Selling

Selling Farmland in Ontario? The Farm Capital Gains Exemption Is Bigger Than You Think — and Harder to Earn

The qualified farm or fishing property (QFFP) exemption can shelter up to $1,250,000 of capital gain on a 2025 farm sale — but two profiles routinely fail to qualify: owners who held vacant farmland as an investment, and owners who rented their land to a farmer instead of working it themselves. Here is how to tell which side of the line your Ontario property is on before you sell.

Two Estate Trustees, One Won’t Sign: The Ontario Routes When Co-Executors Deadlock Over the House

A will names two estate trustees and one refuses to sign the sale — can the Ontario house still be sold? Yes, but not by going around them. Estate trustees must act unanimously (a common-law default that Trustee Act s.36(1) confirms sideways), so the fix is a Superior Court application: removal under s.37 or a vesting order under s.10(1)(f) where the trustee refuses, or s.10(1)(b) where a trustee is out of Ontario or cannot be found. The obvious “just have them resign” route is shut by s.2(2). Broker Arthur Zhao maps the routes — and why you need an estates lawyer.

A Writ of Execution Shows Up Against Your Name — But the Debt Isn’t Yours: Clearing a Same-Name Writ in Ontario

An execution search hits a writ of execution under a name identical to yours, yet you’ve never owed the judgment behind it. Under Ontario’s Land Titles Act s.136 the fix is a question of identity, not payment: if the writ’s name differs from your registered name it has no effect (s.136(6)); if the names match, the land registrar — not your lawyer — decides you’re not the same person and registers the sale free of the writ (s.136(7)). Broker Arthur Zhao maps the clearance routes, the full-given-name rule, and why running the search early decides everything.

The “Just Sign Here” Document at Closing: What an Ontario Declaration of Possession Really Guarantees (Hint: Not Squatters or Liens)

For most Ontario sellers the Declaration of Possession sworn just before closing is a formality — but signing it carelessly is not. This explains why Land Titles Act s.51(1) makes it hollow for the 99.9% of parcels now in Land Titles, the narrow cases where it still bites (Registry non-converts and LTCQ lands), the ten-year and twenty/forty-year limitation clocks behind adverse possession and prescriptive easements (RPLA s.4, s.31), what the document is not (occupants, liens, work orders), and how a vague oath can leave the seller liable. Broker Arthur Zhao explains.

Does the Seller Still Owe You Anything After Closing? Ontario’s Merger Doctrine and Warranty Survival Clauses

After closing you discover the seller's statement was not true — can you still go after them? Ontario's merger doctrine merges contract rights into the deed on completion, so most claims disappear unless the clause says survive and not merge. In OREA's standard Form 100, only clauses 17 and 23 carry that wording. Broker Arthur Zhao explains what survives closing and why everything else has to be written into the schedule.

The Buyer’s Deposit Cheque Bounced. Can I Keep the Deposit and Walk? Read This Before You Do Anything

When a buyer's deposit cheque bounces in Ontario, a seller has three real moves — paper the NSF in writing, demand cure in certified funds on a deadline, and let a lawyer characterize the bounce before acting — and none of them come from the contract. The OREA Agreement of Purchase and Sale has no bounced-cheque clause at all; it fixes who holds the deposit, the 24-hour delivery window, and that time is of the essence, then stops. Broker Arthur Zhao maps what a seller can do, what the form does and does not cover, and why the leverage here is procedural, not contractual.

When the Sale Price Won’t Cover the Mortgage: How a Shortfall Sale Actually Works in Ontario

Selling for less than you owe on the mortgage? “Short sale” is American vocabulary — Ontario has no statute for it. A charge sits on your title, and the buyer can’t take clear title until your lender signs a discharge, which it has no duty to sign for less than it is owed. And the shortfall stays your debt unless the lender releases it in writing. Broker Arthur Zhao walks through the discharge chokepoint, who has to consent, second charges, and where the gap lands.

How Does the Commission Actually Leave Your Sale Money at Closing? It Is Not a Separate Document — It Is One Line You Already Signed

On closing day your Ontario lawyer hands you the net, not the sale price — the commission and HST were carved out first. It is not a bill you pay afterward or a separate document you sign at closing; it is one irrevocable instruction printed inside OREA Form 100, backed by a commission trust declaration between the brokerages. Broker Arthur Zhao unpacks both layers, how the 13% Ontario HST is added, and why the rate is negotiable but the paid-first order is not.