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REAL ESTATE Sellers beware of property-condition disclosure statements Forms that are supposed to avoid disagreements can often land the seller in hot water facing accusations of misrepresentation. BY KEVIN MARRON Ont., home he was selling in the summer of 2004. The London Real Estate Board's seller property in- J formation statement (SPIS) asked, among other things, whether he was aware of any water problems, leakage, or unrepaired damage in his home. Certainly, he was aware of some major damage caused by a recent ice storm. But this damage had been repaired. And — as his realtor pointed out — the question on the statement was posed in the present tense. If Kaufmann, an 82-year-old retired physician, had con- sulted a lawyer, he might have learned that he didn't need to fill out the form at all, and in doing so he was effectively abrogating his right to remain silent. He might have been advised to let the purchasers find out for themselves the condition of the property, following the time-honoured principle of caveat emptor, or buyer beware. He would probably have been told that if he did fill out the form, it would be better to disclose all relevant information, lest he be accused of misrepresentation. Following the advice of his real estate agent, however, he filled out the form and answered "No" to the questions about water damage. Several months later, the purchas- ers backed out of the deal. Kaufmann and his wife sued I'll be a little late for dinner, dear. Value your time? Then you'll value our technology! Industry leader in legal software for real estate, corporate and estates for over a decade The choice of 2500 law firms, The Conveyancer generates required documents (including lender forms), tracks undertakings, exchanges data with Teraview® (ON) and SPIN (AB) and integrates with four title insurers. Comprehensive corporate records software tracks changes and generates prescribed forms, registers, ledgers, share certificates, resolutions, minutes, correspondence, etc. Integrated e-filing and extracts. The Estate Administration module automates Rule 74/75 forms plus scores of letters and documents. The Estate Accounting module simplifies recording of financial transactions, and generates reports in "passing of accounts" format. ohn Kaufmann was confronted with a tricky ques- tion of ethics and English grammar when his real estate agent asked him to fill out a multiple choice questionnaire about the condition of the London, Tel: 416.322.6111 Toll-free: 1.866.367.7648 www.doprocess.com www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com JANU AR Y 2008 19 JEREMY BRUNEEL