The ides have come.

Et tu, Brute?

From 2007:

"Sometimes it seems as if the whole town has closed down," said Rich Palmer, Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre director. "What he has done should be illegal."

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/…

Found this video while reading at VREAA…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYnP4Cs6rgE&fe…

The people behind the lawsuit apparently put the video together to support their case… I'm so mean… I actually chuckled watching the video.

The builders deserve some credit… Excellent precision in lining up the ceiling leak to the toilet. Many of us guys can't even aim that well.

@specialfx3000:

All new buildings have little issues. Leaking water is by far the worst in that video, but it's an internal leak, not a building envelope leak. All the other issues with drywall and flooring can be easily fixed. It's dumb to complain about room size because those people should have known what they were buying. I don't have too much sympathy for them, assuming the City steps up and fixes the little problems.

Happy March 18th, everyone!

Irrelevant quote of the day from article 3: "Sales of condos in the former athletes village will not be hurt following lawsuits alleging shoddy construction and improper disclosure, a consultant representing the marketer said Thursday."

The consultant is from Boldt Communications, a 'Vancouver-based marketing communications firm that specializes in helping you tell your story.' A marketer for a marketer says everything is OK, and that's hard news in Vancouver when it touches real estate. This city's culture needs a reboot.

If anyone has the time/inclination, http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/03/17/… is hosting a live chat regarding the new rules. Would be nice if it weren't a fact-free echo chamber…

More links for those of you not following my twitter.

* Kedrosky: Tracking Vancouver's Real Estate Bubble: Unprecedented Changes http://t.co/qJsQ0su

* Macleans: The Canada bubble http://bit.ly/fKNL7e

* The CMHC & Canada's Housing Bubble http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk3j6g50Krs

* The triple threat: Vancouver’s new fleet of cargo tricycles http://bit.ly/gZ3aKV #Vancouver

And for the lovers of doom:

* US geologist: A Major Earthquake in North America Imminent http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQXDt4VdS0E

@Dave: The small rooms are quite shocking.

I agree most of their complaints are pretty much par for the course in Vancouver, including detached construction. Most can be fixed.

@jaymow:

Also, that video was a very gusty move by the present owners as it could backfire badly: Their units are worth even less than the 50% haircut that they’re already taking as nobody that watches that video would consider buying in OV.

How is that a "gutsy move"? None of these people are gonna sell for 50% off, because they can't afford it, and no one will buy once they see you can't even fit a bed into the bedrooms. They're just trying to embarrass the city into handing over money to keep them quiet.

@Fullfrontalabotomy:

I learned so much from Mr. Mortgage Broker.

Like how people should take out home equity to gamble in the stock markets.

"Your mortgage is the lowest cost source of debt that you will ever have access to. If you are in a position to pay the mortgage off my suggestion would be to pay the mortgage off, and then draw the maximum amount allowed in order to buy investments, your risk propensity should determine those investments, but many secure, relatively risk free investments can be made with that low cost source of funds. Perhaps some safe Bank stocks with nice juicy dividends?"

I didn't know bank stocks were safe investments, somebody tell the shareholders of Citigroup.

@jesse:

It's just sour grapes at having paid too much.

I can understand when little issues come up and the developer turns non-responsive. That's happens quite frequently and I think it's a problem. Some of them step up and provide good after service, but not all. I don't know if that's the case here or not.

@Dave: Yeah unresponsiveness of developers is a real pain but nothing an amount withheld in escrow cannot handle. Of course the obvious problem is to reduce deficiencies in the first place.

I don't think the small rooms is "sour grapes" unless that's the exact suite they were sold. If the suite shown to them was bigger, and even if the suite was furnished with nonstandard bed sizes to make it look bigger, they have a legitimate complaint IMO.

Seeing as you have contacts with builders, what would you suggest be done here? 99% of presale contracts award developers who perform these practices. Is a large escrow fund the answer? On contract detached builds, it's not uncommon to withhold 1/3 payments until after inspection for this very reason.

@Strataman: Strataman: I love you, in a non-sexual housing market kind of way.

You provide some of the best info here. Thank you.

@jesse:

I admit that it's a problem and I also think that something should be done. The legal route is too cumbersome and slow. Either there should be an independent body that reviews such claims, or money gets held back. 1/3rd is way too much. I also don't think the condition should be some type of inspection as there are no controls around that. You can't hold back 6 figures because some wing-nut doesn't like the building code or has some pet issue.

@Strataman:

Are you sure about that? I doubt the grey water is being pumped through the building to heat it. Rather, a heat exchanger would strip the heat from the grey water and then distribute it to the units using glycol or water.

The pipe that broke is most likely a sanitary or water supply line break from the bathroom above. It's probably an easy fix.

@Devore: Of course it's not a "gutsy move". It would have been gutsy if they came up with the video and lawsuit before the big sale. But back then they were probably still counting on the bigger fools buying the crappy units from them.