Bought a house in Oakville in 2015, and overall, I would say that I'm satisfied. Mattamy has its pros and cons, but personally I wouldn't mind purchasing from them again.
On the negative side, they had many little tactics to overcharge for the house, such as a $30k land premium for no apparent reason on a normal lot. As well, you would be best to stick to only the major upgrades before closing e.g. electrical, floor plan changes, etc; and to choose upgrades you can do yourself afterwards, as the upgrades really do add up e.g. $3500 for a low-level AC. Some things seemed rather cheap and simply served as money-making schemes on Mattamy's behalf, such as $99 for a change in grout colour; this is for something that should really cost nothing to them. As well, be prepared to have your closing delayed - mine was moved back by a month, and even then there were many things missing, such as baseboards and trim. The work is very gradual, and I still have quite a few items from the 30 day form missing. As well, the streets are very dirty during construction, and all the driveways are done at once, so you may have a gravel driveway for a few months.
On the positive side, Mattamy does provide good quality. The staff are relatively helpful, somewhat of a rare commodity in today's market. The finishes are reasonable even without upgrading for the most part, and Mattamy offers a wide range of selection of interiors and exteriors. The Design Studio is pretty large, and unlike the case for other builders that have a single Design Studio, Mattamy has one for each community, which of course means you don't need to go anywhere other than the sales centre for pre-construction work. Don't go overboard on upgrades, because market rates are always cheaper. As for exteriors, I recommend getting an upgraded exterior elevation e.g. French Chateau or English Manor from the day you sign on the dotted lines; nobody likes an ugly house, and I feel sorry for you if you ever decide to go for the Craftsman elevation. There's many floor plans available, and because Mattamy doesn't have huge differences in prices between models of the same frontage, I would get a slightly larger design. The layouts aren't the best; I find they feel to open concept. You can get a better idea yourself at the model homes; they usually have a few at each community. Of course, you also have Architect's Choice, Mattamy's in-house selection of modifications you can do to your house. Do all the possible structural changes you want in the beginning; it will make it much easier for you in the future. I was surprised to learn my community has a free car washing station hooked up on site to clean cars while the dirt is still around; never used it yet, so I don't know too much about it. One of Mattamy's standard policies is to gift-wrap your front door just before closing; definitely a neat little thing. They also provided a gift bag upon closing, and perhaps the thing I liked the most was the NEST thermostat; most builders just give the de facto basic units. Mattamy does make an effort to provide buyers with facilities after closing, it seems.
Overall, my experience has been pretty good, minus the delays in closing, or the expensive list of options. But chances are, I would buy from Mattamy again in the future.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $800,000.00