Dane
Active Member
June 26 2008
Toronto Malibu Harbourfront Condo | ?m | 32s | Malibu Investments | P + S / IBI
casaguy
Senior Member
Residents appear to have moved in up to the 8th floor of the tower now.
rsk
New Member
Finished occupancy closing
Hi Malibu Owner group
My name is Shri, I am the owner of a 1 BR + 1 Den unit in Malibu at harborfront. I did my occupancy closing yesterday and here are some of the things that shocked me;.
Shock # 1: When they sold me the unit in May 2006, they said that heat, hydro, water was included in the monthly maintenance fee. When I went for my closing yesterday, I got a shock when they said that hydro is not included in the maintenance and I have to pay it separately. Then when I asked them if the maintenance fee would be reduced as I will paying for hydro, they said that the maintenance fee would be the same. I was told that this decision was made some time ago, but I was not notified about this either through a letter or an email. In my opinion this is equivalent to cheating. I was wondering if any of you have gone through this. I am talking to my lewyer and he mentioned that if enough owners kicked up a fuss abt this Malibu might do something.
Shock # 2: When I did my pre delivery inspection, I discovered that thete was heat and a/c vents only in the bedroom and living room. There was no heat and a/c vent in the den or bathroom or the laundryroom. When I asked abt this Malibu said that they forgot to put a vent in the den and they will fix it. But they said that the bathroom and laundry room will not have a heat and a/c vent. I am not sure if this is right.
Mild Shock # 3: During my PDI, I also discovered that there was not smoke detector in the kitchen. They had installed one in the Foyer but not in the kitchen. When I asked abt it they mentioned that the building has passed the fire safty inspection and hence it is ok. Though I am not a construction specialist, I believe that a smoke detector should be in the kitched of all the places. I am not sure how fire safty inspectors pass my unit for occupancy.
Pls let me know if any of you have faced these issues with your units. I am trying to gather as many owners as possible so that we can voice our concerns together,
Thanks
rsk
Hi Malibu Owner group
My name is Shri, I am the owner of a 1 BR + 1 Den unit in Malibu at harborfront. I did my occupancy closing yesterday and here are some of the things that shocked me;.
Shock # 1: When they sold me the unit in May 2006, they said that heat, hydro, water was included in the monthly maintenance fee. When I went for my closing yesterday, I got a shock when they said that hydro is not included in the maintenance and I have to pay it separately. Then when I asked them if the maintenance fee would be reduced as I will paying for hydro, they said that the maintenance fee would be the same. I was told that this decision was made some time ago, but I was not notified about this either through a letter or an email. In my opinion this is equivalent to cheating. I was wondering if any of you have gone through this. I am talking to my lewyer and he mentioned that if enough owners kicked up a fuss abt this Malibu might do something.
Shock # 2: When I did my pre delivery inspection, I discovered that thete was heat and a/c vents only in the bedroom and living room. There was no heat and a/c vent in the den or bathroom or the laundryroom. When I asked abt this Malibu said that they forgot to put a vent in the den and they will fix it. But they said that the bathroom and laundry room will not have a heat and a/c vent. I am not sure if this is right.
Mild Shock # 3: During my PDI, I also discovered that there was not smoke detector in the kitchen. They had installed one in the Foyer but not in the kitchen. When I asked abt it they mentioned that the building has passed the fire safty inspection and hence it is ok. Though I am not a construction specialist, I believe that a smoke detector should be in the kitched of all the places. I am not sure how fire safty inspectors pass my unit for occupancy.
Pls let me know if any of you have faced these issues with your units. I am trying to gather as many owners as possible so that we can voice our concerns together,
Thanks
rsk
casaguy
Senior Member
Shock #1 - the developer is trying to screw you. Fight back hard.
Shock #2 - a/c should be in the den depending on how big it is (but is not needed in the bathroom or laundry room)
Shock #3 - I've never seen one in a kitchen unless you want the whole building to be evacuated everytime you burn your toast
Shock #2 - a/c should be in the den depending on how big it is (but is not needed in the bathroom or laundry room)
Shock #3 - I've never seen one in a kitchen unless you want the whole building to be evacuated everytime you burn your toast
H
Hydrogen
Guest
One thing the bathroom needs is a vent fan. Hopefully that was included. I've never seen a smoke detector in a kitchen, either. I've lived in a place where there was one near the kitchen, and when I had a window open the slightest bit of "smoke" from cooking used to set the thing off.
Casaguy is right. Fight hard concerning what is included in your fees. If you have it on paper, that's a start, but not a guarantee.
rsk, what are the finishes like on the inside of the building?
Casaguy is right. Fight hard concerning what is included in your fees. If you have it on paper, that's a start, but not a guarantee.
rsk, what are the finishes like on the inside of the building?
rsk
New Member
Thanks for your quick response guys. I spoke to my lawyer and he mentioned that the dveloper reserves the right to change the utilities. he is still talking to the lawyers of the condo. I am waiting for hime to get back.
As for the finishes, I was not satisfies when I first did the inspection. There were quite a few fixable problems which were noted down and the builder is supposed to fix it. especially the Tile transition between the bathroom and the laundry room was awful. I have made a complaint abt this. lets see what happens.
For anyone who is not familiar with home inspection, i would suggest you take a inspectr along with you. Dont depend on the builder's inspector.
Cheers
rsk
As for the finishes, I was not satisfies when I first did the inspection. There were quite a few fixable problems which were noted down and the builder is supposed to fix it. especially the Tile transition between the bathroom and the laundry room was awful. I have made a complaint abt this. lets see what happens.
For anyone who is not familiar with home inspection, i would suggest you take a inspectr along with you. Dont depend on the builder's inspector.
Cheers
rsk
casaguy
Senior Member
Once again, more evidence that home buyers in this country have virtually ZERO rights and we are all still standing for it.
Who is the builder for Malibu? This tactic is very underhanded and unethical. All residents in this building should band together rather than let your builder walk all over you.
CityPlaceN1
Senior Member
I don't see the big deal. You're paying for hydro either way. In fact I rather pay directly. This way you can control your own usage and costs. Having the condo pay it through your maintenance fees means you would be subsidizing the people in the building that don't watch their usage.
As for the maintenance fees coming down this is also not a big issue regarding the developer. The maintenance fees provided by the developer are an estimate. Once the building is registered, and the developer is no longer in the picture, it'll be up to your condo board to set the rates.
BTW, expect the developer's estimate to be low.
grey
Senior Member
Yeah, the maintenance fees set by the builder are really inconsequential. Your board will decide to increase the rates (you can count on it) immediately after registering anyway. They also might hold a vote on what utilities should be included. You should be more concerned with things like how much money the developer left in your building's reserve fund.
casaguy
Senior Member
Either way it is still overtly dishonest and misleading.
rsk
New Member
Thanks for the responses. Thst is my argument as well. One cannot sell a feature and when it comes to closing change it without informing the buyer or giving the buyer a chance to weigh the pros & cons. After talking to my lawyer I was appaled to learn that the home buyer is not protected in any good way. The builder is protected, the renter is protected but the owner is screwed. I dont understand this logic.
Cheers
rsk
Cheers
rsk
marcus_a_j
Senior Member
Builder is Malibu Investments Inc. Other projects include Boutique and Gramercy Park. They also list 18 Yonge on their website, although I thought Lanterra was mainly behind that one. Someone correct me please, but Lanterra is the hi-rise branch of H&R Developments, who build low-density subdivisions mainly in the 'burbs.
grey
Senior Member
Agreed.
If they failed to inform you about their decision to change the fee structure, you should do everything in your power to rectify that.
rsk, are you sure they didn't put a disclaimer in any of your documents regarding their discretionary powers wrt maintenance fees as advertised?
confusion
Active Member
Lack of a fire alarm in the kitchen is fine. The smoke will rise to the ceiling and travel to the smoke detectors as long as they are no physical obstructions.
You should have at least two smoke detectors though, one for the building and one as a personal unit smoke alarm.
I'm not sure what the laws are, but in my condo I have the building fire alarm between my kitchen and foyer, and between my living room and master bedroom there is fire alarm for the unit that has is directly powered by the unit's electrical, but also has a 9V battery backup. This is just the setup that came with my condo, and I find it to be ideal. When it comes to fire, you want to ensure you are safe. Don't forget to buy a fire extinguisher for your kitchen too.
Mike in TO
Senior Member
Casaguy said:
Rsk and Casaguy,
The builder is not trying to screw you... New provincial legislation came in the last couple years that mandate all new buildings to have separate metering for hydro. Existing residential stock is also supposed to have separate metering installed by 2010, but that is not likely to happen.
The builder is not trying to screw you. These are new laws that are provincially mandated so that residents monitor and pay for their individual hydro as an effort to reduce energy consumption across the province of Ontario.
Also the initial maintenance fees are just an estimate, most energy costs have risen significantly the last couple of years... if anything you can expect your maintenance fees to increase over the next year or two, rather then be reduced... Casaguy, you are quick to blame the builder for any change... in this case and in some other cases circumstances beyond the builders control can result in material changes to the structure or the operation of the structure. In this case it is positive move to encourage energy conservation.