New Rules in 2023 - BC home buyer rescission period - BTW

Home Buyer's Tip Wednesday for Short

As of January 1, 2023, BC home buyers now have a three-day period in which they can decide to back out of a purchase after signing a contract for resale/existing properties.

If they do, the seller is entitled to 0.25 percent of the agreed-upon sale price of the home as a rescission or “break” fee.

Prior to this new rule, only Presale offers have a seven-day period of recession, where you could back off from a presale offer unconditionally with no ramifications.

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This new rule of a three-day period recession for resale/existing properties is introduced mainly after the November 2021 - March 2022 crazy subject-free bidding war.

A subject-free offer now has a “grace period” of 3 business days, with considerably small consequences. i.e. 0.25% of the agreed price. Whether this will help lower the cost is another story. If subject-free offers are no longer “free”, the sellers may require buyers to offer a higher price or maybe a bigger deposit.

The “three days” here does NOT include Saturdays, Sundays, and Statutory holidays. So, imagine you agreed upon a subject-free offer on a Friday, now you have Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (say if it’s a statutory holiday), plus Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (the “three days”) to think about the offer.

For more clarifications, please consult your REALTOR®.

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