Spagnuolo & Company Real Estate Lawyers

Just a quick update on the Land Owner Transparency Act You are about to hear a lot more about the Land Owner Transparency Act (LOTA) and the Land Owner Transparency Register (LOTR) between now and Dec. 1, 2020. LOTR is a registry of interests in land (shareholders, beneficial interest owner of a trust, partners in a partnership), which registry will be a searchable and public database. Whenever an interest in land is registered or created a transparency declaration must ...be filed so as to declare whether or not the transferee is a reporting body. Reporting bodies include corporations, a trustee of a trust or a partner of a relevant partnership. If the Buyer is a reporting body, it must disclose the following for each interest holder: Full name, date of birth, SIN, tax number, location of principal residence and last known address; Date on which one became or ceased to be an interest holder and the nature of the individuals interest in the reporting body; Canadian citizen or PR of Canada, or neither. For most of our clients, who purchase properties in their personal names, this will not be an issue. For any clients who wish to purchase in the name of a company, trust or partnership, this will add time and cost to their purchase. If you have any such clients over the first week or two of December make sure they are aware of this. As of now this will begin on Nov. 30, 2020, so expect a flood of information to your inbox the next few weeks. We will do our best to keep you informed as well. Both Dick Chan and I are attending a course on Thursday, and once we receive further relevant information we may do a video or two. That’s it for now, no doubt more to follow shortly. Stay safe everyone!

Stay safe everyone!! https://vancouversun.com//b-c-real-estate-agents-asked-to-

The boss got dirty this weekend. New Langley office coming soon!

Brand new Spagnuolo Estates Winery corkscrews! Don’t forget about the wine and sauce

It has been a little known issue that government liens could come back and haunt lenders after they have been paid out. With Stewart Title coverage, this is no longer an issue. Give this article a read! https://www.mortgagebrokernews.ca//insurance-company-solve

We do not often posts positive feedback on our staff, but this one is so good we had to. Big thanks to one of our lawyers Nicholas Auld for doing such a great job.... Hello Tony, this is Peter from West Kelowna. Our neighborhood is fighting a rezoning application before city council that has passed 1st and 2nd reading. In talking to my friend a retired lawyer he recommended I call your firm. Upon doing so, I had a call from one, Nicholas Auld. The time, effort and compassion ...that Nicholas guided me with changed my thoughts and admiration of lawyer for life, absolutely a cut above and amazing. His attention to detail, respect of our concerns, options, and mannerism is just so professional, certainly appreciated by our team of neighbors. Nicholas Auld is without a doubt an asset to your business, I trust you will take this to heart and shake his hand on behalf all of us. I trust and realize you probably already know this, as he is obviously an outstanding individual and employee. Great job Nicholas!

COVID and Conveyancing Update Hi all, we will soon be publishing a video summarizing all of the changes in conveyancing due to COVID, but we simply want to remind you that if the client has any concern whatsoever in meeting with a law firm we are still allowed to meet them via video technology. There are a few minor hurdles, but we have met many clients in this fashion already. There is no extra fee to meet via video, and many clients are choosing to meet us in this fashion.... We have no idea how long this will continue, but at the very least until the emergency orders re COVID from the provincial government are rescinded. Stay safe!

http://business.financialpost.com//five-year-fixed-mortgag

COVID and Conveyancing (Part 95???) What is better than a law firm with 18 offices? Well, one with 19 of course. And that 19th office can be the client’s house. We can now meet clients through video technology to have documents witnessed for their purchase, sale or mortgage. Couple of keys points though:... 1. Not all lenders allow for this just yet, so you need to check with the clients lender to ensure they allow for remote signing; 2. Clients should be able to print documents, meet with us on Zoom, sign in front of the screen, and then return the documents to us (scan and email, or dropped off to our Coquitlam office). There are a couple of other little things, but for now we know that we can in certain situations meet clients remotely, eliminating the need for them to visit one of our 18 offices. This also means we can help your clients anywhere in the Province, not just those towns where we are physically located. Stay safe!

It is time to remind you that today is Be Kind to Lawyers Day. One of the greatest days of the year, just letting you know Tony is partial to Barolo or Barbaresco! Of course Brunello or Chianti work as well. https://www.timeanddate.com/holida//be-kind-to-lawyers-day Have a good day!

Hi everyone, No bad news about COVID today. Just wishing everyone a great Easter long weekend. The good news is that the Easter Bunny is deemed to be an essential service! https://dailyhive.com/van/bc-easter-bunny-essential-service.... Have a good long weekend!

Very happy to talk to good friends Deryk Williamson and Alex McFadyen Mortgage Advisor & The Mortgage Pug about COVID-19 and various updates regarding the real estate world during these unprecedented times. Definitely worth a listen. Thanks for having me guys!

COVID and Conveyancing (again) Hi all, couple of quick points: 1. The LTSA is moving towards remote signings. More details will be out this week but while it may not become standard practice, we may be able to see certain clients using video technology;... 2. Buyers who want out of their contracts may be liable for more than just the deposit; encourage them to seek legal advice; 3. Tenants do not need to move, even if notice given pursuant to contract of purchase and sale: if you have a buyer who plans on moving in and the home is currently tenanted, they may have issues; 4. At the risk of being self serving, you may want to talk your client out of using an office with just one lawyer/notary: we have had a few calls lately from realtors whose clients were going to use a one person show, but that person could not get deal done for variety of reasons; I am not saying they should use us, but they should use an office that has some depth; We will continue to keep you posted on the above, and anything else that comes up. All the best, stay safe.

Final decision over building-height restrictions in White Rock came out... Just thought we would share a relevant article that has nothing to do with the current COVID-19 situation from yesterdays paper. Have a good weekend everyone, and stay safe! https://vancouversun.com//city-of-white-rock-wins-court-f/

Here is some good info on mortgage deferrals. Happy Friday, stay safe! https://biv.com//what-you-need-know-about-deferring-mortga

Another update regarding COVID-19 and Conveyancing. Looks like if BC closes all nonessential services we will not be affected. Land transfers are deemed to be essential. Of particular relevance to you, the following are considered essential services:... - Professional services, including lawyers and paralegals, engineers, accountants, translators. - Land registration services and real estate agent services. - Accounting, payroll, translation services, legal services and insurance providers; insurance assessment and adjudication providers. - Banks and their branches, credit unions and related financial institutions, as well as workers who support security and technical operations supporting financial institutions. - Postal services, including both public and private mailing, shipping, logistics, courier, delivery services and post office boxes. Stay tuned for further details. https://www.cbc.ca///essential-services-bc-covid-1.5511040

Now, more than ever!