CBC News has learned two homes in a Meaford, Ont., development promoted by celebrity contractor Mike Holmes have been demolished because of alleged defects. CBC News’s Sophia Harris breaks down what went wrong and Holmes’s company’s response.
He probably is.
I bet that he is more of a businessman and show off than a 'real' home expert builder.
Many of the reality TV show people are actually actors or paid to act instead of the experts they seem to be.
You need to look at this a little closer.Mike Holmes did not build the houses. Yes, he advertised them and approved the development - I would assume this included approving the plans.
The builder/ developer, Third Line Homes, built the homes and the municipality presumably inspected the buildings throughout the construction. Mike Holmes apparently did not. The inspectors obviously missed something
His financial involvement was providing mortgage financing to buy the empty lots. He IS a builder in his own right - and from all previous reports is "better than average" and "detail oriented"
What I would LIKE to see is him stepping up and getting involved in replacing the houses for the displaced owners and owning up to having msfe amistake in promoting the development without his "eyes on the job" to ensure the quality was up to his high standards.
So he WAS a better than average builder now he is a huckster for sub-standard housing. Given his past reputation from the TV show many people got sucked into buying what they thought to be top notch housing.
This is something a sharp builder with his reputation for inspection should have caught. He was associated with it. I'd not be surprised if people went after him for being a shyster.
Proof that celebrity endorsements are just crap.
Sounds like Mike Holmes isn't to blame here.
Maybe. Depends on what he actually said in the sales pitch. He is definitely involved in the marketing. He has a reputation for quality and if he says they are good and they do not meet code, he is guilty of deception. People bought because of his reputation.
It is difficult for me to see how an inspector could miss things on several homes so badly that the homes were less expensive to tare down instead of repairing them. Maybe an inspector pay off ? Or inspectors that were not really qualified in the first place.
I had one of the metal garages built a few years ago and the inspector even caught that only 2 screws were used in some places where the plans called for 4 screws, 2 on each side instead of just 1. They were 10 feet from the ground at the top of the walls. The inspector made several trips out during each phase of the $ 8500 building. One would think on a home costing several hundred thousand would be worth a good inspection.
I imagine that when an entire subdivision is going up, inspections are not as detailed as we might wish.
I don't know how many subdivisions I've seen built where they put up OSB and leave it to weather all winter, getting back to the job in the spring. Those houses must be _creaky_ from the get-go.
It looks to me like Mike is just like a typical politician, says one thing but does another.
I'd say that drawing conclusions on a legal case from an article on the web is fraught.
Wow.
You'd think.
Legality of it? Sure. Moral and ethical situation? He is a shyster. IMO, his reputation is gone.
But you've not heard the whole story from both sides. Just one side.
Not saying he's not a shyster, just that it hasn't been proven.
I don't watch reality TV so I've never heard of the guy.
I've watched his show. His thing is to find and correct the errors of others and make it right. From the TV show he has a good reputation. If he is marketing houses by a builder, he should have checked them out before his approval.
When a celebrity gives their imprimatur there is an implication that is is good and can be trusted. He failed. Big time. People trusted him.
According to the article I read, he offered to inspect the properties for a price, but no homeowner took him up on the offer.
With him knowing how badly home repairs and building has been done he should have inspected the homes or at least one at random to see if they met his seal of approval.
I hope he looses his shows on TV for endorsing a product that is a failure to the tune of probably several million dollars.
There aree many celeberties that endorse products that I will never try like all those vitimens that do all kind of wonderful things.
Well, why should you? He endorsed the product so it must be good. They did not state the cost of the inspection either, I bet it was more than the typical home inspection people get.
Tom Selleck[*] endorses reverse mortgages on TV. That doesn't mean they're good.
If someone relies on a celebrity endorsement about anything, they should take responsibility for their irresonsibility and perform due diligence, particularly on a home purchase.
Regardless, until all sides have been aired, drawing conclusions based on an article is premature.
Cuilding inspectors aren't much better than hone inspectors half blind and lazy in many cases. The situation isn't much different than the "boeing fiasco" The "government" is too cheap to hire inspectors to do the job
There is also the question od if the defective materials would have been obvious upon visual inspection - or if faulty installation would have been ocvious. Id the builders were shysters, instead of incompetent, they could have "cheaped out" where it was difficult to catch.
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