How to buy a foreclosure or court ordered sale in Vancouver
Example process in court:
The property located at # xxx VANCOUVER MLS# Vxxx is under court order to be sold.
It is listed by Simon Clayton of Macdonald Realty for $289,000
We have an accepted offer of ($285,000) and are going before the court on Monday morning the 27th of April to approve the sale.
Completion: 30 business days after court approval
Possession: Noon – 1 day after completion
Adjustment: 1 day after completion
At court, any interested party may attend the proceedings and present a written offer on the property. The principle objective of the Court is to protect the interests of the owner of the property being sold. The Court has few, if any, concerns about competing bidders, lawyers, realtors and others. The Court attempts to ensure that the best (almost always; the highest) offer is accepted. That is done by allowing competing bidders (including the bidder whose offer is already before the Court) to submit one final sealed bid. The Court opens and reviews all bids together and approves the best one. Once the bids are opened by the Court they cannot be changed in any way; the auction process is completely final.
The process described in the paragraph above was universal in British Columbia until recently. But now, especially on Vancouver Island, the Court sometimes follows a more complex system involving an initial, open and oral bid followed by a second, final and sealed bid.
All offers must be subject free; you can do your due diligence ahead of the Court date. The Court will not approve any offer with a “subject” (a purchaser’s condition precedent). The only acceptable (and mandatory) “subject” is a seller’s condition precedent (that the proposed sale is subject to Court approval).
All offers must have a deposit attached and must contain an attached Schedule A. The Court will not approve any offer without a significant and real deposit (usually 5% of the purchase price, either already deposited in a realtor’s or lawyer’s trust account, or a bank draft or certified cheque attached to the offer).
The Court will not approve any offer without the FULL and PROPER name(s) of the buyer(s) (EXACTLY as such name(s) will appear in title if the offer is approved) shown on the first page of the offer. If there is more than one buyer, the offer must show if the buyers will be joint tenants or tenants in common. Once an offer is approved, the description of the buyer(s) cannot be changed in any way.
If you plan to bid on this property, you must be in Court no later than 9:40am. You can meet me there, and I will coordinate collection of all the competing bids. The court house is located at 800 Smithe Street Vancouver, BC V6Z 2E1. We will most likely be in Court Room 32 or 33. My cell phone will be on (604-764-0711) if you cannot find me.
If you and your buyer are unable to attend court, please have your offer to me no later than noon on Thursday April 23rd, 2014 via email. This is NOT IDEAL. You should both be willing and able to attend court.
You CANNOT show up at court with a verbal offer. You must present an offer written on paper by a REALTOR. If you do not have a REALTOR my team can write the offer for you in ADVANCE of court. We do not have the ability to write the offer for you at the courthouse.
Please contact me with any questions.
Thank You,
Simon Clayton
Macdonald Realty
604-764-0711