One of my key advantages is that I am not a lawyer—something increasingly rare in arbitration today.
I have been a hardworking real estate professional since 1968 and a university-trained arbitrator and mediator since 1988. Over the decades, I’ve chaired numerous hearings and understand the rules, but I dispense with the legalese. Arbitration was originally designed to be a simpler, faster, and more cost-effective alternative to the courts. Unfortunately, it has evolved into a complex and expensive process—often resembling a courtroom more than an alternative to it.
With over 40 years of commercial appraisal and review experience, I bring a critical eye to valuation disputes. When both landlord and tenant submit professional appraisal reports, I can analyze and assess each one to provide an informed, balanced decision.
When a full hearing is necessary, I aim to focus on the key issues, establish reasonable time limits, and avoid procedural delays. My goal is efficiency: we begin in the morning, and if needed, continue into the evening. Unless the case is highly complex, one day is typically enough to resolve the matter.
Case 1:
In one case involving a Toronto tavern, by the time it came to me the landlord and tenant had been disputing the rental rate and options to renew for three years and the tenant was in for legal costs of $70,000. In one day, working under a court order I was able to settle this matter. The tenant ended up paying a higher rent, almost what the landlord wanted but the tenant received two renewal periods of five years each. These options were not part of the ongoing deal. This made the business saleable, which was the tenant’s desire. A win-win but only after hard negotiation, head banging, bringing common sense to the parties and me acting as a combination of arbitrator, negotiator, mediator and tough guy.
Case 2:
Yonge Street, downtown core of Toronto. Fast food franchise. 18 months of negotiation between landlord and tenant and tenant was in a precarious month-to-month instead of having a secured lease. Lawyers had failed to push the parties to be reasonable. I met with the landlord and tenant and after three solid hours of negotiation, we reached a compromise. I retained a third party, a commercial REALTOR® of my choice (with approval from both sides) to do a rental study and made a decision on the final rent. Tenant received a 15-year (3 x 5 year) lease and that business continues to thrive in its prime location.
“Barry’s knowledge, experience and support
enabled a smooth closing despite a few challenges along the way. He has always put in his best effort to respond to questions or requests and was respectful in handling all our needs”
– Carol S.
What I do is somewhat different. I do not sit and just passively listen and write notes. Of course I listen but I get past the small stuff, make the parties focus on the primary factors which is usually price and renewals and go from there. I advise the appraisers, if retained to eliminate the full appraisal reports and focus on solid comparable data, not rhetoric; bare bones appraisal. If a party is going off track, my job is not to let it run but to make the discussions relevant and to guide the parties to work to settle. Many disputes are based on bad blood that has developed over the years and personalities come into conflict. My years of selling and working with people have trained me to smooth things out, to get past it and yes, sometimes people have to just vent.
Costs – we agree on one day of a hearing. Add in my time to write a decision and review of all documents. There is of course independent appraisal evidence, lawyers, sometimes an interpreter but no matter what, all in one day.
I acknowledge that there are many complex situations and although the one day hearing works for most matters, it does not apply to all. The one day, when agreed to by the parties offers the most efficient method and with the lowest costs possible.
As an arbitrator and mediator, I received my certificate from the Arbitrators Institute of Canada Incorporated in 1988 and have conducted numerous hearings over the decades. My speciality relates to real estate and most of my hearing involve commercial landlord-tenant disputes although I have dealt with construction and commission disputes as well.
Barry Knows Real Estate
Get in touch with Barry for answers to all your Toronto real estate questions.