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CONTENTS
AUGUST ISSUE 2022
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NEW PROVINCIAL RULES CAN’T STOP SURPRISE FEES AND ADDITIONAL CHARGES BILLED TO BUYERS FOUR OTTAWA WOMEN CHOOSE A COHOUSING WAY OF LIVING
SNEAK PEEK 1 ELM DRIVE, MISSISSAUGA
LIVING IN THE SUNNY SOUTH
FOR LEASE 601-65 PORT STREET EAST, MISSISSAUGA
SIMPLE WAYS TO ENHANCE HOME SAFTEY
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SENSORY GARDENS DESIGN TO ENGAGE ALL FIVE SENSES
FOR SALE 203-65 PORT STREET EAST, MISSISSAUGA
BODY WORK HEALTHY TREATMENT FROM HEAD TO TOE
THERESA RECOMMENDS 3 QUICK BACK TO SCHOOL LUNCHES
12 TIPS ON HOW TO GET READY FOR SCHOOL QUICKLY
MARKET STATS AT A GLANCE JULY 2022
WHY IS THE TB REALTY GROUP ONE OF THE BEST IN THE MARKETPLACE
New Provincial Rules Can’t Stop Surprise Fees and Additional Charges Billed to Buyers in the Final Hours Before Closing
By Bob Aaron - Contributing Columnish | August 18, 2022
A group of buyers of new townhomes in Mississauga got the shock of their lives when, a few days before closing their purchases last month, the developer presented them with demands for between $70,000 and $170,000 in extras in addition to their purchase prices. Veteran Toronto real estate lawyer Stephen Shub contacted me earlier this month to forward copies of the builder’s statement of closing adjustments for one of his clients. The purchase price for the property on Journeyman Lane was $888,900 but the builder added unexpected last-minute additional charges of $128,261. The big ticket items were $61,656 for utility meters, $55,674 for development charges, and $10,930 for a municipal park levy. Beyond vague clauses in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale that there would be certain unspecified extra “adjustments,” none of these charges was itemized. When Shub pointed out to the builder’s lawyer that some of the charges had in fact been capped in the purchase agreement, the additional charges were dropped by $47,200 to about $81,000. Ontario law requires pre-construction condominium purchase agreements to have a 10day conditional, or rescission, period for buyers to review the documents and accept or renegotiate the terms, or back out of the transaction.
Each agreement has two schedules: one containing the fixed additional costs, and another detailing the unlimited extras which can be tacked on to the purchase price. Many of the buyers in the Mississauga development had to scramble at the last minute to come up with funds for the unexpected extras or lose their deposits and homes. Lawyers who review preconstruction agreements will caution their clients about the unlimited extras and attempt - with varying degrees of success - to negotiate a maximum on the costs. Based on my experience, however, only a small percentage of buyers bother to have their lawyers review the agreements. That was apparently the case for many of the Mississauga townhome buyers. Shub had only harsh words for the builder. “When,” he asks, “will someone out there revise the regulations and put a stop to this type of outlandish creativity by builders?” Builder Haven Developments did not respond to my requests for comment. But in a statement sent to CityNews last month, Haven Developments said adjustments to final closing costs “should not come as a surprise to any purchaser and, certainly not, to their legal counsel.” The builder also said the additional closing fees cover municipal development charges, parkland levies, the connection of utilities and related services, and additional infrastructure costs. While builders always need to recover their construction costs, the issue to me in this development is the timing of disclosure and last-minute surprises to the purchasers. Matteo Guinci is a communications manager with Ontario’s Ministry of Public and Business Services Delivery, which is in charge of new home builders. He emailed me to say that the government has strengthened regulatory tools to protect consumers. A new Code of Ethics — regulation 245/21 — prohibits a builder’s undefined unprofessional conduct, misrepresentation and false advertising. It does nothing to stop huge extra charges or project cancellations. It’s little more than smoke and mirrors. Ontario homebuyers deserve much better from our government.
The Soul Sisters are from left to right: Mary Alice (Ang) Henry, Norah McMahon, Dona Bowers and Kathy Crowe. Photo credit: AllThingsHome.ca
By Anita Murray, All Things Home | August 1, 2022
Four friends who have chosen to share their senior years together by cohousing are finally within sight of seeing their dream realized.
In the works for five years, the women — Dona Bowers, Kathy Crowe, Mary Alice (Ang) Henry and Norah McMahon, who call themselves the Soul Sisters — are nearing completion on their unique home under construction in Vanier.
Technically a semi-detached home to fit the city’s zoning requirements, the 5,780-squarefoot building is divided into four apartments of roughly 800 to 900 square feet each, plus shared common space for gathering as a community, or cohousing.
The concept, which originated in Denmark in the 1960s, is a way of forming an intentional community for sharing their lives, and while it’s common elsewhere, particularly in British Columbia, it’s one of just two developed cohousing communities in Ontario, both of which are here in Ottawa, according to the Canadian Cohousing Network. Those who cohouse have similar values and will typically share weekly meals and other activities, as well as offer support to one another.
The Soul Sisters project is a large semi-detached home on a corner lot in Vanier with four private apartments and shared common space that’s about 1,245 square feet. In total, the building is 5,780 square feet. Construction is expected to finish in late fall. Courtesy Rosaline J. Hill Architect
But the Golden Girls these women are not. Unlike the four mature women who shared a single home together in the 1980s TV sitcom, the Soul Sisters each have their own private two-bedroom apartment, complete with kitchen and living room, within the larger home.
“We very deliberately among ourselves built in privacy so that we’re not throwing our whole
lives together,” says Henry. But the house also includes a larger shared kitchen, dining and living room area, a guest room, storage and a multi-purpose craft room.
Each half of the semi-detached is open to connect all four units, although they could be closed off to create two separate homes.
“Technically speaking, there are primary units and secondary units in each half and that’s how we pulled off a four-unit building — a four-unit apartment building is not permitted here,” says their architect, Rosaline J. Hill. “We had to go to some lengths to convince the building permit staff that this really wasn’t a four-unit apartment building, it was a semi.”
The second floor houses a private unit and the house’s common kitchen, living room and dining room.
The basement has large windows at ground level for lots of natural light, plus a walk-out patio for one of the private units. It also has more common space (guest room, full bathroom, multi-purpose room and storage).
Technically a semi-detached home, the house has double staircases and an elevator. The main floor houses two of the private units.
The second floor houses a private unit and the house’s common kitchen, living room and dining room.
The basement has large windows at ground level for lots of natural light, plus a walk-out patio for one of the private units. It also has more common space (guest room, full bathroom, multi-purpose room and storage).
Technically a semi-detached home, the house has double staircases and an elevator. The main floor houses two of the private units.
The second floor houses a private unit and the house’s common kitchen, living room and dining room.
The Soul Sisters first began exploring cohousing in 2017, but it wasn’t until they teamed up with Hill in late 2019 that things really got going. An architect with an ingrained sense of community herself, Hill has a deep understanding of how to navigate the city’s development system, making her a valuable ally for the Soul Sisters. Still, it would be more than a year and a half from the time the group bought their property in March 2020 (just as COVID was emerging) to when builder Arterra Custom Homes starting construction in November 2021.
The experience - and timing - led Hill to launch Ottawa Cohousing earlier this year to help those interested in cohousing find each other and work through the sometimes-lengthy process of developing relationships with each other and then building
their community.
“Ninety per cent of groups that start off wanting to cohouse don’t ever form,” says Linda Kruus, Ottawa Cohousing’s directing manager. “It’s such an enormous undertaking for people… Our intent for Ottawa Cohousing is to shorten the timeline for these groups and give them a shot at it by giving them the expertise and organizing them so that they proceed on their group work in a methodical manner and addressing all the things they need to address before it becomes critical.”
The Soul Sisters are quick to point out that their cohousing arrangement is not typical.
The Soul Sisters and their architect, Rosaline Hill (middle), held a walk-through of their home under construction in mid-July. Photo: AllThingsHome.ca
“This is not the norm for cohousing, either in terms of demographic or in terms of numbers,” says Bowers, adding that cohousing groups are usually multigenerational, do not know each other ahead of time and average about 25 units. “We knew each other before and we didn’t have to recruit. That, I think, is quite a challenge for a lot of cohousing groups… We knew our values and what was important to us.”
Their ownership arrangement is also atypical. Where most cohousing communities are a condo, the Soul Sisters each own 25 per cent of the whole building. They have also taken the opportunity to create a home that is mindful of the environment and that will allow them to age in place, something that is important to them.
“Our whole idea to begin with was that we share our lives as we age so that we not necessarily do a lot of intensive care for each other but advocate and be able to make sure that appropriate resources (are accessed),” says Henry. The building includes an elevator, curb-less showers and easily accessible cupboards, for instance. It also includes solar panels, an electric car charger and an innovative wall panel system for improved indoor air quality and performance.
“This way of living is more efficient,” says Crowe.
Ottawa’s other cohousing group just celebrated its 25th anniversary. Called Terra Firma, the group is small by cohousing standards, with seven families that make up its condo and four auxiliary families who live separately in the neighbourhood.
Terra Firma is a long-standing cohousing community in Old Ottawa East. It consists of two threeunit townhomes joined by an infill home that includes the group’s common space. There are also four separate auxiliary dwellings. Photo: AllThingsHome.ca
Like the Soul Sisters, it took Terra Firma several years to establish, eventually buying two threeunit townhomes separated by an alleyway in Old Ottawa East. They would later add an infill home in that alleyway to create a seventh home and add common space for their community.
All of Terra Firma’s original families are still part of the group. “There’s a commitment there of trying to make things work,” says Suzanne Gagnon, who is one of the founders and who advised the Soul Sisters when they were establishing. “I’m a strong proponent of building the soft infrastructure, which is the relationships, because at the end of the day, what makes or breaks it is the relationship.”
Her advice to those considering cohousing is to build the relationship, hire professionals, be clear about your values and develop good principles to guide your decision-making. “If you’re a person who needs a lot of quiet and downtime and you’re private, this is not for you.”
Group meals are a mainstay of cohousing. For Terra Firma, their backyards are a common space and the families gather on each other’s decks. Photo courtesy Terra Firma
Kruus points out that the benefits are huge. “We think there are a lot of people who are really yearning for something like this, so they don’t feel isolated, so they can share resources, so they’re entering a mode of housing that’s environmentally sensitive and they’re able to live in a city and feel like they have a little village around them.”
The Soul Sisters expect to move into their new home in late fall. While they will miss the homes each has lived in for many years, they’re looking forward to the change.
“This opportunity is allowing me to end my life in a way that I find to be really important, not only for me but for others, in a specifically chosen communal setting,” says McMahon.
All four cite the benefits of proximity to one another.
“There are so many little things that I think will be fun to have other people around to share,” Henry says.
For Terra Firma, their backyards are a common space and the families gather on each other’s decks. Photo courtesy Terra Firma
SNEAK PEEK
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Living in the Sunny South
Thinking of moving to Florida? Here are several homes that the Realty Group has available.
Property Listings Courtesy of John R Wood Properties & Kevan Patel CFRM (Central Florida Realty Management)
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