Author: marketing

Why Signing a Presale Mutual Release Without Legal Advice Could Be the Most Expensive Decision You Ever Make?  Signing a presale mutual release without legal advice can permanently end your right to recover your deposit, claim interest on it, or sue for any other losses caused by a collapsed presale. Hoogbruin & Company has litigated real estate, presale and strata disputes across Metro...

You wake to a sound you do not recognize. First, a drip. Then a rush.  Water is coming through your ceiling, pooling on the floor and soaking into the baseboards you refinished last spring.  Your first thought is probably, “the unit above me caused this. They should pay for it.”  It seems obvious. But in a strata building, the fact that water came from another unit does not automatically make...

A home renovation should improve your property, not leave you with unfinished work, unanswered messages, and mounting costs. But when a contractor walks off the job, many homeowners are unsure whether they should try to resolve the dispute through mediation or speak with a lawyer first.  Mediation may be useful if the contractor is still communicating and willing to negotiate. However, if the...

Buying a presale home in British Columbia can be an exciting opportunity, but it can also become stressful if your financial situation or the real estate market changes before completion. Many buyers signed presale contracts when market values were stronger, only to later face lower appraisals, financing shortfalls, or uncertainty about whether they can complete the purchase.  If you are...

REDMA Buyer Rights: What to Do When a Builder Delays Communication in BC  You signed on the dotted line, paid a substantial deposit, and expected regular updates on your presale property. Instead, communication has slowed or stopped altogether. For many presale condo buyers in Vancouver or across BC, delayed or missing communication from a developer creates uncertainty about timelines,...

Lessons from the Burnaby Eclipse Case  Buying a presale property is often seen as an exciting opportunity to secure a home or investment before construction is complete. However, a recent dispute involving the Eclipse condominium project in Burnaby serve as a reminder that presale purchases can sometimes become complex legal matters when unexpected challenges arise.  What Happened in the...

In many Vancouver strata properties, disputes do not begin with dramatic confrontations or immediate legal action. They begin with unresolved maintenance concerns that slowly grow into larger financial and structural problems over time.  A leak appears repeatedly but temporary repairs continue instead of permanent remediation. Residents raise concerns about moisture, mould or building...

Vancouver’s restaurant industry has always operated under pressure but over the last few years that pressure has become increasingly difficult to absorb. Rising lease costs, staffing shortages, inflation, changing customer habits and operational overhead have forced many restaurant owners to make difficult decisions about whether continuing operations is financially sustainable.  What many...

Few legal situations carry quite the same mix of confusion, conflict and financial uncertainty as a construction dispute on strata common property.   First, What Exactly Is “Common Property” — and Why Does It Matter?  Common property refers to all portions of the land and building that are not part of a strata lot — the individual units owned by residents. This typically includes...

Unlike detached homes with clearly defined ownership boundaries, strata living introduces multiple layers of responsibility. These include individual units, neighbouring units, common property, shared plumbing systems, and the obligations of the strata corporation. Each aspect can affect the allocation of legal liability, and in many cases, responsibility for events such as water damage may be...