The following is excerpted from a Toronto Star column by noted real estate Lawyer, Bob Aaron.

Back in the spring of 2004, Timothy and Cherese Scherbak signed a listing agreement to sell their property on Boland Ave. in Sudbury, using the services of Wendy Weddell and Re/Max Sudbury Inc. The Sellers Property Information Statement (SPIS), which they signed at the same time, resulted in years of litigation, hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, and damages amounting to twice the value of the house.

Following an open house, Zoriana Krawchuk signed an agreement to purchase the house from the Scherbaks.

The offer was not conditional on financing or home inspection, and came in at $10,100 over the $100,000 asking price.

Shortly after closing, Krawchuk discovered that the entire north foundation wall and the northern portions of the east and west foundation walls had settled and were continuing to sink into the ground below. The settling resulted in the failure of proper support for the floor joists and building above.

The city of Sudbury issued a work order requiring the problems to be rectified.

Correcting the foundation problem required lifting the home from its foundations, followed by excavation, removal and replacement of the cement basement floor, foundations and subsoil, and placing the house back on the new foundations.

Moving the home caused significant cracking of the interior finish in many areas, which required further repairs.

Fortunately, Krawchuk had purchased title insurance on the closing of her property, and the title insurer reimbursed her more than $105,000.

Krawchuk was still in the red on the deal. She estimated her total damages to be $191,414.94 and sued the sellers, the agent and Re/Max.

In the lawsuit, she claimed that the sellers were liable to her for breach of contract and misrepresentation. She argued that the problems with the foundation were hidden defects, which made the house uninhabitable, and that the Scherbaks had deliberately camouflaged them by attempting to level out the living and dining room floors back in 1995.

A significant component of the Krawchuk claim was based on the SPIS completed by the sellers. The SPIS is a controversial two-page form in widespread use throughout Ontario for residential transactions.

Its stated purpose is to protect sellers by disclosing correct information about the property to buyers.

On the SPIS form signed by the Scherbaks, the question “Are you aware of any structural problems?” was answered: “NW corner settled – to the best of our knowledge the house has settled. No further problems in 17 years.”

Read the full article here . . .

Before going any further, I have to disclose that my visit to Raw Aura tonight was my first ever time eating at a raw food restaurant. I was vegetarian for 14 years, then returned to being a carnivore for the last 12 years, and now am eating 90% of my calories as raw food.

Raw Aura is a new restaurant, having opened on August 24th, 2009 at 94 Lakeshore Rd East, Port Credit, in the premises that was formerly occupied by Higher Grounds Coffee House. It is directly across from the No Frills store & next door to Rabba, just 200 meters East of the Credit River.

The menu, which can be viewed in it’s entirety on the web site, is absolutely dripping with amazing-sounding ingredients, combined in unique ways; my wife and I were very excited to visit this place and get our first exposure to what Raw Vegan cuisine can be. We weren’t disappointed!

When we arrived, around 5:15 on a Friday, we were greeted by the very friendly staff, all dedicated raw-foodies, and passionate about their working in such a unique environment. The furniture and decor is very natural, with natural wood and dark chocolate colours mixed with tans and creams – a very pleasant, relaxing environment for sure.

We started our meal with the Samosas, which, according to the menu are “sweet and crispy apple, coconut, flax wrappers stuffed with a creamy, aromatic cauliflower, pinenut ‘potato’ filling and served with a fragrant tamarind and cashew ‘sour cream’ dipping sauce”. These delectable triangles were, in a word, heavenly! The wrappers are smooth yet grainy, sweet yet slightly edgy, and the filling is so incredibly smooth I could feel my tastebuds doing the happy-dance. The dipping sauce, while not needed for any sort of flavour boost, was soo yummy that we finished it off after the samosas were done.

Next up were the Mini ‘Burgers’, 3 savoury patties made from a robust combination of seeds, marinated vegetables, sun-dried tomato and onion, each topped with a different homemade dressing and served in crisp Romaine lettuce leaves. Each one of the patties must have only weighed about 2 ounces, but man, were they satisfying, tasty, and m-m-GOOD! The sweet and spicy mustard topping was our favourite, but the chipotle and the sundired tomato ketchup were very tasty too.

Next came the Falafel, one of my favourite non-raw foods, and something which I consider myself somewhat of a connosieur of so I had very high expectations and some niggling doubts as to how they could be good RAW. Well, suffice it to say that my doubts were completely unfounded! The hummus was so smooth, silky and light and the falafel themselves are incredibly textured, clean-tasting and light. I think this is partly attributable to the fact that Raw Aura grows all their own sprouts and beans, so things are as fresh as they can possibly be.

Our waiter, Dmitri, had explained when we first ordered that we should make sure to leave room for desert, as they had just made a pumpkin pie, and it was to die for.

So, we ordered the pie for desert.

This pie was very unlike any pie that I have ever eaten! The ‘crust’ is made with a mix of dates, walnuts, and some other kind of nut, and it was fantastically tasty all on it’s own. The filling was made with bananas, pistachios and a couple of ‘secret’ ingredients, topped with a layer of pumpkin seeds. To call this delectable really is an understatement!

A few observations:

• The portions might be a surprise to people not used to the filling qualities of raw food, yet the amount of food is plenty for 2 people with very hearty appetites.
• The cost is less than what one would spend on dinner out in a far less healthy establishment
• Try this place out soon, because it seems to me that it is destined to be a very busy spot where line-ups will be the norm, given it’s small size.

All in all, I’d rate Raw Aura as a 9.5 experience. I can’t think of anything they could have done better, or differently; I just don’t like to give straight 10′s!

* Money doesn’t bring you happiness, but it enables you to look for it in more places.

* Your conscience may not keep you from doing wrong, but it sure keeps you from enjoying it.

* Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.

* Misers aren’t much fun to live with, but they make great ancestors.

* Be careful what rut you choose. You may be in it the rest of your life.

* The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.

* When you see the handwriting on the wall, you can bet you’re in a public restroom.

* Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.

* The real reason you can’t take it with you is that it goes before you do.

* Junk is something you throw away three weeks before you need it.

* Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even if you wish they were.

* A closed mouth gathers no feet.

* A man (or woman) who can smile when things go wrong has found someone to blame it on.

* A modern pioneer is a woman who can get through a rainy Saturday with a television on the blink.

* The world is full of willing people: some willing to work and some willing to let them.

* Money isn’t everything….there’s credit cards, money orders, and travelers checks.

What do you think about the pictures that real estate agents use in their marketing materials, on their web sites, etc.?

A recent consumer focus group felt that pictures are a huge factor in determining whether they would click on an ad of an agent or not, and whether they would use that agent for their real estate needs.

So, my question to you, the owners of, buyers of, and sellers of real estate in and around milton ontario, is ‘how much importance do you place on the picture of the person you are considering hiring to represent you?’

Here’s a picture of me, taken by me, that most of the people I know does a far better job of capturing the essence of who I really am than any of the pictures I currently use in my business.

What do you think?