COSTS MUST BE COVERED
It’s often said that buying a home is the most costly financial transaction a person will make. This year, the observation is probably even more true, and the cost can be measured in inconvenience as well as cash.
According to Service Alberta, the agency had to take the highly unusually step of closing its Calgary and Edmonton land title offices on Tuesday after what was thought to be a routine computer system upgrade took place Sunday, causing a provincewide system outage.
For most folks, the disruption isn’t likely to attract much attention, but for people closing real estate deals, they were unable to change the name on the land title and couldn’t reconcile the amount owed. The interest on a sum of money that hasn’t been paid on time can be costly — to say nothing of the anxiety of not knowing when the financial transaction will be completed.
The uncertainty meant sellers and buyers didn’t know when the deals would be completed, or if they’d be in their newly chosen accommodations in time for Christmas.
“Support teams are currently working to rectify the issue as quickly as possible,” Service Alberta spokesman Neil Levine said Tuesday.
“Albertans can be confident that their personal information is secure. The service disruption is a result of a routine systems update that interfered with data processing.
Service Alberta reopened its doors Thursday morning after the glitch had been repaired.
The fact there’s no online backup of this pivotal legal information hardly breeds confidence, but there is a spot of good news. Ryan MacKay, owner and founder of MacKay Real Property Law, said home buyers were able to purchase title insurance for approximately $400. The cost might make for a leaner Christmas, but at least buyers were assured the deals will conclude as normal, with the insurance coverage taking care of any troubles with the closing.
Alternatively, says MacKay, a homebuyer could have paid the seller daily interest on the property or offered to pay rent — options that may not be as clear-cut as purchasing property title insurance.
The shutdown may not be the fault of Service Alberta, but we’d expect the ministry to be a little more forthcoming. It should promptly put Albertans’ minds at ease and pledge that no one will face any additional charges. Perhaps the government can use the money it’s saving by no longer informing motorists when it’s time to renew their licences and registration.
Albertans expect better from their government, especially when it entails important legal information. A glitch is one thing; a grinch is quite another.