~ What's Not on the Property Title May Be Important ~ part 1

Here are 3 examples that you can come across when you do your research.

Example #1:
In West Vancouver in 2007, on the advice of her REALTOR®, a
property seller checked to see if there was an underground fuel storage tank on her property. There was, and the seller had the tank removed and the contaminated soil remediated. The bill was $202,963.07.

The seller had bought the property in 2001 without using the services of a REALTOR® and had been told by the previous owner that the tank had been removed or decommissioned. The seller sued the former property owned and won because the owner hadn’t disclosed the severity of the problem.(Note: a REALTOR® was not involved in the 2001 sale).

Example #2:
In Richmond, an illegal drug lab in a rental home on a busy street resulted in a neighborhood evacuation.

Example #3:
In Marpole, the owners of a non-profit theater learned from a neighboring business that the building they own is one of a dozen
commercial sites sitting on a midden, the location of Aboriginalartifacts.

What do these examples have in common?
None are registered on the property title. This means that current and future owners may not know about issues associated with their property that could affect its safety, ease of sale and ultimate value.

What is registered on the property title?
The legal description of a property, including:
• the parcel identification (PID);
• taxation authority;
• registered owner and their address;
• the title number;
• the previous title number;
• legal notations against the property (may include heritage);
• charges, liens and interests (under-surface rights, rights of ways, covenants, judgments);
• whether a duplicate title has been ordered and by whom, and
• transfers and pending applications.

What is not registered on title?
• Archaeological sites.
• Former grow ops and illegal drug labs.
• Heritage designations (not always on title).
• Highway entitlements.
• Stigmatized property.
• Streamside issues – if there are fish-bearing ditches or creeks on the property.
• Underground fuel storage tanks.

How can you discover the facts about a property?
The simplest way to be sure that you are making a safe investment when buying a piece of Real Estate is to hire a good local REALTOR®.

I have some further helpful tips on this topic that will be in next week's article.

Kind Regards,
Tibor Bogdan