Toronto Star – good article on house inspectors. Even good points for new build.

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Mark Weisleder, a real estate lawyer, recently wrote an article that appeared in the Monday, February 20th, 2012 Toronto Star titled: “Never buy a house without a home inspection”.  Couldn’t be more right and the article gives some good pointers for those seeking to buy a resale house.  One good point was that house inspectors in Ontario should be licenced as they are in British Columbia and Alberta.  You will find that most PROFESSIONAL house inspectors in Ontario would have no issue with that type of regulation.

But, if you’re going to enforce licencing in the industry, then you have to give them the teeth to do their job.  This article focuses on resales.  He brings up one good point that really applies to both resale and new home construction.

” I constantly hear stories from ‘successful’ home buyers, who bought without an inspection. They later uncovered major problems, many of which could have been identified with a proper inspection. This meant large repair bills and unfortunate lawsuits involving unhappy buyers, sellers and real estate agents.”

The same applies with a new house.  You go and buy it, the builder denies you the opportunity to have a professional house inspector monitor the construction (unlike commercial construction where the owner has a representative on-site) and then you end up with issues later.  In my case, I told Mattamy there was no insulation in the front bay window.  They told me they would’nt check but if I forced them to and I was wrong, I pay the freight to repair the issue.  Who has that type of money when you first buy a home.  Replacing the windows later showed I was right.  But then, Mattamy didn’t fix the window which wouldn’t close properly either and it was quite obvious.  Much like other issues.

Hiring a house inspector later is still a good idea but it will take a trained professional to detect issues once the builder has covered up the problem.  You’ve seen Mike Holmes with his infrared camera show areas without insulation.  Not all house inspectors have those.

I recommend you read the article and you will not only see the value of a house inspector for resales but you should  see that it is a good idea on a new house.  Builders don’t want you to hire them and Queen’s Park and local politicians (both whom get donations from builders) also will not support this idea.  Follow this link to see article about Queen’s Park Protest Feb 27th.

Remember – you can hire a house inspector now or, pay tradespeople to come in later and fix the issue.  Ever watch a Mike Holmes show?  He comes in and tears apart the house – some very new and, that is the type of repair you can expect.  I am sure that the lucky ones picked for his show end up with a better deal than you ever will.

Builders didn’t get to be billionaires by giving you a break.

Someone wins – why can’t it be you?

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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.

Donations rule in politics and development.

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“a dangerous psychopathic personality who led the conspiracy”

 I understand that a developer/builder is doing business with the person referenced in the above quote.  If you were to buy a house from that builder, I’d hate to call the complaint department if he was the one chosen to deal with any warranty issues.  In my case, Mattamy Homes had a couple of bully boys try to deal with me at one time.

Developers and builders need to deal with a lot of people at different ends of the social strata in order to achieve a certain level of success in development.  And, they seem to be involved in a lot of donations to various political candidates, parties and causes.  So much so that in the last Ontario municipal election, politicians were going out-of-the-way to deny any donations from developers/builders, even those considered friends.  Not so in the upcoming Ontario provincial election – check the donations to the Liberal and Conservative parties.

And, why should we be concerned?  Read the following quote:

Large campaign contributions must be reported, so it’s a simple matter to see if a councillor’s vote has been bought. But, given that developers fund so much of municipal politics, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that, generally, their needs get a more favourable hearing than those of individual voters.

The real problem is the unreported contributions known usually under their more common name of bribes. Humans are creative animals and they have figured out dozens of ways of hiding bribes to make them look like something else. A politician’s campaign printing may be billed to a real estate developer as promotional material. Similar disguises are used to cover up the hiring of meeting halls, meals, and campaign signs.

And how much can these donations be?  One mayoral candidate reported that 2/3rds of her campaign donations came from developers/builders.  Now, how could a citizen bringing a complaint against a builder get any fair treatment?  In my case, nothing was done.

Project 80 reared its ugly head in the early 90’s. “In Newmarket, Mayor Raymond Twinney, his wife and son, and a real estate developer were charged with breach of trust and receiving and paying secret commissions.  Halton Regional Chairman Peter Pomeroy and his wife were charged with accepting secret commissioners.”  I believe Mr. Pomeroy is now employed by Mattamy Homes.  Correct me if I am wrong Mattamy.  He is the one that stated that the workers bused to a Halton council meeting to protest Development Charges didn’t know why they were there but their bosses did.

So much for informed democracy.

Some of us who did know what was happening, couldn’t get into the council meeting due to the overflow of uninformed workers.

And how much are some of the payoffs?  This CBC article reports that:

A Vancouver Island development corporation has been fined $200,000 for agreeing to pay former B.C. ministerial aid David Basi $50,000 to help get some land out of the ALR, on Friday in B.C. Supreme Court.

Shambrook Hills Development Corp., also known as Sunriver Estates, pled guilty after Basi admitted taking the bribe, when he pled guilty earlier this week at the BC Rail corruption trial on Monday.

Kind of hard for people like us, working stiffs who pay our taxes to municipalities (Town of Oakville?) to protect us but, seem to be outbid by developers/builders using the money of new homeowners to get their way with our elected government.

And, “As an “act of atonement and redemption” in May 2010, Shambrook donated $91,500 to an organic farm during a fundraising drive to save it from development, Peck said.”

Ah yes, the proverbial DONATION.

I remember a donation occurring whilst my complaint was before the Town of Oakville.  Must remember to do a donation before making another complaint.  Does Tarion accept donations?

Well, I could go on and on as there are a million examples out there of foul deeds by developers/builders as well as the advertised and published good deeds of donations, etc.  (Mattamy check – all facts, on record – documented)

Society seems to benefit in a small way on the backs of those shafted by our government and developers/builders.  Thousands have had poorly built homes and issues and these are not settled while those big in the donation department seem to run free as the wind.  For those builders brought to court, maybe we should see if they ever donated to a political party or cause.  Maybe that is why they were charged – little soft in the donation department.

Doesn’t matter if you vote for McGuinty, Hudak or Howarth.  Just check the donation records and see who got most of the money and then follow the legislation.  Is there a correlation?

And remember – what you see isn’t necessarily the whole package.

Meanwhile I’ll keep my eye open for the guy in the quote in case he can’t take a joke.

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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.

Fact checked Blog: Shark fin soup or house inspectors – what’s your priority?

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Brantford has banned it and Mississauga, Toronto and Oakville are looking into it.

What’s all the fuss about – bad builders, broken building code or illegal wiring?

No, Shark Fin soup.

Seems that the politicians are putting in a lot of overtime working out the particulars on whether or not this is a municipal or federal function and want to ban the sale of Shark Fin soup within their municipal borders.  I’ve had this soup but must agree that to just cut off the fin and throw away the shark is a terrible waste of a resource and an unnecessary cruelty to the shark (although us Navy guys might think differently if you consider the fate of the Indianapolis in WWII).

But, this blog isn’t about soup – as they say, No soup for you.  No, I find it ironic that they will spend considerable time and resources fighting over the shark fin soup but when offered an idea that would protect homebuyers, they shy away from it and say – Not my job man.

The T0wn of Oakville, under the then leadership of Ann Mulvale, had the opportunity to pass a bylaw that would ensure the homeowner the right to a house inspector.

You say they already do.

Yes, it is standard practice now that a potential homebuyer for a RESALE can put in an offer that the sale is dependant on an inspection by a house inspector.  Try that with a NEW home.  Mattamy is already on record as banning one house inspector from assisting with PDIs and I understand they demand a house inspector sign a form that limits their input during a PDI.

*Fact Check – if this is wrong Mattamy, please let me know*

Now, any reasonable person knows that checking a house after it is built is somewhat limiting.  Most house inspectors can’t follow the documented “Mike Holmes” method of checking a house – ripping out walls.  A good inspector should be able to spot issues via the clues that they leave – stains, recent repairs, etc and this can help a lot but, it is limiting.

Those who build commercial buildings – owners, are able to have a person/people on site that check the construction and ensure quality and building code standards for their projects.  Matter of course.

So, why can’t a homebuyer do the same thing.  Hire a professional and licenced house inspector to monitor the construction and make sure all that hidden stuff is done properly.  It’s their investment.  Unless you are a poor quality builder, what is wrong with this picture?

Well, according to our Provincial government, they can’t pass this legislation as it will cost the homebuyer money.  Unlike the McGuinty specials we have seen in the last 4 years – HST, hydro, etc, etc.  I guess they feel that doesn’t cost us money.

FOR THOSE IN OUR GOVERNMENT – THIS LEGISLATION WOULD BE AN OPTIONAL RIGHT – THE HOMEOWNER WOULD DECIDE TO PAY OR NOT TO PAY – MUCH LIKE UPGRADES.  ARE WE THERE YET GUYS?

And to think, we actually elected this type of thinking.

Now, our esteemed municipal politicians do in fact plan ahead, sometimes.  We call it the “Official Plan“.  How the community is going to be developed over time.  Obviously there are those not always in favour – landowners and developers but, they do have input and there is a final plan so everyone can understand the game plan.  Donations might bring slight changes though.

If our municipal leaders are so concerned  about our growth and welfare why can’t they legislate into the official plan that any developer who wants to do business in the municipality must allow a homebuyer the RIGHT to have a house inspector check their construction.

Oh, right.  The taxpayer pays for building inspectors to enforce THE CODE.  Well, if you’ve read this blog, we all know how building inspectors have done – Town of Oakville building inspection allowed furnace to be illegally wired for sale.  Kind of overlooked the issue I guess.

Also, for those into tract housing, most building inspectors do not visit every home in the sub-division.  They select (is it the one with the liquor bottle on the stoop) a sampling and if it is up to snuff, they all get passed.  I guess they don’t understand that the same crew does not build each home – different guys on different houses = different quality.  Simple formula to understand.  Some build quality and some build shit. Simple.

So, I ask those in charge – how about looking into having a “right to a house inspector” bylaw made and I’ll stop having shark fin soup.

Remember – one saves the sharks and the other saves the lives and promotes the safety of your constituents.  Who gets to vote for you?

*Note to Mattamy lawyers – all the facts stated in this blog are true to the best of my knowledge.  If you feel there is something wrong – you know how to get hold of me.  I’m open to any suggestions. Sorry Peter – not that one, I need to sit on it.

*No sharks were de-finned in the writing of this blog.

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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.

“Entrepreneur of the Year award – Is Peter Gilgan working this up?

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Peter Gilgan, founder and CEO of Mattamy Homes and, all round good guy, appears to be ramping up for the “World Entrepreneur of the Year” award given by Ernst and Young.  Something he came close to obtaining last time around, with his win of Entrepreneur of the Year award for Canada.  I mean, he’s made the big donation of $10 million to the Oakville Hospital fund and scored the naming of a wing for himself to ensure public exposure.  His company recently won two awards from BILD, despite issues in quality.  And, to enhance his rep, Peter gave a speech to the Empire Club of Canada at the Royal York Hotel on May 12th on “Building a healthy society”.  I read a blurb informing us of this prestigious event where they mentioned his company winning the J.D. Power and Associates awards (past tense now since his quality control got found out); winning the 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year and Home Builder of the Year awards; his being elected a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (hmmm, no builder here); and, his 2010 award for Outstanding Business Leader of the year from Laurier’s School of Business and Economics (did they know about selling a house with illegal wiring?).  They also discuss his philanthropy (which, I must admit, is large) and, of course, the old Oakville Hospital donation.  All meant to show he is a great guy and deserving of the 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

I found the title of his speech ironic though – “Building a healthy society”.  If you strip away all the publicized stuff he has done you find the other bits and pieces which I would say do not contribute to a healthy society.  Those things which were done maybe to make more money and thus give him the funds to enhance his rep for the ultimate of awards – “World Entrepreneur of the Year”.  Something I am sure he covets.

Do you build a healthy society by putting children’s lives at risk by ensuring the sale of a home by putting in illegal wiring?  Maybe in the construction world?  In Bracebridge, is it considered healthy to have flooding streets and basements because a developer didn’t do it right in the first place?  And what about illegal terra-forming where you just put in berms to control rivers without taking into consideration your neighbours or local laws?  Something for which there is a conviction.  Is this “building a healthy society”?

And, what about doing construction on land that was fertilized with human waste?  Is that “building a healthy society”?

And, I could mention the plethora of quality control issues Mattamy has had over the years.  Issues that Mattamy hides by controlling access by house inspectors to what will eventually be YOUR home.  Is that “building a healthy society” where you restrict new homeowners from having input towards the quality of their home.  Not a healthy environment in my book.

Peter is building up his rep with the media through very open methods that are very visual and the press go for it like lap dogs. They don’t seem to be worried about the illegal acts, the poor quality etc but feel that the donations etc more than make up for any transgressions.  I would have thought “Entrepreneur of the Year” would have some values that society respects.  Buying of awards, giving upgrades to those who give good survey’s, environmental damage etc don’t seem to be values I would promote.  So, Ernst and Young – it seems your values are different from most other people if you reward people who break the law to sell a home.

But then, you’re accountants and I guess you all stick together.

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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 requirment 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 but do not preclude what happened to me from happening again. Beware.

In’s and out’s of hiring a house inspector – comments from those who have learned.

For those who have read this blog for some time, you will know that my main thrust is that no matter how new or old your potential home is, it is considered good practice to hire a house inspector to protect your investment.  New or resale, doesn’t matter.  I think, using my Mattamy experience, along with the suffering of others as an example, that I have shown, that no matter who your builder is, a house inspector is a must.

Here are a few points made that I read recently.  This from people who have hired house inspectors.

From an experience house inspector:

Home inspectors don’t require government licensing in Ontario yet (they do in BC). Because of that, there are many unqualified inspectors, quite often
part-timers trying to make some extra money in the evenings and on weekends when they’re not at their regular jobs. I always recommend to people that they hire a
full time inspector for the same reason that you wouldn’t think of going to a part time dentist.

and, from a home owner:

So after digesting this thread I have a comment or three.

Home inspectors are great, ours was. He caught things I missed.

Home inspectors can miss stuff, defects can be well hidden, one inspector cannot know every aspect of every code, and cannot rip up carpet or open walls (I can since I now own the problems).

Defects can and will be very well hidden; unintentionally, by the builder, by the seller. Tough to outguess all these.

Our home inspector was worth every penny, our mistake was not making the seller responsible, and relying on Tarion an Mattamy
to take care of the defects.

I may still try to make Mattamy, the subcontractors and perhaps even the town responsible (they should be inspecting
to protect their citizens, yet don’t seem to know the code)

and this from another homeowner”

Based on our experience I would recommend to absolutely NOT go with a home inspector your real estate agent recommends. Ask friends, family or search local forums, websites for info and referrals to find someone who is good and does not have a conflict of interest.

I’m not saying this is always the case, but steer clear of inspectors your agent recommends because they ‘could’ be tempted to overlook things just to help the sale go through, in
exchange for said agent feeding them steady referrals/work.

I would feel comfortable going with the inspectors who post on these boards regularly – they seem very knowledgeable and seem to actually give a crap. The inspector we most recently used was a bit of a newbie and although he didn’t miss anything major, I wasn’t that comfortable with a few things he was trying to tell us – seemed like he was guessing and didn’t know his stuff.

I have a good friend who does home inspections but unfortunately he wasn’t comfortable assessing our house due to our friendship – he didn’t want to be responsible for missing anything because yes, there are limits as to what inspectors can find/uncover.

Two good points there:  Make sure the inspector is totally independent and, although you might save money, stay away from friends, etc – if you value their continued friendship.

and, from another home inspector:

The job of the Home Inspector, when inspecting a resale home, is to identify significant issues that need immediate repair or improvement.
It is not to criticize everything at the house.

All good points and you’ll notice that they admit not all house inspectors are perfect, just like builders.  This is were your own due diligence is important.  As one person pointed out, lurk the forums, ask friends and family for their experiences and ask for referrals.  Doing this will increase your chances of hiring a professional house inspector that will look after YOUR interests.  Hopefully you don’t experience what I did.

* 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 requirment 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 but do not preclude what happened to me from happening again.  Beware.

I assume “Ethics” not criteria for BILD GTA awards?

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Awards.

Kind of thing you start getting as a kid, especially those who get involved in sports.  You gain a sense of achievement from the awards and people see them as a telltale of just what kind of person you are.  We grow up accepting awards at face value and credit the receiver without question.  They have a symbol of success in their hand.  And, for the most part, we are glad for them and, maybe, sometimes jealous if we lost.

Before we go to a show, buy a car or try a new product, we always look at reviews, ask others and take into account presented awards.  We put value on them.  Talk to some Mattamy homebuyers and they will tell you that they bought their Mattamy home because of the awards.  Must be good if they are getting the top awards.  The others must be less than perfect in their construction.

For those winning awards, you expect they put a lot of effort into winning them.  We know our Olympians strive for perfection and put a lot of work into building their skill sets.  Those striving for building awards, you’d think they’d do the same.  Those who lost – well, not so much effort.

Mattamy used to be top dog with the J.D. Power and Associates awards, even though there were a lot of complaints on unsatisfactory customer service and construction quality.  But, they got the awards.  Well, according to some forums, they got the awards because they front-loaded the results by ensuring those who filled out the surveys got the extra service.  The issues in Ottawa and Bracebridge became very pubic and it was kind of hard for old J.D. Power to continue to stroke Mattamy’s ego with another award.  Dropped them to the bottom based on recent history.  One finds it hard to believe that a company that believes in doing illegal environmental work (Ottawa and Halton) and illegal (code) wiring can still continue to win the awards.

At the recent BILD GTA awards gala they won the coveted ” Home Builder of the Year”.  Now, I have chronicled the trials and tribulations of Mattamy over the past few years and one must wonder just how they accomplished this award based on their history.  If I was one of the losers, I’d consider quitting BILD and forming my own organization where ETHICS is considered a positive feature for awards.  If doing illegal environmental work is considered ethical in the building industry, then we have a real problem.

I’m sure Mattamy is going to donate some more money somewhere and perk up their reputation by flashing another award to some unsuspecting soul trying to buy a house and invest in the largest thing in their life.  I know it will be very visible in the two page spread this Saturday in the Toronto Star.

For those who lost, I’m sorry as I know there are some good hardworking builders out there that do put out a good product.  Too bad questionable quality, questionable ethics, questionable code observance are considered good traits by those giving out awards.  Please don’t follow the Mattamy dream – some of us would like a builder to trust and grow with.

On another note, no sooner do we hear the bad news from the April 29th BILD awards, we are going into our 4th election in 7 years.  To top off this momentous event, on the eve of the election, the press get sideswiped with the news that Osama Bin Laden has bit the dust.  Interesting few days.

If you are going to buy a home based on awards, I strongly suggest you HIRE A HOUSE INSPECTOR to make sure the builder is worthy of such award.  It’s YOUR home and YOUR investment that he will be protecting.  The awards don’t do that – it’s been proven.

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Is Mattamy Innocent? – gets BILD GTA awards anyways.

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I was going to showcase last nights BILD GTA Awards event on this blog originally.  It was a really nice event, attended by the cream of the residential construction industry and, the sumptuous meal and delightful entertainment kept the party going.  The Awards presentation was quick – =hint to Academy Awards organizers and, all seemed to enjoy the event.  During the event though, Sun Tv made a surprise announcement about Jack Layton getting a rub and tub a number of years ago in a massage parlour.  Investigated but released without charges.  Seems Olivia Chow knew of the incident, so wasn’t overly surprised when it surfaced I guess.  Lots of Twittering about it but, what I want to comment on is one Tweet that kind of sums up about Mattamy and their activities.  Which seem to be lost on most people in regards to last nights awards.  More on that later.

One Tweet stated the following:  ” In this country – no charges = innocent. Period. That is fundamental. #elxn41“

Yes, something a lot of people think but, those who deal with this issue daily know it is not true.

Was Mattamy charged with illegal wiring in my house?  No.  Why?  You’d have to ask Ann Mulvale and the Town of Oakville Building Department.  An investigation was done but the report never got past Mulvale. Considering I was the victim, I never saw the report and was informally told, I’d never see it.  Was Mattamy innocent?

Was Mattamy charged with construction on lands fertilized with human waste?  They were observed by a citizen ( I know them, not hearsay) who reported it to the authorities.  Investigated and construction ordered to stop.  Workers sent for testing.  Was Mattamy charged?  No?  Innocent of doing illegal construction?  I’d say yes but I guess not being charged means they are innocent, even though observed breaking the law and ordered to stop.  How do you order someone to stop if they are innocent?

I’ve received information from several sources that state that Mattamy gets a kickback from sub-contractors.  Never been charged, although I notice in Gravenhurst a CEO was fired for letting some Toronto construction firm fudge the books.  Is demanding kickbacks illegal?  Maybe when you are the homebuyer paying for a house and finding out that someone is lining their pocket with your money.  Would an investigation be worthwhile here?

I could bring out a few other issues but, I really don’t want to embarrass certain people who have been forthright with me.

But, the crux of the matter is, NOT BEING CHARGED DOES NOT MAKE ONE INNOCENT.  Otherwise, I’d have seen the report stating why he wasn’t charged, if it was a proper report.  Why hide something when someone is innocent?

Seems that J.D. Power and Associates has stopped  giving Mattamy awards based on their history.  Also, maybe because people have come forward and told them that they gave bonus marks due to free upgrades etc.  Would one call this process – INNOCENT?

So, to the person who Tweeted me on innocence.  It would be nice if it was true but, it seems that the facts don’t support the wishful thinking.

Next:  BILD GTA awards – nice event but, a slap in the face to those builders who don’t seem to have the issues that Mattamy does and didn’t win.  I’d reconsider my memberhip with BILD GTA.

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Are you into Minimizationalism?

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Next time you go for surgery, ask your doctor if he follows a code and ensures MINIMUM standards when he yanks out a body part.  If you are in Ontario, maybe you will save the taxpayer money.  Or, when you take your sporty Boxster in for a tune up, ask the mechanic to do it to MINIMUM standards and give you a break on the price.  When you go to a store and bargain the guy down a bit, do you expect him to give you the product from the MINIMUM standards bin instead of the product you were looking at? Did Peter Gilgan demand the builder stick with MINIMUM standards for Edgemere? (Maybe, it is being torn down within 20 years of being built)  I think we all know the answer to these scenarios.

But, we think nothing of buying from a builder who has admitted to people that they build to CODE.  That is maybe why a Mattamy home is cheaper than other builders.  You are willing to make one of the biggest investments of your life and, accept MINIMUM code construction as the norm.  No wonder people are upset when they go in and find out that instead of the Cadillac they thought they were buying, they ended up with a Ford Pinto.  I know I was told that something that didn’t look right was “to Code”.  Even my illegal (code) wiring was “to code” but according to the Town of Oakville Building department director, it wasn’t up to standards.

Too often we accept the minimum standard of code and don’t complain.  I mean, how do you fight city hall?  I know, I tried and got blown out of the water.  Illegal (code) wiring and all but Wellspring did well.

Well, it is about time that city hall stood up to the bar and stated that minimum isn’t good enough.  We may not expect the Cadillac but we deserve better than a fire prone Pinto.

Below are some incidents that came from our recent rain storms and may be from following a MINIMUM CODE.  In some instances, it seems Mattamy didn’t follow code.   Read the comments and you’ll find some good advice as well.

Don’t be a member of the trend to MINIMIZATIONALISM.

We have been in our house for 11 months. We got a leak issue around one of our basement windows. (The windows were directly hit by the rain because of the wind direction). The insulation is wet

I guess Mattamy will get a few calls again…

AND

OFFERED ADVICE: Most foundation cracks are at the bottom corner of basement windows because they are the weak points in the foundation. As well, there may be gaps around the window frame that need caulking and there is a good chance that the drain pipe under the gravel in the well is damaged or clogged with mud. This prevents the well from draining properly.

Plus, I will assume that this window is at the side of your home where you have gravel between the homes.

If that is the case then you can expect your home to leak because unfortunately Mattamy is notorious for poor lot grading between homes.

If I ever bought a Mattamy Home I would talk to my neighbours for their approval and insist that sod / grass be placed between the homes. This way, the grading would have to be done and it could be monitored and repaired if necessary. Then, if a year or two later, the grass looked crappy, we could put down some landscape fabric and place some gravel on top.

Unfortunately the Town inspectors are a sleep and the switch at this stage of the game when it comes to lot grading. This is not the case in other municipalities where I have seen municipal inspectors inspect the swales between homes before gravel is placed.

AND

Yeap, we have a leak! Funny, cause two days ago we told our friends that finally, for the last few months, everything have been fine with the house. And here we go again…Our leak is in the garage and goes into the house so we have a quite large wet spot on the ceiling in the hall. I guess I know what I’m doing on Monday! Time to start calling Mattamy again!

OFFERED ADVICE:

Your leak is likely from some roof-wall flashing details that are missing or not sealed. This is a common area for leaks.

AND, Sometimes it’s best to just cover the window well.

These prevent wind driven rain and snow from entering the well. As well, in the winter they help prevent heat loss at the basement windows.

Always make sure the grading slopes away from the well and the foundation wall.

AND, keep boxes etc away from the walls so you can monitor your walls for leaks.

Advice courtesy, via Hawthrone Villager, by Halton Home Inspection Service

 

The Milton Sports Centre was leaking like a sieve. Buckets everywhere catching the water. The ceiling at the south entrance was sagging. It wasn’t just a leak in the meeting room by the gymnastics club. It was an out and out downpour.

The difference between the Milton Sports Centre and yourself is that the owners of the building (city) probably held back a percentage of the final price to cover such things and ensure repair.  Unfortunately our government does not see fit to allow homeowners to do the same.  Said something about the builder adding it to the cost.  Does this mean that our taxpayers are paying more for buildings where we hold back closing funding to ensure quality?  If so, we as a taxpayer are being ripped off.  If not, then why would builders do it to the average homeowner?

TO PREVENT COSTS TO THE CONSUMER THROUGH MINIMIZATIONALISM WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO HOLD BACK ON OUR CLOSING COSTS AND ENSURE REPAIRS.

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Tarion Awards of Excellence announced. What, no Mattamy win?

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Saw an interesting Tweet yesterday by Buzz Buzz Homes announcing the 2011 Tarion Awards of Excellence Winners and Nominees.  For some, Tarion is seen as the evil friend of developers/builders when it comes to warranty disputes.  An organization with a large percentage from the building industry, one wonders if they are in fact able to give a fair judgement. 

 Well, that said, I must congratulate them in not falling for the advertising hype given out by Mattamy Homes.  Appears, although nominated, Mattamy lost in the “High-Rise Builder Category” and the “Large Volume Builder Category” where Domicile – Ottawa and “Pidel Homes – Guelph” were the winners respectively. 

 On the Tarion website you can view the criteria for picking the winners:

“These builders understand that a quality product and good customer service are paramount. They take pride in what they do, and this has garnered them a high honour from their customers—who have recognized them for going above and beyond,” said Howard Bogach, Tarion President and CEO.”

You’ll notice “quality product” and “good customer service” are mentioned.  Something that has been remiss from the Mattamy world for some time – at least with some who have not been able to experience the love and affection Mattamy offers others. At the end of this blog, you will have the opportunity to read about some of those experiences. Only if you are not the faint of heart.

Now, we all know from our Mattamy experience’s that winning awards (J.D. Power and Associates) really doesn’t mean that much and no matter who the builder is, make sure you have a good lawyer and use the skills of a professional house inspector to ensure your new purchase is up to snuff. I just hope that Tarion was fair on how these surveys went out and that the winners didn’t beat Mattamy at their own game by giving upgrades and better service to the survey recipients.

And now, without further ado, a few scenes from Mattamy land – a dose of reality in the usual humdrum of real estate sales and why house inspectors should be in YOUR tool box.

And sorry for the length but, this is the short list.

WILL NOT RETURN DEPOSIT

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FINANCING DID NOT GO THROUGH BUT MATTAMY IS KEEPING OUR DEPOSIT | MARI in Airdrie -114.036 51.2586
Wa are a current owner of a Mattamy home in Airdrie, AB. We were going to build another smaller house with them but bec this is our second home, our finacing did not go through. Now, Mattamy will not refund us our $5,000. They are awful after I recommended them to 2 of my friends (worth 8500k of sales). They are actually the only builder in Airdrie that does not give you a referral fee… Very GREEDY! Its sad how the CEO and owner Mr. Peter Gilgan does not know where he originally came from. No moral values!!! On friday, their head office sent me an email stating that they will retain my deposit for later purchase of a home in the event that we get qualified for financing…They just stated on that email and confirmed that we couldnt get financing and still wanting to keep our money… Also, now we just had our 1 year warranty inspection, our ensuite shower started leaking and they have to tear all the tiles again. They could not supply the same tile so we have to pick a tile that is a bit off what we currently have. They would charge us $700 to pick another tile color. They couldnt even just give that to us to make up for the big mess they have caused us….. DO NOT BUY FROM MATTAMY it is the worst experience ever!!!

Quality of Wood Floors
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Great customer service – until you close on your house! Poor Quality! | Dana in Davidson -80.8572 35.4957
When I decided to build with Mattamy I was excited – their customer service was amazing and they seemed to really care about the quality of the home! Soon after closing on my new home in the Summers Walk subdivision in Davidson, NC. I realized what they said they stood for was not true or accurate. Since closing on my home I have had issues with the electrical, the wood floors, and a number of other items. Mattamy has turned a blind eye. The most shocking is the wood floors – which are poor quality – and which they refuse to fix. Do NOT be tricked by their up-front service – because once you buy from them the trick is over and you are left with a home with which they do not stand by!

New Home Purchase
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Mattamy Disappoints | Linda Zuber in Milton -79.8368 43.5256
Purchased my home 7 years ago and still waiting for outstanding issues to be addressed. They won’t be I’m sure – until I go to the press! Multiple supervisors, workers, vendors acknowledged a major issue with the HVAC system, finally acknowledging that duct work issues prevailed. Architectural drawings in hand two Mattamy representatives finally showed me where ducts were to be that were never installed and described the process to repair. Walls would have to be removed and duct work fixed/replaced. I approved only to have them try to convince me it would be a lot of work and messy. Not my problem – fix it, repair it, replace it and clean up after yourselves I said. But alas, all these years later I awake with nose bleeds; a furnace that isn’t vented properly, an air conditioner they installed that runs 24/7 without cooling, etc. etc. So I finally have an HVAC company determine the extent of work and price and find myself faced with many thousands of dollars worth of work to be carried out. Well Mattamy, I’ve got news for you. I’m not paying for the shabby workmanship carried out by your sub-contractors. You’ll be given a final chance to respond to me and make good or I’ll see what attention I can garner through the press. In this highly competitive yet slowing housing market I’m sure this isn’t the type of press you seek. Oh and the warped doors that you attempted to repair rather than replace – they too require replacement now including the door leading to the garage from the house – the entire frame has cracked and buckled, cold air is seeping through and I can no longer lock the door! Not only am I losing heat but now feel unsafe. I had to add a screen door to the entrance off the kitchen too – you see when I stood on a cold snowy day by the door that Mattamy installed I would become covered in a dusting of snow! Seriously! They came by and saw this and determined that by simply shaving down the door jam my problem would be fixed. I still wrap this door every winter to help avoid the heat loss and snow accumulation. Go with a smaller builder, one that earns your trust and money. Bigger is not better. Unless of course they choose to fulfill their promise of after sales service. Better late than never!

Home Building
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Brand New Home… Built Poorly by Mattamy | Pam & Burlington -79.7793 43.4074
Well… where to begin. The contractors that Mattamy hired to build our community really sucked…cheap isn’t the route to go. Our great room leaks due to the roofing contractors they hired…as did other neighbours homes. The extra joists needed for ceramic tiles were not put in, the grout cracked. They cut out the framing around our bathroom door to install the bathroom counter. The siding is not placed on our house properly as the water will go in between seams… they installed it incorrectly. The answer to all their problems is caulking. We had an inch and 1/2 of caulking at the side of our patio door… needless to say that door has been replaced this year 2009. We moved into this newly built home of ours in Jan. 2001. All the window seals have broken on most of the windows and will also need replacing in the next few years. Building homes shouldn’t be an assembly line… this is a huge investment and it should be built to better standards for the cost of homes today. Very disappointed in Mattamy… in fact a lot of people in our neighbourhood erected signs stating “Unsatisfied Mattamy Home Owner”. Funny thing was they never gave our neighbourhood survey forms to fill out ~ if they had done this in our neighbourhood they would not have received the awards and standards that they have in the past. Now we have to replace and repair things in our home when we really shouldn’t have to. I wish I knew Mike Holmes ~ he know how to fix all of this.

Mattamy Home in Newmarket
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NOt good | becstead -79.4394 43.8739
I would never buy from Mattamy again. They have changed our floor plan completely and there is nothing we can do. When we contacted Customer Service we were told by the Manager – Customer Service, to contact a lawyer – never even tried to help us out. Customer Service, they do not have any.

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Does Mattamy actually fit criteria for “Builder of the Year” award BILD?

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We recently finished watching a BBC series called “Downton Abbey” – an English show similar to the old “Upstairs, Downstairs” series.  One character, played by the venerable Maggie Smith was “Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham”.  Seems that due to her influence and power, she would win the annual “rose competition”.  Finally, she realized one year that someone else should win it – someone who actually earned the award.

This kind of reminded me of the upcoming “BILD GTA” awards.  The similarity was brought to my attention by Stephen Dupuis in his Homes-Extra column (Toronto Sun – April 15-17, 20011) when he stated: “….., the finalist list for Home Builder of the Year, which is all about quality and customer service……”.

The finalists are: Great Gulf Homes, Mattamy Homes, Monarch Corporation, Rosehaven Homes and Tridel. 

Now, I haven’t heard much negativity about most of these but, we all know the type of incidents that Mattamy has been involved in.  Without listing them, I would think being in the same list as Mattamy somewhat diminishes the objectivity and honourability of this award.  I think Milton is in the GTA.

If the “Builder of the Year” award is all about quality and customer service, with Mattamy’s history, how can one really think that the winner of this award would attract buyers based on the award?  You might begin to think that those qualities that brought Mattamy to BILD’s attention were shared by all who were nominated.  Based on this, I might have second thoughts about buying from the other nominees or, at least put into effect, steps to protect myself if I considered buying from them.  (good real estate lawyers, house inspectors, etc)  As a builder, I would be concerned I was placed in the same list.  Kind of like Gandhi being put in a list of compassionate leaders with Hitler, Stalin and Gaddafi.

If BILD thinks that poor quality, illegal (code) wiring, flooding basements and, selling without a permit are all laudable traits that should be awarded, then I think they should change the published criteria for nomination.  J.D. Power and Associates saw the error of their ways in continually giving awards to Mattamy, awards that were possibly tainted with free upgrades and extra service to those receiving the surveys.  All facts from various sources.

So, we shall see if BILD falls to the magic of Mattamy or, actually do give the reward to someone who does not follow a path of not always looking after the buyer.  

The proof is in the pudding as they say. 

Just ask Peter.

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