Good real estate litigation lawyer outside GTA?

[donksky]

How much is a lawsuit going to cost upfront? Or is there a complaint board I can go thru first to avoid time & expense - against inspector, vendor, my realtor or vendor`s realtor? Having bad water leakage from roof damage in the same spots that looked funny when I bought the duplex in aug. 08-tiles broken up in kitchen, loose tiles in basement, window crack - and my experienced investor friend said the inspector & vendor must have know these risks --vendor didn`t disclose this on the Q&A disclosure questionnaire & heard that even my buyer`s realtor or vendor`s realtor would be at fault as they sat down with vendor when he was filling out this form. Vendor`s a young divorced guy - should I pursue? who should I sue & how - is it worth it? can you recommend a good lawyer just outside GTa - maybe towards the north as the rental is 4 hours north of GTA? I don`t want an expensive Toronto lawyer.

 

[Kimberly]

Donna:
What about getting a quote from a few contractors/roofers so you`ll know exactly what the problem is, then depending what you found out, approach the seller first. The Q & A disclosure you speak of is probably what they call the SPIS form that sellers fill out. If so, I`ve read in OREA newspapers (Ontario Real Estate Agency and governing body for Ontario real estate agents) , reviews of court cases where buyers challenge the information either in the SPIS, or left out of it, and judges in turn can rule on a remedy.

If you get no where with the vendor, consider approaching the vendor`s realtor, pointing out the costs of the repair; that it was missing on the SPIS, and it is also their due dilgence to ensure it was on the SPIS -lean hard on that fact - and tell him what you want to remedy the situation. Maybe all your costs, a shared portion... whatever you feel is fair. Then if no remedy... step it up to the agent`s broker on record (owner of brokerage). So far would be putting out no $$(except for your time at this point). The next step could be a letter to OREA board for them to determine an outcome... ensure you let the agent know you are prepared to take this step as well. When the agent`s integrity is possibly put into question with both his broker and OREA, he may put pressure on the client to get them to remedy the situation.

Worth a chance.... you may also want to just contact all those mentioned above at the same time, to shorten you timeline on seeing who is prepared to do what.

Hope this helps