JDV in Toronto

In April, 2009 I purchased a freehold townhouse that was to be developed by Plazacorp Urban Residential Communities and completed by Town Square Homes. Here are the details of this transaction: - In April 2009 I submit an Agreement of Purchase and Sale for a freehold townhouse - The seller, a financial institution, had foreclosed on a partially completed development and was now selling the remaining unfinished units (3 units in total). - Upon completion of the transaction, I was contacted by a representative from Plazacorp Urban Residential Communities to select finishes for my unit. - The Agreement of Purchase and Sale had stated that all finishes be comparable to that of the model unit. That is, the exact model and manufacturer would not be the same but the type of product would be. - During the selection process of finishes, I was given one opportunity to view a number of finishes without explanation. I had noted a large number of finishes did not align with the original agreement and the builder agreed to change the items I had pointed out. - Having said that, I had failed to noticed that a number of the finishes provided by Plazacorp Urban Residential Communities were inferior in quality to the original agreement. - Upon completion of the finish selection, I, the home buyer, had created a Document of Understanding that would summarize all finishes that were selected. - I provided this to the representative and he signed and dated the document. I also signed and dated this document. - There is an item in the document stating the specific finish of my basement staircase. The document, signed by the representative, states that the finish should be Oak. My unit has pine plywood stairs installed. - I contacted Plazacorp Urban Residential Communities regarding this matter and was told that the substitution is valid and that they "are not prepared to have any further dialogue with [me] on this issue." I'm sure Plazacorp would be more than willing to hold me to a signed agreement if it benefits them. But since the tables are turned, they are compelled to think they are above such agreements. If you are not prepared to commit to something, then I would suggest you do not put your pen to paper.

We had purchased an unfinished townhouse in Toronto that was to be completed by Townsquare Homes (TSH). From the beginning, we were very frustrated with the experience as a whole. We were offered finishes that contradicted the purchase agreement. Only when we specifically called this out did the builder actually offer to provide what we asked for. We did, however, miss a number of things during the finish selection as there was no explanation by the builder as to how the finishes were different. And when I called out a few items, I was told that what was installed is "higher quality" than what the finish should be. For example, I received pine stairs in the basement and was told these are better and more durable than the oak we should have received. Many times the builder bragged to me how he made "custom" and "luxury" homes... and so I was expecting the workmanship and professionalism to be top notch. Quite the opposite in fact. During the PDI process, I had pointed out a number of deficiencies and the builder told me this was the level of quality I should expect because I was receiving a "mass-built" home. There were only THREE units being finished by these guys... and there were many many occasions where I would have appreciated a call or email indicating that he was planning to install something as standard, but it could be done better if I wanted to pitch in a little extra money. I had even mentioned this to the builder but he never took me up on it. The tipping point for me was after taking possession of the unit, I had gone in and installed craft paper to protect the hardwood flooring (which was done fairly poorly I may add). I did this as the builder requested access to the unit the next day to complete some minor touch-ups. When I returned home late in the evening I found the protective paper removed, the floors damaged where the paper was installed, and the unit left completely open for anyone from the street to just walk right in. I tried to contact the builder but had not received a reply, call-back, or apology regarding this. It is my opinion that these guys are only in it for the money... they have zero passion for what they do and are not really interested in making the home-owners happy. If I ever wanted a custom built home, I would never dream of going with this company. Do yourself a favor and read the reviews here, they speak for themselves (I have used this site to get a lot of work done in the past and the people that I contacted with rave-reviews are EXCELLENT).