Tarion Talks Podcast: Recent Episodes
Tarion Warranty Corp.
Tarion Talks is a podcast from Ontario’s New Home Warranty provider, which is designed to deliver a broad range of consumer information – for new home buyers, owners, builders and for other interested stakeholders. We hope you enjoy these conversations.
For new home buyers, the pre-delivery inspection – or PDI for short – can be an exciting experience. It can also be a little intimidating - after all, most of us are not experts in home construction.
For this episode of Tarion Talks, our host Diana Pham is joined by Bob Thoburn, a Director of Stakeholder Relations at Tarion, to learn more about the PDI process and to answer some of the most common questions we hear from homeowners.
Topics discussed in this episode include:
- A step-by-step walkthrough of how a typical PDI would work in Ontario;
- Explaining the PDI form, and what types of issues should be recorded on this important document;
- The responsibilities of your builder’s representative during your PDI;
- Advice on who you can bring to a PDI, and an explanation of the Appointment of Designate for Pre-Delivery Inspection form;
- Tarion’s PDI Checklist and where to find it.
Here in Ontario, condos are an increasingly popular choice among new home buyers – but they’re not without certain risks, and anyone interested in buying a pre-construction condo should be aware of what’s involved.
For this episode of Tarion Talks, our host Daniel Caprara is joined by two of Tarion’s condominium experts – Ben Carino, from our legal team, and Assunta Salvato, from our Warranty Services department – to learn more about not only the risks, but some of the more exciting aspects of pre-construction condos as well.
Topics discussed in this episode include:
- Understanding the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, and how it applies to certain aspects of a pre-construction condominium.
- A high-level overview of delays and cancellations, how they occur, and protection that is available to buyers.
- Possible variations between what was in your unit’s plans, and what may be found in the finished condominium.
- An explanation of “interim occupancy,” and other tips for what you can expect when you first move into a newly-completed condominium unit.
Buying a home is an exciting adventure – it’s one of the biggest purchases most of us will make in our lifetime.
However, it’s easy to get overwhelmed when buying a pre-construction house or condominium. So one of the best ways to get organized and feel more confident is by getting as much information as you can.
This episode of Tarion Talks is all about getting that information – what questions should you ask? What are the tools at your disposal, even before you’ve reached the purchase stage? To find out, our host Tammy Frade is joined by two guests from Tarion: Angelica Cruz, from the Stakeholder Relations team, and Adrian Brown from the Customer Service team.
Topics discussed in this episode include:
- The differences between buying a new home and buying a resale home;
- How to use Tarion’s Ontario Builder Directory, a tool for researching new home builders;
- Other methods – both online and offline – that new home shoppers can use to research a builder;
- MyHome Planner – Tarion’s app designed specifically for new home hunters – and the different ways it can help you in your search.
When you’ve signed the purchase agreement for your pre-construction house or condo unit, all you can think about is how excited you are to move in.
While most new homes are completed and ready for move-in by their scheduled closing dates, there is always a risk that there could be delays. You can’t predict delays, but you can prepare for them by understanding what may cause them, and how you’re protected if they happen.
In this episode of Tarion Talks, we dive deeper into the topic of delayed closings and their warranty coverage. Host Diana Pham is joined by Ryan Ding, a Tarion Warranty Services Analyst who is also an expert when it comes to delayed closings.
Topics discussed in this episode include:
- Different factors that may cause a new home to be delayed;
- An overview of the different types of closing and occupancy dates (including the difference between “firm” and “tentative” dates);
- Steps homeowners can take, and helpful tools to use, in the event that your builder cannot meet your agreed-upon closing or occupancy date;
- Circumstances under which your builder may amend your agreement and/or extend your closing/occupancy date;
- Closing/occupancy delay compensation, and steps you should take when submitting a claim to Tarion.
Every condo owner has probably heard the term “common elements.” Fitness rooms, rooftop terraces, parking garages, garbage chutes, and mechanical rooms are just some of the items that fall into this important category.
What some unit owners may not know is that, when things go wrong, common elements of a residential condominium project have their own separate warranty that is backstopped by Tarion.
In our newest episode of Tarion Talks, our host Melanie Kearns, Tarion’s Director of Strategic Communications, is joined by two Tarion common elements experts – Bonnie Douglas, a Warranty Services Manager; and Chuck Murad, a Stakeholder Relations Manager – to provide an overview of common elements and the warranty that covers them.
Topics discussed in this episode include:
- How to find out which parts of your condominium community – including “exclusive use” areas – are considered common elements;
- The importance of reading through your condominium community’s disclosure statement, and the enclosed declaration;
- The role of your condominium corporation when it comes to making a common element warranty claim;
- What to do if you discover a common element issue (and how to get updates on an ongoing repair);
- An overview of the repair timelines for warranted common element issues.
As we near the halfway point of summer in Ontario, this episode of Tarion Talks focuses on summer maintenance tips, as well as two home warranty terms you may or may not be familiar with: “seasonal” and “special seasonal.”
Andreea Aslan, Senior Communications Advisor at Tarion, hosts this episode and is joined in discussion by two of Tarion’s Warranty Services Representatives: Glen Campbell and Christien Veroni.
Topics discussed in this episode include:
- Maintaining your air conditioning system, and what to do if it stops working properly;
- Managing your home’s humidity during the humid summer months;
- An overview of which warranty-covered items are categorized “seasonal” or “special seasonal,” and how those designations may affect repair timelines;
- Advice for homeowners who are thinking about doing some landscaping, but want to avoid causing water penetration into their home.
In honour of Tarion’s annual Homeowners’ Choice Awards and Ernest Assaly Award – both of which were presented on May 1, 2018 – this episode of Tarion Talks explores the awards’ significance, history, and the process for selecting each year’s recipients.
Daniel Caprara, a Communications Officer in Tarion’s Strategic Communications department, hosts the episode and is joined by Howard Bogach, Tarion’s President and CEO.
Topics discussed in this episode include:
- Why Tarion decided to create awards recognizing Ontario’s best home builders;
- How homeowners determine the finalists and recipients;
- The four categories of Homeowners’ Choice Awards, and how they differ;
- The history of the new Ernest Assaly Award and some background on its namesake, Ernest Assaly;
- Criteria and other requirements a home builder must meet, in order to be eligible for an Ernest Assaly Award.
The podcast also includes audio interviews with this year’s recipients and with Linda Assaly, the presenter of the first two Ernest Assaly Awards.
In this episode of Tarion Talks, we discuss contract homes, some tips on how you can make buying a contract home a rewarding experience and ways to protect your warranty rights.
Tammy Frade, Communications Officer for Tarion, hosts the podcast and is joined by Zahir Ali, Legal Counsel, and Marianne Macleod, one of Tarion’s Warranty Service Analysts.
Topics discussed in this episode include:
- What a contract home is and how it differs from other new homes;
- Tips for buyers considering a contract home;
- Tips on protecting your warranty rights during construction of your new home;
- Special coverage and protection available to contract home buyers;
- Tips on avoiding illegal building;
- How homeowner involvement during construction on a new home can affect the warranty; and,
- What a homebuyer should do if the builder fails to fulfil the contract.
In this episode of Tarion Talks, we discuss some tips on maintaining your home during the winter season – as well as how proper winter maintenance can help protect your warranty rights if you ever need to make a claim.
To find out more about the potential problems homeowners may face this season, our host Andreea Aslan, Senior Strategic Communications Advisor, is joined by Kirk Rowe, a Manager in Tarion’s Stakeholder Relations department and an expert on the Ontario new home warranty.
Topics discussed in this episode include:
- How too much (or too little) humidity may affect your home, and tips for how you can track and control moisture levels throughout the year.
- The science behind windows “sweating” , a look at the damage this can cause, and advice on how to prevent it.
- An overview of “ice damming,” its potential impacts and the steps you can take to avoid it.
- Tips on maintaining an efficient furnace, and how Tarion can help if yours stops working properly.
- How to prevent plumbing pipes from freezing or bursting, and what steps to take if you experience damaged pipes.
In this episode of Tarion Talks, we discuss the details of two new and exciting improvements to Tarion’s consumer protection measures: enhanced deposit coverage for freehold homes; and warranty coverage for condominium conversion projects.
To learn more about these initiatives, guest host Melanie Kearns, Senior Manager in Strategic Communications, is joined by two experts: Amy Lewis, Senior Manager inStakeholder Relations; and Sandro Nevicato, Manager, Warranty Services in Tarion’s Common Elements department.
Topics discussed in this episode include:
- A general overview of deposit protection, including scenarios in which a consumer may be able to benefit from it.
- The details of the new deposit protection enhancement set to take effect on January 1, 2018, including the impact on coverage for freehold homes as well as condos.
- Defining a “residential condominium conversion project,” and what types of projects fall into this classification.
- An overview of the Tarion warranty coverage for conversion projects that will take effect on January 1, 2018 – and an important exemption that will affect one-year warranty claims for conversion condos.
The next episode of Tarion Talks is scheduled to be available for download in January of 2018.
In our third episode of Tarion Talks, Laurie Stephens, Tarion’s Director of Strategic Communications, talks with Siloni Waraich, Vice President of Stakeholder Engagement at Tarion and Ian Bulloch, Senior Investigator in Tarion’s Enforcement Department, about how Tarion helps protect consumers through partnerships.
As a consumer protection agency, Tarion is always looking for ways to better protect consumers, and one way we do this is by working with partners in the industry to address critical issues affecting new home buyers.
Topics discussed in this episode include:
- Tarion's informal partnerships with organizations such as the Ontario Building Officials Association (OBOA) and the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) and others that have tackled issues in the industry such as illegal building and radon.
- The Ontario Building Partnership, a formal commitment between Tarion, the OBOA and the OHBA that will prioritize issues of importance to Ontario’s new home buyers, builders and municipalities.
Welcome to our second episode of Tarion Talks. Last May, Tarion held its 2017 Annual Public Meeting and there were a number of questions about illegal building that were discussed, which led us to select illegal building as the topic for this episode.
Just what is illegal building?
Almost all new homes sold in Ontario are required by law to be built by a registered builder and be enrolled in the New Home Warranty Program administered by Tarion. Illegal building falls into two buckets:
- When a builder or vendor who is not registered with Tarion sells a newly built home, and,
- When a builder -- even one registered with Tarion -- begins construction of a new home without enrolling the home with Tarion.
All builders in Ontario must be registered with Tarion. And all builders and vendors of newly built homes must enrol the home with Tarion. But why does this matter?
Working with a registered builder is important for new home buyers for a number of reasons:
- It ensures buyers are aware of the warranty coverage for their new home and that they can turn to Tarion for help.
- Illegally built homes often do not meet Ontario Building Code standards, which means there could be safety issues.
- Illegal builders often ignore other laws like Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
- Illegal building promotes an underground economy and creates unfair competition in the building industry.
- Illegal builders damage the reputation of reputable, registered builders and the home-building industry.
In this episode, we talk more about how Tarion is combatting illegal building in Ontario and what happens to a builder who appears to be building illegally. We also share some of the warning signs that your builder may be building illegally and how to protect yourself and your home.
This episode is hosted by Laurie Stephens, Tarion’s Director of Strategic Communications. Her special guest is Tanya Gibson, Director of Enforcement at Tarion.
Tune in for our next episode this fall.
Welcome to our first episode of Tarion Talks. To launch this new podcast, we are featuring highlights from our recent Annual Public Meeting (or APM), held via live webcast on May 30, 2017. The APM generated some great conversation. A panel made up of Tarion senior management, the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors and Tarion’s Ombudsperson answered dozens of questions during the live broadcast. Some of the topics discussed during this year’s APM included illegal building, the conciliation inspection fee and the Guarantee Fund. You can view the entire Tarion 2017 APM on Tarion’s YouTube Channel, but we wanted to use this podcast to highlight a few topics that generated lively discussion by the panel. Answers to additional questions that were not answered during the APM will be posted on the “You Asked Us” section of Tarion’s website.