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You have a firm accepted offer on your home. Congratulations! After weeks of keeping your house spotless and in ready-to-show condition, you’re ready to start packing. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of moving to your new home but you still have some responsibilities to the buyers of your current home.

Clause 10.2 of the Promise to Purchase, which you signed when you accepted the buyer’s offer, reads as follows:

The SELLER promises to sell the IMMOVABLE to the BUYER and, unless stipulated otherwise in clause 12.1, undertakes to deliver the IMMOVABLE in the condition in which it was when the BUYER visited it.

You are required to deliver the home in the condition it was in when the buyers visited it. You’re responsible for the care and maintenance of the house until the occupation date. If something stops working or gets damaged between the time the buyers visited and the time they take possession, you are required to repair it.

This means you still have to mow the lawn and clean the pool and rake the leaves. If a tree falls on the property, you have to have  it removed. If the sprinkler system breaks, you have to get it repaired. If you accidentally damage the drywall moving your furniture out, you have to patch and repaint it.

In the case of major damage – say the tree fell onto the house instead of into the yard –  you should notify your real estate broker who will in turn notify the buyers and their broker. Depending on how bad the damage is, the buyers might want to be consulted on the repairs carried out, for example picking out finishes or paint colours.

 

Clear the Property

In addition to handing over the property to the buyers in the condition they saw it, you are also required to remove ALL of your personal belongings. 

Clause 11.2 of the Promise to Purchase reads as follows:

OCCUPANCY OF PREMISES – The SELLER undertakes to render the immovable available for occupancy by the BUYER as of  (date & time), and to leave it free of any property not included in this promise to purchase or not assumed by the BUYER, failing which the BUYER may have it removed at the SELLER’s expense. 

Unless it’s built-in or you otherwise agreed to it with the buyers, you must remove everything from the house when you move out – every piece of furniture, every garden tool in the shed, every last paint can in the basement. 

Anything you leave behind can be disposed of by the new owners and you will be billed for the cost of removal. Be warned that this could end up being very expensive because the buyers aren’t required to find the best price for the removal [Check out our guide to Downsizing for some ideas on what to do with your extra stuff].

Once your house is empty, clean it thoroughly. A professional cleaning service can do the job quickly and efficiently, at a fairly reasonable cost.

Notify the utilities (electricity, gas/oil, internet, etc) of the date you’ll be transferring ownership so that the new owners can set up their utilities.

Finally, collect all keys and door openers, and provide access codes where applicable. Leave them in an easy to find spot or hand them over to the notary on the day of signing.

 

Not required, but nice to do

In the interest of maintaining a friendly relationship with the buyers, there are some extra things you can do to make settling into their new home easier:

Gather all manuals and warranty information for appliances and systems.

Share documentation and contractor information for any renovations, updates and repairs done, if you have them. Share contact information for reliable service providers (ex plumber, electrician).

Share maintenance and landscaping schedules, provide tips on seasonal upkeep and any preferred service providers. Pass along information about watering schedules or specific care instructions for plants or gardens.

Share information about the neighbourhood (garbage collection schedules, local amenities, neighbourhood associations, etc). Offer recommendations for nearby services (restaurants, healthcare facilities, etc.).

 

Moving can be extremely stressful, so ensuring you’ve met your obligations to the buyers – just as the sellers of the home you’re moving to will do for you – will help make everyone’s move easier.

 

 

NB The foregoing provides only an overview and does not constitute legal advice. Readers are cautioned against making any decisions based on this material alone. Rather, specific legal advice should be obtained.

The Buyer’s Contract to Purchase is a legal contract that allows a real estate broker to represent a buyer in a residential real estate transaction.  

Until recently, a verbal agreement between broker and buyer was all that was needed for a broker to represent a buyer, although brokers could – and did – use signed contracts in certain situations. In June 2022, a change to the Quebec Real Estate Brokerage Act made it mandatory for a broker to have a signed Brokerage Contract in order to represent a buyer. Along with changes to rules regarding double-ending, the updates to the Act are intended to clarify brokers’ obligations and responsibilities toward their clients, thereby assuring a worry-free transaction (We discussed these changes to the Act in a previous blog post).

The Brokerage Contract to Purchase clearly identifies what the clients are looking to purchase. It also clearly identifies the broker’s obligations to the buyer, including:

• the broker is required to promote your interests and protect your rights
• the contract clearly spells out your rights and the terms of your relationship with the broker
• clearly-defined client objectives
• access to for-sale-by-owner properties
• advice on offer price + offer submission
• negotiation on your behalf
• assurance that the broker is representing your needs
• the OACIQ is very strict when it comes to enforcing the Real Estate Act so you can have more confidence in your broker and your transaction

By signing a Brokerage Contract, buyers are giving the broker the exclusive contract to represent them in the home-buying process in the area and to uphold the stipulations specified in the contract. Buyers can visit open houses without their broker, but they must let the listing broker know they have a signed contract.

The Brokerage Contract to Purchase codifies some of the best practices brokers were applying in their practices – representing their clients’ best interests and clearly spelling out their obligations to their clients. Clarifying expectations and obligations helps build stronger relationships and helps ensure better outcomes for everyone.

In our experience, there is a clause in the contract that prospective buyers tend to be uncomfortable with, and that is the remuneration clause. Clause 6 outlines the terms of the broker’s compensation. With verbal contracts, it was understood that the buyer’s broker would get a portion of the commissions paid by the seller, but there wasn’t usually much discussion about just how much those commissions were. With the written Buyer’s Contract, the broker’s commission is clearly indicated – ahead of any offer to purchase being made. The commissions payable still come from the seller in most cases. However, if that commission is lower than the commission indicated in the contract, the buyer could be responsible for paying the difference. At Team Ellerbeck, we’ve solved this issue by adding a clause in Section 10 of the contract stating the compensation in 6.1 only applies to homes not sold on MLS and, additionally, the broker agrees to accept the compensation offered on the MLS listing, thus ensuring no surprise compensation costs.

It’s still possible to use a broker to buy a home without signing a contract BUT you lose your legal protections. Should you choose not to be represented by a broker, you can sign a waiver to that effect. But since the point of the BCP is to provide you with a worry-free transaction, waiving this right might not be in your best interest.

If you have questions about how the Brokerage Contract to Purchase will affect your home search, it would be our pleasure to discuss it with you.

Source: https://www.oaciq.com/en/pages/latest-amendments-to-the-reba

 

Disclaimer: Information made available in this blog in any form is for information purposes only. It is not, and should not be taken as, legal advice. It is not in any circumstances a substitute for the advice or services of a notary or lawyer. You should not rely on, or take or fail to take any action based upon this information. Never disregard professional legal advice or delay in seeking legal advice because of something you have read on this website.