The emerald ash borer, a small beetle that wreaks havoc

The emerald ash borer is a formidable insect that attacks ash trees. An affected tree cannot be recovered quickly and dies in a few years. The borer can kill stands of ash trees in four years or less! Obviously, as a broker, you are not an expert in this field, but you are required to be proactive to ensure a smooth transaction. So what to do?

Damage to be assessed and reported

If there are hardwoods on the lot of the property you are responsible for selling or for which you are representing a buyer, ash trees could be found there and this could have a serious impact on the real estate transaction. The magnificent wooded land, which makes up the charm of the property and provides for beautiful summer afternoons in the shade of mature trees, could turn into a bare land that will take decades to restore. This may obviously affect the resale value of the property, and result in substantial short-term expenditures. We are talking about removal costs of thousands of dollars per tree, to which replacement costs must be added. 

If you have an area of interest, check with the municipality about the situation – if the parks and trees along streets are infested, private properties will not be spared. Some municipalities have programs in place to help affected properties, others leave the entire responsibility to homeowners.

When taking up a brokerage contract, it is important to ask the seller questions about the condition of the vegetation on his land. Just as he must declare any problem related to the immovable, he must reportany known presence of emerald ash borer and any intervention and provide the invoices. Conducting a TreeAzin treatment does not mean that the problem is resolved – any buyer should be informed of the situation and can have an expert study performed to check the health of trees. This will obviously have to be declared in the Declarations by the seller of the immovable form.     

It may well be that the seller does not know the tree species on his land and paid little attention to their condition, especially that the first signs of infestation are not very visible.

It will then be necessary to inform him on the subject, check if the municipality has issued notices in this regard and, ideally, advise him to enlist the services of an arboricultural firm.

You represent a buyer and notice the presence of hardwoods on the lot? Once again, check with the municipality, ask the seller or his broker if he is represented, and use the Annex – Expert Report form to help the buyer check the situation.

To conclude, the emerald ash borer infestation is a major problem that can have a significant financial impact, in addition to affecting the quality of life on the property. Real estate brokers must inquire and act proactively to protect the parties to a transaction.

For more information 

Natural Resources Canada
https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/forests/fire-insects-disturbances/top-insects/13377

Conseil québécois des espèces exotiques envahissantes
http://agrile.cqeee.org/?page_id=317

City of Longueuil
https://www.longueuil.quebec/en/ash-borer

BioForest
http://www.bioforest.ca/index.cfm?fuseaction=content&menuid=20&pageid=1035

City of Montreal
http://www1.ville.montreal.qc.ca/banque311/content/agrile-du-fr%C3%AAne-r%C3%A9glementation-fr%C3%AAnes-priv%C3%A9s

City of Laval
https://www.laval.ca/Pages/En/Citizens/emerald-ash-borer.aspx

Quebec City
https://www.ville.quebec.qc.ca/citoyens/propriete/arbres/agrile-frene/index.asp