The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

i i s =a Development residents, Scott Walker (left) and Michael Hom Foley, flank a furnace venting unit at the back of Walker’s townhouse condominium. . Mortar and brick around the vent is cracked and the interior of the unit remains unscreened. Homeowners angry Continued from page 1 action group to grow. “Forming the in order to be taken seriously,” he said, adding that he’s planning to meet with Mayor Russ Miller and could be taking his concerns to town coun- cil, if necessary. On any given moving day, it’s not uncommon to see people walk- ing around with hutches and armoires trying to figure out how to get them inside their townhouse, Foley remarked. Some units don’t have balconies to help with the larger pieces of furniture. The owner of one end unit has his furniture piled high on the main floor. “He’s got a large bed but he has been sleeping on an air mattress for three weeks,” Foley said. Foley has a litany of complaints about his unit. Noticeable touch-up paint can be seen on the walls, as can holes that have been left uncovered. Carpeting on the stairs, instead of being folded under and secured at the corners has simply been cut off with an exacto knife. Halfway up the staircase, an uneven wall is evident. Upstairs, sitting in a cupboard, is the hot water heater — “I sure hope it The unit’s back yard, which is part of a common courtyard shared with other tenants, is expected to be grassed or levelled before the end of the year, but right now it’s uneven ground which has become a dump site for workmen in the area. An empty caulking gun, some dis- carded telephone wire and a broken basi lie on the ground near his ee 's like Dodge City when it’s dry or a cajun bayou when it’s rainy,” Foley observed. Scott Walker, Foley’s next door neighbor, said he and his wife have compiled a list of defects in their unit. “It’s three pages long,’ he id. 8 Nails have popped, doors are hanging on an angle, windows are crooked, a plank can easily be detected under the drywall in the baby’s room, there are holes around the sink in the bathroom, and, under the carpet in the master bedroom, there’s a plum-sized hole in the floor. The doorbell at the peat sone isn’t at eye level like mosi bells; it’s at waist level. Foley said many of the home- owners have been frustrated from the beginning in their dealings with Law Development. Units weren’t ready when promised, with the result that as many as 20 to 30 fam- ilies were guests at the Georgetown Motor Inn for up to three weeks this summer while they waited to move into their townhouses. “We felt like migrant gypsies,” said Foley. How to choose a realtor My fiancé and I have decided to purchase our first home. Yet we're finding it extremely difficult to choose a realtor. How do we know if we're choosing the fet realtor for us? Where should we start’ Many prospective buyers choose is of a sefer- from a friend ot relative who has Saas worked with a particular agent. above circumstances is true for you, you See consider the following alter- Call the office of the most active realtors in your area, they have access to infort on almost every property that might suit you. Visit Open Houses in nie e. “Interview” the ee Ana ¢ day of visiting different Open Houses, you to select one agent who you 1g with. With Don Hearn* amon JOHNSON & ASSOCIATES agent who has Set a number of hot and make an appointment to talk to him/her. Another source is to call on ads or signs of homes that interest you. Talk honestly and ‘openly with the salesperson, honest com- the only way an agent can accurately help you choose a hor You may have seen a particular agent's Contact them and explain your objective. Finally, in selecting a real estate agent, you are asking rson to work for you me from a seller who pays the agent. Before you begin to look at properties, the professional agent will spend time determining your ants. You will be educating est ment and you want ta Glidtes Senseo wi tebacrtaes your needs and lifestyle. For more information on this series of arti- cles or help with Lev ‘own real estate needs, Possibly you have heard of a real estate Pleas Sales Rep* at the off 877-5165 or at home 853-4244, By Dianne Cornish The executive vice-president of the Law Development Group said homeowners’ complaints coming out of the Kingsmill development on Maple Avenue in Georgetown are the result of a communications problem. “Tt’s basically a matter of com- municating,” Eddy Li said during a telephone interview Thursday. Noting that many of the occupants in the development are first-time home buyers, “not familiar with the frame under the Ontario New e Warranty Program (ONHWP), Li said homeowners’ complaints will be addressed. Under the ONHWP, the builder has 12 months to correct defects in workmanship to homes or town- house condominiums. Li said the builder is already doing repairs in the units and other work will be staggered so that more repairs will be done in six months’ time and additional work, by the end of the one-year period. It’s not unusual for homeowners, particularly first-time home buyers, to “feel lost” if they’re not familiar with the process involving building repairs, he said, adding that Law Development is currently drafting a letter that will be sent to residents in both phases of the development to explain how the process works and the time frames involved. Halton Hills “This Wéék, Saturday, September 5.” Kingsmill repairs will be done, Law official says While residents in Phase 2 of the development might feel that they don’t have a group to represent their interests, Li said a condomini- um corporation will be formed for the home buyers after the final closing occurs. A resident of the complex said the final closing for units in the second phase is scheduled for September 9. Residents of Phase 1 already have a corporation to repre- sent homeowners. Li also said that Law has directed Joe Hewitt, a former Halton Hills councillor who now works as a consultant with the development company, to talk with residents of the subdivision and “find out what their concerns are.” But, “the best 908 Paya o! thing for home buyers in the devel- opment to do is call us,” he added “A lot of people go through that when they’re down-sizing,” he said the problems associated with mov- ing. “(The problems) have more to do with the furniture purchased (for previous dwellings) than with the size of the (Kingsmill) units.” Now that his family has grown and moved away from home, Li said he plans to downsize and move into a townhouse and he knows that some of his furniture will be too large to be accommodated in a smaller dwelling. Asked if the concerns of home buyers about workmanship in the units will be addressed, the Law official mooie “That’s ne The Future iS Not Set So why buy a computer package whose future is? tight for you! Ignite your child’s future with the Power of Macintosh™. From the affordable Macintosh Classic to the powerful LC II. We have a Macintosh for you! Mac To School bundles include a printer and com- puter at an affordable price. Instant financing is available. Ask us why a Macintosh is Bundles Starting at $1499 Canadian Computer 131 Trafalgar Rd., Oakville 849-0737 Apple, Macintosh