WATCH ABOVE: A Mississauga woman who bought a pre-construction condominium says she was misled by sales representatives who promised a view of the park. Now, as Sean O’Shea reports, she is staring at a tall tangle of natural gas pipes outside her window and balcony door.
MISSISSAUGA — Fariba Hatami was among the first customers to buy a pre-construction, low-rise Mississauga condominium in 2012. For $473,000 she says she was promised an unobstructed view.
Now, Hatami faces a giant jumble of natural gas pipes and valves a few metres from her windows and balcony door.
“This is not where I want to live,” says a dejected Hatami, who says she was shocked to find the permanent structure positioned squarely in front of her unit.
The school teacher and yoga instructor says she was charged a “premium” by the sales representative for the corner unit, which is just under 1,000 square feet in size.
The gas structure was installed by Enbridge, Inc., an energy distribution company, in consultation with VANDYK Corporation, which is developing the Windows on the Green project on Erin Mills Parkway.
Customers who buy pre-construction condominium units can’t be sure if they’ll have utility services nearby, or in full view, until the project nears completion.
Purchase agreements give developers the right to make changes to the project as they see fit, often without advance warning to consumers.
“My client has adhered to all building codes and utility requirements,” Bruce Milburn, a lawyer representing VANDYK said in a letter.
“[The purchaser] shall have absolutely no claim or cause of action against the Vendor for any such changes.”
VANDYK refuses to give Hatami the option to cancel her purchase agreement because of the unexpected arrival of the natural gas pipe structure.
The builder also declined to offer another unsold unit in the development, or to reduce the price of Hatami’s unit in any way.
Hatami says she was misled about the view when she purchased the unit, referring to the conversation she had with the sales representative in 2012.
“I asked what’s going to be built here and she says ‘park view’,” said Hatami.
But Domenic Zita, president of VANDYK Commercial, says his company’s representatives are always forthright.
“When we’re asked specific questions about specific things we try to answer them and answer to the best of our ability,” he said.
“We try to do the best we can to mitigate this.”
Zita told Global News VANDYK worked with Enbridge to move the gas pipe structure farther from Hatami’s unit than was originally planned.
He says he was “surprised about the size” of the structure when it was installed.
“It could have been one foot high, two feet high or half its size.”
But Hatami is frustrated with the company’s responses, saying had she been told about the utility placement, she would never have bought the unit.
“I had three and a half years to find something else,” she said.
In addition to loss of enjoyment of the condo, Hatami says she is worried about whether her unit is safe given the proximity of the pipes to her open windows.
She has raised concerns with the city of Mississauga, the Technical Standards and Safety Authority and Enbridge.
She also says real estate agents have told her the resale value of the unit will be diminished because of the natural gas pipe structure.
Zita disagrees. He says his company is “working with Hatami” and will create landscaping around the structure to improve her view.
But Hatami doesn’t believe it will make any difference.
“If this is a good thing, why don’t they take it back and sell it for more?”
Comments