Excerpt of an article by Ellen Moorehouse – Toronto Star

Christopher Hume actually gave 5 “A” ratings a few years back, four of those top marks went to small loft conversion projects. In all cases, the buildings, whether a former peanut factory or office building, had outlived their original usefulness. But builders with vision practiced the ultimate in recycling and transformed obsolete structures into lofts that revitalize neighbourhoods, preserve history and enrich our housing stock.

Peanut Factory Lofts -306 Sackville Street

Undertaking a loft conversion is not easy. Just ask anyone who has tried a house renovation, where the unexpected is the rule and cost overruns a fact of life.

Recently, Condo Living featured a story about St. Andrew’s Mill, a spectacular loft conversion in Fergus, Ont., where builder Murray Koebel admitted costs just crept up on him.

Loft conversions obviously pose a risk for buyers, just as they do for the developers, and, as lawyers will point out to any purchaser contemplating a loft project, it’s caveat emptor.

While the Ontario government has mandated Tarion, formerly the Ontario New Home Warranty Program, to protect buyers of new houses and condominiums, there’s no such protection for purchasers in loft conversion projects.

There are more than 100 loft conversions in the city, and the number is growing. There’s no reason why Tarion shouldn’t cover them.

Not only does the buyer in a loft conversion project not get the benefit of warranty protection against deficiencies, but there are no qualification requirements for the builder doing the project, nor is there any way to monitor the number of deficiencies the builder may have failed to rectify in previous projects. Tarion performs all of these functions for the new homes and condos sector.

Finally, first-time buyers in loft conversion projects are not eligible for the land transfer tax rebate of up to $2,000. Only newly built houses or condos bought from a builder in the warranty program are eligible.

Loft conversion projects, however, are not within Tarion’s scope, says Mary Mullens, Tarion’s general counsel.

“Our legislation was intended for brand-new construction. That’s not to say these aren’t good points, but loft conversions are not within our mandate,” she says. “If they were, that’s a major change, and it would be a complex new business to enter into. Risk assessment and appropriate security would vary from building to building depending on its age and condition.”

In the meantime, purchasers in a loft conversion project have to go in with their eyes open.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information  –  416-388-1960

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