How does buying a court-ordered sale (foreclosure) work in BC?

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BC forecloses through the Supreme Court, so an accepted offer is only a step: the court must approve it at a hearing where others may bid higher, and the home is usually sold as is, with no rescission period. When a borrower falls behind, a BC lender forecloses by petition to the Supreme Court. The court can give the lender, or another party, conduct of the sale, and the sale it finds goes back to the court to be approved. For a buyer that changes the usual contract: the offer is subject to the court's approval, the terms are the seller's own, and the deal can be lost at the hearing. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. How a foreclosure runs: A foreclosure is started by petition, with everyone whose interest in the property it would end named as a respondent (Supreme Court Civil Rules, Rule 21-7 (1), (2)). The court may give the owner a redemption period to pay what's owed, order the property sold, and later make a final order of foreclosure if nothing is paid (Rule 21-7 (5), (6)). A party may apply at any time for an order that the property be sold (Rule 21-7 (7)). Who sells it: The court can give any party it sees fit conduct of sale: the right to list and sell the property in the way the order sets, which can stop even the owner from listing it or end an existing listing (BCFSA). The party with conduct may ask the court to confirm a sale even before the redemption period runs out, with an order that directs where the money goes and vests title in the buyer (Rule 21-7 (9)). The offer and the hearing: An offer is accepted subject to the court's approval, and the seller applies for an order approving the sale. Other buyers may bring offers to that hearing, and the court decides which to approve, most often the highest (our reading). An order approving the sale can be appealed, and it's costly to amend once made, down to how the buyers will hold title, so the offer must be right from the start (BCFSA). The seller's terms: The party with conduct of sale usually amends many standard clauses in a schedule to the contract, often selling the property as is, where is on the completion date, and saying that the seller and its agents owe no duty to disclose what they know of its condition (BCFSA). A real estate professional can't contract out of disclosing a known material latent defect in writing (Real Estate Services Rules s. 59), but a lender selling a home it never lived in may know little (our reading; see what a seller must disclose). No rescission period: The 3-business-day right to rescind an accepted offer on a home doesn't apply to a property sold under a court order or under a court's supervision (Home Buyer Rescission Period Regulation s. 3 (d); Property Law Act s. 42). Dates: Court approval and completion dates depend on the court's calendar, and the time to have an order for sale approved can run long, so ask the lawyer about both before you set financing or a move (BCFSA). What it means for a buyer: Do the work a subject would cover before the hearing, not after it: a home inspection where you can get in, a title search for charges and liens, what's owing in property tax and utilities, and whether anyone lives there and on what terms. A report on the lot reads it as it would any other lot (our reading).

How does buying a court-ordered sale (foreclosure) work in BC?

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