500 Sherbourne Condos (Times Group Corporation) - Real Estate -

cityboy said:
He hinted that I have made alot of money on the unit and just pay the charge..........He was a piece of work on the phone. He spent 5 minutes telling me why they installed the blinds (He never stopped to breathe). When I mentioned, I sent a copy to my lawyer and am waiting for her response. He responded with it will cost more in lawyer fee's than the blinds cost.

When I hear back from my lawyer, I will post her comments wrt the fee.
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similarly, it will cost them more in lawyer fees than the blinds to dispute or sue you for the blinds, unless you didn't get the part of the agreement that you pay for their legal fees deleted.

this sounds nothing more than a money grab, with which they have no legal standing
 
Just got my letter, $2400. Originally I was told the developer was going to include blinds and we would be involved in the process. It was a complete surprise when the blinds were up in the PDI.
In my unit they were not put up properly. They left a gap b/t the ceiling and the blind, don't know why and one of the corners there is a large gap that lets in light.
I am going to deal with it after the holidays and not think about it. Nothing is going to get resolved this close to the holidays anyway.
But it sucks!
 
A friend on the 33rd floor received his letter today, $3,000. He definitely will not pay. He was even told by Sophie from the Sales Office, that the blinds were standard and came with the unit. So, everybody who even would consider paying for the blinds, think again and don't be a fool! There is no legal obligation to pay for blinds which obviously came as standard with the unit. It's the greedy season and the builder wants to make some extra bucks. DO NOT GIVE IN!
 
If it's between not paying and having them removed vs. paying and keeping them.... the answer is obvious. Don't pay and let them arrange to take them out. Hell, they will probably just leave them in. If you want blinds, have custom ones done, where you get to control the shade level. They will be cheaper and better.

My point is that they have no legal standing or leverage, and you all must recognize that. Take a deep breath and enjoy the holidays.
 
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So you're telling me I'm going to have to pay for this bright ass bedroom? I would have told them to put blackout blinds in the bedroom if I knew I had to shell out a grand.
 
I'm using this forum to release my frustration so please bare with me while I SCREAM!!!

We got our letter yesterday, 21st Dec. It is dated 13th Dec & said to acknowledge within 10days. It had our old address; no postage stamps & sure as hell wasn't hand delivered. So can I "pretend" I have not seen it? I'm already not happy about the blind situation & to be told I owe them close to $3k during this time of year just about killed me.

Like most of you said, the purchase agreement didn't mention about blinds being included but hell, if I was gonna pay for it I would choose better ones! We shopped around quite a bit before the PDI & saw something we really like from Hunter Douglas. It would have cost us about the same amount as what the builder is charging but way more functional & beautiful.

In the bedroom, there's a big gap at the corner that lets light through. It really bugs me during the summer month! If I had to pay extra there is no way I'll accept that crap. To be honest we had plan to rip out the existing ones & install the ones that we liked sometime next year.

I'm curious how the builder came up with the cost. Is anyone here in the xx10 unit? Are you charged the same as us, $2,885.61? I'm curious if they charge more if you bought the unit at the beginning because of the cheaper price or if they charge more as the floor goes higher. I know it doesn't make sense; I know; but I wouldn't be surprise.

Oh, I'm all for "protesting" as a group.
 
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Don't freak out. You're not legally required to pay the money.

Somebody (ericf) needs to get posters on the bulletein boards ASAP, before weak-minded people sign this thing.
 
KLAUS said:
we did not receive a similar letter; we expressively stated in our agreement of purchase and sale that the blinds were included in the purchase price, we even made sure that we got darker blinds in the bedrooms.
As for the legal aspect of the matter, I do think everybody is on good grounds. If you did not ask for blinds as an extra or upgrade, you do not have to pay. In that case you were under the rightful impression that the blinds came as standard. I can only imagine how our building will be "governed" by a board with Hashim Ghadaki and his friends being the condo board. When the elections come up we have to actively campaign against them and to point out their conflict of interest.
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Question: Did you have to negotiate price to have the blinds included in the agreement or did they keep with the initial price they told you when you were discussing buying a unit.

Would be interesting to know considering how they've dealt with the situation of the blinds.

I've also found out that individuals who recently bought units did not receive letters regarding their blinds. They also didn't have the blinds listed in their agreement. Where is the equality in that?

e
 
ericf said:
Question: Did you have to negotiate price to have the blinds included in the agreement or did they keep with the initial price they told you when you were discussing buying a unit.

Would be interesting to know considering how they've dealt with the situation of the blinds.

I've also found out that individuals who recently bought units did not receive letters regarding their blinds. They also didn't have the blinds listed in their agreement. Where is the equality in that?

e
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Slow down and speak with your lawyer. He/She will send a letter to the builder politely asking them to remove the item from closing. When I spoke to Ghadaki, it was obvious its a cash grab. He's aware that early purchasers have done really well with this project and he's just trying to get some money out of us. Don't sign the letter and have your lawyer deal with it.
 
** Update - Blinds **

Hi Everyone,

Was able to speak to my lawyer today regarding the letter about the blinds. I was advised a few things, but technically, if it isn't in the agreement, then they can charge us for the blinds. What they have done is bad business, however we could get ourselves in more trouble by not paying for it.

He has advised me that there is strength in numbers and we should all sign a letter collectively advising the developer that we don't agree with these charges and request that it be removed at final closing. I previously posted a reply asking for individuals to email their information, however only one individual replied. I contacted the Property Management and they won't allow me to put up a notice requesting individuals contact me so we can compile of list of individuals in a similar situation. I wasn't really surprised by this, but it makes it really difficult to do.

Can you please pass the word around to everyone you know that has been issued a similar letter and ask them to email me at ericmfleury@gmail.com and I will arrange for something to get done collectively. My lawyer also suggested that we contact Ellen Roseman with The Star and should we probably investigate this; hopefully making it an issue in the media and the developer may back down with the charges.
Worst case scenario, I request that they take down the blinds at their cost or pay the cost and take the developer to small claims court where I'm sure a judge will decide in my favour.
 
ericf said:
** Update - Blinds **
I contacted the Property Management and they won't allow me to put up a notice requesting individuals contact me so we can compile of list of individuals in a similar situation. I wasn't really surprised by this, but it makes it really difficult to do.
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That's crazy. I would collect supporters the old fashion way, door to door and leaving a flyer. It would take a few hours but this way you get a ton of supporters.
 
** Update - Blinds **

I contacted the Property Management and they won't allow me to put up a notice requesting individuals contact me so we can compile of list of individuals in a similar situation. I wasn't really surprised by this, but it makes it really difficult to do.
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WeirdFishes said:
That's crazy. I would collect supporters the old fashion way, door to door and leaving a flyer. It would take a few hours but this way you get a ton of supporters.
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doesn't surprise me since the Property Management is most likely a subsiduary of the developer.
do you think they would allow you inform owners of information that would take money from their pockets?

do as WeirdFishes says, go door-to-door.
that gives you the opportunity to talk to individual owners too.

from reading this thread, it sounds like the blinds are made of poor quality material and sized improperly in the first place, so why pay for cr*p, let alone double for builder's profit margins.

tell them to remove at their cost by a specified date, otherwise you will charge them storage fee per day that it remains there.

if it's not removed by xxx date, they will have been deemed to forgo any right of ownership and the unit owner can do whatever he/she wishes with them without any cost/obligation to the developer.
 
Has anyone had all their deficiencies looked after? I still have a few that have not been looked after.
 
cdr108 said:
doesn't surprise me since the Property Management is most likely a subsiduary of the developer.
do you think they would allow you inform owners of information that would take money from their pockets?

do as WeirdFishes says, go door-to-door.
that gives you the opportunity to talk to individual owners too.

from reading this thread, it sounds like the blinds are made of poor quality material and sized improperly in the first place, so why pay for cr*p, let alone double for builder's profit margins.

tell them to remove at their cost by a specified date, otherwise you will charge them storage fee per day that it remains there.

if it's not removed by xxx date, they will have been deemed to forgo any right of ownership and the unit owner can do whatever he/she wishes with them without any cost/obligation to the developer.
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I don't think it works this way. The contract is always written in the builder's favour. My lawyer is looking into this and has spoke to Ghadaki who quoted a subsection of the agreement 34c. Unfortunately, my agreement doesn't have a 34c so she is calling him back to get the section of the agreement he is referring to. I will update once I learn moe.
 
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