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Misleading information
- 3 business days before our closing date (which had been moved 3 times already), were were told by Thornwood Development Group that the only item missing to complete our home was a 'coil' for the furnace
- based on this and the fact that our solicitor had received their Statement of Adjustment, we went in to sign all the documents and provide the balance of payment, in trust, 2 business days before closing
- 2 days before closing, an appraiser attempted to go in to perfom an appraisal on the home which they believed to be complete with the exception of a coil for the furnace. As it turned out, the home was missing carpeting, painting, showers, toilets, kitchen cabinets, doors and knobs, fixtures, working light switches and yes, the furnace
- we contacted Thornwood regarding this misleading information and they did not respond, even after multiple requests by fax
- they also did not provide us with a new closing date despite our numerous requests
- we later found out that the the manufacturer of the furnace had in fact no pending order for coils at the time Thornwood was telling us that they were waiting for the manufacturer to deliver this coil.
No communication
- the latest iteration of our closing date was January 14 2009.
- as of January 21 2009, we received no new update on a new extended closing date, despite numerous requests (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th) by fax to their Head Office in Oakville
- we were basically ignored and not treated as customers about to pay over $300, 000 to them for a new home
- we never even received an acknowlegment that they received our request and we looking into it or anything of the sort, we were completely and repeatedly ignored
Delayed Closing
- Thornwood did not provide us with proper notice of delayed closing on 3 occasions. We were always left wondering.
- One time (closing date was December 19th), we had not received any notice and followed-up by phone on December 16th at which point, the person who answered could not provide us with an immediate update. This was 3 days before closing and we could not get an udpate and had to wait until the next day to get confirmation that the closing was once again, delayed
- On our most recent iteration of a closing date, January 14th, after our solicitor had received a Statement of Adjustments, that date came and went, with no word whatsoever from Thornwood about a new delayed closing
- Thornwood consistently failed to provide us with reasonable notice of a change in closing and did not care about not doing so.
In my opinion, Thornwood Development Group does not know a thing about professional, courteous service. Closing dates seem to be pulled out of the air. They have no problem ignoring requests for updates and information. Once the Purchase of Sale and Agreement is signed, they completely abuse their 'power' and take advantage of the protections given to them under the Ontario New Home Warranty.
This was by far the WORST experience for my husband and I. We no longer wanted to pay over $300, 000 to a company which treated us like nothing, a company which ignored us and our requests for updates and information without batting an eye and kept stalling our closing date and misleading us about the reasons why there was a delay. I would never, ever recommend this builder to anyone due to the complete lack of customer service and lack respect.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I completely agree on EVERYTHING that you said! We too had many many times of insufficient notice, including a time when there were 2 days left and on driving by we could peek in and see that it was not done, and it was us chasing them down for 3 days before we got a confirmation letter that w were being pushed back. After closing our home had SO many things wrong...I have sent you a direct message, because I would like to hear more.
We are also having difficulties with this builder, we are close to "moving in". We will definitely use this forum to post our experiences.
We have been trying to get some information from Thornwood which our mortgage broker needs but unfortunatly this builder never returns my calls, emails, or faxes. I have resent the same fax twice now and still no answer. Although I have been able to reach their receptionist it seems like the last time I called it was as like I was talking to myself. As soon as they had my deposits they completey ignored us, at one point we thought they had abandoned the entire project and scammed me out of my hard earned deposit. We are trying to be as positve as we can with this being our first home but they're making it very unpleasant! If we could back-out of this purchase we would do so in a second. I would not recommend this builder to anyone. To be continued...
My husband and I also had an AWFUL experience with Thornwood Development Group Inc.
We purchased a townhouse from Thornwood in 2007 and from then on until April 2009 it was dealing with one disaster after another.
Once they had our deposit and money for upgrades the customer service disappeared! At times we were even treated rudely by the office staff and like our questions were not allowed. Any time we had an issue it was either ignored or brushed off like it was no big deal.
We were delayed without proper notice SIX(6) TIMES! For our last closing date delay we had already sold our house and had nowhere to go. We had packed all of our belongings and had to put them in storage units while the delays continued for another 5+ months. During this whole process our attempts at communication with the office, owner and controller were continuously ignored. It would sometimes take weeks to get a reply from our emails, phone calls, faxes and even requests from our solicitor were completely ignored. This was emotionally and financially devastating to us, but Thornwood did not care.
Thornwood outright lied to us. Beware of anything they tell you, it is most likely false or not the whole story. We were told Hydro was going to be installed many times. We contacted Burlington Hydro ourselves on several occasions and they gave us completely different information than what Thornwood had been telling us. When we asked Thornwood what was going on with the delays they would blame everything on Burlington Hydro or something else. It was never Thornwood's fault that things were not going as planned. Ha!
When we did get any type of communication from Thornwood it was a delay in our closing date (again) or telling us that something else had gone wrong with the construction process. After many requests to meet face to face to discuss the progress of our townhouse we found out that the business had been sold and the previous owner (David Gowans) was no longer in charge. Things went from bad to worse quickly after that. The last closing date we were given was on a statutory holiday and when we pointed out that we couldn’t close on a holiday (as this is illegal), we were ignored. Our last closing date came and went with no communication from Thornwood.
Finally our day 120 came and we legally exited our purchase agreement with Thornwood. We again made multiple attempts to get our deposit money and upgrade money back. We contacted Tarion and lawyers and did research on our own. Finally, about 2 months later we did receive our money back (after going to the Thornwood office in person and demanding it). The Controller, Manuel Botelho, gave us many excuses as to why we didn't get our money sooner and what had been going on with the construction. Apparently there is a new owner now who is just as careless as the previous one.
Miscellaneous Info:
1. In the beginning stages of construction we spotted mould on our drywall, we mentioned this to Thornwood and they acted like this was common and no problem. After we pushed them for action, we were assured by the site supervisor at the time that they would spray the mould with a mould killer & prime over it. They would not replace the drywall as we requested. We were not happy with this, but there was nothing we could do. Shortly after this we were warned to stay off the construction site by Thornwood and told it was illegal for us to be there. Ha! Coincidence? I think not.
2. We had numerous upgrades we paid for upfront that were not done properly (bathroom tiles installed wrong, bathroom vanity did not fit, shower doors not installed properly, etc. Some things were addressed, others just ignored).
3. The sales person, Marcella, who initially sold us our unit was the only person who would give us information during the construction process. Many times she gave us information when the office would divulge nothing. For quite a while we thought she was helping us and on our side, but sadly it seems she was just trying to get us to hang on despite the multiple delays. The person in the office who was supposed to be our point of contact was Jennifer Byers. I have nothing positive to say about our experiences with her.
Lessons we learned the hard way:
1. Thornwood does not honor their agreements
2. Thornwood ignores repeated attempts at communication (customer service is not a priority)
3. Thornwood will give you many reasons why your home is not ready/in good condition, but many of these reasons may be false
4. Thornwood will keep your money as long as they can get away with it, even after the contract has been exited legally
5. If you ever get involved in another purchase agreement, use a highly recommended solicitor that can customize your contract to give you an out if the builder keeps delaying. My husband and I lost a lot of money on this deal (had to pay out of pocket for storage fees, rent for temporary housing, moving costs - twice, etc.) None of these losses will be recovered from Tarion or Thornwood.
I feel for those of you who are already involved with this company in a legally binding contract. I truly hope you can exit your deals and move onto better things. If you want to know how we did it, just ask me. If it is too late and you are stuck living there already, then good luck to you - you will need it! For anyone considering doing business with Thornwood - BEWARE.
If anyone would like more information or if you have questions, I would be happy to chat with you. Just send me a message. I'm also curious to hear from any of you about your ongoing situations.
Kind regards.
Yep, we've had issues with them as well. Of course, they're now known as "Thornwood Homes", "AMR Homes" and "Wilkinson Construction", so God knows what is going on with that company right now.
All I know is, we were told ON THE DAY OF OCCUPANCY that we could not move in. Thank God we were planning on moving in the next day, and thank God enough came together in time so we didn't have to be homeless. But imagine showing up for your final inspection only to get a call as you pull into the complex saying, "uh, yeah, your house isn't finished." Then walking into your house and seeing it literally isn't even CLOSE.
We've been living here for half a year and pretty much every single issue that existed when we moved in is still at large and hasn't been addressed. We've gotten a few excuses, but in general we've gotten nothing at all. I'll call or email and no one will respond. It's fascinating.
If I have any advice at all for folks moving into a Thornwood Development/AMR Homes/Thornwood Homes/Wilkinson Construction house, it is: GET A HOME INSPECTOR. Pay the couple of hundred bucks and have a house inspector go over every single inch of your place from top to bottom. I didn't, and I regret it. I'm still finding things, especially now that the weather is better and I can get a good look at the outside of the house, that were never finished or even attempted to be done right. Holes in the house? I've got 5. 5 random holes in the walls that lead outside for no rhyme or reason, and it appears no one is willing to cover them. No WONDER my gas bill is so high!
GET A HOME INSPECTOR so you can fill in your 30-day form properly. Of course, your 30-day form will be completely ignored by the builder, but at least Tarion can hopefully step in when the waiting period is up and force them to fix what they can.
Dont know about thornwood development group But i have bought a home with AMR home and so far they have responded to all my queries efficiently . closing went smoothly and even 1 mth Tarion warranty problems were fixed within a week .