What Buyers Should Review Before Removing Subjects in BC

In British Columbia, most offers are written with conditions, called subjects: the deal only becomes firm when the buyer confirms in writing that each condition is satisfied. Until then, you can walk away and get your deposit back. After subject removal, you own the obligation to complete, and failing to do so means losing the deposit and possibly being sued for more.

That makes subject removal the single most important date in the transaction. Here is what I want a buyer to have confirmed before that signature.

First, the rescission period is not your safety net

Since January 2023, BC gives buyers of most residential property a Home Buyer Rescission Period: three business days after acceptance during which you can cancel the contract by giving proper notice, at a cost of 0.25% of the purchase price paid to the seller ($2,000 on an $800,000 purchase). The period starts the first full business day after acceptance and ends at 11:59 p.m. on the third business day. It does not apply to leasehold property, property on leased land, auctions, court-ordered sales, or most developer pre-sales, which have their own seven-day rescission under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act.

It is useful, and I have seen it save a buyer from a rushed decision. But three days is not enough time to receive and read a strata package, get an inspection, and obtain a lender's approval of the property. It also costs money. Treat it as a backstop for a genuine change of heart, not as a replacement for subjects.

The subjects that matter

1. Financing

A pre-approval is an opinion about you. Financing approval is a decision about you and the property. Before removing a financing subject, your lender or broker should have:

• Reviewed the accepted contract, the property taxes and the strata fees.
• Ordered any appraisal they require, and confirmed the appraised value supports the loan.
• Confirmed the mortgage amount, rate hold, and any conditions on the commitment.
• Confirmed you still pass the stress test at the qualifying rate.
• Told you the total cash required at completion, including closing costs, not just the down payment.

If the property is a condo, lenders look at the building too: strata financials, insurance, levies and sometimes the depreciation report. A problem building can cost you an approval even when your own finances are fine.

2. Inspection

For a house: structure, roof, drainage and perimeter, electrical, plumbing, heating, moisture, attic and crawlspace, and the exterior envelope. Ask about oil tanks on older lots, permit history for additions, and the age of the big-ticket items. Bring a contractor for anything the inspector flags as beyond their scope.

For a condo: the inspection is narrower but still worthwhile. Windows and doors, moisture at the envelope, in-suite plumbing and electrical, ventilation, and the condition of what is yours to repair. The building's condition comes from the documents, not the inspection.

Read the full report, not the summary. Ask the inspector what they would fix first and roughly what it costs.

3. Strata documents (condos and townhouses)

Ask for, and actually read:

• Form B Information Certificate with attachments: fees, approved levies, contingency reserve balance, parking and storage designation, rules, insurance summary, proceedings. The strata must deliver it within seven days and can charge up to $35 plus copying.
• Two years of council minutes and the last two AGM/SGM minutes: leaks, repairs, disputes, projects discussed and dropped.
• Current budget and financial statements.
• Depreciation report, which most stratas of five or more lots were required to have by July 1, 2026 in Metro Vancouver.
• Bylaws and rules: pets, renovations, flooring, move-in fees, and anything that conflicts with how you plan to live.
• Insurance summary: coverage, deductibles, and how the water-damage deductible is allocated to owners.
• Engineering or building-envelope reports referenced in the minutes.
• Strata plan, to confirm parking and locker designation and the unit's boundaries.

My guides to depreciation reports and special levies go through what to look for. The short version: read the documents as a set, look for patterns, and turn unclear items into written questions to the strata manager before you remove the subject.

4. Title

Your lawyer or notary pulls the title, but you should see it before subject removal, not at signing. Look for charges and legal notations: mortgages (to be discharged), easements, statutory rights of way, restrictive covenants, building schemes, heritage designations, and anything unexpected. On a house lot, a right of way across the back yard or a covenant limiting what can be built changes both use and value.

5. Insurance

Confirm you can insure the property on acceptable terms. For condos, confirm your policy covers your share of the strata's deductible and any improvements. For houses, confirm there are no issues with the roof, wiring, oil tank or wood stove that would make coverage hard or expensive. Lenders will not advance funds without proof of insurance.

6. Property Disclosure Statement and your own checks

Read the seller's disclosure statement, if one is provided, against what the inspector and documents tell you. Walk the property again at a different time of day. Check the City's permit and zoning information, the flood or sea-level maps if relevant, and anything on the block that could change: a rezoning application next door, a Broadway Plan tower site, a school closure.

7. Sale of your own home

If the purchase depends on your sale, the subject should say so, with a realistic date. Removing it without a firm sale is a financial bet, not a paperwork step.

The deposit, and what happens at subject removal

In most Vancouver contracts the deposit is due within a day or two of subject removal and is held in trust by the buyer's or listing brokerage. Have the funds ready to move before the subject-removal date, and know that from this point the deposit is at risk if you fail to complete.

The document itself is short: a one-page subject removal (or amendment) signed by you. Nothing about its length should fool you about its weight.

Subject-free offers

In a competitive situation, you may be asked, or tempted, to go in without subjects. That can be a rational decision if the due diligence has been done before the offer: strata package read, financing confirmed on the specific property, an inspection completed during the showing period, title reviewed. It is not rational if the plan is to "hope it works out". My role is to lay out what is known, what is not, and what each uncertainty could cost, so that the risk you take is a choice.

A simple pre-removal checklist

• Lender has approved the property, not just you, and has stated the total cash to complete.
• Inspection report read in full; follow-up quotes obtained for anything significant.
• Strata package received, read, and open questions answered in writing.
• Title reviewed; any charges explained by your lawyer or notary.
• Insurance confirmed, including the strata deductible exposure.
• Deposit funds ready to move.
• Completion, possession and adjustment dates confirmed with your lawyer or notary.
• You have slept on it.