Hi all,
With respect to Casaguys question on interval/smart metering: the provincial government made a commitment for all Ontario consumers to have smart/interval meters by Dec 31, 2010 back in 2004. However the regulation providing the Ontario Energy Board with the authority to set criteria or requirements for metering technology used in condominiums and to ensure that the technology is capable of measuring electricity consumption or use in accordance with time of use rates and minimally is capable of measuring electricity consumption or use in hourly intervals only came into force on December 31, 2007.
Casaguy, you seem to be very very cynical about the whole development process. Not every developer is created equally. Some are very good at what they do, take great pride in their product and care very much about customer service and their buyers, others aren't as good. Perhaps you've had a bad experience and you've made assumptions about the industry as a whole, based on a few individual experiences/stories - which would not surprise me as your builder does not have a very good reputation and not a very good track record... in fact last year's JD Power survey of high-rise customer satisfaction, your builder came dead last… by a rather wide margin - so rather then your experience being an industry norm, it may be more of a reflection of the bottom of the barrel in terms of customer satisfaction.
In the case of Malibu, the purchaser got the best deal with a metered hydro unit. Virtually all consumers are better of with one, essentially 'rsk' got an upgrade for free as the meters are costly and provide a better service – one can control their own usage and what they pay. With respect to condo fees, the builder provides an estimate, but no one really knows exactly how the building will optimally operate until at least a couple years after closing. Since initial estimates were made a few years ago, water rates in Toronto have increased very significantly (9% a year I think) and the cost of recycling and waste disposal has increased beyond the rate of inflation - so have labour costs for security, maintenance etc... no one is getting screwed - it's jus an estimate - had 'rsk' not received a hydro meter, he would have paid even higher condo fees to cover his and other residents hydro with no incentive for conservation - which would result in even higher fees, not to mention environmental costs. At the end of the day the condo corp will likely have a year or two of ups and downs tinkering with the fees – which has nothing to do with the builder.
As far as your regulation comment - the hundreds of provincial regs and pieces of legislation, federal laws, municipal by-laws, conservation authorities, tarion and dozens other agencies, boards and commissions that have laws and codes governing residential construction protect basically everything under the sun from vibration tolerance in TTC tunnels, to consumers, to on site labourers to salamanders – the amount of regulation in the industry is staggering, it’s actually amazing anything in this city ever gets built.
I highly doubt anyone was lied to, most people I know in the industry are very honest... it's just a more efficient way of conducting business - that said, I don't know what kind of experience you've had at Casa with a builder that doesn't have a very good reputation and maybe that's tainted your view of the development industry.
I'll end my way too long a post this early in the morning by saying that Malibu looks like it turned out pretty well and is a solid anchor for that corner - hopefully some of the ground floor units have some decent retail.
