How Real Estate Buyers Are Represented — And Why Fee Structure Matters More Than Ever

May 11, 2026

Most buyers understand that a REALTOR® can represent them when purchasing real estate, but many are less familiar with the fact that there are several ways that representation can be structured. The traditional full-service model remains common, but buyers today may also encounter cash-back or rebate programs, reduced-service models, self-directed ...

Why I Offer Representation Choices

May 10, 2026

Real estate representation is sometimes treated as though it is a standard relationship: a buyer hires a brokerage to help purchase a property, a seller hires a brokerage to sell one, and the transaction proceeds under a familiar compensation and service structure. That approach may work perfectly well in many ...

Commercial Lease Audits and Occupancy Cost Savings: What Tenants Should Know

May 8, 2026

For many commercial tenants, occupancy costs are among the largest ongoing expenses associated with leasing retail, office, industrial or mixed-use space. Base rent usually receives considerable attention when the lease is negotiated, but the tenant’s actual cost of occupying the premises often includes much more than the face rent stated ...

Additional Costs When Buying a Home

May 4, 2026

When buyers begin thinking about affordability, the purchase price is usually the number that receives the most attention. That makes sense, because it determines the size of the mortgage, the down payment and much of the monthly carrying cost. The difficulty is that the purchase price does not tell the ...

The Buyer Representation Agreement

The search for your dream home is an exciting, albeit frenzied, endeavor. It is filled with endless possibilities; do you want to live in the city or suburbs? Will you live in a condominium, townhouse or a detached home? This is essentially the fun part of home buying before you ...

How Capital Gain Works

May 1, 2026

Have you made capital gain? That’s great news, because this influx of cash from selling your assets will improve your financial health. However, these benefits may be taxed. Here, I answer seven common questions. 1. What is capital gain? Capital gain represents the profit you make when you sell, entrust, ...

What Industrial Landlords Look for in Tenants

April 26, 2026

Industrial leasing decisions involve much more than filling vacant space. From the tenant’s perspective, the focus is often on location, building size, clear height, loading, power, parking, rental rate and whether the property can support the business. From the landlord’s perspective, however, the decision is broader. The landlord is not ...

Common Due Diligence Failures in Commercial Real Estate Transactions

Commercial real estate can look attractive very quickly. A property may appear well occupied, the income may seem strong, the cap rate may compare favourably with other opportunities and the location may suggest long-term upside. Those are all reasonable reasons to become interested in a property, but they are only ...

Hidden Risks in Assignment Sales

Assignment sales can create opportunities for both buyers and sellers, particularly in pre-construction condominium and investment transactions. They can also create risks that are easy to underestimate because the transaction may initially look similar to an ordinary resale. The difference is that an assignment buyer is usually not buying a ...

Why Conditional Clauses Matter in Ontario Real Estate

Conditional clauses are one of the most important risk-management tools available in an Ontario real estate transaction, yet they can easily receive less attention than price, closing date or offer timing. In a competitive market, those visible terms often dominate the discussion because they appear to determine whether an offer ...