2023-10-10 08:02:54
Martin Maisonneuve and Liliane Assaf dream of building a house on a wooded plot of land where a pretty stream flows, in Cantley, in Outaouais.
It was like love at first sight. I could see myself living here until I was very old.
As they have no expertise in this area, they did business in January 2022 with Maisons Paragon, a family business run by François and Nicole Murray.
François Murray presents himself as a project manager. He takes care of finding bidders and managing the project from A to Z. But he specifies that he is not a general contractor.
Following the formula offered by Maisons Paragon, the client builds his house as an owner-builder.
Attractive savings
Maisons Paragon promised them 25% savings.
[François Murray nous a] says: you will save a lot of money because we eliminate all the intermediaries […] I make no profit on this, I just make a profit on the management of your project, reports Martin Maisonneuve.
This is also what the company claims on its website (New window). Unlike a general contractor, the project manager makes no profit on materials or the work of subcontractors.…, can we read. (New window)
When he presented this to us, that the quality will be there, that the price will be respected, at “your” request, we looked at each other, we said: perfect, let’s go, let’s go for it !
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Liliane Assaf, client of Maisons Paragon.
Photo : Radio-Canada
Martin and Liliane’s budget is $700,000. They claim to have agreed on this with Maisons Paragon.
They sign a first contract in January 2022 with Maisons Paragon, the management contract, for $80,000, and make a non-refundable deposit of 50%. The couple therefore paid $40,000, then signed a second contract, this one for the architect’s plans: $10,000.
Maisons Paragon, which also offers kit houses, is offering them one at a cost of $375,000, with a new promise of savings.
[Il nous a dit] : Our houses are so well made, they are so good that you will save 20% to 30% on heating and electricity costs, remembers again Martin Maisonneuve
The couple then signs a third contract and must again make a 50% non-refundable deposit.
But it is impossible to know, at this stage, how much the project will ultimately cost, because the kit house is not an all-inclusive house. Other expenses will be added.
In total, the couple paid Maisons Paragon more than $238,000, without a shadow of a budget, without a single shovelful of earth. However, they are convinced that Maisons Paragon will respect their budget, as promised.
We felt so confident.
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François Murray of Maisons Paragon.
Photo : Radio-Canada
A higher budget than expected
Two months after signing the contract for the kit house, the Maisonneuve-Assaf couple discovered the overall budget with astonishment. It exceeds $1 million, $300,000 more than the couple had budgeted.
We were very far from the initial agreement. Where did the $300,000 come from? Martin Maisonneuve then asks himself.
But the director of Maisons Paragon is categorical, the budgetary target was clearly established from the start.
These allegations are false, erroneous and dishonest. […] From the beginning, people were told that their budget, their construction costs, would be approximately a million.
According to Claudia Bérubé, lawyer and lecturer at the University of Sherbrooke, the very structure of these three interrelated contracts poses a problem, since the client signs these contracts and pays large sums without having a precise idea of the final budget.
To provide these three contracts in this way places consumers in a situation where they may have unpleasant surprises. […] He must sign a third contract, and there, surprise, we discover the final amount, notes Claudia Bérubé. And there is no reason to negotiate anything.
Caught in a gear
Under the terms of the agreement with Maisons Paragon, the second payment for the kit house, or $187,500, is scheduled three months after signing the third contract.
While a soil assessment and the wait for permits delay the start of the work, Maisons Paragon demands the amounts due.
However, the house of Martin Maisonneuve and Liliane Assaf has not yet been sold. They don’t have the necessary funds.
Paragon texts us, then emails: “Have you heard from the second payment?” […] He told me “you have to pay.” […] Do I have to pay you? You haven’t started anything, we haven’t even dug a hole in the ground!
We had the knife at our throat, illustrious Liliane Assaf.
François Murray retorts that he was within his rights. The pressure I put on was to get paid for my second payment that was due on the home kit. The terms of the contract are very clear, clear and precise, François Murray justifies himself […] It was six months since the second payment was due, then it wasn’t paid.
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The offices of Maisons Paragon.
Photo : Radio-Canada
Difficult to turn back
Liliane and Martin want to go back. Our dream has become a nightmare […] we stop everything, remembers Liliane Assaf saying.
But the agreement provides for a 75% penalty in the event of cancellation. Not to mention that deposits are non-refundable, according to the terms of the agreement.
Thus, a client who wants to back out would leave more than 87% of the amounts provided for in the contracts on the table. In the eyes of Maisons Paragon, however, these sums are justified.
The work has been done, the design and plans have been made and delivered. Project management was 50% done. All that remained was the management of the site to be done.
According to Me Claudia Bérubé, this 75% penalty clause is not valid in Quebec. It is prohibited to include such a clause in a consumer contract.
François Murray of Maisons Paragon told us he didn’t know it. He claims that his contracts have all been verified by his lawyer.
Maisons Paragon condemned last December
In a similar case, last December, the Court of Quebec canceled the contracts linking Maisons Paragon to two other clients in the Outaouais region.
In the case of Robertson v. Murray, the judge ordered Nicole and François Murray to return all of the fees collected, i.e. $41,000, and to pay $5,000 in damages.
Customer consent was vitiated by Paragon’s fraudulent tactics […] Customers were cheated by the Paragon concept and the false and misleading representations of its representatives, we can read in the judgment.
We also learn in this judgment that Maisons Paragon makes profits on the architect’s plans and on the kit house. This is an important element which can vitiate the consent of clients, according to Me Claudia Bérubé.
If, indeed, Paragon takes […] a certain profit margin on the work that is carried out by suppliers or subcontractors or even on the materials that are sold, while the first contract clearly says, in black and white, “we do not take any money from your work” […] This can be considered a false representation which may constitute fraud. […] What can lead to the cancellation of a contract, argues Claudia Bérubé, lawyer and lecturer at the University of Sherbrooke.
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Martin Maisonneuve on the land which was to accommodate his new Maisons Paragon residence.
Photo : Radio-Canada
For Martin Maisonneuve, this changes everything. If I had had all of this information beforehand, if I had had the judgment in hand, if I had been made aware of the judgment, I would never have done business with Franck Murray. Never.
François and Nicole Murray appealed the judgment handed down against them last December. They are still awaiting a court date.
Misleading photos
Photos of different houses can be found on the Maisons Paragon website. On some of them, we can read: Paragon Custom Design Chelsea Quebec 2012, or Paragon Homes Custom Design Lanark Ontario 2017.
However, in a few clicks, we discover that these photos were not taken in Lanark, Ontario, nor in Chelsea, Quebec, but rather in Terrebonne, near Montreal.
These photos actually come from an image bank. The houses seen there were not built by Maisons Paragon.
These are all the photos I purchased from iStock […] To give an example that we can build on both sides of the river, argues François Murray of Maisons Paragon.
Asked about the fact that Maisons Paragon is lying about where these photos were taken and on what date, he answers this: That’s what you say.
No construction license
François Murray does not hold any construction license and, in his eyes, that poses no problem.
I am not a general contractor, I am a project manager. […] It is the client who becomes the general contractor as a self-builder, affirms François Murray.
While it is true that an owner-builder or project manager does not need a license, the law states that a person who performs or causes construction work to be performed for another is considered a contractor and must be holder of a license.
For the Régie du logement, there is a very clear distinction between a project manager and a general contractor.
The project management aspect exists, explains Sylvain Lamothe. Someone can actually support an owner as a project manager. […] If you are an owner’s advisor […] for the orientation of certain decisions, perfect. But from the moment you are the conductor on the job site, you are a construction contractor. You need a license.
Martin Maisonneuve and Liliane Assaf are categorical, the conductor is François Murray. The couple says their role is limited to approving bids and signing checks, that essential elements of their project are beyond their control.
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The Martin Maisonneuve couple Liliane Assaf with the journalist from La Facture.
Photo : Radio-Canada
Even François Murray’s speech in an interview suggests that he is much more than a simple project manager. We coordinate all the subcontractors, the suppliers, we do the inspections, we take care of the municipal inspections, the bank, the engineers, all that. Then we manage the project from A to Z.
According to Marie-Hélène Dufour, lawyer and law professor at the University of Sherbrooke, Maisons Paragons is trying to circumvent the law.
It’s one thing to say: I’m not a general contractor, and it’s another to act like a general contractor, explains Marie-Hélène Dufour, lawyer and professor of law at the University of Sherbrooke. I have the impression that he is trying to do indirectly what the law would not allow him to do directly, that is to say that he is claiming to be a project manager to avoid being classified as an entrepreneur. But ultimately, he performs the functions of an entrepreneur according to the definition provided in the law and regulations.
RBQ audits in progress
Alerted by The billthe Régie du logement du Québec has opened a file.
In fact, the situation as it is reported is a situation of an entrepreneur who plays the role of a general contractor, affirms Sylvain Lamothe […] There are checks underway. A ticket for working without a license can result in an individual being fined between $12,000 and $96,000. For a company […] We’re talking about $40,000 to $192,000.
Maisons Paragon filed a lawsuit against Martin Maisonneuve and Liliane Assaf. The company is seeking a total of $175,000 from the couple for terminating their contracts.
The latter sold their land in the countryside and intend to sue Maisons Paragon with the money from the sale. They hope one day to recover the approximately $250,000 lost in this misadventure.
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