Ontario Real Estate Module 1-5 Practice Flashcards

This set of flashcards covers vocabulary and key concepts from Modules 1-5 of the Ontario real estate curriculum, focusing on TRESA, RECO regulations, property types, ownership rights, and land registration.

RECO (Real Estate Council of Ontario)

The organization that administers and enforces TRESA, ensuring that brokers, brokerages, and salespeople comply with the law.

TRESA (Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002)

The legislation set out by the government that regulates real estate trading in Ontario to protect consumers and ensure integrity in transactions.

General Regulations

The set of technical and procedural rules for daily real estate activities, including registration requirements, advertising, and disclosures.

Code of Ethics

Regulations setting professional conduct standards, requiring honesty, integrity, good faith, and prohibiting misrepresentation, fraud, or harassment.

Trading

Any activity related to real estate including buying, selling, leasing, listing, showing, advertising, or negotiating.

Registrant

Anyone registered with RECO, including brokerages, brokers, and salespeople.

Brokerage

A corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship registered under TRESA authorized to trade real estate on behalf of others for compensation.

Broker

An individual registered under TRESA who focuses on brokerage operations management and supervision of salespeople.

Salesperson

An individual registered under TRESA who is employed by a brokerage to trade real estate.

Broker of Record

The individual with ultimate responsibility for the brokerage, ensuring TRESA compliance and supervising all registrants.

Branch Manager

A broker or salesperson appointed to manage a branch office when it has more than one salesperson.

Professional Liability Insurance

Mandatory insurance for all brokers and salespeople that provides deposit protection, errors and omissions coverage, and commission protection.

Seller's Market

A market condition where there are more buyers than properties, leading to quicker sales and potentially higher prices.

Buyer's Market

A market condition where there are more properties than buyers, leading to price drops and buyers including more conditions.

Commission

Remuneration usually calculated as a percentage of the sales price, shared between the brokerage and the salesperson.

Multiple Representation

A situation where a registrant or brokerage represents both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction, requiring full disclosure and consent.

Client

A person who has entered into a representation agreement with a brokerage and receives services and representation.

Self-Represented Party

An individual who chooses not to use a brokerage and receives no services, advice, or representation, only limited assistance.

Representation Agreement

A written, oral, or implied contract where a brokerage represents a buyer or seller in a real estate trade.

Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS)

The legal contract between a buyer and a seller for the transfer of an interest in real estate.

Real Estate

The physical property, including land, buildings, and improvements.

Real Property

The physical property plus the bundle of rights inclusive of the right to possess, use, enjoy, and sell.

Fixture

An item attached to the property that is included in the sale unless specifically excluded in the APS.

Chattel

A movable item not included in the APS unless specifically written in.

Title

The legal ownership of property.

Deed (Transfer)

The document used to transfer ownership of land from the seller to the buyer.

Joint Tenancy

Concurrent ownership where four unities (title, time, possession, interest) exist, and the right of survivorship applies.

Tenancy in Common

Concurrent ownership where multiple people own property, but upon death, an owner's portion passes to their estate, not the other owners.

Fee Simple (Freehold Estate)

Ownership that provides the greatest rights and fewest limitations, lasting for an indefinite period.

Leasehold Estate

An interest in land providing the right to use and occupy property for a specific period without owning it.

Common Elements Condominium (CEC)

A type of condominium with no individual units, only shared areas like roads or parks, tied to a Parcel of Tied Land (POTL).

Equity Cooperative

A housing model where buyers purchase shares in a corporation to gain the right to occupy a specific unit.

Easement

A right allowing a landowner to use another person's land for a specific purpose that runs with the land.

Dominant Tenement

The property that receives the benefit of an easement.

Servient Tenement

The property that is burdened by an easement or over which the easement runs.

Restrictive Covenant

A restriction on land use written into the deed and registered on the title that binds future owners.

Encroachment

A situation where a structure or building violates a neighbor's property rights by crossing the property line.

Adverse Possession

Gaining ownership rights by occupying land without the owner's permission for a continuous period, typically $10$ years in Ontario.

Expropriation

The government's power to take private property for public use with fair compensation to the owner.

Escheat

The reversion of property to the government when an owner dies without a will or legal heirs.

Gunter’s Chain

An old system of measurement where one chain equals $66$ feet; used to divide land into concessions.

Metes and Bounds

A method of land description that uses compass directions and distances to provide precise legal boundaries for irregular parcels.

Surveyors Real Property Report (SRPR)

A detailed plan of survey and written report illustrating legal boundaries and the location of all structures on a property.

Reference Plan (R-Plan)

A plan deposited in the Land Registry Office used to divide a property into specific parts for legal transactions or severances.

Registry System

An older land registration system where the registrar records documents but does not guarantee title ownership.

Land Titles System

A modern land registration system where the government guarantees ownership based on three principles: Mirror, Curtain, and Insurance.

Mirror Principle

The principle that the land register accurately reflects current ownership, interests, and restrictions.

Curtain Principle

The principle that buyers can rely on the current register and do not need to investigate a property's past ownership history.

POLARIS

The computerized database system (Province of Ontario Land Registration Information System) that stores and organizes land records by PIN.

PIN (Property Identification Number)

A unique number assigned to each parcel of land in the POLARIS system.

Honesty, Integrity, Good Faith, Courtesy

The four core conduct terms required of registrants under TRESA.

Conscientious Service

The requirement to act carefully, thoroughly, and reliably while maintaining professional standards toward clients.

Material Fact

Any fact that could affect a reasonable person's decision to buy or sell real estate.

Latent Defect

A hidden defect known to the owner that makes a property dangerous or unfit for habitation and cannot be discovered by reasonable inspection.

SPIS (Seller's Property Information Statement)

A written document completed by a seller providing info about a property's condition and history for potential buyers.

Sliding Scale Remuneration

A commission structure where the percentage decreases as the sale price increases (e.g., $5\%$ on the first $500,000$ and $3.5\%$ over $500,000$).