COLCO NEWS RELEASE

Ian Waddel, MP tours Cressey's largest leaky condo site
MP will be joining picketers in front of Cressey Development Corp's sales office

On July 15, Ian Waddel was invited to lead the latest round of leaky condo meetings in his constituency and receive a box of letters. The people attending that meeting represented only the latest of about 500 families along Marine Drive that are about to face financial devastation. During the meeting he heard how many people were tired of being told the "buyer beware" story and that in some way that they were responsible for the terrible ruination that was about to occur in their lives.  These people felt that they shouldn't be required to bear the costs of all the defects that the developer's had left their homes with.  They are resentful that federal and provincial law has combined to prevent them from obtaining any effective remedy against anyone despite the multiple failures at almost every step of the construction process.  They are angry that a wide number of contributory companies and governments continue to enjoy legal statutory protection.  One woman stated that a grocery store faced more accountability if a customer accidentally bought a litre of sour milk than did home owners making the biggest purchase of their lives.

Ian Waddel heard how the leaky condo problem was not a defect that the average purchaser could protect him/herself against by any means easily within their reach. All these condo owners bought their homes knowing that these purchases were subject to the usual planning, regulatory and inspection procedures at various government levels. In fact for many, the multiple family unit was the only relatively affordable type of housing available to them in his Vancouver constituency.  They bought into them precisely because their resources were limited and their assets few.  Now these partly poor will be forced to bear the loss as a matter of law.

Mr. Waddel along with several reporters went to a 184 unit, five-year-old development that had been made by Cressey Development Corp.  There he heard of the years spent negotiating with Cressey attempting to get the company to remit on it's building warranty.  The Cressey Company warranty had been offered in addition to the now defunct New Home Warranty.  It had been offered as a selling ploy to persuade the nervous that they had additional viable protection.  Indeed there is no dollar liability limit stated on the defects covered within the warranty and the leaks were reported to Cressey well within the time limitations. 

"That is the trouble with warranties that are offered by, administrated by, and paid for by the developer," says the picketing leaky condo owners.  "You are forced to rely on the honesty and integrity of the developer when it comes to paying out the money.  Naturally it is in Cressey's best interest to belittle the magnitude of the terrible damage caused by poor building envelope design and refuse a payout that will rectify the problem permanently.  Cressey is only looking far enough ahead to get out from under their warranty obligations.  That means a cheap fix that will last only until the warranty expires. That way they can make sure that most of the problem is stuck in our pocket book."

Mr. Waddel offered to join the many owners who are running an information picket at Cressey Development Corp's latest development, the Hamptons in Richmond to advise potential purchasers how Cressey is not meeting his current warranty obligations.

For more information contact:
Richard Waleed 604-437-9255
Tony Furtado 604-434-8724