CLEBC - Courses On Demand

Real Estate: Commercial Lending 2025

Course Date: October 28, 2025

Full Course Materials

Total: 5h 28min

Total Ethics: 1h 10min

Course Introduction and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:10)

Teresa Sheward — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver
Timothy J. Lack — Redpoint Law LLP, Vancouver
Jennifer M. Williams — MLT Aikins LLP, Vancouver

Parties to the Loan Transaction (9:10 – 9:30)

limited partnership borrowers
non-Canadian borrowers/extra-provincial companies
covenantors, conflicts, and ILA
trustees and beneficiaries
JV companies/co-owners
ethics component: know your client rules and avoiding conflicts

Timothy J. Lack — Redpoint Law LLP, Vancouver

Acting for Borrowers on Commercial Loans (9:30 – 9:55)

tips/guidelines from lender's counsel on real property-based loan transactions—what borrower's counsel should consider in connection with:
- commitment letter requirements
- CMHC insured loans
- aquisition loans
- construction loans
- First Nations land tenure
- due diligence vs. title insurance
- other pre-funding conditions

Gary M. Yaffe — Owen Bird Law Corporation, Vancouver

Developer Sureties and Deposit Protection Insurance Facilities (9:55 – 10:20)

applicable provisions of the Real Estate Development Marketing Act
deposit trustee's obligations to the surety
taking security over pre-sale developments
priority agreements with construction lenders
purchaser rights under the Deposit Protection Contract
emerging issues in a cooling market

MaryGrace Johnstone — Volkenant Law Group, Langley

BREAK (10:20 – 10:35)

Title Insurance (10:35 – 11:00)

the use of title insurance by commercial lenders
optional coverages lenders request as part of their risk mitigation strategy
title fraud on commercial properties
priority concerns including CRA super priority
construction loans and title insurance

Brett A. Horton — Counsel & Director, Commercial Business Development-BC, Stewart Title Guaranty Company, Vancouver

Commitment Letters (11:00 – 11:25)

introduction to commitment letters
the lawyer's role
enforcing commitment letters
remedies for breach
commitment fees and deposit
criminal rates of interest

Sergio C. Custodio — Bennett Jones LLP, Vancouver

Competing Interests (11:25 – 12:00)

identifying common charges found on title including:
- judgments—registration and removal
- mortgages—registration and removal
- lien potpourri
- CPLs
- caveats
rights of landlords

David Moonje — Stewart, Aulinger & Company, Vancouver

LUNCH (12:00 – 1:00)

Construction Financing, Priority, and Third-Party Agreements (1:00 – 1:45)

lender's advances/draws
trust property financing
trust property as it relates to bare trusts
the standard form grant/language
when can the subordinate lender exercise its rights
partial discharges as projects complete and units sell
re-advances by the senior lender
what costs, charges, and expenses should have priority
payments received by the subordinate lender
ethics component: duties owed to other counsel
General Security Agreements

Mark C. Baron — Richards Buell Sutton LLP, Vancouver
Mark von Marksfeld — DLA Piper, Vancouver

Structuring Mortgage Investment Corporations in Canada (1:45 – 2:10)

qualifying as a MIC and capital structure
fees and economics
registration requirements
capital raising requirements

Angela D. Austman — Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver

Receivers, Bankruptcy, Recovery, Collections (2:10 – 2:35)

initial steps when engaged on a new enforcement matter
comments and insights from litigation counsel who regularly act for commercial lenders
overview of primary avenues of recovery/remedies and relevant considerations when determining course of action:
- action
- extra-judicial enforcement of security
- foreclosure
- receivership
- bankruptcy