Real Estate: Commercial Lending 2025

Course Chairs
Timothy J. Lack — Redpoint Law LLP, Vancouver
Jennifer M. Williams — MLT Aikins LLP, Vancouver

About the Course Chairs
Tim Lack has been the responsible lawyer for over 8,000 real estate transactions, acting for banks, credit unions and many other institutional and private lenders. His work with private lenders is extensive and he has been asked to provide expert opinions on private lending issues for litigation lawyers. He has lectured on several occasions to other lawyers on this subject.

On the real estate side of his practice, Tim has been involved in residential and commercial conveyancing, land assemblies, office and industrial leasing, including landlord and tenant disputes. As part of his real estate development work, Tim has counselled clients from acquisition, through development and to final sales on condo projects, including mixed use and hotel developments.

Tim represents hundreds of clients in all areas of business and commercial deals and is well experienced in the issues surrounding the purchase and sale of businesses.

Finally, his wills and estates practice continues to grow and Tim prides himself on providing delicate and trusted advice to his clients in this area of law.

Jennifer Williams has practiced commercial real estate and development law for over 20 years, at both national and regional firms. She served as in-house counsel for a prominent real estate developer whose head office and key assets are situated on Capilano Reserve No. 5 of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, on which lands her family resides.

Jennifer advises clients on complex commercial real estate transactions including commercial leasing, acquisitions and sales, development, construction agreements, financing, and the real estate aspects of distressed and insolvent properties including those in CCAA. 

Her Indigenous law practices include transactions and partnerships with a wide range of Indigenous nations and peoples through various real estate and resource related projects (mixed use, commercial, industrial, and food sustainability) that support and advance Indigenous economic development and sovereignty.

A former chair of the Real Estate Subsection of the CBA, Jennifer serves on the Land Title and Survey Authority Stakeholder Advisory Committee and the Real Estate Committee on behalf of the CBA, and BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) Technical Working Group. 

Passionate about community involvement, and giving back to her profession, Jennifer is active in the legal community and continuously volunteers her time to charitable and pro bono services including Access Pro Bono and serving as chair and member of firm committees dedicated to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. 

Her respect and engagement with the Indigenous community and her desire to support Indigenous economic development is underscored by her two children who are members of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (K'ai Tailé Denesųłiné ) which nation is party to Treaty 8.

In her spare time, Jennifer is an avid cactus collector and spends way too much time at ice rinks as a hockey and ringette parent.

Faculty
Angela D. Austman — Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver
Mark C. Baron — Richards Buell Sutton LLP, Vancouver
Sergio C. Custodio — Bennett Jones LLP, Vancouver
Brett A. Horton — Counsel & Director, Commercial Business Development-BC, Stewart Title Guaranty Company, Vancouver
MaryGrace Johnstone — Volkenant Law Group, Langley
David Moonje — Stewart, Aulinger & Company, Vancouver
Scott H. Stephens — Owen Bird Law Corporation, Vancouver
Mark von Marksfeld — DLA Piper, Vancouver
Gary M. Yaffe — Owen Bird Law Corporation, Vancouver
Lily Y. Zhang — Owen Bird Law Corporation, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

• 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

• 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

• 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 

• 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

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

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

• 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

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

• 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

• First Nations land regimes 
• historic issues with financing First Nations lands and recent changes
• applicable Indian Act and Land Code provisions 
• non-disturbance agreements/tripartite agreements 
• financing checklist

• the solicitor's role in due diligence