April 7th - 2004

Legal Forum hits 1000 questions!

OREA's online Legal Forum has been a valuable source of legal information for members since November 1999. More than 1000 questions have been submitted to the forum covering everything from advertising to UFFI clauses.

OREA's online Legal Forum has been a valuable source of legal information for members since November 1999. More than 1000 questions have been submitted to the forum covering everything from advertising to UFFI clauses.

While not intended to provide legal advice or opinion, OREA’s online legal forum can offer perspective on situations that commonly occur in a REALTOR’s day-to-day business. However, members and the public are encouraged to seek legal advice on specific issues that affect them.

Questions submitted to the forum are answered by well-known real estate lawyer Merv Burgard, Q.C. Merv is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and has been a member of the Ontario Bar for over 30 years.

“Many [questions] deal with contracts, clauses and commissions,” says Merv.

Some of Legal Forum’s most popular topics include: commissions (entitlement and collection), selling properties (disclosure), and offers (multiple offers). 

When asked whether the current housing boom has had an impact on the types of questions asked, Merv says, “We’ve had a lot more questions on multiple offer situations over the last few years.”

Sometimes Legal Forum questions require a more in-depth discussion of a particular topic. These questions are referred to the OREA Legal Resource Committee for possible development into legal pamphlets. OREA’s Legal Pamphlets also provide an excellent resource for legal information, covering topics such as advertising, deposits, underground oil tanks and multiple offers. They can also be found in the Legal section of My OREA.

Commercial REALTORS have used the Forum to find out information about issues of particular interest to them, such as leasing, GST, environmental matters and property specifications.

To submit a question, visit the OREA website at www.orea.com, log on to “My OREA” and go to “Legal Forum” under the Legal section. You will need to include your first name and e-mail address and type in your question in the space provided. If you submit your correct e-mail address you will be notified at that address once your question and Merv’s response are posted on the web site. These questions and answers are initially posted in both the Recently Asked Questions area as well as under the appropriate Topic and Subtopic.

Many of the questions submitted to Legal Forum over the past four years have evolved into frequently asked questions which are located in the drop-down menus on the main page of Legal Forum. Members are encouraged to review the topics or use the Legal Forum search function on the top of the Legal Forum page before submitting their question to see if a similar question has already been answered. 

Even REALTORS who don’t have a particular question to ask Merv are encouraged to visit Legal Forum on a regular basis to catch up on the latest questions and responses.

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For more information contact

Ontario Real Estate Association

Jean-Adrien Delicano

Senior Manager, Media Relations

JeanAdrienD@orea.com

416-445-9910 ext. 246

Ontario Real Estate Association
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