Went for my walk yesterday – the one that hopefully works off the Christmas fat, and was surprised to see a house with the windows on the room over the garage covered in plastic.  This is a 4000 SF house in the 800K price range.  Little bit more than I can afford but at least I don’t have to keep a room warm in my house with plastic on the windows.  I don’t know who the builder is but, I’d be hiding my head in the nearest snowbank in shame.

What’s with our builders?  Do they not understand that in Canada we have COLD – spell it builder, C-O-L-D. weather here in the Great White North?  Do they not understand the principles of HEAT and INSULATION?  On a recent Mike Holmes show I noticed him mention cold rooms over the garages.  It is mentioned as if it is common knowledge that it is to be expected from most builders, although he understands how to prevent it.

Unfortunately, most people accept cold rooms over the garage as a sign of being Canadian.  Puts hair on your chest and makes you a man – sorry ladies.

A visit to a blog shows that the builders really don’t care:

One reason why these home are cold is because the first floor air return is often about 4 feet above the floor. This leaves the coldest air in the home.

Some of my clients had Mattamy install an electric base board heater but it was difficult to get them to do this.
These homes are a perfect example of Mattamy ignoring basic code requirements and being ignorant by not fixing problems for their clients after it has been brought to their attention. The poorly located first floor air return issue was pointed out to them long before they made any attempt to fix the problem. 

These cold first floors violate the Ontario Building Code interior heat requiremnt codes.

This is from a professional house inspector and, he further states the following:

If you are in one of these ridiculous ice box homes and it’s under 2 years old then it is still possible to insist that Mattamy fix it. Look up Tarions “Inadequate Heat – Construction Performance Guideline” and the instructions on how to do the test. This test should be done on a very cold day.

How Mattamy won builder awards while they were building fundamentally defective homes just shows that these awards are a scam.

I couldn’t agree more and I am sure it could apply to any builder, from what I’ve seen.  Just that these homes of Mattamy stand out.  In my case, the front room over the garage was always cold until I re-insulated and also put insulation into the bay window (Mattamy said it was there – it wasn’t).

If you want to design a house so it is eye-sweet and sell quickly, at least do the decent thing and make sure it is properly insulated.  You think people like sitting in their pretty house and freeze to death?

Wake up and smell the coffee guys.  Or, do you play the game – build the house, make the shortcuts, make a billion, donate to the right people and let the rest eat cake?

If you’re thinking of buying, sometimes a walk around the neighbourhood can help you see the issues. Or read the blogs where you can learn the real truth, not the truth per the two page spread in the Toronto Star.

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* The above is intended to show the reader examples of how to obtain a house inspector, no matter which builder you buy from. Remember, awards and advertising are designed to make you buy, not ensure you quality. We’ve shown that awards are not the standard on which to base your decision on. My use of my experiences are not made to embarass Mattamy Homes or Peter Gilgan but, are used because they are based on fact and show the larger picture that a house inspector is a requirement when buying a house, new or old from any builder. My experience only shows that in fact it can happen and is a fact of life. Your experiences with Mattamy may have differed.

On January 9th, 2012 I did a blog titled: Does the taxpayer want the Velodrome or just the Mattamy lackies?.  The decision to continue with this project is drawing near and I understand Milton council will decide on the merits of this venue on January 30th.  Zeeshan Hamid, a councillor for Milton, has taken the time to comment on that days blog.  I believe his discussion is well-balanced and does give a full view of the financing and raises some concerns (who pays for on-going maintenance) and, shows why some funding (development charges) is locked into a singular use.

For more on the funding, I recommend you visit his blog here.

The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, will invest the appointees (Order of Ontario) at a ceremony on Thursday, January 26 at Queen’s Park according to this press release.  Quite a list of names, most of which I am sure you will recognize if you read the press release.  We naturally assume that those who receive awards are receiving them for doing GOOD things.  Some awards are for singular events and some, like the Order of Ontario, seem to be for those who strive over a lifetime to achieve positive things within our society.

Unfortunately, some like Conrad Black, fall by the wayside and show a dark side to their nature.  Funny how he still has his medal while others have been stripped of theirs.   Alan Eagleson, David Ahenakew, T. Sher Singh, and Steve Fonyo come to mind.

Now, I can’t really comment on the activities of those about to receive the Order of Ontario on January 26th.    I guess that those in charge of deciding who will get one don’t really worry about people destroying our environment and being caught – not once but at least twice (court on one), or selling property with illegal wiring that puts children’s lives at risk.  I guess in the big picture of Ontario politics, matters such as these can be overlooked.  Particularly when individuals might be pouring big money into the election coffers.  And, we wonder why nothing ever gets done on legislation that would protect our citizens and taxpayers unless vetted by those who donate.

Hard to buck city hall and donations.

For those who are getting the award, look around.  You are now part of a auspicious group, some of whom haven’t been all that good.  Just good PR and donations to shore up a somewhat shady nature.

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* The above is intended to show the reader examples of how to obtain a house inspector, no matter which builder you buy from. Remember, awards and advertising are designed to make you buy, not ensure you quality. We’ve shown that awards are not the standard on which to base your decision on. My use of my experiences are not made to embarass Mattamy Homes or Peter Gilgan but, are used because they are based on fact and show the larger picture that a house inspector is a requirement when buying a house, new or old from any builder. My experience only shows that in fact it can happen and is a fact of life. Your experiences with Mattamy may have differed.

First off, got one mini-Holmes job done – replacing the fireplace with a gas insert.  When Mattamy worked on it, they left two shades of concrete between the flagstones due to a repair job.  As the new fireplace didn’t need the heating slots in the fireplace wall, I asked the installer to fill the cracks if he could.  Not an issue = he matched the colour of the concrete to the old concrete.  Funny how he could do it but the original installer from Mattamy couldn’t.  Still have the Mattamy patch job though – think I’ll have this new craftsman back to do a touch up job.  At least I am getting what I paid for.

I came across a website called New Homes Directory and found an article from December 3rd, 2008 titled: When Consumers Attack.  I just love their opening statement:

As an industry, we can not ignore how social media is affecting our companies, our brands, and our reputations. If we blatantly ignore, turn a deaf ear, turn a blind eye, or just quietly deny that consumer voices on the Internet are shaping our brands and reputations, we risk the vicious attack of our very own consumers.

They equate feedback from consumers in terms of a TV show called: When Animals Attack.  You may remember this late 1990′s Fox Tv show.  They also refer to a Bloomberg Businessweek article where they discuss some issues with builders, people who suffered builder indifference and, the usual builder strategy of don’t build it right and sue the ass off anyone who dares to mention a bad build.  Hmmm, sounds familiar.

Further in the article are links to various complaint sites, some of which are obviously closed, finished or otherwise not in use.  Some may be gone due to situations where the builder has proceeded with a libel lawsuit.

One ground rule when doing a blog:  Put in only the truth.

You can’t be sued for putting for the truth.  Opinion is also allowed, unless considered a personal attack based on no substance.  For instance, I have no issues with Peter Gilgan or Mattamy donating money to worthwhile causes.

Why would I?

But, I have an issue regarding donations going to those who were supposed to protect my children from danger and the children of others who buy a home from a builder.    Would you go to a cop whom you just saw take some money from a store owner, and put forward a complaint regarding said store owner?

I doubt it.

Likewise, how can I go to a Town Council and complain about a builder when said builder donated money to the Mayor’s interest?  Same thing but, I guess cops are in a different league to politicians and are expected to be above such tactics as this.  Too bad politicians aren’t held to the same standard but only get a wink wink, nudge nudge from fellow politicians.  I know one who voted my complaint to the Province and once he was there, nothing was done.  I wonder if he recommended Peter Gilgan for the recent award (more on the award later)?

But there is one thing.  The fact that Mattamy wanted to sue me on certain issues I had in my blog and didn’t, I guess kind of shows they were true.  And, they are, as I have the documentation to back up my complaints.

And, if there is something Mattamy feels is wrong in my blog, they are more than welcome to show I am wrong – no hard feelings guys.  If you are right, the offending material will be removed and I will apologize.  More than what you and the Town of Oakville did when you did things that put my children at risk.

And the material I put forward, is valid with any builder in the world.  I only use my personal experience to show what can happen and it can be proven true.  More than I can say about some builder’s statements in the press and advertising.

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* The above is intended to show the reader examples of how to obtain a house inspector, no matter which builder you buy from. Remember, awards and advertising are designed to make you buy, not ensure you quality. We’ve shown that awards are not the standard on which to base your decision on. My use of my experiences are not made to embarass Mattamy Homes or Peter Gilgan but, are used because they are based on fact and show the larger picture that a house inspector is a requirement when buying a house, new or old from any builder. My experience only shows that in fact it can happen and is a fact of life. Your experiences with Mattamy may have differed.

The best way to see just how well your house was built is to “gut it”.  Actually, if you like tearing stuff apart to vent any emotions, it is the best therapy I can recommend.  Especially if it isn’t your house.  I have been asked in the past to help do house reno’s based on my skill at taking stuff apart.  Putting it back together – I’m just an assistant there – coffee boy so to speak.    But, if you are a fan of Mike Holmes’ show, then you understand why sometimes taking stuff totally apart gives you a better idea of what is wrong and what actually needs to be fixed – not builder “patched”.  But totally gutting your house is a very expensive venture.  Small renovations can sometimes give you a good idea of what condition your house is in and just how well it was built.

Well, we’ve decided to put in some hardwood floor.  When the house was built I can still remember “moving in day”.  The cleaners were standing around watching the trades finish the house.  I actually felt sorry for them, although not being able to do their job professionally meant I would end up with the problem.  Endless dust in the house maybe??

I’ve just finished tearing up the carpet and underlay.  I believe I got the upgraded underlay as asked, I should add.  The underfloor is a nice shade of red, which might account for some of the dust as it is dried mud.  You see, our area is red clay.  The carpet wasn’t down when the floor was swept (?) but I notice that instead of sweeping the dust, etc under the carpet which wasn’t installed yet, they swept it under the wall and baseboard.  No housekeeping award here.

I dread doing the carpet upstairs as I have always felt a hollow there.  I can’t await to find out what surprise is there.  Mattamy knows though as they were supposed to fix it.

So, if you didn’t catch the builder during your inspections and you do a reno later,  you might just find all those errors you thought were there but the builder told you everything was alright.  That is why some people sneak into the house while it is under construction and check on it.  I know – might be illegal and I’m not suggesting it but, sometimes a person has to do what they need to do to protect themselves and their home.  Being able to hire a professional and insured house inspector to monitor your build would prevent a lot of these issues which cost you money later.

Obviously the builder and town building inspector won’t do it for you.  Right, Town of Oakville?

I’ll let you know how the reno goes.  But I won’t go as far as Holmes.  I can’t afford it.

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href=”http://blogitti.blogiche.com/”>Blogitti
* The above is intended to show the reader examples of how to obtain a house inspector, no matter which builder you buy from. Remember, awards and advertising are designed to make you buy, not ensure you quality. We’ve shown that awards are not the standard on which to base your decision on. My use of my experiences are not made to embarass Mattamy Homes or Peter Gilgan but, are used because they are based on fact and show the larger picture that a house inspector is a requirement when buying a house, new or old from any builder. My experience only shows that in fact it can happen and is a fact of life. Your experiences with Mattamy may have differed.

Someone asked me if I was going to hand out more pamphlets at the next Mattamy site in Oakville.  Construction of the area is just now beginning with the infrastructure being put into place.  The new area is bounded by Dundas Street on the south, 6th Line on the east and Nayagawa on the west.  No matter who the builder is, it is important that if you are thinking of buying a new home, you get on the information highway for the area and builder quick.

Why?

Those who show interest early and put their names on the builder’s listing may get preferential treatment when it comes to “first come – first choice” policies by the builder.  Some builders don’t promote long lines of frenzied buyers being formed at the construction site hours and days before the official sales opening.  Some builders – Mattamy comes to mind based on past history - like the PR it promotes – hoards of buyers fighting for their new home (much like the Wal-Mart customer crushes we hear about).

I recommend you do your homework and visit some websites.  Two come to mind (not an endorsement) who are informing the public about the new construction (nice video on one) and one who promotes signing up your interest early.

One, Choosing Real Estate has the video and the other, The Oakville Buzz discusses pre-registering.

The one advantage is the obvious aspect of being asked early to come in and buy a house without the line-up but another advantage is to be able to study the new development and decide whether or not the community is for you.  Speculators – they don’t care and just buy up early to make money off those who wait and see what is happening.

Myself – I just like being kept informed so I can regulate my schedule to make myself available to hand out information pamphlets at the building site.  I look forward to seeing you.  Mattamy, in the past, has introduced me to bully boys and also called the police when I showed up.  Actually, it is the only time I’ve had the police investigate me.  At least they were gentlemen and showed a lot more character than others I met doing this.  And, I’m not talking about fellow consumers.

Another reason to start looking at a builder early is so you can research the blogs and forums out there and get some idea of the problems that can be expected.  Develop your strategies to handle these issues.  As well, you will be better informed and can look at the plans (and models if there are any) in a more investigative mode, instead of being glassy-eyed.    You can also arrange for a house inspector and lawyer who can inform you of what to look for, what to put in the purchase agreement and other advice well in advance of you actually committing.

Remember: THE BUILDER IS THERE TO SELL YOU SOMETHING AT A PROFIT.  HE IS NOT YOUR FRIEND BUT A BUSINESSMAN WANTING TO MAKE MONEY FROM YOU.  SOME ARE FRIENDLY, HONEST AND DO THE RIGHT JOB.  OTHERS HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO SHAFT THE HOMEBUYER WITH ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION AND POOR QUALITY.  PREPARE YOURSELF TO DEAL WITH THE LOWER END OF THE BUILDER GENE POOL AND YOU MIGHT JUST SURVIVE.

When Mike Holmes puts on his show issues that were caused by poor construction – you know it is a FACT.

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* The above is intended to show the reader examples of how to obtain a house inspector, no matter which builder you buy from. Remember, awards and advertising are designed to make you buy, not ensure you quality. We’ve shown that awards are not the standard on which to base your decision on. My use of my experiences are not made to embarass Mattamy Homes or Peter Gilgan but, are used because they are based on fact and show the larger picture that a house inspector is a requirement when buying a house, new or old from any builder. My experience only shows that in fact it can happen and is a fact of life. Your experiences with Mattamy may have differed.

It appears that the Mayor of Milton (to some, known as Mattamy’s lackey) has decided to sweeten the pot in regards to the Velodrome and inform the public that it is more than just an elitist race track for cyclists.  He states:

“(The velodrome) is not just for cycling,” he added. “There’s room for a soccer field, basketball or badminton court. It’s one of the reasons we started looking at the facility.”

The project will include space for up to three full-sized gyms within the interior of the track.”

I guess that makes it more palatable to the taxpayer knowing there will be a bunch of other stuff there as well.  But just think how much better a sports complex it would be without the track.  More gym space with an attached soccer field.  Both of which would be used by more ordinary people (taxpayers) than a bike track.  In our area, I would think more people ride mountain and BMX bikes than true racing bikes and, better trails would be of greater use to them.  Also, those trails could be used by those who want to walk around the area.  Will the Velodrome be used by retired seniors for their morning “Mall Walk”?  Or, will the elitist bikers complain that the orthopedic runners they wear make marks on the glazed wood surface?

Further in the article: “People have been stepping up to the plate and offering landscaping services, aggregates even things like solar panels…at the end of the day if you’re to get 10 to 20 of these things, it adds up to millions in capital costs.”

Now, I can’t prove it so it is just a supposition but I am thinking Mattamy has a hand in this part of the deal.  Gilgan has promised $9 million if it gets named after him and I wonder if he got his construction cohorts to ante up some of the above mentioned goodies.  I only wish he’d had these people ante up some quality when they built mine and other people’s homes.

It is nice to see the business community putting out something to better the community but, is it really going to benefit that many people or just a select few.  I doubt if the local dad can bring his son and BMX bike to the Velodrome and go for a spin and, the gyms are probably for the use by those who race bikes, not try to lose a few pounds of Christmas cheer.  My beer belly won’t be welcome in this guy methinks.

No, I just see the Mayor of Milton bringing this up to try to justify his council signing the papers to spend some taxpayer’s money.  Money better spent on the lacking infrastructure up there (roads, etc) – infrastructure demands caused by developers like Mattamy who want the taxpayer to build items that might attract people to buy their homes.  Much like the water pipe – right Peter?

I just ask the Chairman of Halton to ensure that I as a taxpayer in Halton am not going to be asked to pony up some more money for an elitist sport. (although the money saved on the illegal sale I guess is being used   ) Hopefully, Mattamy won’t bus in a bunch of workers who, don’t really know why they are there (according to Mattamy lackey Pomeroy) and demand the Velodrome.

I wish these workers would demand “quality” and “safe housing” instead.

Maybe the voter should have a say on how our tax money is spent instead of private business pushing it through with their gifts, donations, bribes (?), whatever.

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* The above is intended to show the reader examples of how to obtain a house inspector, no matter which builder you buy from. Remember, awards and advertising are designed to make you buy, not ensure you quality. We’ve shown that awards are not the standard on which to base your decision on. My use of my experiences are not made to embarass Mattamy Homes or Peter Gilgan but, are used because they are based on fact and show the larger picture that a house inspector is a requirement when buying a house, new or old from any builder. My experience only shows that in fact it can happen and is a fact of life. Your experiences with Mattamy may have differed.

As a voter and a taxpayer, you begin to wonder just who is running the joint.  Who makes the decisions that ultimately cost you, the taxpayer, money and change the very environment you live in? You see the public supported CEO’s (ORNGE come to mind) raking in more money per  year that others see in 10.  And, it seems, with little accountability.

If you have been reading the local Hamilton and Milton papers you will see there is a small battle going on between the two burgs to see who gets the honour (?) of financing a Velodrome for the Pam Am games.  A velodrome, just the kind of thing the average taxpayer needs to take his children down to on a rainy day for a nice bike ride.  Yeah, right.  Like this speciality racing circuit will be used by other than an elite number of people.  Maybe they will let you buy tickets to watch people peddle their asses around a wood track – polished by some guy who can’t even afford the bikes using what he is polishing.

Seems funny but Hamilton was the preferred site for this venue but, their council wasn’t overly free with the taxpayers money and didn’t commit too much to the construction costs.  Maybe they are more responsible to those paying the freight.  The ones who won’t be using the building but ultimately will end up paying.

Milton has until January 24th to sign the paperwork.  Seems they had someone to pony up some of the money.  Peter Gilgan, a cycling enthusiast, promised to donate $9 million if they named it after him.

But the town would have to find at least that much money again to cover the 44 per cent municipal portion of velodrome building costs, estimated by Infrastructure Ontario at between $35 million and $45 million.

And don’t expect it to only cost $45 million (interesting but that was the asking price for Gilgan’s palace – Edgemere).  We know they always have cost overruns.  Just ask the  Montreal taxpayer.

And, may we ask, where will this money come from.  You may remember that the developers got a kick-start on making their millions in Milton when the Halton taxpayer (majority in Oakville and Burlington at the time) was FORCED to pay for the water pipe to Milton.  Yes, FORCED by Jim Snow and his crowd from Milton.  We are still paying for this in our water bills.

Hamilton is still in the game though and has come up with some mysterious donor who will sweeten the bid but, it seems that Pan Am has written off their bid.  Unless of course, Milton decides not to rape the taxpayer to pay for this elitist building.  Then Hamilton will have a go to see if they want to give the taxpayer a kick – in a town that has been losing industry and people out of work.  Just how many jobs will a velodrome create – do the cyclists etc buy hotdogs and other stuff there while cycling?  I can’t see too many other jobs there after the construction is ended.

Yes, maybe instead of supporting elitist sports Mr. Gilgan and other unnamed donors, you should put the money into building QUALITY so some of us don’t have to support the economy by fixing your shoddy workmanship.

By the way Peter, since you won’t let me know who put in the fireplace, maybe you can tell me how to fix the fix your guys did.  Whoever gets the site for this velodrome should contact me and I’ll tell them a few things about construction practices in Halton.  I know – I’ve lived the horror story.  And, since it is commercial, I guess Peter will allow private building inspector to monitor the quality of construction.  Ironic.

Developers donate to the political cause, donate to other items and I bet help in the decision process.  Hey, you have to expect more than a photo-op with the local politician for this kind of money.

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* The above is intended to show the reader examples of how to obtain a house inspector, no matter which builder you buy from. Remember, awards and advertising are designed to make you buy, not ensure you quality. We’ve shown that awards are not the standard on which to base your decision on. My use of my experiences are not made to embarass Mattamy Homes or Peter Gilgan but, are used because they are based on fact and show the larger picture that a house inspector is a requirement when buying a house, new or old from any builder. My experience only shows that in fact it can happen and is a fact of life. Your experiences with Mattamy may have differed.

Just read an interesting article in the Washington Post regarding donations and the wealthy and the power that can be derived with the simple act of a donation, which most of us at the lower level give in good faith without strings attached.  You’ll notice – “no strings attached”, unlike donations we have seen lately.  Notably Peter Gilgan who gives large sums of money to worthy causes but has to have his name put on the building or, NO MONEY FOR YOU.

Readers of my blog have seen where my children were put at risk by Mattamy Homes and the Town of Oakville, under the leadership of then mayor, Ann Mulvale, did nothing regarding the illegal act in order to sell the home.  Nada, nothing, zip.  Not even an apology.  Now, Wellspring, a worthy outfit, managed to get some major funding from Mattamy at the time – funding arranged by Ann Mulvale.  Did this donation have some impact on the way my complaint was handled.  Only Ann and Peter know and there was a plethora of lawyers who surrounded this case and basically shut the door to my complaint.  By the way, my complaint was asking that homebuyers get protection in that they could have a house inspector monitor the construction of their home.  This had no financial benefit to me.

I’m not going to explain the whole article here but the link is available.  The following quote kind of sums it up:

Billionaire philanthropy is powerful. It goes beyond quaint notions of “doing good.” But it is clear that we need checks and balances on this power. That’s the only way to stop good intentions from turning the United States — and the world — into a plutocracy.

When one looks at Milton and Oakville, you see the shadow of Mattamy Homes and Peter Gilgan over some of the decision-making.  The guy who buses in non-residents to protest development charges that benefit the taxpayer but makes the development community pay their own way.  When a developer gives money to a cause (and usually worthy causes) one wonders at the strings attached.  Naming a building is but a small piece of the pie methinks.

In the U.S., they tried to pass a bill that would limit donations involving elections to $5000 in the last 21 days prior to an election.  It was defeated.  Remember, in the GTA, developer donations are the majority of donations.  Wonder what they are in the U.S.?  But, they did state that anything over $25 had to be identified.

“State law was designed to prevent attempts to secretly influence elections with large, last-minute contributions, and we’re reviewing how this decision impacts the state’s ability to prevent that,” Guthrie said.

I find it interesting just who donated to the Hudak election camp days before the Ontario election – large sums, Maximum amount.  Don’t worry Mr. Gilgan, your secret is safe with me.**

So, in 2012 when you sign up to donate your $25 to a favourite charity remember, it is the thought that counts and those small donations do add up and can make a difference to those in need.  But remember, you donation has no strings attached but the next time you see the big donation ask yourself.  Even though the large donation from a wealthy philanthropist is a nice act, just what is it going to cost me down the road?

In my case, I think it had some impact on the Town of Oakville’s actions concerning the act that put my children at risk.    Who else but Mattamy can illegally wire a furnace in order to ensure the sale of a house?  Monarch, Tridel, Greenpark?

Donations to historical societies?  I’ve seen developers grab historical places and then they burn down.  Mattamy – at least two burned under their stewardship.  I bet donations to historical societies are few and far between from developers.  But then, what kind of demand would be attached to the donation.

Your Town Historical Society – PETER GILGAN MATTAMY WING????  They could use it to store pictures of what could have been.

**

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* The above is intended to show the reader examples of how to obtain a house inspector, no matter which builder you buy from. Remember, awards and advertising are designed to make you buy, not ensure you quality. We’ve shown that awards are not the standard on which to base your decision on. My use of my experiences are not made to embarass Mattamy Homes or Peter Gilgan but, are used because they are based on fact and show the larger picture that a house inspector is a requirement when buying a house, new or old from any builder. My experience only shows that in fact it can happen and is a fact of life. Your experiences with Mattamy may have differed.

Well, I made it to 500 posts (my previous one published) and I guess I should thank not only Peter Gilgan and Mattamy Homes for giving me the copy I needed but also those other builders who seem to think PROFIT over quality  is good business and leave much to be desired in their construction.  If you’ve watched Mike Holmes, then you know what I mean when he dissects old and new homes to show that although the surface covering looked nice, the interior build was done in such a way to promise you excitement later in the house’s life.

One would think that after all this time, the homebuyer would have been given some kind of protection that worked.  Tarion is not the homebuyer’s friend, considering it is made up of mostly those from the construction industry.  Funny how a Toronto Star writer is on the Tarion board and it is the Star that thinks the police doing investigations of their own officers isn’t right.  Get your act together Star.

We’ve seen how donations are a part of the political arena, so much so, that one doesn’t expect any support from politicians.  I proved that in my case at the municipal level and provincial level.  I know that Mike Holmes also shows that there are less than professional house inspectors out there and you must do some due diligence yourself in picking out a house inspector.  The flashy brochure and fancy report might look alright but, it is the quality of the contents that matters.  Even your lawyer needs to be questioned about their skills.  A criminal lawyer moonlighting in real estate just doesn’t cut it.

And, one wonders why a reputable builder would not allow you to bring a house inspector with you on a PDI or, let one monitor the construction to ensure a quality build – you know, the quality build they advertise but don’t necessarily produce.

Mattamy banned a house inspector for supporting their client too much and also requires house inspectors to sign a form stating they won’t interfere with the PDI.  A house inspector needs more time than allowed on a PDI actually.

Hell, Volkswagen even allows you to watch your car being built-in Germany.  LINK

If you want to hide the build, one wonders at that.  Mattamy even built their homes in Milton inside a big building so no one could watch the construction.

Myself, I’d put in the purchase agreement that I want my own PROFESSIONAL AND INSURED house inspector to monitor the construction.  The builder will of course delete that but, later when the proverbial crap hits the fan, you can show you wanted to check things during construction and they refused.  You did your due diligence.

Get a GOOD real estate lawyer to check the purchase agreement – there are clauses that need to be deleted.

Get a PROFESSIONAL and RECOMMENDED house inspector – something Holmes recommends, even though his program does show what a bad inspection can result in.

Know there will be issues but be prepared to deal with them through your support system.

And finally – document, document, document with paper, pictures and names/places and times.  You will need all this when you have to fight the builder/Tarion etc.

And don’t expect the builder to protect your interest.  They hide behind the CODE and will not let you know who the tradesperson was who screwed up so you can get it fixed properly.  I know – my one window never closed.

So, 500 to date and another 500 to go.

Remember – you may pay for quality but it isn’t really guaranteed.

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* The above is intended to show the reader examples of how to obtain a house inspector, no matter which builder you buy from. Remember, awards and advertising are designed to make you buy, not ensure you quality. We’ve shown that awards are not the standard on which to base your decision on. My use of my experiences are not made to embarass Mattamy Homes or Peter Gilgan but, are used because they are based on fact and show the larger picture that a house inspector is a requirement when buying a house, new or old from any builder. My experience only shows that in fact it can happen and is a fact of life. Your experiences with Mattamy may have differed.

Ahhhh, the Christmas season.

A time to enjoy, reflect, visit friends and relatives and, let your belt out a notch or two. Not a good time to be diabetic with all the colourful and flavourful treats lying about, taunting you to do a taste test.  I love the getting together for friends and relatives, some of whom you haven’t seen since last year.

At this year’s gathering though, I found I had fellow victims of the ”Mattamy Treatment“.  We were enjoying ourselves as guests in one home and someone remarked how lovely their house looked.  Seems it looks that way because the owner would attend each day after work and monitor the construction.  He had some knowledge of construction so he knew when things weren’t being done right.  Even Mike Holmes’ name came up and most were envious that his type of inspection included being able to tear down walls to see what the problem really was.  Something most of us don’t get to do and why you really need someone to monitor the construction – like a house inspector.

I didn’t mention my Mattamy event but some others brought up their experiences with Mattamy.  Funny, but they weren’t like those two page ads (although last Saturdays was only one page – hmmm) that tell of a fantasy land experience with your Mattamy built home.  No, they had major issues that required constant (2 years) interaction with Mattamy and themselves.  They concluded that those who built didn’t do a good job and those who did warranty must have been trained by those who built.  Interestingly enough, Mattamy was the only builder brought up in the conversation where people had problems.  Deja Vu.

Drainage issues, sump pump issues and a plethora of other issues.  I couldn’t tell them mine due to the gag order from Mattamy but I expressed my sympathy to them for the issues they suffered.

I guess Mattamy forgets that they can spend millions on advertising, push donations to politicians etc and get good press but, when it comes down to the old family/friend gathering – THE TRUTH COMES OUT.

Those at the gathering learned a lot and one thing they did learn was that unless you monitor the construction, you can easily suffer poor construction surprises later.  A fact backed up by Mike Holmes’ crew.  Seems he is the only one of the shows that actually lets people know the pitfalls of poor construction.  Mattamy or another builder, it doesn’t matter.

Most also had a similar feeling about Tarion and how useless it is and builder centric in their decisions.

So Mr. Politician who gets the builder donations, there are a lot of VOTERS/TAXPAYERS out there that are getting pissed off with the lack of quality control supposedly brought in by the building code.  And remember, building inspectors don’t look at every home in a new sub-division.  They take a sampling.  One wonders just how they pick which ones.

I wonder what Mr. Gilgan and other builders discuss at their family gatherings.  Maybe how they are billionaires whose fortunes were built on the backs of people like those at my gathering.  I know Gilgan is a billonaire due to his ever-present exposure in the press.  The other builders seem to have smaller egos and are less exposed in the press so I am assuming they are up there in wealth

Cheap shortcuts designed to increase profit so they can have a better Christmas maybe?

P.S.  This is my 500th blog – thanks to Mattamy for continuing to give me copy.

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.

http://condron.us/index.php?i=6
condron.us

alphainventions

href=”http://blogitti.blogiche.com/”>Blogitti
* The above is intended to show the reader examples of how to obtain a house inspector, no matter which builder you buy from. Remember, awards and advertising are designed to make you buy, not ensure you quality. We’ve shown that awards are not the standard on which to base your decision on. My use of my experiences are not made to embarass Mattamy Homes or Peter Gilgan but, are used because they are based on fact and show the larger picture that a house inspector is a requirement when buying a house, new or old from any builder. My experience only shows that in fact it can happen and is a fact of life. Your experiences with Mattamy may have differed.