Four months into the occupancy phase, and this condo is far from complete.
If you’ve never seen what the common elements of a condo looks like during “occupancy,” perhaps this video will enlighten you…
Yes, I’m whispering because I’m afraid of a resident coming out and shouting, “Why the hell are you FILMING in my hallway?”
I hope that audio wasn’t too bad…
I’ll admit – I was here the other day, I saw that condo with no front door, and I just had to come back and film it. I couldn’t resist.
I have colleagues that argue, “That’s just what you get with pre-construction. You know….get used to it!” I think that’s a terrible attitude.
Builders in Ontario can do whatever they want, and as my pile of letters from West Side Lofts gets larger and larger each time they move back my occupancy date, I wonder rhetorically, “What can we do?”
Nothing. We can’t do anything.
Unless you consider not buying pre-construction condos an answer, which is something I subscribe to.
I bought into West Side Lofts in 2005, so the fact that I’m going to take possession of this property in September doesn’t mean I still advocate buying pre-construction.
Who’s job is it to clean up the industry?
TARION?
The Ontario government?
I dunno.
But seeing a video like the one I posted above showing a condo after four months of occupancy, can you imagine what it’s like after one day?
earth mother
at 7:50 am
When I bought my newly constructed house, the building inspector told me that for occupancy approval, the building needs only walls and roof…. anything else is gravy. So the city is off the hook and so is the builder…. In subdivisions all over the GTA, people take occupancy in half-finished homes and wait for the finishing touches. I’m not at all surprised to see this condo building approved for occupancy…. The next step of course is the useless PDI, on which you can list 100s of unfinished details & wait for your builder and Tarion to finish up for you!!
Matt
at 8:04 am
Pray tell who the builder is PLEASE!
Aiekon
at 9:14 am
That video reminds me of how the hallway looked in my condo when I moved in, lol. I was one of the first resident’s to move into the building and the common areas were far from finished. It took roughly 2-3 months for the hallway walls to be wallpapered and the floors to be carpeted. One of the ‘reasons’ that it took so long was that the developer was waiting for more units to be occupied on the floor, so as to not have any damages on the walls during moves. Anyway, it’s been 6 months since I’ve moved in and the gym is still not ready!
Dees Nuts
at 10:49 am
more video blogs!!!! You should do at least one per week.
Hisham
at 11:09 am
This is very common during the occupancy phase of new condos. Do you think that it’s because the builder has a shortfall of cash? For example, the developer still has a substantial amount of unsold inventory. Or due you think it’s due to plain laziness and poor project management?
I know you’d obvioulsy rather not say which building this is, if you can then great, but if not, can you tell us which area it’s located in?
Meh
at 11:44 am
It’ll be cleaned up when people stop buying preconstruction condos. Until then, since it’s common knowledge this is how things are done, the buyers are getting exactly what they paid for.
JG
at 1:32 pm
Hope these buildings are Earthquake proof!?
John Saris
at 1:48 pm
Those hallways look the ones at the VU! Could be wrong though
AJ
at 4:30 pm
Definitely looks like VU
David Fleming
at 11:24 pm
@ Hisham
My honest opinion? My cynical take on things?
I think that there is no incentive for a builder to finish the project on time and there are no rules to stop him from handing over the keys when the building has little more than electricity and running water.
The builder starts to collect maintenance fees and mortgage interest (from occupancy fees) as soon as he grants occupancy, so it behooves him to hand over the key as soon as possible.
Once the building is fully occupied, he can slowly finish up the actual construction, as slow as he wants, because there are no rules and regulations in place that specify what has to be finished and when.
The only thing to stop a builder from taking two years to finish is the potential damage to his reputation.
David Fleming
at 11:25 pm
@ John Saris & AJ
I can’t say which building this is, but I can say that in general, my readers are very informed…
George
at 8:50 pm
I viewed a condo in this building a few months ago on my lunch hour. When I got back to work, parts of my suit and shoes were covered in white dust. I actually felt dirty, and I had just spent ten minutes in that place.
fool me twice...
at 9:07 pm
It is Vu. I live there. On 12. We were like, “wow, they have wood frames!”.
I think it will be ok eventually but based on our last condo, it takes about 5 years for everything to be dealt with. I know everyone wants a new condo, but it’s a real pain in the butt.
Why did we do it again. Honestly, you forget the pain when it’s over. Like childbirth.