Rosemary Bocska, B.A. (Hons.), LL.B. & Martin K.I. Rumack, B.A., LL.B. are pleased to announce that there is a new edition of  Legal Responsibilities of Real Estate Agents, 4th Edition: What Agents, Lawyers, and Buyers and Sellers Need to Know.  

The new edition will include the following: 

Understand the Legal Situations to Avoid Costly Mistakes and Liability

It is easier to concentrate on the job-at-hand when you’re not worried about making potentially serious and costly mistakes. This is especially true in today’s high-stakes real estate market with its complicated and often confusing laws and procedures. That’s why this one-of-a-kind reference book has become a staple in real estate and law offices across Canada. It is filled with practical, useful information, insights and expert advice that real estate agents and real estate lawyers need to know, in dealing with their legal duties and responsibilities.

Features and Benefits

This will show you how to:

• Understand your rights and obligations — learn about the legal issues relevant to your role, and the way they affect you on a day-to-day basis
• Prevent liability — learn proper procedures and steer clear of legal pitfalls
• Avoid mistakes — foresee and prevent problems in your transactions

• Fulfill your duties — properly carry out your statutory, contractual, disclosure, and fiduciary responsibilities

• Protect your commission — safeguard your commission rights
• Know your client — understand your clients’ goals, needs and objectives in purchasing a property

• Increase your understanding — learn the intricacies of dealing with topics such as: powers of attorney, estate properties, family law issues, landlord and tenant rights and obligations, condominium, co-operative and co-ownership structures, and the drafting of conditional clauses

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Learn how to avoid common and potentially costly mistakes relating to:

• Dual agency — be aware of all disclosure requirements and fiduciary obligations
• Gratuitous agency — how to avoid this highly-risky association
• Failure to protect clients’ rights — prepare and explain purchase/sale agreements thoroughly
• Misrepresentation — know exactly what information you must provide to clients

New in this Edition

• Updated to cover the latest case law and legislative developments
• Discussion of amendments to the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002, and related changes to the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) rules relating to “phantom” bids on property, which rules are effective July 1, 2015
• Includes revisions calculating commission amounts, to reflect recent legislative changes
• Expands list of questions for agents to ask themselves when dealing with co-operatives or co-ownerships
• Clarifies the discussion of powers of attorney, including expansion of checklist of items when dealing with powers of attorney to sell land
• Expanded discussion of probate fees, including legislative changes in force effective January 1, 2015 relating to the submission of an Estate Information Return

Who Needs This Book?

• Real estate agents who must fully understand their obligations whether they represent buyers and/or sellers
• Real Estate Board officials who need a legal framework for setting professional standards of conduct for real estate agents
• Insurance representatives who need to know which claims against real estate agents to accept or decline, regarding errors and omissions insurance
• Real estate lawyers needing an easy reference book on the many aspects of real estate practice in today’s market
• Real estate brokers who must understand their obligations, whether representing buyers and/or
• sellers, or supervising their own agents
• Mortgage brokers who must understand their obligations to borrowers
• Law students who need a comprehensive overview of real estate practice

• Law libraries and public libraries

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Role of the Real Estate Agent

Chapter 2: The Source and Nature of Agents’ Duties

Chapter 3: Commission

Chapter 4: Dealing with Special Parties

Chapter 5: Dealing with Special Transactions

Chapter 6: Estate Planning

Chapter 7: Real Estate Agents’ Mistakes

Appendix A: Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 (S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sch. C)

Appendix B: General Regulation (O. Reg. 567/05)

Appendix C: Code of Ethics Regulation (O. Reg. 580/05)

Appendix D: Delegation of Regulation-Making Authority to the Board of the Administrative Authority (O. Reg. 581/05)

Appendix E: Delegation of Regulation-Making Authority to the Minister (O. Reg. 568/05)

Appendix F: Educational Requirements, Insurance, Records and Other Matters (O. Reg. 579/05)

Appendix G: Land Transfer Tax Rates (Provincial and Municipal)

The cost for the new book – available from LexisNexis

$55 + tax

Softcover

Approx. 350 pages

ISBN: 9780433490340

About the Authors

Martin K. I. Rumack, B.A., LL.B. has been practicing law for over 30 years. His practice includes the areas of business law, wills, powers of attorney, and estate planning and administration. His area of specialty, however, is real estate law, acting for a wide range of clients, including: both residential and commercial buyers and sellers, financial institutional lenders, and developers. Martin is recognized as being one of the few lawyers who acts not only on deals involving condominium properties, but also on those involving both co-ownerships and private equity co-ops properties. In this capacity he acts for buyers, sellers, developers, and financial institutional lenders alike. Additionally, he has been actively involved in the conversion of rental buildings to co-ownership and condominium structures.

Over the years he has developed and taught both credit and non-credit courses for the Toronto Real Estate Board, Real Estate Council of Ontario, and similar organizations. He has also developed and presented professional education seminars: attendees have included clients, lenders and managers of financial institutions, as well as members of the public; the topics have included a spectrum of subject-matters ranging from the buying, selling and financing of real estate, to estate planning and related matters.

Rosemary Bocska, B.A. (Hons.), LL.B., of the Ontario Bar, is a research lawyer. She provides in-depth legal research, Factum-drafting, legal opinions, and legal writing on a broad range of topics for small and mid-sized law firms across Canada. She also writes current-awareness pieces, newsletters and blog posts for lawyers` websites and marketing efforts.

Alongside her research practice, she has also worked both in-house and on a freelance basis for various legal publishers, performing research and manuscript writing, and providing consulting services in connection with online legal information and its related technology.

Rosemary has written for numerous law publications, legal newspapers and current-awareness services. Among others, she is the co-author of Halsbury`s Laws of Canada — Real Property, and the author of Ontario Limitation Manual (3rd ed.). She is also the updating author of several publications, including Ontario Residential Real Estate Practice Manual, Employment in Ontario, Employment in Alberta, and Employment in British Columbia, all available from LexisNexis Canada.