Realtors’ Page

Section 44 of the Condominium Property Act of Alberta allows the purchaser of a condominium, in Alberta, the right to request information (documents) in regards to the condominium corporation, before they buy.

As a condominium unit (home) that an individual purchases is part of a legal corporation, the buyer has the task of investigating the function and operation of that specific corporation before they buy. The only rights to that information is through a written request being supplied to the corporation, allowing 10 full business days for the corporation to provide the documentation that was requested. The written request is typically part of the Real Estate Purchase Contract, with a time allowance for review of the documents, as a condition.

The buyer has the right to rely on the Realtor to be competent in protecting their rights, as a buyer and to access the documentation they need to make an informed buying decision. What this means is that it is assumed that the Realtor writes the contract and represents their clients’ best interests by obtaining all information that the buyer has available to them under the Act, and allows them appropriate time to review these documents, before waiving the condition.

Tip # 1:

As a Realtor, be sure to request all documents that are available for your buyer. These documents can be obtained from the condominium corporation via the property management company or the selling owner.

Tip # 2:

A Realtor is in a position of “Conflict of Interest” when they take on the role of reviewing the condominium documents, and in addition to this, when a Realtor offers this as an added service, they are taking on a liability that is not covered by their insurance, as reviewing the documents is not part of “trading in real estate”, nor is it their professional expertise.

CASE:

True story... names and situation changed to protect the parties involved and emphasize the point.

1997 Calgary. A condominium owner who had been living in the unit for 18 months received a special assessment (cash call) of $6,000. The owner filed a law suit, against the Realtor that represented him, in small claims court. The owner claimed that the Realtor neglected to provide him with the engineer’s report, which clearly was available at the time of purchase, and that engineer’s report detailed the need for this special assessment.

In court, the Realtor was asked by the judge to prove that he had provided this buyer with a copy of the engineer’s report. The Realtor gave the Judge a copy of the Purchase Contract, including all schedules and addendum as his evidence of due diligence. The Judge responded with a comment that all this was is a wish list and asked to see the evidence that he had indeed provided his client (the buyer) with this engineer’s report. As the Realtor had no other evidence, he was unable to verify that he had or had not provided that client with the engineer’s report, leaving himself exposed to damages.

To order a Condo-Check Review for your client (Buyer or Seller)

Step 1
Collect as many of the documents as you can from the list below.

Step 2
Complete the “Order forms”, including the client consent form. Payment is accepted on-line by Visa/MC/Amex , or by cheque with the order form attached to the document package.

Step 3
Contact Sandy to arrange for pick-up of the document package, from your Real Estate Office. Sandy’s contact info is at the top of the “order form”

Note: we are not able to open a file, or to begin the review process, until all documents are obtained. Sandy will provide you with assistance in identifying which documents are required. Give her a call and arrange a time to go through what you have for documents, as soon as you can.

Realtor Hall of Fame

If, on the first meeting with Sandy, you have a complete package of documents we will list you in the “Realtor Hall of Fame”, found in Links on the the Buyers page of our website. Each time you do this, a star will be added to your name. This ad will be at no cost to you and will run for a full 12 months, with your approval.

For quick access to related links, click here.

Order a Document Review
Pay for a Document Review on-line
Realtor Hall of Fame