Kings Wharf developer Francis Fares disputes condo
workmanship report
CBC News
05 November 2015
A well-known Halifax developer is speaking out after a CBC
investigation revealed growing frustration among condominium owners
about poor workmanship and repair costs.
Frances Fares, owner of Kings Wharf/Fares Inc., says the 2013 document
leaked to CBC damages an entire industry and harms reputations.
Speaking with CBC News on Wednesday, Fares explained there have been
issues with poor workmanship, in part because builders are trying to
keep costs down, but he says it's not fair to "paint every builder or
every building or every developer with the same brush."
He says it's key for prospective condo buyers to do their own research.
"It's a small city. People know who are building good buildings. People
need to talk to people living in those buildings."
Fares also says modern buildings have seen big improvements in quality.
"The building envelopes are much better now. There's more insulation.
There's more waterproofing. So the industry has shifted and has
changed."
'Things get
hidden behind walls'
Heather Cruickshanks, a contractor who's spent many hours at condo
construction sites, says the report isn't wrong. She says problems at
work sites are hastened by project timelines.
"You know, we do have ways that this is dealt with. We have architects,
we have engineers," said Cruickshanks. "But again, they can't be on the
site all the time either and these projects are often time sensitive.
So what happens is that things progress and you know sometimes, things
get hidden behind the walls. Not necessarily intentionally."
Municipal inspectors aren't necessarily to blame for missing the
problems, she says, because it's not realistic for them to be on site
for eight to 10 hours a day.
"You can have a site that's perhaps not quite as clean, and when
they're cleaning, the easy way to get rid of it is through the tub or
the toilets and then run the water," she said.
"We all know the mess that pigeons make. We have that, and we have
water infiltration that comes in when the drywall's installed."
Nova Scotia currently doesn't have mandatory multi-year warranties to
protect owners. Cruickshanks thinks they'd make a big difference.
"I think it would make a huge difference," she said.
"It puts all the accountability at every level. The contractor would be
accountable, the developer would be accountable, and the engineer and
the architect."
But Cruickshanks agrees with Fares, explaining that the owner must
still do the due diligence and investigate ownership, construction and
developer histories of the condo they're eyeing.
"It's buyer beware at this point in time, but I think we need some sort
of regulation which would help everyone."
No safety net coming for condo buyers
A warranty, insurance policy or deposit program to ensure that condo
buyers get a quality product isn't going to happen, according to
developer Peter Polley.
His company Polycorp builds condos, town homes and large rental units.
Polley's Mont Blanc Villas and Residences in Halifax won a North
American award for best development of its kind.
"It's not practical, it's not feasible. Unfortunately I think something
like that would kill the fragile condo construction industry that we
have in the city here now."
Polley said the condo industry in Atlantic Canada is just too small to
have any kind of regional plan to make sure condo buyers are protected
from shoddy construction. He thinks insurance would be a no-go as well.
"This isn't the sort of risk that insurance companies want to get into
insuring in the first place," said Polley.
Like Cruickshanks, Polley believes people should do their research
before they buy a condo.
"It's no different from buying a car or any other sort of major asset.
Somebody shouldn't be overly comfortable buying a condo unit from
somebody, that it's their first building or they have no proven track
record. Or if they have a track record they should be checked out to
make sure they're reputable"
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