Phone Call: PDI Appointment!!

[smartsexystylish]

YAY!
We've reached the second last hurdle! Our PDI is scheduled for Tuesday Feb 3rd - The day before we close!!!

I asked isn't that cutting it close? And they said yes, as they are having problems with AYA.
I then told them about an issue we noticed that I know they wouldn't have time to fix in one day, so this gives them a couple days to work on it and have it fixed for our PDI.

Happy and sad at the same time lol

[justmed]

did you decide to bring somebody with you?

at least its not the day of close :rolleyes:

[smartsexystylish]

No, not going to bring anyone with us but will definitely have an inspector come in before the 1 year mark!

HAHA I honestly, I thought it was it was going to be the morning of closing!!! Close enough though.

They were missing one of our ensuite cabinet doors and our drawer pull out in the kitchen, so maybe those certain pieces are the delayed ones from AYA?

[Greg]

AYA does seem to be having some troubles. They've had to come back twice to fix things in our kitchen and they'll have to be back at least once more.

[smartsexystylish]

lovely lol

I hoping we get all of our stuff in by the time we close.

I'm going to have to take a close look at my cabinetry to make sure it's not damaged. :s

[anxious_f]

In AYA's defense, they didn't have very long to plan for the jobs on the homes that closed earliest, after they stepped in to fill in the Canac orders. I've heard nothing but good things about them and I'm sure that they will take of things.

[smartsexystylish]

Oh no, I'm not saying anything bad about AYA. We thought all along that they would have a challenge completing all the additional orders given to them when Canac closed down.
I think AYA is offering better quality then Canac offered :)

[justmed]

how'd it go?

[jrb]

Hi Smart,

Let us know how it went..............send more pics...lol

Jason

[babymaeby]

We all want to know....

[smartsexystylish]

how'd it go?


Hi Smart,

Let us know how it went..............send more pics...lol

Jason


We all want to know....


HAHA Hey everyone!
Sorry to keep you waiting. we had a million things to do after the PDI and we just got home not too long ago :)
The PDI went pretty good. Nothing too big really (Thankfully!) A Lot was cosmetic touch-ups such as dents, gouges, Slices in baseboards and trim and stuff like that needed touch ups. We pointed out a couple dents and scratches on our hardwood that will be fixed. They still needed to install our Micro hood fan. Also they are removing the recessed valance and putting in the flush like we ordered (we didn't even notice this until I asked how come the valance wasn't screwed in all the way, and he told us he was removing it) LOL I can't believe we missed that one!
Couple of scuffs/nicks on my soaker tub that they will try to repair (other wise replace)
Other than that, pretty good I guess.
We were a little confused at some points as we pointed out some items to Rocky and then he would direct it to the worker following behind us, and then other times he told us to just tell the worker and it just kept going back and forth (So we didn't know who we should point the cosmetic stuff too lol) We just kept pointing it out to who ever was closer. That worked. They didn't go too much in depth about how the furnace, HRV, Hot Water Tank, other than here is how to turn it on and off.... We'll read through the manuals later (Was expecting them to go through it as I read on the Tarion website that this will be done *shrugs*)
In the kitchen we upgraded to a door pull out and it didn't have a handle on the door of it. We asked about it and he's like yea it doesn't come with a handle but as a courtesy I'm going to install one for you... I was thinking how can a door pull out not come with a handle?? Found that a little odd.
Then we asked about workers on site and their hours. He said they start around 6:30am until about 5pm. Then I asked about weekend workers. He told me that there is no workers on the weekend except for framers (Ummmm, Yea I've seen TONS of workers on the weekend!!) So I found that a little odd.
Overall pretty good. Don't think they will get everything done before we close tomorrow. The way he was making it seem is that we will be getting our keys late tomorrow (because of the amount of things needing to get fixed) :(

Ohhhhh and one last thing - For those who's houses are flipped - DOUBLE CHECK EVERYTHING!!!
They installed our hose bib on the wrong side of the house! They installed it where it was if our house wasn't flipped... Mentioned this today on the PDI and he didn't really believe me that we had put it on the opposite side of the house. We didn't bother to have it moved to where we originally wanted it as I didn't want them drilling another hole into our house and have to patch up the old one.

Edit: What does a door pull out mean to you? Just want to know what you think it is vs what I thought it was. (Thanks!)

[K.C.]

Ohhhhh and one last thing - For those who's houses are flipped - DOUBLE CHECK EVERYTHING!!!
They installed our hose bib on the wrong side of the house! They installed it where it was if our house wasn't flipped... Mentioned this today on the PDI and he didn't really believe me that we had put it on the opposite side of the house. We didn't bother to have it moved to where we originally wanted it as I didn't want them drilling another hole into our house and have to patch up the old one.

The guy who didn't believe you ... without mentioning names, is he the one that smiles too much? I don't know what his deal is but I don't think he's an expert on construction.

[smartsexystylish]

The guy who didn't believe you ... without mentioning names, is he the one that smiles too much? I don't know what his deal is but I don't think he's an expert on construction.

lol I kinda already mentioned his name above :P and I barely saw any smiles out of him until he was leaving haha So I don't think we're talking about the same person.

[K.C.]

Oh you mean Rocky. No we're not talking about the same person.

[smartsexystylish]

lol no sadly we're not... But I wish we were...

[justmed]

sounds like it went as well as it could

Have fun today :)

[babymaeby]

Happy closing day!!

(If there was a fireworks smiley, I'd be putting it right here)

[DanielleandCody]

Hey Smart!!!

Hope all went well and that you didn't get your keys too late!!!!! Oh and the pictures you posted look awesome!! I can't wait to see pictures with furniture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) Again I hope it went smoothly!! D

[smartsexystylish]

sounds like it went as well as it could

Have fun today :)


Happy closing day!!

(If there was a fireworks smiley, I'd be putting it right here)


Hey Smart!!!

Hope all went well and that you didn't get your keys too late!!!!! Oh and the pictures you posted look awesome!! I can't wait to see pictures with furniture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) Again I hope it went smoothly!! D

Haha Thanks everyone :)

It's been an interesting time taking possession yesterday! We got the phone call around 3pm to pick up the keys :) Not bad I guess

[LEON]

Welcome on board! Dion and Kevin.
Have you got Canada post call? My wife picked up the keys from Preston post office today for the mail box sitting at 95 Silverthorne Dr. I am busy with changing address now. To be interesting, I found Ontario service website won't accept our new post code, seems have to go to MTO office or mail out some form for health card address change. bank and CRA are easy to update the address ... Rogers website won't accept this new post code either, have to call....

[smartsexystylish]

Welcome on board! Dion and Kevin.
Have you got Canada post call? My wife picked up the keys from Preston post office today for the mail box sitting at 95 Silverthorne Dr. I am busy with changing address now. To be interesting, I found Ontario service website won't accept our new post code, seems have to go to MTO office or mail out some form for health card address change. bank and CRA are easy to update the address ... Rogers website won't accept this new post code either, have to call....


Thanks Leon!
Canada post hasn't contacted us yet. I want to call them. Did you guys call them or wait for them to contact you? I want to call but I don't know if I just call the 1-800 number and ask around lol.
Yea alot of places won't accept the new postal codes online, I've found that out the hard way also lol

[LEON]

What I did is call the 1-800 number, then received 2 calls from Canada Post, 1st time told me still need 1-2 weeks, then 2nd time someone from Preston post office called me saying the keys are ready for pick up.

[baldwinCoronation]

I'm so excited, my husband and I got our pdi appointment set for Tuesday. Our move in date is Wednesday!!! I thought this day would never come. I wasn't to pleased with the closing cost...almost $10,000!

[K.C.]

I'm so excited, my husband and I got our pdi appointment set for Tuesday. Our move in date is Wednesday!!! I thought this day would never come. I wasn't to pleased with the closing cost...almost $10,000!


Ouch! See I knew it ... everything costs $10,000!

[baldwinCoronation]

yeah, just over $10000.00. I was extpecting around the $8000 mark but wasn't too happy when we got our final number. We have a 43 foot lot.

[K.C.]

Would you mind detailing what the costs were? I want to be prepared. Of course you don't have to ... it's a bit too personal.

[smartsexystylish]

I'm so excited, my husband and I got our pdi appointment set for Tuesday. Our move in date is Wednesday!!! I thought this day would never come. I wasn't to pleased with the closing cost...almost $10,000!


Congrats BaldwinCoronation :)
Because you're doing your PDI the day before you close, I would highly recommend check everything thoroughly. Plus you will most likely notice that they won't complete everything for the next day - I don't want to scare you but that's what happened to us. Every 3rd item was put on our PDI list and when we went back the next day we were angry that everything that was said would be done for the next day wasn't (and in some cases still isn't) completed! Some items they told us it wouldn't be ready for x amount of days and I was fine with that but other things (ie. our microwave hood fan) was supposed to be installed the following day and it wasn't... and not for quite some time after that too - But that's a whole other story lol

Good luck! and don't let them rush you!!!

And Ouch, for the closing costs!! That's quite high! Did you cap your levies or put alot of upgrades in? I know that the grand total of the cost of the home is calculated for land transfer tax (And that's what made ours high!)

[baldwinCoronation]

Thanks, I will be very happy to move in on Wednesday!!!! We didn`t cap our levies, but they were exaclty what Mattamy said they would be. We paid almost 4000 just in land transfer, the mattamy levies 2600 and change and then the tax component and a few other things. I thought it was really high. My husband and I will be very picky on our PDI, as this is our second builder home and we kind of know what to expect and what will take longer. I was not impressed that the pdi is only a day before close, with our last home it was 10 day before(but they still didn`t finish on time). See you all at Mill Pond!!!!!! Happy Valentines Day tomorrow and enjoy the long weekend!

[K.C.]

My husband just calculated our land transfer tax is going to be about $6200. I guess we'll be looking at closing costs over $12,000! Ahhhhh!

That coupled with the fact that the real estate market tanked after we bought our Mattamy house and we weren't able to sell our house for what we thought we could last Spring really hurts. I'm going to have to learn how to cook to save some money!

[anxious_f]

That coupled with the fact that the real estate market tanked after we bought our Mattamy house and we weren't able to sell our house for what we thought we could last Spring really hurts.

Same thing happened to us. We got about $7000 less than we had expected that we would get at this time, when we bought last January. If we had wanted to fish for it, we likely would have gotten it, but we didn't want to risk our house sitting on the market for months. That $7000 would have gotten eaten up pretty quickly that way anyway. That's been the difference from us paying off most of our debt when we moved in, to barely having enough to cover out costs.

I really hope Mattamy gives us a bit more notice on our PDI. It seems that quite a few people have only had 1 or 2 days notice on it.

[K.C.]

I really hope Mattamy gives us a bit more notice on our PDI. It seems that quite a few people have only had 1 or 2 days notice on it.

We're not too concerned about how long they take to fix things just as long as they do since we all work at home. There are going to be workers in and out of my house for 5 weeks finishing the basement anyway.

I'm going to hire a company that does new home inspections before the 30 days are up as well as just before the 1 year. I think the cost will be worth it ... although additional cost is the last thing we need right now.

We'd hoped to be able to pay off all our credit card debt too but with finishing the basement right away and having to do that with our own money it's going to get a little too tight for comfort.

This was supposed to be such an easy transition because at the time that we bought things were looking rosy. Have you ever seen things turn so ugly so fast?! And we may have got out just in time ...

We're still happy that we bought because this really is our dream house in a dream location.

[Rachel125]

doesn't finishing your basement before the 2 year mark void the warranty on the foundation I'm pretty sure that I read that in all the papers that we got...I would really wait on finishing the basement either way tho when the foundation settles you are going to get cracks and holes in your drywall and then you have to re paint

[K.C.]

I confirmed with the construction staff at Mattamy that finishing the basement will NOT void the warranty. We don't plan to do a drywall basement so there will be no cracking or paint to worry about. Almost all of the construction materials we'll be using are waterproof. We've considered everything that could go wrong and will have proper insurance coverage in the event of a foundation leak.

Also the layout of our basement will allow for access to almost 100% of the outside walls so fixing any issues with the foundation will be easy. We just pull the panels down, let Mattamy fix it, and then put them back up ... I could do it myself.

We've researched this thoroughly and don't feel we're taking a financial risk since the only real problem we could have is water leakage and that will be covered by insurance. You do need proper insurance and most insurance companies don't offer the type of coverage you would need but ours does.

I like to live on the edge but I'm not a complete fool. :)

[Rachel125]

o right on then it shouldn't be a problem

[A&O]

This was supposed to be such an easy transition because at the time that we bought things were looking rosy. Have you ever seen things turn so ugly so fast?! And we may have got out just in time ...

We're still happy that we bought because this really is our dream house in a dream location.

K.C. We couldn't agree with you more! Who could have forseen that all of this financial craziness would happen? But the move to Cambridge with our crazy view of Hespeler Village and the Mill Pond is seriously one of a kind, and we can't wait to move. Even if it does mean waiting a little bit after the move to afford some of the bling we want! :)

[K.C.]

Even if it does mean waiting a little bit after the move to afford some of the bling we want! :)

I think these days you're a very lucky person if delaying some bling is your biggest problem. :)

[anxious_f]

We received our call today for our PDI next Friday. Lets hope it goes well.

[smartsexystylish]

Congrats and Good luck :)
At least you have a couple days between your PDI and taking possession so that's good!

[JFiolek]

We have ours Tuesday @ 11am we close Wednesday

[smartsexystylish]

We have ours Tuesday @ 11am we close Wednesday

Oh Good Luck Jason!
I really hope it goes well for you guys. I disliked having our PDI the day before closing as barely nothing was completed for when we moved in - and the house wasn't cleaned at all....
I honestly hope your experience is way better than ours!

[JFiolek]

Oh Good Luck Jason!
I really hope it goes well for you guys. I disliked having our PDI the day before closing as barely nothing was completed for when we moved in - and the house wasn't cleaned at all....
I honestly hope your experience is way better than ours!

I doubt I will I dropped by yesterday and we still don't have a counter top, $15000.00 for upgrades in the kitchen and nothing is finished. It's also still a mess.

[K.C.]

I disliked having our PDI the day before closing as barely nothing was completed for when we moved in - and the house wasn't cleaned at all....

If my house is a mess when I close I'm calling my lawyer and telling him not to release the funds to Mattamy! If they want my money they better hire a cleaning service. If they don't, I'm going to continue staying at the hotel and they can pay for it.

I can wait for a few things to be fixed but they better have all my upgrades installed and the house perfectly clean.

Mill Pond is supposed to be a model community. They better get their act together when it comes to customer service or they're going to have even more open spaces in the community than they had planned.

I'm so disturbed by some of the things I've read from people who are currently closing that I'm going to call my lawyer in advance and find out what my options are on closing day if the house isn't acceptable.

They're behaving like a company that is short on cash and gasping for air ... they're not going to get mine without earning it.

[anxious_f]

I think that I will try to contact Todd at the construction office and let him know that I have been through the house through this entire process and that there are some major items that need to be taken care of before our PDI. There are a couple of issues that would pose a major inconvenience to us if they had to fix them after close.

1) There is a tile that was "cut" to get around the toilet water line in the powder room and has a HUGE piece missing from it. They have already installed the toilet and quarter round over top of the tile and in order to replace it, they would have to remove the toilet and the quarter round cut out the tile, remove the glue from the subfloor, replace the tile (allowing enough time for the mastic to dry before re-grouting), re-grout, and then replace the toilet and quarter round. This wouldn't be a quick fix and since we have visitors coming to stay with us two weeks after we move in, I want it done before then.

2) The carpet from the upstairs hallway doesn't transition well to the carpet to bedroom 2. It looks like they installed the carpet for bedroom 2 in the wrong direction. It's really obvious and looks very awkward.

Aside from that, there just seems to be a lot of patch and paint work that needs to get done, but I'm sure will be taken care of this week.

[K.C.]

The combination of:

1) decreasing housing starts due to lack of sales ... the percentage decrease seems to go up every single day ... 22% ... 25% ... 31% ... here comes 40%! ... can you say job losses?
2) inability of existing Mill Pond buyers to close and actually move in, the buyers have now become Mattamy competitors because they're selling their new homes instead of their existing ones
3) decreasing prices on resale homes
4) Mattamy customer service department's inability to understand what the words customer service mean

are going to lead to a death spiral that will be difficult to get out of.

Providing good customer service is the only thing Mattamy actually has control of ... why aren't they working harder? I think someone needs to get fired like right now so they can be replaced by someone who actually knows what they're doing.

[newhomeowner]

agreed KC. their customer service is terrible.....to the point that I don't think I will never buy a Mattamy home again....or recommend one. My experience so far has been not pleasent.

[gagnon777]

Well, I have to say that we've had nothing but a pleasant experience with Mattamy so far. Our first home was Mattamy and there were awesome/responsive, so yes we went with them again in Mill Pond. The team has responded to us very quickly and resolved any issues we've had thus far.

I'm guessing not everyone is being treated the same, which is unfortunate, but I will say that we've been quite happy with Mattamy.

[K.C.]

I'm guessing not everyone is being treated the same, which is unfortunate, but I will say that we've been quite happy with Mattamy.

I'm very happy for you and glad that at least it is possible to get good customer service from them even if it is intermittent.

My experience with Mattamy is that it's like dealing with a person with a bipolar disorder.

The construction guys are awesome ... I'm very impressed with how responsive they are.

The customer service people treat you with disdain almost right from the start. I think if they're looking to save some money they should just fire the whole customer service department. I have no use for them ... in fact I made sure I lost their number. Whenever I have a problem I call the construction office because I know the issue will get resolved. If I call customer service I know I'm going to have to increase my blood pressure medication.

[Rachel125]

I have noticed that they are really sloppy with their work and they will be doing quite a few fix ups...like little holes in the walls behind our stair banister the knee wall wasn't even sanded before they painted it. they made cuts in the back of our cupboards for outlets for the over the range microwave and it is so sloppy that my four year old could have don a better job...our basement stairs are so un level....our stair banister has paint brush Bristol's through out it....

[K.C.]

I have noticed that they are really sloppy with their work and they will be doing quite a few fix ups...like little holes in the walls behind our stair banister the knee wall wasn't even sanded before they painted it. they made cuts in the back of our cupboards for outlets for the over the range microwave and it is so sloppy that my four year old could have don a better job...our basement stairs are so un level....our stair banister has paint brush Bristol's through out it....

I think their construction quality is sometimes hit and miss. I think there are two reasons for this. First they are doing everything super fast because they need to close on time so they can get the money they desperately need. The other reason is that they use alot of different subcontractors. Some of them are great and some of them totally suck.

[Rachel125]

I just wonder why they are rushing with min tho cause I close in 6 weeks and the only thing left for them to do is lay the carpet and pu the closet doors on...

[gagnon777]

I have noticed that they are really sloppy with their work and they will be doing quite a few fix ups...like little holes in the walls behind our stair banister the knee wall wasn't even sanded before they painted it. they made cuts in the back of our cupboards for outlets for the over the range microwave and it is so sloppy that my four year old could have don a better job...our basement stairs are so un level....our stair banister has paint brush Bristol's through out it....


To be honest Rachel, you'll get the sloppy-ness with any builder. It's the contractors. I've had many friends build homes with other builders and it's the same stuff. Mattamy is no different. It's just unfortunate with what we get, but at the same time... everyone else in other communities get the same.

[K.C.]

That is strange. Somebody must have their wires crossed and not realize your closing date is not that close. Consider yourself lucky ... you can get all your issues fixed in time for closing. Start making lists and submitting them even now instead of waiting for your PDI.

[babymaeby]

I just wonder why they are rushing with min tho cause I close in 6 weeks and the only thing left for them to do is lay the carpet and pu the closet doors on...

I think there are two completely separate teams building the townhomes vs. the detached. Seems to me like the townhomes are much further ahead. We don't close till March 31 and we could practically move in next week if we could, the house is nearly done.

[anxious_f]

Well, I have to say that we've had nothing but a pleasant experience with Mattamy so far. Our first home was Mattamy and there were awesome/responsive, so yes we went with them again in Mill Pond. The team has responded to us very quickly and resolved any issues we've had thus far.

I'm guessing not everyone is being treated the same, which is unfortunate, but I will say that we've been quite happy with Mattamy.

I think that a large part of this comes from how you approach the people in customer service. These people spend ALL DAY listening to home buyers bitch and whine about things, so they are not as responsive to people demanding that things get done "immediately...or else".

I think that if you approach them fairly and patiently, that they are much more responsive. I know that I have done a bit of venting on here regarding some things that I was told could not be fixed, but these were in large part minor issues. Any major issues that I have brought to their attention have been dealt with quickly and fairly, regardless of whether it was the construction group or the customer service group. In fact, they changed the construction of the Thompson A's in the community because of a design issue that I brought to their attention.

As mentioned before, EVERY high volume builder has quality issues. The difference is in how responsive the builder is to correcting these. Keep in mind that Mattamy doesn't need to allow anyone into their homes for any reason, nor do they need to correct issues before you close, since the property is their's until closing. They allow people in and correct issues as they go as a means of customer service.

[babymaeby]

Just got a call...we're set up for next Friday at 1:30.

[smartsexystylish]

Just got a call...we're set up for next Friday at 1:30.


YAY!

Good to see that you are getting more than one day between your PDI and closing :)

[justmed]

Just got a call...we're set up for next Friday at 1:30.

us too... not sure the time though... Diane doesnt tell me anything ;)

[K.C.]

Good you guys got some decent notice. Probably things will go smoothly for you.

[smartsexystylish]

us too... not sure the time though... Diane doesnt tell me anything ;)

Congrats to you too :)

[gagnon777]

YEAH! We go Monday at 2pm (a couple days before we close). Gunna go this weekend to make our list of things that need to be fixed.

7 days until we get our keys... 9 days until we move in!

[smartsexystylish]

YEAH! We go Monday at 2pm (a couple days before we close). Gunna go this weekend to make our list of things that need to be fixed.

7 days until we get our keys... 9 days until we move in!


YAY! Congrats Karen :)

Kevin and I went up the weekend prior to make a list also! Makes it alot easier to complete the PDI when you have gone though the house at your lesuire!

[justmed]

our house is locked up real tight... even the windows last week...

not that my pregnant wife would be able to boost me through the window anyays:D

I'd love to get through it, nobody is around on weekends and we cant make it during the week... oh well.

[gagnon777]

our house is locked up real tight... even the windows last week...

not that my pregnant wife would be able to boost me through the window anyays:D

I'd love to get through it, nobody is around on weekends and we cant make it during the week... oh well.



We've been super lucky. The patio door has been unlocked this whole time. Hoping that it still is this weekend!!!!

[anxious_f]

our house is locked up real tight... even the windows last week...

not that my pregnant wife would be able to boost me through the window anyays:D

I'd love to get through it, nobody is around on weekends and we cant make it during the week... oh well.

If you have one of the keypad entry locks on your garage man door to the house, program it and you will always have a way in.

I noticed that close to our closing, they would always have the doors locked after hours. I came in one day while the house was empty, but before they locked up, put some batteries into the lock, programmed a code and went on my way. They never checked it I guess, because I was able to use it every evening that I cam by and the doors were locked. The garage roll up door was ALWAYS open.

[smartsexystylish]

If you have one of the keypad entry locks on your garage man door to the house, program it and you will always have a way in.

I noticed that close to our closing, they would always have the doors locked after hours. I came in one day while the house was empty, but before they locked up, put some batteries into the lock, programmed a code and went on my way. They never checked it I guess, because I was able to use it every evening that I cam by and the doors were locked. The garage roll up door was ALWAYS open.

You sir, are a genius! :D

[justmed]

thats a great idea... wish I had thought of it before.

PDI is Friday so I'll just be patient as I can