Olympic Village buyers sue Vancouver City
There are now 62 buyers at the Vancouver Olympic village who are suing the city of Vancouver for what they claim is poor design and construction. This could be exactly why the City set up a shell corporation with no assets to sell these units after the developer went bankrupt. Remember that lawyers warning in the news a while back?
From the CBC:
A total of 62 owners involved in the lawsuit said their condos at the development — renamed The Village on False Creek — have a variety of complaints, including a lack of heat for four months. Others claim they can’t fit standard sized beds into their bedrooms or have leaky windows and ceilings.
And from CTV:
..He says that instead of the “extraordinary levels of luxury” promised in marketing for the Village, the owners discovered their suites aren’t much better than rental apartments.
In some cases, doors will slam into each other if they’re opened at the same time. In others, residents aren’t able to open their closet doors if anything larger than a double bed is placed in the master bedroom.
“Not being able to fit a queen-sized bed in a master bedroom is a major design flaw,” McMillan said.
Other residents have had problems with persistent leaky ceilings and faulty heating. A video released by the owners shows water dripping from light fixtures and smoke alarms.
“One guy’s had his entire ceiling ripped out because they can’t figure out why his heating system doesn’t work,” McMillan said.
Not much better than rental suites eh? Yeah I guess not. I made sure I could fit a king size bed in my master bedroom, and if my light fixtures started leaking or my heating system didn’t work I’d just up and move. It’s a good thing these people bought, since you can’t lose investing in real estate!
This post was submitted by rancid.
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March 20th, 2011 at 7:08 am
Um, why would you buy a place without perhaps having a floor plan or doing some measurements; without opening some doors and such? This smacks of frenzy.
March 17th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
@Renting:
Champlain Heights used to be a dump and False Creek West used to be an industrial slum.
As for your assertion that False Creek South is "mostly leaky condos", well I don't recall it being any worse than other condos in the city built in that era in that respect. What is different is its wonderful design, which the City was responsible for.
Both areas continue to bring in lease revenue for the city and contribute to its high credit rating which helps keep taxes down. I think that's plenty to be proud of.
But I think the real reason these areas turned out so differently from the OV is that they were planned and built in a era where neither the City nor its residents thought they could get rich quick through RE or by the holding of a corporate mega sports event.
And since the voters of the City were asked directly whether they wanted the Olympics and voted "yes" by 2 to 1, they must be held directly responsible for the OV fiasco just as much as the Council they elected.
March 17th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
@Jerry Boyle: "no cost to the taxpayer, just like you say — provided you assume the land in both cases was worthless"
Actually even if the land is given away for free, the City is still in the hole a couple of hundred million dollars, and that's best case according to the numbers I see. They had to take out a significant loan just to cover the construction costs.
Comparing the Village saga to Vander Zalm's giveaway of the Expo lands is questionable. The Expo land was assessed at significantly more than the price to which it was given to the developer. If the land was simply given away for, say, 10% less than assessment it would have been magnitudes better for the taxpayer, just not for Vander Zalm. The land would go through all the normal permit applications and procedures for use regardless of who owns it — owning the land is not free rein on how it's used so Renting's park space and zoning arguments are moot.
It makes me sick to see Vander Zalm getting such wonderful access to the press recently, when we consider how much he cost BC in lost revenue from that Expo land deal. But given how the "shocked" condo owners genuinely (as far as I can tell) thinking the City is to blame for their incompetence at reading contracts, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.
March 17th, 2011 at 3:54 pm
@N: …..Is it you contention that nobody has ever bought a house with the intention of dying in it? …..
Through a quirk of timing, everyone who bought in the last few years certainly is now.
March 17th, 2011 at 3:45 pm
Perhaps this has been mentioned already, but I was talking with someone who bought a discounted Olympic Village condo recently.
They mentioned they had to sign something waiving their right to sue the city over the purchase.
March 17th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
…..By that logic, people who pre-order Harry Potter Books from Amazon or iPads from Apple are speculators……
Curiously, a Harry Potter book actually has more square footage than the average Vancouver condo.
March 17th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
@renting:
Consensus seems to be the Olympic village will wind up losing a couple hundred million dollars, which is in the ballpark of what the developer was supposed to pay for the city-owned land. So it'll end up much the same as the Expo lands giveaway — no cost to the taxpayer, just like you say — provided you assume the land in both cases was worthless.
March 17th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
@95 EXTREMELY BROKE VANCOUVER HOME OWNER
Thanks for the info
March 17th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
@patriotz: ….Lesson: The problem isn’t having government involved in RE development, it’s having government headed by idiots involved in RE development…….
Show me a government not run by idiots, and I'll show you someone who doesn't recognize idiots.
March 17th, 2011 at 3:21 pm
Mercedes-Benz to build plant in B.C.
http://www.torontosun.com/money/2011/03/17/176636…
March 17th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
@Devore: That might have come off a little strong… the Japanese government and agencies are busy dealing with the reactors. They don't have the luxury of speculating in front of cameras.
Releasing a bunch of information to the general population, who are as clueless about the mechanics and finer points of nuclear power as the rest of us, will be pointless. There is already lots of information available to people who know how to read it and what to do with it. Everyone else needs to stay calm, and not run around like it's the end of the world.
Anyways, off-topic night is off-topic, feel free to vote down.
March 17th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
@Renting:
Too many fingers in too many pies. In the past when governments assumed a more limited role, they could actually make a decision based on a plan, vision, facts and merits, without consulting with and asking for permission from dozens of parties, or trying to satisfy or optimize as many conflicting goals.
I'm not holding my breath waiting for the trend towards ever worse decision-making to reverse.
March 17th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
@arit: Tokyo alone has a population of 13 million. Even a hint of panic will result in a disaster of epic proportions. Government's there to keep order. No one can possibly hope to evacuate a metropolis of this size. Last thing they need is a half dozen 24 hour news channels full of "experts" speculating on dozens of scenarios, none of whom have a clue about what they're talking about.
March 17th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
@lol cats: How often are there clothed bears outside your window? Just out of curiosity . . .
March 17th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
wow… out my window, i see bears dancing naked in the rain… must be march 17th.
March 17th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Look;
Check the Local Gov't Act….
I realize Vancouver has its own Charter, but in general you have 6 MONTHS to file a claim against them or SOL.
They can also incorporate, have natural person powers, etc…aka the weasel powers are amazing
March 17th, 2011 at 12:12 pm
@patriotz:
Yes the Expo lands were given away, but at least the City ended up with a bunch on nice parks, a sea wall and for the most part the people who bought all the condos are happy. It didn't cost the tax payers anything. On the other hand with the OV the City tried to maximize profits and we know how that turned out. The Expo land deal looks pretty good in comparison. Either way both involved bad government decisions and could have been done better to say the least. The one where the government got out early turned out better.
I guess we can disagree on the success of these areas. Maybe not complete disasters but false creek south is for the most part leaky condos. Champlain Heights is like Surrey West. Nothing to be proud of IMO.
True. When do we get the government that isn't headed by idiots? Remember the OV was botched by 3 different administrations. I think the problem is the government owes too much to too many people so it makes it near impossible for them to do something like this successfully and not commit political suicide. Maybe in the past it was possible. Maybe it still is but I am not holding my breath.
My point was with how easy it has been over the past 8 years to be financially successful in real estate development only a politician could screw things up so bad.