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Buyer beware is still the prevailing legal principle when buying a home

Allow me to draw your attention to Les MacPherson’s column, in today’s Star Phoenix titled, “Buyer beware when it comes to home purchase.”


The Buyers bought the condo and took possession in June of last year. In spite of a musty smell in the basement when they were shown the property, they did not have a home inspection done. Their Realtor told them an inspection was not necessary, they testified. Like quite a few other new homeowners, they soon would find out otherwise.


Soon after they moved in, the Buyers took out a wall between the kitchen and the den. Inside they discovered three dead mice. Exterminators later found in the basement walls a whole mouse city, with an estimated 100 nests. While no live mice were present, there were plenty of dead ones, some covered in maggots. Framing and drywall were ruined by mouse urine.


Read more here.


Like it or not, this story drives home the importance of conducting your own due diligence when purchasing a home. Most interesting, to me, is the reference to the newest Property Condition Disclosure Statementwhich urges buyers to have the property inspected. You simply can’t rely on the representations of a seller when it comes to property condition issues. No matter what your agent or the seller might say, courts expect buyers to take reasonable actions to protect themselves. Is a home inspection always a reasonable action? I think so. Apparently, the courts think so too.


I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.


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Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra

Norm Fisher, TeamFisher

About Norm

Licensed in 1993, Norm brings a wealth of experience to TeamFisher. He has worked in every imaginable capacity including sales agent, office manager, team leader, broker and now, broker/owner. Norm has written a weekly review of the Saskatoon real estate market for more than 750 consecutive weeks which may make him the most consistent industry blogger in the world.Less...

Licensed in 1993, Norm brings a wealth of experience to TeamFisher. He has worked in every imaginable capacity including sales agent, office manager, team leader, broker and now, broker/owner. Norm has written a weekly review of the Saskatoon real estate market for more than 750 consecutive weeks which may make him the most consistent industry blogger in the world.

Norm is known for his passion for technology and can most often be found exploring and experimenting with the next big thing in real estate marketing. He was the first Saskatoon real estate agent to promote a home online and has been an early adopter of new technologies ever since. “Everything about this business has changed over the past 20 years, and it will happen again in the next ten. An open mind and a curious attitude are all that’s needed to continue to find new ways to serve our clients by delivering a faster, smoother, worry-free transaction,” says Norm.

In his spare time, Norm enjoys Crossfit and cycling, some years accumulating over 2,000 kilometres on the road. He’s a strong supporter of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation and enjoys raising funds by joining fun, fitness-related initiatives like the Grouse Grind for Shelter. In 2015, he trekked the Peruvian Andes to Machu Picchu. In 2017 he walked the southern highlands of Iceland across mountains, sand, snow, ice, lava fields and forest for seven days. Collectively those initiatives raised over a million dollars for Canadian women's shelters.
 

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