Would-be homebuyers blindsided in Elora after developer terminates contracts

ELORA -

Dozens of would-be homebuyers who invested in a housing development in Elora say they’ve been blindsided after their agreements have been terminated.

It’s a dream dashed for Brad Dudek, who had been saving up for years with his girlfriend to purchase their first home.

"Start a family, we got a dog with the expectation that we would have a house," the Kitchener resident said.

The couple put down a $70,000 deposit last January for a three-bedroom single detached home in Elora set to be built by Gemini Homebuilders. The unit would be part of a South River Road development.

"Just really, really excited about that for so long and it all kinda came crashing down yesterday," said Dudek.

Dozens of would-be homebuyers received a notice Tuesday night that their agreement of purchase and sale by the Guelph building company had been terminated and their deposits would be refunded.

The notice told buyers that the completion of hard services for the property or surrounding area (i.e. roads, rail crossings, water lines, sewage lines, other utilities) has not been satisfied as per the agreement, which required it to be approved by the Township of Centre Wellington.

A spokesperson for the township said, "There is no current agreement between Gemini Homes and the Township. There is no contractual obligation in the subdivision agreement between the township and the developer for the South River subdivision that requires the hard services be completed by January 13."

"We just think we might be completely priced out of being able to afford a new home now because of this situation," said Dudek.

Those now without a home said they want answers.

"We had plans, where the playroom would be. My daughter was picking out her paint colours in her rainbow room," said Sarah, a former Guelph resident.

Sarah and her family had sold their home to put down a deposit in November 2020. In anticipation of moving to Elora, they planned to temporarily stay with her parents.

"What are we going to do? We’re living with our parents and that was a short term thing," she said.

When she saw the early termination notice, she said she felt blindsided considering that no information was provided about any sort of delays to construction.

In a press release, Gemini Homebuilders said, "When that date [January 13th, 2022] was not met, the agreements automatically terminated… Gemini does not have control of the installation or the timing of the installation of the services in development. At this point, the services have not been installed."

The release also reads "Gemini is confident that the development and township are doing everything they can to have servicing installed as quickly as possible."

Gemini also cited supply chain disruptions and labour shortages as the result of a delay in projects completed.

The company will be returning the deposits paid by purchasers and is "open to having discussions with the purchasers in an attempt to find a mutually acceptable solution for all parties in the circumstances."

"We won’t be able to afford any other. This was kind of the top end when we purchased it," said Sarah.

Other units within the South River development are being built by Granite Homes. CTV News reached out to see if the incompletion of hard services impacted them as well. We did not hear back as of Wednesday night.

Those who were looking forward to their new home are now stuck, trying to figure out their next steps.