Page 10 - IAV Digital Magazine #428

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
1st-time Homebuyer Stunned To Discover New Backyard Isn't His
By Yvonne Colbert, CBC News
Imagine buying a home with a deck, a shed and a
big fenced backyard, only to discover you own neither the back- yard nor the shed and only part of the back deck.
That's what hap- pened to Ryan Manning of Salmon River, N.S., who has since spent months looking for answers from everyone from the real
estate agent and lawyer to the previ- ous owner and the company that sold him title insurance.
"It was a huge shock," Manning told CBC News, recalling the moment last
fall when a man knocked on his door and offered to sell
him the back half of what he thought was already his property.
"I didn't know what to do at that point. I wouldn't have bought my house knowing that situa- tion."
Manning was in the market for a first home when he drove by the Miller Road property near
Truro in August 2014, just as the For Sale sign was going up following a fore- closure.
The listing showed a duplex with a picture of the big backyard. Under "garage" it specified "other" and showed the shed dimension as "10 x 25."
Manning contacted the listing agent from the ReMax Fairlane Realty office in Truro
to view the property, which was listed "as is, where is." He said there was never any question the back- yard was included.
"I said, 'Is this my property?' and they said, "Yes, the fence right here is the property that is yours,"' Manning said in an interview.
Manning didn't think there was any prob- lem with the bound- ary, since the fence goes completely around the yard and part of the house.
After the sale was finalized in September 2014, Manning was given the keys to the house and the shed.
He started working on the fixer-upper, hoping to live in half and rent out the other side to help
cover his mortgage. Everything was going as planned until that fateful knock on his door in October 2016. Manning was stunned to learn the land his home sat on was one legal parcel of land while his backyard was on another. Each has a separate parcel identifier, commonly known as a PID.
"I seen pictures [of the backyard] right there in my listing," said Manning, adding he believed the real estate agent.
"They're the ones that are supposed to be there for me to tell me the truth about my property, to know what I'm buying."
The listing did con- tain a disclaimer
stating: "All informa- tion displayed is believed to be accu- rate but is not guar- anteed and should be independently verified. No war- ranties or represen- tations are made of any kind."
The listing
agent had retired, but he went back to ReMax and his lawyer at Patterson Law seeking answers. He also contacted the com- pany that was selling the home, Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance Company Canada.
Manning's lawyer, who has also since retired, did initially advise him to have a full survey complet- ed or a location cer- tificate
obtained before pur- chasing the property. In a letter from
Patterson Law, Manning was told an alternative was title insurance, which "would step in to compensate you if the property you pur- chased had issues with respect to loca- tion and boundaries, water potability, etc."
Itwentontosay"a mortgage company will generally accept a title insurance poli- cy in lieu of a loca- tion certificate or sur- vey."
Stewart Title Guaranty, the com- pany from which he purchased title insurance, said the insurance covered the lender, not him.
Manning said the last nine months have been difficult,
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