Assignment of Agreement of Purchase and Sale | Nava Wilson LLP

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An Assignment of an Agreement of Purchase and Sale is when an original purchaser under an Agreement of Purchase and Sale permits a different party to take over the contract. New homes, condominiums and even re-sale properties can be assigned.  

Purchasers usually assign their Agreement of Purchase and Sale with the view of making a profit. 

For example, if the original purchaser signed the Agreement of Purchase and Sale at $100,000.00 but they are now transferring the contract to the third party for $150,000.00 they have profited $50,000.00.

Other reasons?

  1. Change in financial position of the original purchaser (i.e. they can no longer afford the home or qualify for a mortgage);
    1. Keep in mind, when a purchaser signs the contract, closing may not take place for another year or longer;
  2. They no longer want the home (i.e. they’ve found something better);

Does this mean that the original purchaser walks away free after the Assignment Agreement has been signed? No.

Most, if not all, Assignment agreements will have a clause to the effect of “(original) buyer assumes continuing liability for the “covenants, agreements and obligations” contained the original agreement”

What is the benefit to the new buyer?

  • The new buyer may be able to buy into a desirable neighborhood at a time when there are no more units available to be purchased directly from the builder;
  • Even taking the original buyer’s profit into account, the assignment may give the new buyer a price advantage over other properties that are currently on the market; and
  • Depending on the timing of the assignment, the new buyer may be positioned to choose finishes and make minor changes to the yet-to-be-built home.

Common Terms

Assignor: Original Buyer

Assignee: New Buyer

Vendor: Builder

Consent: Permission from the Builder to transfer the contract to the Assignee. Absolutely Necessary. 

Can an Agreement of Purchase and Sale be assigned?

Most Agreement of Purchase and Sales state that the Agreement of Purchase and Sale cannot be assigned without the Vendor’s consent which may be withheld arbitrarily. What this means is that the Builder has the ability to deny any requests for assigning the APS at its sole discretion. 

However, at times, the Assignor may have already signed an Amendment to the Agreement of Purchase and Sale permitting one Assignment of the APS. In these circumstances, there may be little to no barrier in assigning the APS. In any event, reference will still need to be made to the APS to make sure that there are no conditions to an assignment [i.e. 90% of units have to be sold (if condo) before an Assignment will be permitted]. 

Responsibility to Obtain Consent:

Clause 15 in the Assignment of Agreement of Purchase and Sale sets out that the responsibility to obtain consent remains with the Assignor and all costs are to be paid for by him/her. However, costs can be split by modifying Schedule A.  

The Assignee acknowledges and agrees that the Developer’s Agreement contains a provision prohibiting the purchase and the sale of the within unit without the Developer’s consent and accordingly the Assignee and Assignor shall execute and deliver to the Developer Consent documents as required. This Agreement of Purchase and Sale shall be conditional upon the Assignor obtaining the written consent of the Developer to the assignment herein until XYZ date, failing which the Agreement herein shall be null and void and all deposits returned to the Assignee, unless otherwise extended in writing by the Assignee and Assignor

Note: While there will be an Assignment of Agreement of Purchase and Sale to be executed between the Assignor and Assignee, the Vendor will also draft their own consent to assign which will contain their terms and conditions. 

Adjustments

Who is responsible for paying additional costs arising in the Statement of Adjustments? Very important to advise client accordingly depending on if Assignor or Assignee. 

If we are acting for an Assignor, we want to make sure that there are no clauses in Schedule A or any other Schedule which makes them responsible for adjustments. 

Keep in mind, we will not know what the actual adjustments are until well after the Assignment Agreement has been signed. At times, these costs can be significant (i.e. increase in development charges). 

At all times, it is the responsibility of the Assignor and Assignee to be diligent in ensuring that they are aware of what’s being contracted for.

 

Please note the content on this web site is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice of any kind.