Brampton UPtowns at Heart Lake | ?m | 4s | VANDYK

Bob Graham said:
inform
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Bob Graham said:
Your units will most likely have a few rental components (I.e. Boiler, Furnace, Hot Water Tank and or Tankless Hot Water Tank , ERV). The issues they have had in the past is the unit installed are lower end units that require constant maintenance by yourselves. The units will be installed during construction and therefore need cleaning along with replacement of filters before closing. Check those and ask that question on your initial PDI's with the builder representative and ask that it be written down on your PDI form as either completed or not completed so that if there is an issue with the mechanical units due to construction it will not fall upon you. Your rental units will be with Enercare as the builder received an approximate rebate for each unit of about $3000 dollars from Enercare for supplying the rental equipment to your unit. as a separate it, before closing also ask the builder/condo group to inform you how long they will guarantee your Condo fees. A lot of time the fees are low ,then after a year or two the condo group raises them substantially to cover "future" maintenance within your condo common elements. Verify your signed agreements for wording regarding Condo fees. May require a review for wording by your individual lawyers. Ask to have your condo fees locked in for an agreed reasonable time frame. Usually 3 to five years would be deemed reasonable as that's when construction component's in the common element areas tend to start deteriorating.
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Yes i have the maint fees guarantee for one year-in my contract but will try negotiate for longer period at closing.
 
Deanfeb said:
Yes i have the maint fees guarantee for one year-in my contract but will try negotiate for longer period at closing.
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Loos like everyone gone SILENT in this group after hearing some good details about this construction .. Probably stunned lol..
 
Deanfeb said:
Loos like everyone gone SILENT in this group after hearing some good details about this construction .. Probably stunned lol..
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Yes I was thinking along that line for many other things but will see I doubt it..my guessing since the price we paid they will be putting poor quality things in the units.
 
Deanfeb said:
Yes I was thinking along that line for many other things but will see I doubt it..my guessing since the price we paid they will be putting poor quality things in the units.
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Since most are rental units, you can upgrade as needed with Enercare. Of course there will be additional costs with that. Enercare also under your rental agreement will come out and do yearly inspection and maintenance of your equipment without charge. You just need to contact them and setup a date and time. I would recommend putting a reminder in your phone at around the 11 month date.
 
Deanfeb said:
Yes I was thinking along that line for many other things but will see I doubt it..my guessing since the price we paid they will be putting poor quality things in the units.
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You can contact the Builder and or Enercare and ask what the make and model numbers of the components that are being installed within your unit. Upon closing make sure all manufacturer literature for all mechanical equipment and appliance in your kitchen are in your unit at PDI. The one thing Vandyk currently has is an amazing Customer Service Person. Her name I believe is Drazenka. She did leave Vandyk for awhile to join another builder but returned as the drive was too far and Vandyk offered her more salary. Sadly I believe she may be leaving Vandyk as the other builder really wants her to return. The other builder is a very reputable builder. I do know based on my contacts that she is well liked at Tarion as well. Vandyk can throw more money at employees but sadly the culture with upper management will never change. The best thing for the company would be to change the VP. They did have a great guy doing their low-rise but he is no longer with them. I believe his name was Craig. Very knowledgeable and experienced, but as usual he's no longer with Vandyk. Can't keep talent due to interaction with the VP of the company, creates a toxic environment and feel threatened by anyone with more experience then him. He's only worked at one other company other then Vandyk and has very little experience in the industry and only knows the Vandyk way of doing things. It greatly limits the growth of Vandyk and sadly John Vandyk is the one that suffers along with you as homeowners.
 
Bob Graham said:
Ask the Builder to supply a longer time frame as a courtesy for the construction delays. Would recommend doing it as a group.
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Some comments from my perspective.

First of all, I had first heard of Van Dyke having issues with paying its suppliers approximately ten years ago. Apparently, their reputation has been well known for quite a while. Surprised that suppliers will still work with them, when there is so much other business going around.

Secondly, once the condominium owners' Board is in place (elected at the turnover meeting), there is a window in which ongoing contracts entered into by the developer on behalf of the condominium corporation (typically entered into once the corporation has been formed, but while it is still controlled by the Declarant's (Developer's) Board), the new Board has some time limited rights, under the Condominium Act, to cancel certain of these contracts. It is very important that the new Board get its legal representation sorted out quickly, and review / act on any of the ongoing contracts entered into by the developer as deemed appropriate. Contracts for supplier services should be fairly straightforward. Rental equipment in the suites or as part of the building infrastructure may be another matter.

Maintenance fees - once the new owners' Board has taken over, they will be responsible for setting the maintenance fees after the first year. Fees would normally be based on operational experience during the first year, and then adding in the costs which start to kick in once the first year is over. Typically, major equipment is covered under warranty for the first year, with maintenance charges kicking in starting in the second year. These issues may not be a major factor for town home units, but in higher rise buildings with central heating and air conditioning equipment, elevators, booster pumps, and so on, inclusion of their maintenance costs from the second year often results in a major increase to budgets.

Not sure what the prospects of getting a developer to guaranty maintenance fees beyond the first year would be - they would have to have some form of control in order to manage their costs - has to be paid for in some manner, whether up front, or through how they manage service issues.

If the maintenance fees are not realistic, and do not cover costs - at some point, sooner or later, fees would have to incur a major increase, or a special assessment may be required to cover the deficit. Unfortunately, when it comes to condominium operating costs, there is no free lunch. Unfortunately, the bills have to be paid sooner or later.
 
AHK said:
Some comments from my perspective.

First of all, I had first heard of Van Dyke having issues with paying its suppliers approximately ten years ago. Apparently, their reputation has been well known for quite a while. Surprised that suppliers will still work with them, when there is so much other business going around.

Secondly, once the condominium owners' Board is in place (elected at the turnover meeting), there is a window in which ongoing contracts entered into by the developer on behalf of the condominium corporation (typically entered into once the corporation has been formed, but while it is still controlled by the Declarant's (Developer's) Board), the new Board has some time limited rights, under the Condominium Act, to cancel certain of these contracts. It is very important that the new Board get its legal representation sorted out quickly, and review / act on any of the ongoing contracts entered into by the developer as deemed appropriate. Contracts for supplier services should be fairly straightforward. Rental equipment in the suites or as part of the building infrastructure may be another matter.

Maintenance fees - once the new owners' Board has taken over, they will be responsible for setting the maintenance fees after the first year. Fees would normally be based on operational experience during the first year, and then adding in the costs which start to kick in once the first year is over. Typically, major equipment is covered under warranty for the first year, with maintenance charges kicking in starting in the second year. These issues may not be a major factor for town home units, but in higher rise buildings with central heating and air conditioning equipment, elevators, booster pumps, and so on, inclusion of their maintenance costs from the second year often results in a major increase to budgets.

Not sure what the prospects of getting a developer to guaranty maintenance fees beyond the first year would be - they would have to have some form of control in order to manage their costs - has to be paid for in some manner, whether up front, or through how they manage service issues.

If the maintenance fees are not realistic, and do not cover costs - at some point, sooner or later, fees would have to incur a major increase, or a special assessment may be required to cover the deficit. Unfortunately, when it comes to condominium operating costs, there is no free lunch. Unfortunately, the bills have to be paid sooner or later.
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Well said AHK...... It appears you have a Planning background!
 
Deanfeb said:
Yes I was thinking along that line for many other things but will see I doubt it..my guessing since the price we paid they will be putting poor quality things in the units.
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It will be built as per the Ontario Building Code and will be inspected by the City of Brampton. I wouldn't say "poor" quality, but most like cost efficient lower scale in price. They do need to install all components as per Tarion guidelines. I would advise everyone to review the Tarion Guidelines/ Standards and be familiar with them and what to expect for acceptable deficiencies and installation.

The Construction Performance Guidelines | Tarion.com

www.tarion.com www.tarion.com
 
Deanfeb said:
Great info Bob.. we all owe YOU for rhe knowledge ..Few cases of beer?? I am pretty sure many in this group are first-time buyers from a builder including me and never would know what to expect.. , I will definitely take notes .. TIA
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Homeowner Roles & Responsibilities | Tarion.com

www.tarion.com www.tarion.com

The Pre-Delivery Inspection | Tarion.com

www.tarion.com www.tarion.com

You can look up any builder on the HCRA (Formerly Tarion) portal to see their chargeables on other sites with Tarion. Lets you know if your builder is reputable or not, although some builders do supply payment to homeowners to sign off on any issues as well. That will not show up on the portal. So sometimes the numbers can be misleading.

Ontario Builder Directory | Home Construction Regulatory Authority

As Ontario’s home builder regulator, the HCRA provides access to a searchable database with information about Ontario’s approximately 5,000 licensed home builders and vendors. Some of the information that the directory provides includes whether a builder you are considering is licensed...
obd.hcraontario.ca obd.hcraontario.ca
 
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From today
 
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