HawthorneVillager.com

Thank you for all your posts. I guess I'll have to remain positive and not read so much into the negative. I'll be the judge after we move in.

Thanks all again!

Lisi, nothing in life tends to be perfect, so sure, you may have some issues with your new home but hopefully, since it's a Mattamy, it should only be minor. I'm in HVE Phase one and although I find Mattamy not as great as my first Mattamy home from 4 years back, they are still good, especially in comparison to some builders in the area like Coscorp. I find that yes, the tradesmen are retards for the mostpart as they have little respect for your investment, but Mattamy tends to deal with their screw-ups (which hopefully will only be minor). People on here will tell you your house should be given to you in perfect condition. Well that isn't going to happen with mass produced homes. If you want that, go find a custom home builder. Good luck with your Mattamy home.

We are also very happy with our home. There were a few problems, but they were fixed, just like they said they would be. I have one of the first factory built homes, and this is the most solid house I've ever been in.

I heard something directly from a mattamy employee: They strive to keep happy customers happy. The complainers are viewed as lost causes, and a waste of their time since some (not all, of course) are the kind that'll complain no matter what.

There are going to be problems with any and every house, no matter who is building it. (notice the coscorp threads)

My complaints about mattamy have nothing to do with the homes. I hate the tied selling that they try in the design centre (e.g. If you don't pay us thousands to stain your stairs, we'll seal it to make it difficult to do on your own later). I also think that the delays aren't acceptable.

4 weeks after our closing, I have to say that Mattamy has a long way to go to prove their reputation to us. So far, they have done very good job in proving their incompetence.
I suggest that if you are closing this year, get familiar with following scenario:
1. Mattamy promises they will come and fix something the next day.
2. you come home the next day, and find out that nothing was done
3. you call Mattamy, and again they promise you that they will come and fix something the next day
4. you come home the next day, and find out that nothing was done
5. you call Mattamy, and again they promise you that they will come and fix something the next day
6. you come home the next day, and find out that nothing was done
7. you call Mattamy, and again they promise you that they will come and fix something the next day
8. you come home the next day, and find out that nothing was done
9. you call Mattamy, and again they promise you that they will come and fix something the next day

...... and this will go on for several weeks

_________________

Calling them all the time won't help the situation. Unless it is something major I would just note it on your 30 day. This is why you pay tarion a fee. If they don't fix what needs to be fixed tarion will make sure this gets done. It's a pain and it shouldn't have to go that route but unfortunately sometimes it does.

I have found Mattamy to be fantastic. They always return my calls promptly. If I have an issue, they immediately set up a time to come and fix it (sometimes the same day). They always show up when they say and everyone I have dealt with seems to be very focused on customer satisfaction. I don't have a single complaint about them and I have found that they have gone out of their way to make me happy. ....and I am a picky bastard too!

_________________
Paul Meredith
Mortgage Broker
CityCan Financial (est 1976)
416-409-8009
http://www.easy123mortgage.ca
paulm@citycan.com
Lic#10532

Follow me on Twitter! http://www.twitter.com/paulmeredith

We are very happy with Mattamy and their service. I have called them when I have four or five things that need attention. They cannot come constantly for every little thing. We missed the one year inspection but they came two weeks later, no question. Gabe, the service repairman, is wonderful. He has tried to do all repairs and when he cannot, Mattamy gets a professional tradesman

In our opinion far exceeds other builders in the quality and service of their homes.

Jeanne

_________________
Jeanne Reid
Creative Artisans Craft Shows

We are very happy and we closed April 08.

I think it seems like the Michael Jackson syndrome. Those who were in the original HV are like the Thriller album - Great work done by Mattamy. Those, today, in HVE are more like the Black or White (and onwards) album... Trying to live up to the success of the past, but will never be the same.

I think we all can agree that Mattamy was great in HV. As for today, it would be nice to have a poll to see what the majority in HVE phases 1-4 think... minus the baby dangling...

"Who's Bad?"

There are parts of our house that remind me plastic surgery of Michael Jackson's nose.

_________________

Yup, it's called the cement work around the foundation walls. Guaranteed to start cracking and falling off after 2 years

"Mattamy... Cuz I'm a SMOOOOOTH CRIMINAL"

I second this,.
I am waiting for my next home to be built by Mattamy closing Aug 14 2008.

My first home was built by another builder (not a bad builder), it was an OK home, but the builder never came back to fix the PDI item list. I sold the home 4 years later with items that still were not fixed by the builder.
They would not give me a screen for my patio door. They claim I already had one

Then I purchased a Mattamy home. A hole new experience compared to the other builder.

One example I had mud in the driveway at both homes

House #1 (Another builder)
I called to ask if they can fix this problem, they told me to go to the site behind my house and take (steal) some scrape wood and lay it on the ground around where I parked my cars. It took on year to get a paved drive way. Grass 2.5 years

House #2 (Mattamy)
I called to ask if they can fix this problem, they asked me if I can move my cars, and informed me someone will be there in 5 min. to pour new gravel. Problem solved. It took 2 months to get a paved driveway due to winter closing. Grass Closed in Feb got grass in May

From my experience if you have ever purchased a home from other companies, you would know and appreciate the mattamy difference.

Mattamy does try hard to please and does a lot of things to help us get to know our neighbors, I have never heard of a company that does park picnics, flower shows and provides the soil, petting zoo's, coloring contest the list can go on...

Don't forget the community that Mattamy builds always has a nearby park with grass and sidewalks that are finished before or shortly after your move. These usually are finished by the city so imagine how long you would wait for these luxuries if you purchased from another builder.

And the schools... Mattamy again, have you noticed, in previous phases Mattamy already has the schools for their students. These Schools are overloaded because the other builders did not build schools for their families. Unfortunately there has been some escarpment problems that has delayed the development of our schools at the escarpment. Rest assured Mattamy will have these schools build far before our neighbors across the way has theirs even on paper.

So maybe some people are having problems with there homes, very unfortunately for them. There are some problems in all companies, no business is perfect. In my eyes Mattamy does a pretty good job overall.I am very pleased with there service and their homes.

A happy second time Mattamy buyer

Well said.

I found the comments in this forum to be very interesting and probably quite true in regards to what happened. I must say though that I wasn't a complainer. Wish I had been or, as one person did, hire a house inspector. I would have hired him to monitor the construction but Mattamy probably won't let that happen. Nothing worse for a builder than a professional watching your house being built and giving you feedback.

I wish I could tell you the problems I had with my Mattamy but a gag order prevents me. Yes, Mattamy has a gag order on me. I complained the day of closing in that I had no electrical power and the furnace was illegally (code) wired that created a hazard for my young family. But then, the kind of complaint that Mattamy states only losers will make I guess.

Only thing I can recommend is hire a housing inspector at the beginning and make sure your lawyer is on top of everything that is happening and be nosey. If I had, I wouldn't have found the human feces in the basement upon moving in. And no, I did not bug them, complain about things prior to closing. If I had, my children might not have been put at risk.


Lance

http://oakvillehomes.wordpress.com/

So, the gag order isn't working apparently?