Presale and Disclosure
Presale transactions depend on documents before there is a finished building to inspect. Our experienced real estate lawyers prepare and review the disclosure statements, presale contracts and deposit arrangements a developer needs to bring a project to market.
Disclosure That Holds Up at Completion
The Real Estate Development Marketing Act (REDMA) and the courts require strict compliance from developers. We act for developers and purchasers when those documents are later challenged, and that experience shapes how we draft them in the first place.
Our presale lawyers know that the disclosure statement and the purchase agreement must describe the same transaction when a purchaser is asked to close.
Every amendment is therefore read against the contract terms the amendment affects, including the completion date, the unit description and the deposit schedule.
Changes to your project’s schedule, financing or approvals can make the information in the disclosure statement outdated or incomplete. We review those changes to determine if an amendment is required.
Because presale enforceability depends on consistent disclosure, timely amendments and reliable delivery records, we focus on the point where drafting, compliance and completion litigation meet.
Our goal is to protect your position from the first disclosure filing through to the last closing.
Presale & Disclosure Services We Provide
ATAC LAW provides the full range of presale and disclosure services in British Columbia, organized across four areas. Each service area is designed to keep the disclosure record, contract terms and completion strategy aligned as the project moves from marketing to closing.
We prepare and review disclosure statements for strata, bare land strata, leasehold and cooperative developments before marketing begins. Our lawyers check the document against the form and content the Superintendent of Real Estate requires, so that every material fact is disclosed plainly and without misrepresentation.
We advise on when a change to a project becomes a material fact and on the amendment that change requires. Our lawyers help a developer decide what to file, when to file, and how to deliver the amendment to every purchaser who has not yet completed.
We represent developers in BC Financial Services Authority investigations and in the proceedings that follow an allegation of non-compliance. Our lawyers prepare the response at the opportunity to be heard stage and work to keep a project marketable while the matter is resolved.
We draft and review presale purchase agreements so the contract, the disclosure statement and the marketing material describe one transaction. Our lawyers give particular attention to the completion mechanics, the extension rights and the developer's remedies on a purchaser default.
We advise developers, purchasers and trustees on the handling of presale deposits under the Act. Our lawyers confirm that deposits reach a permitted trustee promptly, that any release matches the narrow circumstances the Act allows, and that a deposit protection contract is in place before a developer applies deposit money.
We act on disputes over sunset clauses, outside dates and the extension notices delivered as a completion date moves. Our lawyers read the contractual mechanism alongside the completion date disclosed to purchasers, since the two have to stay consistent while construction runs long.
We act on rescission claims under the Act, for purchasers seeking to unwind a contract and for developers defending one. Our lawyers work back through the disclosure record, the receipts and the delivery dates, because the timing of receipt usually decides the claim.
We act for developers and purchasers when a presale fails to complete on the scheduled date. Our lawyers assess the deposit position, the enforceability of the contract, and the damages of exposure on each side before a claim is started.
We advise on assignment restrictions, developer consent and the bulk assignments investor groups negotiate before a project completes. Our lawyers review the assignment terms the purchase agreement must contain alongside the reporting a developer owes on every assignment.
We act for purchasers and other stakeholders when a development enters receivership or creditor protection. Our lawyers trace where each deposit was held and on what authority any release was made, and we advance the purchaser's position against the secured creditors competing for the same funds.
Meet the Presale & Disclosure Lawyers Behind Our Clients' Success
Mike C. Stewart is a partner at ATAC LAW, a professional engineer, and counsel in construction disputes. He holds the P.Eng. designation in British Columbia and Ontario, and practised as…
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Dan H. Griffith is a partner at ATAC LAW and a litigator whose work is conducted in the courtroom, in civil and criminal matters alike, and carried to appeal where…
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James Un is a Senior Associate Lawyer at ATAC LAW, drawn to the disputes that turn on property, contracts, and money: who owns what, who owed whom, and what the…
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Gurpal is a construction, real estate, and commercial lawyer at ATAC LAW whose practice follows a project across its entire life, from the contracts and site agreements that set it…
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Rodolfo Assinger is a litigator at ATAC LAW whose civil practice moves fluently across construction, employment, commercial, property, estate, and administrative disputes. He is retained by individuals and business owners,…
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Roy Donghee Kim is a trial lawyer at ATAC LAW and a professional engineer whose practice concentrates where technical judgment comes under legal scrutiny. He acts for engineers and engineering…
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Megan is a associate lawyer at ATAC LAW whose practice centres on resolving disputes in the civil and commercial courts, with particular depth in construction, real estate, and corporate conflicts.…
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Siwei Xu is a civil litigator at ATAC LAW who acts in the disputes that arise when a commercial or personal relationship breaks down, between landlord and tenant, employer and…
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James Cain practises construction, commercial, real estate, and corporate law at ATAC LAW, moving between the transactions he helps structure and the disputes that can arise from them. His clients…
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Raghav is an associate lawyer at ATAC LAW. His practice focuses on civil and commercial litigation, construction disputes, commercial arbitration, regulatory proceedings, and criminal defence. Raghav has extensive advocacy experience…
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Siqi Wang is an associate lawyer at ATAC LAW whose practice is given to disputes in which the sum at issue, the asset, or the relationship between the parties admits…
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Shuni Zhang is an associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Team at ATAC LAW. Shuni maintains a broad civil and commercial litigation practice, with particular depth in construction,…
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Frequently Asked Questions
Have another question? Our presale and disclosure team is here to help.
Contact Our Team →We act on both sides, though never on the same project. Developers retain us to prepare and review disclosure documents, to respond to BCFSA, and to enforce contracts at completion. Purchasers retain us to assess a rescission right, recover a deposit, or defend a claim brought after a failed completion.
A purchaser has seven days to rescind under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act, running from the later of the contract date and the developer's signed receipt for the disclosure statement. A purchaser who was entitled to a disclosure statement and never received one may rescind at any time. We review the delivery record first, because that record usually decides the answer.
Very likely. A change to a disclosed completion estimate is generally treated as a material fact, and the obligation is to file immediately rather than once the new date is certain. We advise on the wording of the amendment and on delivery to every purchaser who has not yet completed.
Often, yes. A deposit is ordinarily forfeited when a purchaser repudiates the contract, though the position changes where a disclosure failure makes the agreement unenforceable against that purchaser. We review the disclosure file and the deposit trust records before advising on a forfeiture position.
Serious enough to answer carefully and early. The Superintendent of Real Estate may order a developer to cease marketing all or part of a development and may impose substantial administrative penalties. That first response sets the record for everything that follows, which is why we prefer to be involved before anything is sent.
An insolvency proceeding does not automatically end a presale contract, and a stay of proceedings does not cure a disclosure failure that occurred beforehand. The deposit position depends on where the money sits, because funds still held by a trustee are treated differently from funds already released to the developer. We move early in these proceedings, since a monitor or receiver works to a timetable that will not wait for a purchaser to organize a position.
Submit Your Enquiry
Our presale and disclosure lawyers advise developers and purchasers on those documents, the obligations they create and the issues that can arise as a project moves toward completion.
If you need advice on a disclosure issue, presale contract, deposit, rescission claim, failed completion or another REDMA matter, contact our team to discuss your position and the practical options available.