Quite Frankly It’s The Most Egregious Consumer Exploitation That I’ve Ever Come Across

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I don’t write these blogs to drum up customers.

And I don’t write them to sell real estate.

I invest inordinate amounts of my time and personal resource to try to educate (or enlighten) consumers about just how egregiously they are being exploited within a system that is represented as having abundant consumer safeguards!

Today is not about a philosophical flash point in Condoland.

Rather, it all about the real life situation in which four families have been required to take possession of their new million dollar plus homes in contradiction to the agreements under which the project in its entirety was approved.

I intend to deal with all the lying shortly, but for today I want to stick solely to the ongoing Case Study I’ve been blogging about in Oakville.

Full disclosure, I am also a buyer (that’s why I’m privy to all the inside stuff I have been and I will be sharing) but I haven’t been manipulated into accepting Occupancy as these people were.

I’m not a lawyer, but if I was I’d be drumming up some serious “ducks in a barrel” type business from these four families.

I’ve discussed in other blogs and blogs to come, the outright continuum of lies and misrepresentation set out in this builder’s web site where absolutely everything published there is a material distortion of fact and reality.

And then we moved onto their brochure which in itself is laughably contradictory to the Affidavit that I published of one of these four families presently suing the builder for its abusive and exploitive ways.

oakville_mud_2

Take a good look at today’s photograph which I took on Monday past, and try to imagine waking up every day knowing that that is “the street on which you’ve purchased your million dollar plus dream home“.

Think of your car driving in and out of your home each time, each day for months on end.

Last summer, when I became aware of these family’s plight (resulting from what had already shown me to be an untrustworthy builder) I did what I usually do, and blew the lid off the issue by publishing a blog  . . . .  naming names!

I’ve fought this type of fight many times in Toronto and seen the City Government (Mayor’s office) simply ignore any/all complaints while actually publishing bogus Newsletters about how much good the city is doing!

I’m convinced that all these educated people learn in school that selling is actually lying so lying is the social norm.

Now wonder salespeople are seen at such a low scale on the social ladder!

I couldn’t be more impressed with the Town of Oakville’s Mayor’s Offices response to my rather bombastic style of painting everyone into a corner.

As always, I sent my blog to their publish email addresses so no-one could infer that I was doing anything behind anyone’s back.

And to my surprise, I heard back from the Mayor’s office the very next day.

Granted, our conversation started off with the usual legal wrangling, but it quickly shifted to a more collaborative tone.

And they’ve been nothing other than helpful and responsive ever since.

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My meeting with Rob Burton, Mayor of the Town of Oakville

The Mayor’s office called an immediate meeting of all the players involved and got assurances that everything in everyone’s power would be done to clean this mess up (figuratively and literally)!

This reassured me that I had found the right sand box to live in and play in, as I’m looking for quality real estate investments (that’s all I know) as well as a home.

This builder has proven to be the “poster child” for untrustworthy developers/builders in my books.

The Registered Site Plan, Subdivision Agreement and other key development documents are between the Municipality and the Developer.

The Developer then entered into contracts with the builder who then entered into contracts with buyers, so you can see that their is some legal obstacles present in any dialogue.

This builder had withheld the Subdivision Agreements from purchasers, intentionally as one specific Clause (Clause #39) uniquely required everything (grading, fences, lawns, roads,- it is a POTL (Parcel of Tied Lands) which is a type of condo where the homes are freehold but the road is a condo) “to be completed before any Occupancy Permits could be issued“.

This is by no means conventional as people are always slammed into this type of construction zone, but in this one instance that I’ve seen in my four decade long career in the business, specifically required that everything be done before people could be required to move in.

And this builder intentionally withheld the disclosure of this from its buyers (against the law) and then slammed them into their dream homes in true “Nightmare On Elm Street” fashion!

So, when I took the picture the other day I asked the Builder’s site supervisor, about how it came about that the City’s meeting had apparently been forgotten and that the “weekly road cleaning” implemented right after their meeting with all the players got dropped.

I have a hand’s free phone in my car, that when someone calls me, it turns down the CD player music and tunes in the phone.

That’s kind of what happens to me when someone starts lying to me.

I can see their lips moving but all I hear is a rendition of my own voice saying : “not, not, not . . .

He was presenting this rather long winded explanation of how “the Municipality’s flusher trucks were not insulated and effective November 15th (just passed) there could not flush the roads“.

I never argue with that voice in my head but I don’t challenge without fact either so I thanked him for his informing me, and during my drive back downtown I called the Mayor’s office who put me through to their chief inspector.

He was quick to assure me that “if that street was an Oakville Street it would not look anything like that picture“!

The fact is that it is not the Municipality’s street and therefore not the municipality’s responsibility.

It is the responsibility of the builder’s supervisor, who now apparently is falsely blaming this disgusting mess, on the municipality to me, while at the same time constantly reinforcing to me that I can “trust him” and “leave it all to them” with respect to fulfilling their promises to me on my house! (talk about a dichotomy!)!

And besides, the temperature hasn’t been anywhere close to freezing yet this winter!

Well, the municipal inspector called the builder and got them to agree “to scrape and flush the street the following day“!

I’m on my way out there again this mooring to see if they actually honoured their word on this one, as their track record for honouring promises is dismal!

At this point in the game, I am not directly involved as I’m holding the builder to Tarion requirements across the board, on of which is that they must give buyers 90 Days Written Notice regarding delayed occupancy and/or resetting a Closing Date.

This last lie, following my having tried on three separate occasions to have them comply with a date whatsoever, only to not be given the respect of a reply was enough for me to call in my lawyer and hand Closing off to him with the understanding that I want everyone to abide by the requirements set out by the Tarion Warrant which forms a part of our Agreement.

You can bet that as long as I’m around and involved, these four families will have at least clean streets.

I’ll keep you informed

Charles

 

Town of Oakville

 

Sunrise Homes

 

 

 

 

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