| I recently was in a situation where my clients were given the wrong information about the condo that they were going to buy. The promise to purchase was agreed upon and we were just waiting to meet at the notary for the closing. When my clients went to their appointment with the notary before the closing date, the notary informed them that the taxes on the listing were incorrect.The difference was +$500 a year more then they were expecting. The listing was as follows, municipal taxes N/A, school taxes N/A, total $1627. It was my and the client’s assumption that the listing agent just didn’t fill out the individual fields and just did the total. Where in fact, the total was actually the municipal and the school taxes weren’t taken into account.
After much research into the matter with ACAIQ, my manager and other agents, I found out that it is my responsibility to double check all the information given to us. You would assume that the listing agent would be at fault, which he was, however I was equally responsible. Now who knows what would happen if my client decided to press charges with the Real Estate Board and it went to court. It would depend on the intent of the listing agent and the judge. Here is an article that I found that gives you an indication on our roles in providing information: www.acaiq.com” |
“According to the Discipline Committee, a real estate agent gets information from the seller and has the obligation to verify its accuracy. He cannot impose the burden on third parties to verify what he, the expert in the real estate brokerage field, submits to them.”
I later found out from different sources that yes, it is our job to double check all the information on the listing for our buyers. Most agents do not do this or even know that they have to. I was fortunate because my client was a great guy and all he wanted was for the other agent to cover the first year for the school taxes. And he probably wouldn’t of even asked for anything if the other agent was professional enough to fess up to his mistake and apologize.
Before you even fill out a promise to purchase, have your agent verify all the information about the taxes. It is the notary’s job to do all that. They check the title, certificate of location, taxes, etc. However, when it comes to money and managing your budget, it is better to know ahead of time then at the signing with the notary.
