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http://www.yorkregion.com/article/99700#
Condo buyers hit with fees
Markham November 23, 2009 11:54 AM
BY L.H. TIFFANY HSIEH
Markham resident Chris Rose was enjoying his brand new condo in Markham Centre.
Then, three days before the final closing date in late September, he received a bill from the builder, asking for $7,680 in levy increases for his one-bedroom apartment.
"It just kind of came out of nowhere. They told me on a Wednesday and I had to come up with $8,000 for Friday and it had to be cash so you can't put it on top of your mortgage," said Chris, 24, a licensed electrician.
Chris was one of the lucky ones. His mortgage broker was able to let him take the money out of his un-maxed-out mortgage.
Still, "The feelings of the neighbours here are mutual. They (the builders) ... think people in Markham are stupid," Chris said.
"Once we found out that the Town of Markham didn't actually charge them (the levy increases), that's when people started getting really upset. Everyone's just seeing their lawyers to see what they can do. People are not going to sit around and do nothing about $10,000, you know? It's a lot of money."
The condo development in question is the seven-storey Promenade&Arbour on Upper Duke Crescent.
Richard Rose is Chris's father. He said he contacted builder Remington Group with concerns about the extra charges and was initially told the builder was just passing on increased development charges they had to pay to the Town of Markham.
"That was initially, now they are backing off. They are not taking my calls anymore," Richard said.
The Economist&Sun contacted the builder for a comment, but the group's spokesperson was unable to return calls before deadline yesterday.
Richard said the whole episode took the joy out of an important moment in his son's life.
"Here (Chris) is 24 years old, he's managed to save his money - he didn't get it from me - through his electrician apprenticeship, it was hard to save his down payment and he gets his mortgage, you are all excited about moving into your new place and then three days beforehand, he gets this surprise bill," Richard said.
"It was like, oh my God, what do we do? There was panic and everything. It took away the excitement of your first place."
No one knows this better than real estate lawyer Stephen Shub, who represents 15 buyers of Promenade&Arbour, which is priced from the low $200,000s and up.
Mr. Shub said his clients were hit with costs ranging between $7,680 and $11,283 for increases in existing levies. With 244 units combined between the two buildings, he said it amounts to about $2 million.
"The builder is going to have to pay the ... money back," Mr. Shub said. "I'm 90 per cent certain."
Mr. Shub said while there were levy increases, they came into effect after the permits were issued in May 2007.
He said the builder prepaid $300 in levies per unit and the increases were not retroactive.
"You only pay levy increases up to the point in time when the building permits are issued," Mr. Shub said.
"What they tried to do is to broaden the interpretation of the levy-increase clause to include the theoretical increases that came into effect prior to the final condo closing registration, even though they weren't actually being paid for by the builder."
Mr. Shub said for years these additional fees have only been in the hundreds and never in the thousands.
"This is a golden opportunity for the consumers, because when the builder gets too ... creative in their adjustments on closing over the years - this is now the last straw," he said.
Condo buyers hit with fees
Markham November 23, 2009 11:54 AM
BY L.H. TIFFANY HSIEH
Markham resident Chris Rose was enjoying his brand new condo in Markham Centre.
Then, three days before the final closing date in late September, he received a bill from the builder, asking for $7,680 in levy increases for his one-bedroom apartment.
"It just kind of came out of nowhere. They told me on a Wednesday and I had to come up with $8,000 for Friday and it had to be cash so you can't put it on top of your mortgage," said Chris, 24, a licensed electrician.
Chris was one of the lucky ones. His mortgage broker was able to let him take the money out of his un-maxed-out mortgage.
Still, "The feelings of the neighbours here are mutual. They (the builders) ... think people in Markham are stupid," Chris said.
"Once we found out that the Town of Markham didn't actually charge them (the levy increases), that's when people started getting really upset. Everyone's just seeing their lawyers to see what they can do. People are not going to sit around and do nothing about $10,000, you know? It's a lot of money."
The condo development in question is the seven-storey Promenade&Arbour on Upper Duke Crescent.
Richard Rose is Chris's father. He said he contacted builder Remington Group with concerns about the extra charges and was initially told the builder was just passing on increased development charges they had to pay to the Town of Markham.
"That was initially, now they are backing off. They are not taking my calls anymore," Richard said.
The Economist&Sun contacted the builder for a comment, but the group's spokesperson was unable to return calls before deadline yesterday.
Richard said the whole episode took the joy out of an important moment in his son's life.
"Here (Chris) is 24 years old, he's managed to save his money - he didn't get it from me - through his electrician apprenticeship, it was hard to save his down payment and he gets his mortgage, you are all excited about moving into your new place and then three days beforehand, he gets this surprise bill," Richard said.
"It was like, oh my God, what do we do? There was panic and everything. It took away the excitement of your first place."
No one knows this better than real estate lawyer Stephen Shub, who represents 15 buyers of Promenade&Arbour, which is priced from the low $200,000s and up.
Mr. Shub said his clients were hit with costs ranging between $7,680 and $11,283 for increases in existing levies. With 244 units combined between the two buildings, he said it amounts to about $2 million.
"The builder is going to have to pay the ... money back," Mr. Shub said. "I'm 90 per cent certain."
Mr. Shub said while there were levy increases, they came into effect after the permits were issued in May 2007.
He said the builder prepaid $300 in levies per unit and the increases were not retroactive.
"You only pay levy increases up to the point in time when the building permits are issued," Mr. Shub said.
"What they tried to do is to broaden the interpretation of the levy-increase clause to include the theoretical increases that came into effect prior to the final condo closing registration, even though they weren't actually being paid for by the builder."
Mr. Shub said for years these additional fees have only been in the hundreds and never in the thousands.
"This is a golden opportunity for the consumers, because when the builder gets too ... creative in their adjustments on closing over the years - this is now the last straw," he said.
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