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WIIITBY FREE PRESSWEDNESDAY. JULY 10, 1985, PAGE 9 To council's ope rations committee... Owners laim new homes weren't properly built By JAN DODGE Free Press Staff Feelings rode high last night as new homeowners alternately condemned or suppor- ted the Grand Oaks sub- division at a meeting of the operations commit- tee. At least fifty people crowded into committee room one and out into the bail of the Whitby Municipal Building to make their views known. As a result of a notice of motion on conditions of residential occupancy put forward by Joe Bugelli, west ward councillor, the Town staff had met with local builders and Toronto and Durham Home Builders Associations. Ten suggested j procedures for builders were drawn up as a resuit of that con- K sultation. Tom Edwards, regional councillor, chalred the -portion of the meeting at which these guidelines were aired. Edwards heard presentations from Councillor Bugelli, the president of Grand Oak Homes, representatives from the Toronto Home Builders Association, and Durham Home Builders Association as weil as a nuniber of Although there was no spokesman for the bomeowners, since most had learned of the meeting only that day, Edwards gave ail who wished an opportunity tospeak. James Hillier of Sugar Maple Crescent led off for the pur- chasers. He said Grand Oaks had no effective follow-up procedure to complaints. "I have sent out five registered letters and have only one reply. 0ur closing date was changed f ive times. I lived in a bedroom with my family for five months. "Twice I came out to the site for inspection, but it was bard to find a service rep. "IWhen we finally moved in, the house was not cleaned; we did that ourseives. "The tentest was on one and a haif months before the aluminuni siding in ahl kinds of weather. The tentest got buckled. Then tbey put the siding on over top without making repairs to the tentest. r Hilier, like many speakers after him, con- tended that Grand Oaks shouid follow the list of 10 suggested procedures. "We paid an extra $1,000 for extra footage, then we found we had a storm sewer and a five foot easement. Iwasglad 1 was there when the inspec- tor was. He noticed things 1 didn't, for in- stance, the insulation in the attic was missing. Ed Hyde, president of Grand Oaks, said this was not the place to deal put down $50, after which a conciliator would be provided to help them solve their problems. Hyde said he has made a special effort to be successful. In 1984, out of ail new homes sold in Whitby, 37.8 per- cent were Grand Oak homes. Since he is that successful, he said, "I must be getting recom- mendations." At one point Hyde asked for a show of han- ds from those people who were satisfied with their homes. About one third raised their hands. Hyde admitted to problems with staff, trades , and weather, but he said you can't do anything about that. "Since April 4, we have set up a hot line. We keep a record of alI cails coming into the of- fice. They are referred to the service manager who contacts each one. 0ur records show there are 35 homes in which there is work outstan- ding." Hyde said, IIWe have il calîs older than two weeks on which there is work yet to be done. " Several in the crowd greeted that remark with laughter. Hyde said that to en- sure homeowners are not taken advantage of, a builder in Ontario must become a member of the new home warranty program. To do this, he said, the builder must pay a fee and be subject to a very critical committee. "You can't be a mem- ber unless you fulfili your obligations as a builder. " "When there is a plumbers' strike, you cant close deals; last year we had a bad win- ter, we couldn't close deals, but we are willing to refund money if requested. "Whitby has some of the f inest builders anywhere." Councillor Bugelli said, "Yes, we have good home builders here but all these people are from your subdivision." Earlier Bugelli gave some background for the presentations. He said he had had a number of complaints from people who were unable to get satisfac- tion witb the builder. He had attended the homes to see the deficiencies that people were com- plaining about. He said he had had calîs from people regarding work still not completed or corrected. It appeared that the only way to get action was by badgering the developers. Bugelli said he believed the situation was wrong. He said he had not gone out to seek GOLDEN GATE, fers a wide selection of 107 Brock Street South, Canadien dishes. The Whltby 668-2222 Bo-Bo platter and their This popular, 30-year chickenflfingers are two old Chinese restaurant speciallties worth has recently ln. trylng. Perfect for lun- troduced Szechuafl ch or dinner. Cuisine for those who open f rom il t0 2 ike hot, spicy dishes. arn. daily. Friday and In addition f0 ifs Safurday until 3 ar. Chinese fae the Fuliylicenses. Dine-in Golden Gae also of.- -and f ast home delivery. "LIVE ENTERTAINMENTE PLUS SPECIAL SATURDAY NIGHT BU FFET FOR ONLY RýESERVATIONS REQUIRED 301 Byron St. S Whitby 666-3070 ~SINCE1874 FINE DINING LOUNGE BANQUETS AVAILABLE_ problems but thought it his duty to respond when he heard problems. He said he had notice of motion that developers post a $3,00 bond per unit against structural defeets. He generate discussion. Following the meeting, Bugelli told of some of the problems he where bis help had been requested. 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