When a couple owns real estate together and have decided to sell their home and live separate and apart, a separation agreement will be necessary. This is true whether the couple is married, common-law, or are partners in a short-term relationship. This article focuses on the importance of understanding the equity in your home, considers what issues might be covered in an agreement, and explores when a party should seek legal assistance for the purpose of having a separation agreement prepared.
It is typical when making an offer for purchase of real estate to include a period of time where your offer is ‘irrevocable’. What this means is that a purchaser leaves their offer open for acceptance by the seller for a set amount of time – sometimes as short as 24 hours. If the seller fails to accept within that time, the offer becomes null and void. A purchaser would then be free to make an offer for another property without the risk of having two accepted contracts. There are a few reasons why irrevocability periods are standard in real estate. It shows a purchaser is motivated. If the offer is accepted without revision it becomes a binding contract, although there may be further conditions within the offer such as those regarding financing. A seller can also make a counter-offer that is open for acceptance during an irrevocability period. There may be competing offers for a property and an irrevocability period is useful for giving structure to negotiations in the fast-paced and competitive real estate market.
If you are considering investing in real estate with another person, it is important to set out the ground rules in advance of your purchase. A co-ownership agreement is a common way for parties to identify their respective rights and obligations. The purpose of the co-ownership agreement will vary depending on whether one or more of the owners intend to live on the property being purchased. Lets first consider a scenario where two individuals who wish to co-own a property both intend to reside there. Second, we will discuss investment into rental properties and discuss the opportunities and challenges of co-ownership in this context.
