When are adjoining land searches required?
Stewart Title's residential and commercial search requirements stipulate that adjoining land searches are required on purchase transactions for the purpose of confirming compliance with the Planning Act. These searches are also required on commercial refinance transactions in excess of certain thresholds.

When are adjoining land searches NOT required?
Adjoining land searches are not required on residential and commercial refinance transactions when a verbal inquiry is made of the borrower to confirm that he/she does not have an interest in adjoining lands.

Are adjoining land searches required for a property exempted by a part lot control by-law?
If a property is exempted by a part lot control by-law and the by-law has not expired, an adjoining land search confirming compliance with the Planning Act is not required. However, if the by-law has expired, adjoining land searches imposed by Stewart Title search requirements must be completed, as the by-law is no longer of any force or effect.

When insuring a cottage or recreational property, please keep the following consideration in mind:

Septic System
If your residential property is serviced by a septic system, please indicate in STEPS or inform Stewart so that a septic endorsement may be attached to your owner and lender policies. While not a functionality warranty, the septic endorsement does contain coverage related to the legal status of the system. Please review the endorsement for particulars of coverage.

Water Potability
A water potability endorsement for lenders is available for single family residential properties. A water potability certificate is not required in order to obtain this coverage. Please note that this coverage is not available for owner policies or for multi-unit residential or commercial properties. STEPS users have the ability to add this endorsement directly in STEPS by selecting "water potability endorsement".

Access to the Property
A Stewart Title underwriter should be contacted when there is no legal access to the property including where:

The mechanics of preserving an interest in the Registry System (such as a right of way for properties) have changed recently with the introduction of new legislation which amends Part III of the Registry Act.

Previously, the Ramsay decision (1387881 Ontario Inc. v. Ramsay (2005), 77 O.R. (3d) 666) placed a different interpretation on the meaning of preserving a claim under the Registry Act. In brief, in Ramsay, the court decided that a claim created in the Registry System (such as a right of way) did not expire 40 years from the date on which the interest was created, but rather 40 years from the date on which the claim or interest was last mentioned in an instrument registered on title. As a result, each time a right of way was mentioned in a subsequent transfer on title, this would start a new 40 year period. In essence, given this interpretation to the language in Part III of the Registry Act, a claim would never expire as long as the interest was continuously referenced in subsequent transfers.

Part III of the Registry Act was amended by The Consumer Protection and Modernization Act, 2006, to clarify that a claim expires 40 years from its creation (not 40 years from the date on which it is mentioned in any instrument) and can only be preserved by a notice of claim registered in the prescribed form.

However, even if 40 years have gone by and the claim has expired, as long as an intervening "conflicting interest" has not been registered on title, (i.e. a transfer of the property to a purchaser without knowledge of the claim), the claim can be preserved by registering a notice of claim. For properties that remain in the registry system, it is important to determine whether a proper notice of claim has been registered on title.

If you have any questions regarding right of way issues, do not hesitate to contact a Stewart Title Underwriter for further assistance.

Increases in Property Values

Stewart is concerned about situations where there has been a large increase in the value of a property as reflected in the purchase price within a short period of time. This may indicate an attempt to artificially increase the perceived value of a property in order to obtain mortgage financing in an amount that would not otherwise be available. Alternatively, it may indicate that substantial renovations may have been conducted that would have required building permits.

Accordingly, when acting on a real estate transaction, it is important to pay additional attention to situations where large increases are apparent and conduct further due diligence to determine the rationale for the increase.

Where the rationale is that recent renovations have been made on the property, we ask that you make inquiries to determine the nature and extent of the renovations and whether or not appropriate permits have been obtained and closed.

Where you are unable to ascertain the authenticity of the increase or where you cannot confirm that appropriate permits have been obtained and closed, an underwriter should be contacted prior to closing for further direction.

Loss Resulting from Non Payment of Final Meter Reading Charges for Public Utilities

We are pleased to announce that based on customer feedback, our residential and commercial owner policies now cover final meter readings for public utilities which have the ability to form a lien on the property.

Losses that a policyholder incurs from charges related to final meter readings of public utilities that the vendor fails to pay will now be covered, unless the policyholder has agreed to pay them. Our residential and commercial lender policies have always covered final meter readings for public utilities and continue to do so.

As always, for residential transactions you are not required to obtain a water, hydro or gas certificate in order to obtain coverage. Please obtain a verbal response where one is available.

For commercial owner policies under $5 million and for commercial lender policies regardless of the amount, a certificate is not required provided you obtain a verbal response, or a current receipted utility bill, or confirmation of payment in a statutory declaration from the vendor/mortgagor.

Please feel free to contact your Regional Underwriting Team with any questions you may have.

Title Insurance for Homebuyers

We have recently revised our "Title Insurance for Homebuyers" brochure which is intended to provide your clients with information on Stewart Title's residential title insurance. We recommend that you continue to distribute this valuable information to your clients. Copies of this brochure and others including the new Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) consumer brochure "Understanding Title Insurance" are available for download from the "Download a Brochure" section of our website. Printed copies may also be requested from your local Business Development Specialist or by filling out an online request form

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Stewart Title has been issuing title insurance policies for more than a century and our financial strength, stability and claims paying ability make us an industry leader.

Stories from our most recent files:

Missed Mortgage
Our insured homeowner purchased a property in Ontario. The insured's lawyer initially performed a title search, discovering two mortgages registered on title, and requisitioned that both be discharged prior to closing. A discharge of one of the mortgages would be registered prior to closing and the other following closing. The insured's lawyer was to subsearch title prior to closing to ensure that the discharge on the second mortgage had been registered. Unfortunately, the lawyer checked only the last instrument registered rather than subsearch title from the date of his prior search, overlooking a new $27,000 mortgage which was registered after the last search. This vendor's mortgage was not paid out, and remained a valid charge against the insured's title.

Resolution: The vendor's mortgage went into default immediately after closing and the mortgagee threatened to commence power of sale proceedings. Stewart Title has taken an assignment of the mortgage and will pursue the vendor for payment.

Missing Access
Our insured homeowners accessed their British Columbia residential property via a driveway thought to be theirs. A neighbour later sold the adjacent property and the new owner had the property surveyed, disclosing that the insureds' driveway encroached onto the property. After conducting a property survey of their own, our insureds confirmed that the driveway was not theirs, and discovered that their property abutted two roadways. This became an issue, as one of the roadways was an undeveloped 80 foot long rock bluff and the other roadway was on a substantially different elevation than the insureds' property. The insureds had legal access to their property, but did not have actual access.

Resolution: Stewart Title reimbursed the insureds more than $9,000 for the costs to have one of the roadways developed so that they had actual access to their property.

Potentially Illegal Third Unit
Our insured owned a Nova Scotia triplex for several years, and later agreed to sell the property. Prior to closing, the purchaser brought to the insured's attention, a zoning confirmation letter from the local municipality, advising that legal use of the property was for two units only.

Resolution: Since the scheduled closing date was quickly approaching and the local municipality was not forcing the removal of the third unit, Stewart Title provided the purchaser with custom underwriting in his title insurance policy to cover the loss that may arise from the potential forced removal by the city of the third unit at a future date. The transaction closed as scheduled and the property continues to be used as a triplex.

Stewart Title at the 2008 CBA Canadian Legal Conference

Stewart Title was proud to headline sponsor the 2008 Canadian Bar Association's Canadian Legal Conference in Québec City, August 17-19.

We would like to express our most sincere thanks to all delegates who attended the conference, visited our booths, and joined us at our sponsored events: Gregory Charles concert and the Young Lawyers Late Night Bash.

Our sponsorship commitment with the CBA builds on our history of supporting legal professionals through initiatives such as the development of programs and innovative information technologies. The Canadian Bar Association provides a range of tangible and intangible benefits to its 37,000 members and to the legal community at large; it is a leading provider of continuing legal education programs; and is a dominant voice in promoting the rule of law in Canada and around the world.

Working together, we continue to achieve our common goals in providing support to the legal community.

Stewart Title would like to congratulate Peter Court of Sherwood Park, Alberta, winner of the 2008 Pack Your Bags Sweepstakes, and recipient of a trip for two to Dublin, Ireland - site of the 2009 CBA Canadian Legal Conference and Expo!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Sweepstakes.

Be on the look out for more exciting promotions from Stewart Title!

Stewart offers services in 60 international markets? Find out more by visiting Stewart's international website: international.stewart.com