Diamond Luxury: the receiver asks to let go of 316 William Street

Diamond International Realty Inc. ran its real estate brokerage, as "Save Max Diamond Realty Brokerage", out of a single-storey commercial building of about 2,797 square feet at 316 William Street in London, Ontario, which it bought on October 15, 2021 for $330,000. On the information available to its receiver, the building has been vacant since about February 2025, when a fire occurred there. When the receiver's representatives arrived on August 10, 2026, a City of London notice on the exterior said the building had been boarded up on the City's initiative because of by-law violations, per the receiver's First Report of the Receiver, Oct. 15, 2026, paras. 6, 8–9, 32.

In that report, Albert Gelman Inc. concludes that a sale process would be expected to produce "a materially worse result for the receivership estate and its stakeholders" than removing the property from the receivership, and says TD Bank agrees, per the First Report, Oct. 15, 2026, para. 4. The bank's application against the brokerage, its sibling builder Diamond Luxury Developments Corp. and the individual who guaranteed both was reported here on July 26.

The receivership over the building came second. Justice Kalajdzic's order of July 24 covered Diamond Luxury's property, per the Order (Appointing Receiver), July 24, 2026, para. 2; the brokerage's part was adjourned to August 7 after TD's counsel advised the court that the bank was "confident that Realty will complete its refinancing in the next week or so," per the Endorsement of Justice Kalajdzic, July 24, 2026, paras. 1, 3. The refinancing did not proceed, the receiver reports, and Justice M.A. Cook's order of August 7 appointed it over Diamond Realty's property, "including the Real Property," per the Order (Appointing Receiver), Aug. 7, 2026, para. 2 and the First Report, Oct. 15, 2026, para. 2.

Boarded up on the City's initiative

On August 10, TD confirmed that Diamond Realty's insurance on the property had expired; the receiver placed its own and took possession on August 18, per the First Report, Oct. 15, 2026, paras. 31–33. Its appraiser, TL Smith Appraisals, found on August 21, as the report summarizes the appraisal, drywall torn down, the dropped ceiling ripped down in various areas, damaged and exposed framing, and mattresses and garbage in the offices; "there did not appear to be any area of the interior that had not been affected by vandalism," per the First Report, Oct. 15, 2026, para. 50.

By the City's figures, realty taxes and other charges were in arrears for each year from 2023 to 2026, $22,767.67 in all as at September 9. On August 20 the City told the receiver that at least $8,511.41 was required by August 31 to clear the 2023 taxes and prevent it from commencing tax lien proceedings. "The Receiver did not make that payment." On September 9 came two City orders to secure or repair the building, per the First Report, Oct. 15, 2026, paras. 36, 40.

A sale at a loss

The appraisal, effective August 21, puts the property's market value in its current condition at $225,000, and a commercial realtor the receiver consulted put it at approximately $200,000. The appraised figure is about 38% of the $600,000 principal amount of TD's mortgage, the receiver notes, per the First Report, Oct. 15, 2026, paras. 52–53.

Before the property could be marketed, the receiver estimates, it would need $83,000 to $152,000 of work, before HST, to secure it, comply with the City's orders and make it safe for buyers and inspectors, the largest line a full interior clean-out at $30,000 to $50,000. The estimate leaves out repair of the fire damage to the roof structure, remediation of any hazardous materials, and the cosmetic work needed "to present the building as anything other than a vandalized shell," per the First Report, Oct. 15, 2026, paras. 54–55.

On September 8 the receiver sent TD its cost-benefit analysis. From gross proceeds of $200,000 in its low case or $225,000 in its high case, it deducts the preparation work ($152,000 or $83,000), unrecoverable HST on that work ($19,760 or $10,790), $22,768 of tax arrears and City charges payable on closing, commission and closing costs ($25,000 or $15,000), carrying costs during a sale ($75,000 or $65,000), and the incremental fees of the receiver and its counsel to run the sale and obtain an approval and vesting order ($100,000 or $75,000). The estimated net result of a sale process is a loss of $194,528 in the low case and $46,558 in the high; removing the property is put at nil, per the First Report, Oct. 15, 2026, para. 56.

In the receiver's judgment, an "as is" sale would be unlikely to attract a price above the priority claims and costs of sale, demolition would cost on the same order of magnitude as the preparatory work, and a bankruptcy of Diamond Realty would face "the same absence of realizable equity." On September 21, after review by its credit adjudication group, TD confirmed that it agrees, and it has told the receiver it does not wish to take possession of the property or exercise its rights or remedies under the mortgage, "whether by power of sale or otherwise." The companies had no cash when the receiver was appointed; TD has funded the receivership, advancing $75,000 on September 24, per the First Report, Oct. 15, 2026, paras. 59(iii)–(vi), 61, 66.