What happens to my deposit if I don't remove subjects on a BC home?

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The contract binds both sides once the offer is accepted, subjects and all; if a subject truly can't be met the deal ends, but the brokerage returns your deposit only once you and the seller both sign a release. BCFSA, the regulator of real estate licensees, is clear that the contract binds as soon as buyer and seller both sign: subjects are conditions to be satisfied, not a way out. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. It binds on acceptance: Once you sign an offer and the seller signs it, a legally binding contract is formed, even if it contains subject clauses, and either side can go to court to make the other perform. A counter-offer rejects the offer before it, so the seller can't go back and accept your original (BCFSA, Offers to Sellers). What a subject is: A subject clause, or condition precedent, sets out a condition that must be met before the sale goes through. It must be worded carefully and precisely, and it's your responsibility that it means what you intend. While it stands you must make every reasonable effort to satisfy it: it isn't an escape clause. Once it's met, you tell the seller in writing that you remove it; if, after every reasonable effort, a condition can't be met, the contract ends with no obligation to complete (BCFSA). Common subjects: BCFSA lists a satisfactory building inspection, the seller completing a Property Disclosure Statement, the financing you need, the lender agreeing to let you assume the seller's mortgage, the sale of your present home, and for a strata lot a satisfactory review of the strata documents. A seller may accept a conditional offer and keep marketing the home, with a clause that you remove your subjects within a set time if another good offer comes, or the contract ends (BCFSA). Rural land: On an acreage or bare lot, the public records point to subjects a city house doesn't need: water from a well or a licence, a site for a septic field, whether the zone allows the home you plan, the floodplain, road access and the agricultural land reserve (our reading). A report on the lot shows which of these it raises, so you can word the subject and allow the days to check it. Where the deposit is: The deposit, paid with the offer or once it's accepted, is usually held in the trust account of your licensee's brokerage, as stakeholder: a neutral party, holding it for neither buyer nor seller. Unless the contract says who gets the interest on it, the interest goes to the Real Estate Foundation of BC. If someone other than a brokerage is to hold it, get independent legal advice on how it's held and released (BCFSA, Deposits). Getting it back: If subjects in your favour aren't removed, you don't get the deposit back automatically: you and the seller both sign a separate release. If one of you won't sign, the brokerage can't release it, and it may pay the money into the BC Supreme Court for a judge to decide (BCFSA, Deposits). The three days: On most homes, though not vacant land, you can also cancel within 3 business days after acceptance by written notice, paying the seller 0.25% of the price out of the deposit; then no release is needed (Property Law Act s. 42; BCFSA). See what a seller must disclose for the homes it covers. Completion and possession: The contract sets the completion date, when ownership passes in exchange for the price, and the possession date, when you move in; they needn't be the same day. Your lawyer or notary searches the title, prepares the transfer and the property transfer tax return, and registers you as owner (BCFSA, Completing Your Purchase).

What happens to my deposit if I don't remove subjects on a BC home?

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