What happens to my closing timeline if I buy a condo assignment and the project delays?

When you buy a condo assignment, you inherit the original purchaser's position under the purchase agreement — including all the closing date risks that come with it. If the builder subsequently delays the occupancy date, you as the assignee receive the builder's notices and must comply with the deadlines set out in the original Tarion addendum.

The challenge is that at the time you agree to buy the assignment, the projected closing may already be delayed or uncertain. Assignors sometimes sell precisely because they no longer want to wait or can no longer obtain financing. Before signing the assignment agreement, ask the assignor for all delay notices they have received to date and verify the current projected occupancy date directly with the builder or the builder's sales office.

If there are subsequent delays after you take the assignment, you have the same rights as the original buyer to compensation under Tarion's delayed-closing warranty, provided the delays breach the Tarion addendum's notice rules. However, any delay notices that were already sent before you acquired the assignment effectively bind you.

From a financing perspective, mortgage pre-approvals expire. If the project delays significantly, your rate hold and pre-approval may not remain valid through to closing. Build in a plan for re-qualifying or locking in a rate extension with your lender.