Tiffany Elton Needs Help for Her Home
Donation protected
My Home Buying Experience went very wrong
Most recent UPDATE
(I’ll be moving all this info to a blog soon where I it can stay as a warning to others)
There is a lady in Hamilton right now going through the same thing, referring back for info.
I wish I could help everyone in my shoes.
I am still looking for the names of the people in St. John’s who are also stuck with homes with no occupancy permits and now liable for the repairs.
I am sorry I lost your info in the shuffle.
I got a loan to demolish the house. $16000.
It should be demolished next week.
I will post a video.
There was a lot of back and forth trying to get this done. Lots done from the miller center pain and disability program where I was doing their program for five weeks recently.
I think I will feel relief when the house is gone, removing the liability and worry.
I do not have a solution for getting another house. I lost my down payment in this property.
I have decided to take some time not thinking about the house when it is gone.
I won’t reevaluate my living situation until I have to. I need to focus on healing after the last three years. I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and am on new medication and trying to deal with that, and not functioning well at this time. (Suspected due to extreme stress and ptsd)
I have to let go of the grief of being wronged and that nobody will be held accountable and my ideal outcome for this situation. And my home. And the life I was working hard to create.
I need to move on now and heal.
I will get the property taxes reduced again to land value asap and keep the land up for sale.
I have had several quotes to rebuild a small home there but I cannot get a builder’s mortgage to rebuild for more than $145,000. That’s less than my original qualifying and purchase amount. Getting a helpful broker who does construction draw mortgages is still something I need to investigate further. I need a break for now.
My lowest quote so far was $220,00 to rebuild.
It has proven difficult to build a small affordable home. I was rejected by 14 companies.
So this may not be an option.
The housing market here is high right now.
And I am honestly traumatized from my home buying experience.
So I will take some time off from this ordeal,
and pay back the loan.
I am thankful for Joe and Ariana who got me through this. I consider myself very lucky that my loss was only about $85,000 in the end.
As you know it could have been far worse!!!!
I am thankful every day for Joe and his kindness in volunteering his time to help me.
If I find a seller for the land I may be able to get that loss back or some of it at some point.
Of course I just want my lil affordable house.
Moral of the story is when you buy check for occupancy permits yourself!
The lawyers do not look for this. Nobody does. E
Buy title insurance.
Know sellers can lie on the property disclosure forms with no recourse.
You are 100% liable when you own the house for the issues.
Realtors only know what sellers tell them.
Inspectors have no regulatory board. Some don’t even walk on the roof.
Please be safe out there!
Please even pull the city archives on the property.
The city won’t be changing its approval process for allowing sales, so know that the compliance letter the lawyer gets from the city does not mean it complies at all.
It is unfortunate they will not admit where the issues lie here to protect others.
But I have to move on from that too.
Good luck out there!!!
Thanks for your support and listening these past three years.
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Most recent CBC article…
CBC Here and Now covered my story….
CBC News Article covering my story…
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This go fund me is now purely a record of events.
I am tearing down Summer Street ASAP.
(I still think the city should be tearing it down though but I’m not going to incur fines and I need to move on. They already collected extra property taxes for years and years they shouldn’t have)
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ORIGINAL Story and ISSUE
My dream turned into a nightmare and a rodent infestation is the BEST part of my story because they led me to the undisclosed fire over the entire frame and more major issues….
It cannot be sold, as a home, it will not get a compliance letter to be sold or an occupancy permit or home insurance until the issues are fixed. (Yet, It was sold to me “having” all those things)
It is not and never was a house and should never have been sold as such.
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In my research I found out it was a commercial double car garage that had a major fire before the "build date" of 1986 in the Rabbit town Area of centre city St.John’s, Newfoundland, that had no permits for any of the work done and was never granted an occupancy permit because it was never inspected or approved by the city and had other building issues including a garage door hole across the front foundation.
It was sold to me as a 782 square foot home at $168,000, "A Perfectly maintained and recently renovated and improved, pride of ownership is evident in this move in ready home!"
I have been trying to get help and answers on my own for more than 3 years now but the main recourse is a costly and long civil suit in Supreme Court. The retainer is $45,000 and it will be dragged out in court by the city and you need to take everyone involved to court.
My story can be all of our stories. If you are buying a home or thinking about it...
READ ON!
I found the perfect house for me June 2020, it was move in ready and low maintenance and on budget!
I made it, I moved in... I loved it. Single indepedent small business lady and now home owner! No more renting expensive places with high heat bills during a pandemic! Safety. Security. Old age plan.
I followed all the steps and rules and hired all the professionals to buy my home:
I assumed everyone had a duty to be truthful and educated on what they were selling and knew the condition and history of the home.
1) I hired a REALTOR but realtors can only go by what the sellers tell them. They thought it must be house because of the property value the city had. $134,000.
2) The MLS AD. It sounded great! But embellished with a false build date. It was not built in 1986. The foundation and burned frame and roof are from the old original structure. It was not newly renovated either. It was painted.
3) Hired an Inspector. I hired the one with the highest google rating and best reviews.
They missed a foundation hole where a previous garage door was, missed unventilated attic (because they flew a drone over it and did not walk on it so missed the dips and bends and fake vent), and advised me to buy it having not seen the attic. They said "this is the house for you!" and they'd come back after the sale to inspect the attic for my peace of mind, They refused when I asked. They had said worst case scenario it is mold in the attic which their friends at a local Restoration company could fix for roughly $1500 but they did not think so because of new ice shield and the condition of the shingles. I believed that to be good advice. I bought the house based on his advice. I felt I had no major reason to push to see the attic or walk away from the House. Especially since he was my inspector in the house before I walked away from for many issues. I trusted his opinion. There is no regulatory board for inspectors in Newfoundland.
4) Property Disclosure Form from the Sellers…
They said there was an occupancy permit on this form in writing, there was not one. Homes with No occupancy permit cannot be sold or owned or lived in. They did not dislcose fire, foundation holes, moisture and air issues with mold and humidity, or unventilated attic. The lawyer who did my sale came back and said they said "We do not recall a fire."
In my opinion, after 10 years owning a 782 square foot home they likely knew about fire damage. And the rodents and therefore holes in the foundation. I found out within a couple months. When asked twice during the sale for entry to the attic they refused. Houses by code need an entry into attic space anyhow. You would know daily about the windows running water in the colder months and forming mold because the humidity is so high. So you would look into ventilation which would lead you to look at the roof where the fake ventilation vent is or installing an hvac. That they didn’t do that indicates they saw the fire damage so did not do these things and closed it up.
The living room ceiling has developed creases in the plaster panels that have been dropping which indicate the living room ceiling was down recently and is settling. Someone saw the fire damage. Whoever put the bathroom ceiling fan in saw the fire damage. The ceiling fan in the bathroom has a serial number with a date of 2010. (I bought it in 2020) That vents up and through the burned attic.)
A tenant came forward who said the sellers put in a propane stove for them, we found the vent for it inside the wall which shows they had to cut through a burned beam and walls to install. Photo seen on July 2023 cbc article.
5) I got a Compliance Letter by the City through the Lawyer who gathers the paper work for the sale. I do not know how this burned garage that is my home got one. I believe I should have been more protected at this stage as well. I believe everyone should be more protected at this stage. They only look to see if there are any open permits at the time of sale. They do not check occupancy or the history. The compliance letter essentially allows the sale of the home by the city. It implies it complies based on the name but without occupancy it should not comply for sale. Nobody checks for occupancy permits during the sale. This should be changed and it should be mandatory, I have since had five others reach out in similar issues with homes that have b no occupancy permit that they recently bought and are now on the hook for major repairs to get occupancy. This really is the biggest reason I am in this mess. Had we known the home did not actually have occupancy I would not have been allowed to buy it based on the cities own policies which they do not enforce. Or verify. But yet they can issue a compliance letter, allowing the sale?
6) Title Insurance through Lawyer….
Title insurance will not help at this point, they do not think my title is at risk based on the information I have provided that I have gotten from the city so far. Update as of April 17: after trying several times and because of my new lawyer an adjuster has been put on the case. It is unknown yet what they will do for me but this is progress! I will be hopeful but brace myself as well as I have learned to not get too excited over the course of all this. News to come.
7) The law firm who does the paper work for the sale. They decided not to help because it is a conflict of interest.
8) I got CMHC insurance - it does not help the buyer, it protects the lenders.
9) Home Insurance
It does not cover passed issues, no latent defect clause and mine was REVOKED due to property condition. I now cannot get insurance for my home from any companies. I have been flagged. One said if I hire another expensive structural engineer for the foundation hole I may be able to but I know it won’t pass. I assume I won’t get it until the remediation work is done and approved.
10) THE CITY
The Authority over properties and buldings, they have a care of duty, but they cannot give advice or guidance or tell me what happens next. They have been instructed not to talk to me directly anymore. They can only speak to my lawyer now.
They did confirm there is no occupancy permit and have sent many notices from all building
Departments with possible fines based on their codes and acts against me for the issues discovered in my new home inspection I got and paid for because they needed it to look into my home’s situation.
It is deemed it needs to be torn down because home insurance will not cover it because it’s foundation is not a house and it is completely burned. It is not safe to live in.
I can try to be approved for an occupancy permit after it is fixed. The city’s acts and codes say no one shall occupy or own a home with no occupancy permit. I received a letter saying I will not get a compliance letter now which it will not get without fixing the issues. So I cannot sell it as a home. This means the house should not have gotten a compliance letter to be sold to me in the first place but the city didn’t know about the true condition or status of the home.
I also asked the property be accessed again based on actual condition by the city. The value was not accurate. In 2021 it was $152,800 and for 2022 it is $164,000. Based on the information I have on the house now and what the city has now it’s value has been changed to $84,900. (Empty land in my area is $60,000) That’s what it should have been when I bought it. I’m now being credited what I have over paid in property taxes.
In 2013 the value jumped from $60,000 that it was for over a decade to $134,000 with no records of any work done. That $79,000 increase is a lot and interesting to me for such a Small House with no records of any work done. Even if it was prorated.
Home assessments for property tax purposes by the city should in my opinion be more in depth as well.
After a lot of back and forth with all
Departments at the city, and the city having a council meeting due to a push from the public, the new deadline for me to repair should be September 2022 for everything. (We have still gotten some notices since that decision with 15-30 days but that may be an internal miscommunication and not accurate).
The deputy mayor told me on the phone we had until September 2022 to fix the issues. They are not allowed to speak to me anymore.
Recently we asked if the city could cover tear down since they issued a permit in 1985 that was not followed up on that converted the burned garage into a house, they raised the property taxes so high in 2013 you’d think it was a house that set me up for this and they issued a compliance letter allowing the sale when a house without an occupancy permit it should not comply for sale…
They said no, after a council meeting determined they would not help me. The city profited for a decade on this house over charging property taxes .
They also can tear it down easily for a lot less money.
I believe they do not wish to admit fault.
I just want them to tear down the house.
“ I have been instructed that the City will not facilitate the demolition of your client’s home at 11 Summer Street.
The City of St. John’s Act does set out instances where Council may decide to demolish a structure:
- Section 98: development areas;
- Section 100: unhealthy areas;
- Section 316: public nuisances and 375: nuisances;
- Section 385: condemned buildings.
None of these sections are applicable to your client.
Again, while the City remains willing to work with your client to address her property, the City is not in a position to facilitate the demolition as requested. I also urge your client to contact _______ prior to proceeding with any plans as set out in my correspondence of January 23, 2023.
Further, the City denies any negligence or negligent misrepresentation on its part. As previously set out, no permits were ever sought or issued for any work at 11 Summer Street with the exception of windows in or about 2006. The City had no knowledge that the extensive changes were actually made to the property. All compliance letters state that a request does not result in an inspection of the property. While your client is able to pursue any claim she chooses, the City will strongly resist any claim in this matter.”
This statement does not mention the original permit. They gave the owners in 1985 to convert the burnt shed. Also, I was aware of the inspection note on the compliance letter and I did have an inspection. However, that is not the issue the issue is that they issue compliance letters without checking for occupancy, which is why I am in this mess.
I have been back-and-forth trying to get a permit for demolition, but they are requiring plans for a new build and it’s very confusing. I’ve been several months now trying to sort that out and through quotes I have realized I don’t have enough money to tear down as it is. They are requiring a $3200 hazardous waste testing even though it was built with new materials in 1985 after asbestos was ever used in new construction, and it would’ve been built completely over the Burned frame… $5100 to detach from the city mainlines plus a larger amount to take away the burned materials and because the house was burnt, the burnt materials need to be wrapped in special wrapping and brought to a special facility. So this is not your average home demo. I have asked the city if there’s any fees they can waive, but they are not.
The Mortgage: I was being fined $150 a month because I don’t have home insurance. Due the current (actual) condition of the property and reduced home value they can ask for the full immediate repayment of what I owe on the mortgage then send me to collections for this amount which would send me into bankruptcy.
I could lose my small business and therefore my income and everything I worked for and built. And lose what money I put into the property and my down payment and have no home.
This has since been removed after a long fight to prove I fell under the policies.
And final note, I’ve been rejected by about 14 different builders. Nobody wants to build a house that’s under $200,000 and I need a quote to apply for a mortgage to rebuild and a builder.
ALL THESE STEPS AND CODES, ACTS AND INSURANCES IN THE HOME BUYING PROCESS AND NONE PROTECT THE BUYER. When buying a home you assume all the risk and will be responsible for any issues the sellers did not disclose.
The only recourse should NOT be to sue at $2000 a day and months in court. I should not have been sold this house or have incurred a large amount of debt trying to get resolutions and patch up the perimeter from rodents. Or be squatting with no insurance in my own home. It should not be all my responsibility given that the transaction seems to have been fraudulent to begin with….
BUT here I am.
I did not qualify for a new mortgage to repair it or anymore loans… I found a co-signer but the cost needs to get under $200,000 to afford it.
We all work so hard to get where we are, build and protect our credit, maintain where we are, keep it all afloat, it should not be this easy for others to knock you down, with no protection. Buying a home should not be this risky. It is the biggest transaction of your life. You shouldn’t be risking everything to buy your home or to protect your security.
The tear down is $15,000 plus HST
The lowest rebuild estimate was $264,000
plus tax. I can’t afford that kind of loan.
I know soon I have to let it go and may have to leave it as is.
I have tried really hard to find a solution. But I have to accept it is what it is and move on soon.
Sometimes that’s what you need to do for peace.
Credits:
- ARIANA KELLAND of CBC for covering this
- 709 electric who have been back-and-forth 1 million times and helped me a lot securing the house.
- Joe Thorne, who came forward, pro bono to act as my lawyer.
- Wes Anderson, who has listed my property for sale which is only for land value.
(House needs to be torn down)
- Dave Hoddinott who drew plans for me for a new build to shop around to try to get quotes.
- Mike Guihan, who came back and did the second inspection which confirmed my suspicions of things that were missed in the first inspection.
Organizer
Tiffany Elton
Organizer
St. John's, NL