Now that the year is wrapping up, the holidays are upon us, and the first season of Mike's new show Holmes Makes It Right is in the rear view mirror (at least for Canada), there's a strange but peaceful lull in new content to post. I've been busy busy busy, as usual, making my very awesome Christmas present for Mike, his crew, and all of you, and I can't wait to debut it right here on December 24.
In the meantime, enjoy this very neat and informative little article I found, originally posted on the BC Hydro (electric company) website in 2008. Mike Holmes has always been a proponent of green, sustainable building. Building "green" for Holmes goes beyond installing energy efficient appliances. It's about building with all non toxic materials, from the foundation to the roof. It's about building a home to be resistant to fire and mold. Most of all, it's about building smart and doing what makes sense. What is safe for the environment is also safe for people, and good builders always keep both in mind. "Let's build better houses. It make sense to me, and I'm going to do it," emphasizes Mike on the importance of building safe and building green. Read on...
April 25, 2008
Build green, right down to the foundation: Mike Holmes
Mary Frances Hill For bchydro.com
Mike Holmes is a warlord for the homeowner, the desperate, confused, the taken. His credo, "Make It Right", comforts those who've been had by comparatively shoddy contractors who've left them with unwieldy foundations, dangerous wiring jobs, lopsided work, and huge bills.
On Holmes on Homes, airing at least twice a day, every day, on HGTV, he sweeps in – a saviour in brown coveralls, comforting those left with shoddy workmanship by unscrupulous contractors.
A hero he certainly was to the hundreds around the mainstage at EPIC, the second annual Sustainability Living Expo at Canada Place on April 19, where he offered tips on "greening" their homes – building or renovating with the highest degree of respect for the natural resources – in a talk called "How Green Can You Go?"
"We have confusion about what 'green' really is," Holmes says. "Builders aren't going to like me for this, but if you're going to brag that you build green homes, the proof is in the pudding. Just because you use a better washer and dryer and fridge, a six-litre flush toilet, and an air cleaner, have you built a green home? It's not even close to green."
Why are we building toxic, flammable homes?
It's what's contained in the bare bones of the home – the foundation and the frame, he says, that make the difference.
"And here's why: a lot of the products used in the building of our homes are very powerful,” he says. “The foundation coating is so toxic that you are not allowed to use it on the inside of your home, which a lot of contractors think they can do."
Holmes points to many of these toxins as flammable agents. "Why are we building houses that can burn? I don't get it. There are so many different things on the market that we could be using. We can make a home fireproof. And one of the most important factors in a green home is how we insulate. There are products out there that are environmentally friendly."
A big fan of in-floor heating
Holmes offered a variety of other tips: replace thermal barriers with thermal breaks, to inhibit the appearance and growth of mould, and install in-floor heating – a feature that Holmes can get enthusiastic about.
"In-floor heating is the most environmentally energy-efficient product in the world,” he said. “If your feet are warm, you're warm, if your feet are cold, you're cold, it doesn't matter what the thermostat is set at."
In short, to green the home, consider the structure first and foremost. "Only then, should we talk about the six-litre flush toilet that only takes one flush. And only after that should you talk about adding in the energy-efficient fridge."
Cradle to grave: Check out where products came from
Holmes suggests that homeowners grill their building supply retailers and contractors about the source of every product they use. He suggests that products used in home construction should be designed with 'cradle to grave' principles in mind.
"Cradle to grave means designing a product that is environmentally friendly from the beginning, to the middle to the end of its life. Let's talk about concrete: how much energy does it take to build concrete? A hell of a lot. It takes a little more to make in the beginning, with the costs of transportation and getting it to the job. However, a concrete home will outlast any other home made of anything, including wood."
So long Holmes on Homes, hello New Orleans
Seven seasons into Holmes on Homes, the famous contractor is calling it quits – on the HGTV show, at least. "Three hundred sixty-five days a year, seven days a week non-stop of filming, three to five shows at a time. I think it's time for me to say enough with Holmes on Homes. We've helped more than 100 families, and that's a lot of money."
Holmes will travel to New Orleans, Lousiana, where he'll help people who've lost their homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The show will be called Make It Right. Afterward, he'll settle for some time in Africa – "and I'm going to 'make it right' in Africa."
He's also set up the Holmes Foundation, an initiative that encourages young people to pursue the trades when they make their career decisions.
Green Holmes on the way
On the home front, so to speak, he has launched a development company with some far-reaching goals that, if achieved, may change the way we live altogether. He's planning on crafting homes that are immune to damage in the case of fire, flood or other disasters.
"How would you like to have a home that will not burn down, will not fall down, and is totally environmentally friendly and greener than green? I've thought about doing this for years. Let's build better houses. It make sense to me, and I'm going to do it."
Last night, I was up until the wee hours of the morning putting together the last little details of my Christmas present to Mike, his crew, and all of you, and there's still work to be done! To see what I've created, tune into the Holmes Spot on Christmas Eve for a fun little surprise! (See A Christmas Present For Mike.)
In the meantime, I figured I'd post a oldie but a goodie. The article is called "The Making of Mike Holmes." It's been around for a while. If you haven't read it, you don't know the whole story! Some of the information is a little out of date... take into mind that Michael Quast is no longer the CEO of the Holmes Group. But other than that, it's a fantastic piece about Mike and what makes him tick.
The making of Mike Holmes
Joanna Pachner
From Report on Small Business magazine
Published
Last updated
Mike Holmes is a big man. That much you can see on TV. His broad face, topped by a buzz cut, usually towers over the distraught homeowners looking to him for salvation from financial ruin. His bare, beefy biceps appear amply up to the job of tearing out waterlogged drywall or shoddily installed floorboards before his crew puts it all back together the way it should have been done in the first place.
But how big could Mike Holmes get? Could he, for example, become bigger than Wayne Gretzky?Make It Right: Inside Home Renovation , his 2006 bestseller, is close to breaking publisher HarperCollins Canada's sales record, held by Gretzky's 1990 autobiography.Holmes on Homes has for years been HGTV Canada's top-rated show. The white knight of renovation has beat outCanadian Idol wrangler Ben Mulroney and decor diva Debbie Travis for the Viewer's Choice Gemini Award, and been voted Canada's most trusted man. He was Brad Pitt's go-to guy for rebuilding Katrina-ravaged homes in New Orleans. On her show, Ellen DeGeneres asked him to marry her (he demurred).
This is the year, however, that the Holmes Group will find out how big and wide Mike Holmes can stretch.Holmes on Homes launched on the U.S. HGTV channel in late April, bringing Canada's working-class hero to nearly 100 million American households. The Toronto company's logo-those same beefy biceps folded across the chest-appears on workwear and boots now available in Canadian and U.S. stores. It's attached to an ambitious, ultra-green housing development in the Calgary area, slated to begin sales this fall. It's behind a nascent home-inspection business in Ontario and the upcoming Holmes Magazine, planned for a fall launch despite a calamitous advertising market.
Looking for a ceiling on the growth potential of a personality closely calibrated to the zeitgeist is tricky. Consider the career of one former model and caterer: "What Martha Stewart did is make homemaking a profession you could be proud of," says Alan Middleton, a marketing professor specializing in brand management at York University's Schulich School of Business. "What Mike Holmes is doing is taking an area where people aren't comfortable and providing them branded reassurance. That's possibly even more powerful."
Still, building a brand on the back of one man is risky, especially when that brand's fundamental selling point is integrity. The Holmes Group's ability to grow its revenues by an average of 160 per cent over the past three years has rested on consumers' belief that the crusading contractor is the real deal, not a media persona crafted by backroom Svengalis who saw a market niche and cast an appealing guy's guy to serve as its manifestation. As those biceps adorn ever more billboards, gear and spinoff services, it may become increasingly difficult to buy into the pitch that Mike Holmes's sole motivation is to "make it right™." Where it all began
A curious thing about garages: They serve as birthplaces to an inordinate number of entrepreneurial ventures. So it was in one such brick shed that Mike Holmes metamorphosed from a builder moonlighting as a TV host into a media entrepreneur. Although his show had been on air since 2003, one night in early March, 2005, Holmes invited Michael Quast and Pete Kettlewell to his house in the countryside west of Toronto to discuss his future.
Quast had become interested in the craft of turning TV personalities into brands after working as vice-president of media at Lynda Reeves's Canadian House & Home mini-empire. That night, Quast told Holmes, "This could be bigger. This should be bigger already. There's so much potential here that isn't being used properly. You have a television show-and that's about it." The trio agreed it was time to extend the Holmes brand, though that wasn't Holmes's nomenclature. "He just wanted us to watch his back," says Quast.
Holmes had already been burned in the TV business. By all accounts, he stumbled into the industry via his big mouth. Quast first met him in 2001 while working as director of studio production for Alliance Atlantis specialty channels. One of Quast's shows provided home-repairs advice, and he needed a contractor to build some models for the set. Enter Holmes, sporting overalls and muscle shirt.
It wasn't long before Holmes, who'd been running construction companies since he was 19, offered up some opinions.
"You guys have it all wrong," he told Quast. What followed was a spirited half-hour rant about all the houses Holmes had needed to fix because amateurs thought they could do the jobs of electricians and plumbers, and how the network should instead be documenting the nightmares caused by horrendous workmanship. After Holmes apologized for his "diarrhea of the mouth," Quast urged him to write down the concept. "I said, 'You'd have to host it. With the passion I see there, I can't see anyone else doing it.' "
Holmes's rage played great on TV. From each episode's "holy shit" moments when he revealed to homeowners the extent of their problems, to the "shock and awe tour" when they saw the demolition performed by his crew and listened to Holmes, veins popping in his neck, inveigh against the shoddy labour, to the redemptive ending of a family back in its nest, Holmes was more than the host-he was the show. "I used to say, 'Mike, your sweat is gold,' " recalls Quast. " 'The more you sweat, the happier I am.' "
It's always been one of the challenges, that you're building the brand on the shoulders of a man who needs to sleep and eat.Michael Quast
By the fall of 2004,Holmes on Homes was a big hit, drawing 250,000 viewers. The timing was perfect: Amid a long boom in the housing market, home renovation had become a pop-cultural phenomenon. "When you'd buy a house, there was an expectation that you'd do something to it," says Mark Healy, a Toronto marketing strategist. "Holmes tapped into that sentiment in an accessible way. Consumers generally feel disenfranchised and skeptical, so there's a tremendously untapped appetite for that." The show had no scripts; Holmes spoke plain English; he had authority; he got mad-a Don Cherry of construction.
Nevertheless, television does require some touch-ups. In 2003, the network demanded Holmes take media training after his language got a bit too salty. Lynda Reeves, who gave Holmes his first TV exposure on her House & Home HGTV show, remembers him as a quiet carpenter. The biceps weren't on display. "Someone told him that his physique is important, but that didn't strike me as the main thing," she says. "Clearly, they've encouraged him to be blunt."
Despite his success, by 2005 Holmes was thinking of quitting. His partnership with his producer, Scott Clark McNeil, had soured. No one at the Holmes Group will discuss what went wrong, but the fact that McNeil pushed for a single sponsor for the show-what Sears is toExtreme Makeover: Home Edition in the U.S.-and publicly likened Holmes to an action figure suggests his approach may have been too commercial for the idealistic Holmes. "They divorced, and the kids went with dad," is how Quast describes the fallout.
Which is when Quast and Kettlewell got the call. Though they'd both worked with Holmes, they didn't know each other, yet immediately agreed on the potential. There was no grand plan for a brand empire, says Quast. Holmes's goal was simple: educate homeowners, build better houses and improve the state of skilled trades. To do that, he needed broader reach, a bigger pulpit. "You can't build a sustainable business just on television," says Quast. "But we were motivated by the desire to make sure the core integrity of this stayed true and didn't fall apart into mush." Right there in Holmes's garage, the trio decided to form a company and picked their titles-Quast took vice-president of business development, focusing on building the Holmes brand, while Kettlewell, as VP of production, would oversee the show.
Quast, a soft-spoken, middle-aged guy who dresses in polo shirts and slacks but who has the most corporate-looking office at the Holmes Group, displays none of the marketing maven's bravado: The company has grown by trial and error, he says, and it was really "through serendipity" that things started to gel. As season 5 launched, the Holmes Group put out DVDs of past shows and went looking for a book publisher. Every potential venture or partnership was vetted by three criteria: Is it on message? Is it something Mike would use? Is it the right thing to do? "That sounds falsely noble, but it's genuine," says Quast.
Holmes was being approached constantly about sponsorships and endorsements. Up until then, he had endorsed only a few professional products. For example, he'd raved about spray-foam insulation on his show, and when the manufacturer got in touch, Holmes agreed to attach his name to a more eco-friendly version. Quast wanted to move out into the consumer arena, and Home Depot became the company's first major deal. In September, 2005, Holmes signed on as spokesman for the retailer's professional installation services arm. Holmes has always preached against DIY and in favour of hiring pros. So when the retailer tried to present him as a pitchman for the broader chain, tensions arose. The three-year contract was not renewed. Quast is philosophical: "We've learned from every deal we've done."
Then, in 2006, Nestlé Canada called. It was launching a new brand of Nescafé instant coffee and wanted to market it around trust and integrity. The company had commissioned a poll asking Canadians-without suggesting any names-whom they most trusted. When Holmes came out on top, many Nestlé staffers had no clue who he was. Quast was intrigued by the opportunity-a major brand whose commercials would take Holmes beyond the specialty channel and onto the networks-but it would be Holmes's first non-construction product, and Quast wasn't sure he'd go for it. He knew Holmes drank coffee, so Quast asked him what kind. His answer: Nescafé instant. "It's the God's honest truth," says Quast, "and it's what clinched the whole thing."
Quast concedes that instant coffee was a stretch for the brand. What does a building contractor know about the calibre of coffee? Ken Hardy, professor emeritus of entrepreneurial marketing at University of Western Ontario's Ivey School of Business, says the credibility of beloved personalities extends only so far-cross that boundary and you invite accusations of a sellout. "Nescafé is about as far as the Holmes brand reaches," he says. For their parts, both Nestlé and the Holmes Group say the partnership has been a big success, and the deal has been renewed three times.
A big-budget, national advertising campaign is a great way to raise profile and earn endorsement revenue-both of which, Quast insists, are mere tools to help homeowners and improve the industry. He points out, for example, that until last season, Holmes was dipping into his own pocket to cover reno costs on the jobs featured on his show, as the budget of $60,000 to $150,000 per episode, funded by the broadcast licence fees, wasn't enough. As well, 10 per cent of net profits from Web sales go to the Holmes Foundation, which funds scholarships for skilled-trades students. "Mike's spent hundreds of thousands of dollars helping people," says Quast. "He's not perfect, but he is hands-down the most sincere and generous person that I've ever met." Every staffer at the company extends similar reassurance: Wait till you meet him, and you'll know he is the same earnest do-gooder as you see on TV. 'I don't feel like a celebrity'
Mike Holmes is seething. It's a low boil, and he tries to suppress it, ignore it, tell himself it doesn't matter. But it does, damn it! "They call me a millionaire contractor!" he exclaims, pointing to the April issue of Canadian Home Workshop magazine on his desk, his own mug smirking from the cover. "I'm not a millionaire," he insists. "I see it as an insult."
Unsanctioned coverage is one of the crosses celebrities must learn to bear, but Holmes resists it. "I don't feel like a celebrity," he says. "I'm a contractor." (Actually, his construction company is no longer a commercial business; it only does projects for the show.) Holmes's image is literally larger than life: In person, even at six feet, he looks smaller than he does on TV. Other things are the same, though: the piercing stare, his trademark "keep smiling" sign-off, the tendency to run off at the mouth.
Seated in his messy and well-lived-in office in the west Toronto building he bought to house his company, Holmes, dressed in a khaki shirt from his own workwear line, needs little encouragement to recite how it all began-how he learned construction from his father; how, even at 21, he was so appalled at the botched work he saw that he imprinted his business cards with "The F-Up Fixer"; how he could only do TV if there were no scripts because he's no damn actor. "I care and I want to make a difference," he says. "It's not about making a lot of money. But, I knew at the beginning that nothing would change in the industry unless I did something. So I focused on what I could do in the next five years to reach a certain goal."
Holmes's goal these days isn't fixing homes but building them right the first time: self-sustaining houses with their own sewage and grey-water collection, living roofs, radiant floor heating, solar-heated water. Last summer, Holmes spent 10 weeks working with the Brad Pitt-led Make It Right Foundation (they connected over a dispute about the foundation's name, a phrase Holmes had trademarked), overseeing construction on new eco-friendly homes in hurricane-ravaged parts of New Orleans. "We had the [power]meter running backwards and Brad was dancing in his shoes," Holmes recalls. As he warms to the subject, he gathers speed, detailing how houses can be built fire-resistant, airtight and mould-resistant. "Everyone's talking green," he says. "Well, let's really go green! Why don't we change the building process? If no one else is going to do it, I'm going to do it. Build a home that won't burn, won't mould, that's termite-resistant. There's a book,Cradle to Cradle, and I like that: like a farmer, take from the land and put it back ... lost where I was going with that." Then he remembers, and is off again on the horrors of deforestation and how there are (he looks it up on his iPhone) 256 trillion BTUs of solar energy striking the Earth right now and we're not harnessing that power, and what a waste that is.
"I'd love to be a developer," says Holmes. "To me, everything is simple technology. All we have to do is put it all together." So, in 2007, the Holmes Group partnered with Oko Properties and design consultants Baird Sampson Neuert to build an entire green community on a 100-acre site near Calgary-the first of three planned Holmes Homes developments in the area. The new houses will cost 15 per cent more than comparable-size homes, but buyer interest is nevertheless running high, says Quast. The Holmes Group's role is to oversee the construction of the houses and back the quality with a five-year warranty.
The real-estate project is his most ambitious new venture, but hardly the only one. Some of them have had rocky beginnings. Take Holmes's boots. The Holmes Group is on its second footwear manufacturer.
The workwear line has also hit some bumps: Richlu, the Winnipeg-based maker of Tough Duck jackets, overalls and other rough-wearing garments, was the Holmes Group's first licensing partner. Holmes insisted on having a say in the design rather than just attaching his name to existing products. But in stores, the Holmes overalls were surrounded by Tough Duck gear, and marketed as a premium version of the existing line. Quast says the workwear problems have finally been sorted out, and this spring, more than two years after the initiative started, the first shipments hit small retailers and chains across Canada.
Also in the spring, the Holmes Group launched a home inspection business, an arena that for years has drawn some of Holmes's most impassioned invective. The company has hired Darren Johnson, an experienced inspector, to run a pilot project in Guelph, Ont. There are more books coming, with one on green building planned for 2010. There's a newspaper column (usually typed by his PR co-ordinator after Holmes dictates it into a tape recorder while driving in his truck; he doesn't type). In April, the company agreed to team up with an independent publisher in Creemore, Ont., on Holmes Magazine-the minimal title attesting to the partners' confidence in Holmes's name recognition. All this, plus the launch of Holmes on Homes in the U.S., which requires him to find time for American media and public appearances.
As ventures multiply, the company, now 30 strong, intends to bring in consultants-specialists in the various businesses who, as Holmes likes to say, will make it right. Still, Holmes remains at the centre, and there's only so much of him to go around. "It's always been one of the challenges, that you're building the brand on the shoulders of a man who needs to sleep and eat," says Quast. "[Last season] we were killing Mike. He was not only there for all the shoot days, but had to go to press conferences, think about Holmes Homes, the new products, speaking engagements. He was working all the time." In her office, Liza Drozdov, Holmes Group's director of communications, has yearly calendars on a wall showing Holmes's schedule. Judging by the amount of red and green marker scribbles, 2006 was especially crazy-and those were just the engagements she booked. Holmes also has an agent for speaking gigs. Drozdov has been trying to book a vacation for him, but it keeps getting postponed. (As she's explaining the demands on his time, Holmes sticks his head in: "And I want to do the Mike Holmes cartoon, about me as a kid." He's serious.)
Quast admits to being concerned that Holmes's dreams "are growing exponentially." He fears burnout. But there are just so many opportunities. "They've done a pretty genius job of extending the brand beyond where people might have thought he could go," says consultant Healy. "I don't see anyone else stepping into that market." He's particularly impressed with the company's ability to maintain Holmes's reputation and a consistent public persona. Even when Holmes went on CBC'sThe Hour , he sported his signature muscle shirt and overalls. Reeves, who's spent 25 years "aging" in the public eye, knows the challenge. "You can't vastly change your hair colour or style, but at the same time you can't be in a time warp," she says. "And if you're relating to the everyman, you can't act super successful and super rich."
But there's a risk that Holmes will spread himself too thin, diluting the brand's potency. For all his insistence on wanting to help the industry, pros dismiss him as-in the words of one commercial contractor-"fluffy." Professor Hardy notes that "a professional would get laughed out of town if he showed up in Mike Holmes-branded overalls, because Holmes is viewed as retail-focused-the hero of the amateur-and no true professional should carry a retail brand."
Yet amateur work is exactly what Holmes rails against. Meanwhile, maintaining the quality of the Holmes products won't be easy for a small business that needs to rely on supplier partners and has to balance quality with affordability. During economic downturns, it becomes tempting to cut costs by cutting corners. For Holmes, who's all about integrity and workmanship, doing that would be especially harmful. Canadians are very patient and polite, says Schulich's Middleton: "You won't hear from them, but they will go away." And will they really be willing to fork out a 15 per cent premium for a green home, even one endorsed by Holmes? "People are green until you ask them to pull out their wallets," says Healy.
Then there is the issue of succession. At 45, Holmes admits there will come a time when he'll have had enough. Would that mean the end of the Holmes Group? Not necessarily. Other brands have survived without their core personalities-Loblaw's President's Choice, for example, is doing just fine without Dave Nichol. And Nichol was a consumer's champion, just as Holmes is, points out Middleton. "That soaks into the brand name." Match that with trust-and, to capitalize on the recession, value for money-and it's a seductive combination, says Middleton. As long as the brand's values have been institutionalized, it's possible for other people in the organization to carry the flame.
Still, the more ventures Holmes launches, the greater the chance that consumers will contract brand fatigue and dismiss him as another pitchman-for-hire. Quast, who along with Kettlewell has a small equity position in the company, insists that won't happen. "This is not just a job," he says. "I do this because I believe in the product that Mike is. That sounds really hokey, as unbelievable as the Nescafé story, but it's true." Verisimilitude is what counts. "I believe he's for real," says Healy.
As long as the average consumer agrees, the sky is the limit.
Having the title of "role model" is a huge weight and responsibility for anyone, let alone for someone who lives a large part of their life in the public eye. There's no doubt that Mike Holmes is someone for young boys (and girls) to look up to. He's made a living out of rescuing people in distress - a real life superhero. Not only that, but he also lives his life as a very public dad, whose children are following in his enormous footsteps. These are just some of the things that I personally admire about Mike, but I'm not the only one. In a recent entry on the blog, "Eric the Half a Blog," one Holmes fan writes about her enjoyment of Mike's shows, and also her admiration for Mike as a person. She describes Mike as a "role mode" for young boys and men to emulate, and "truly inspirational". I agree. Here's what she wrote:
When I get a few precious minutes to myself and relax in front of the TV, chances are there’s a Mike Holmes show on one of the stations. It might be Holmes on Homes, or Holmes Inspection, or the newest Holmes Makes It Right. (Make it right being his motto of sorts.) I always enjoy watching him work because he is entertaining and I like home improvement shows and I also like carpentry and such since I have some experience building play sets (I just love power tools!) but there is another reason I really like having him on my TV.
Mike Holmes reminds me that there are good people in the world who see injustice and problems and do something about it. He makes the world a better place through his work; helping people who have been victims of poor or even dangerous work on their homes, or been taken advantage of by other contractors. He swoops in and, with his skills, expertise and trusted team, he makes it right. Here is a role model I would love for my sons to emulate.
Mike Holmes started his first contracting company at age 19, when most of us are still trying to decide what to do with our lives. At 21 he had his own renovation company. In 2006 he founded The Holmes Foundation in order to help young people enter the building trades and to help those who have been ruined financially by bad renovations. Holmes is known internationally as an author, TV personality, and highly trusted skills promoter and workman. Readers Digest’s annual survey named Mike Holmes as the second most trusted person in Canada (The first being David Suzuki). He has done work to restore homes to people in New Orleans who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina, and received an Honorary Doctorate of Technology from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
On Homes’ shows, I have seen him rebuild a two story deck which had collapsed because it couldn’t support the weight of three people and caused injury. He has repaired damage from mould, asbestos, insects of all kinds, water damage, foundation cracks, insufficient insulation, etc. for new home owners who, after having a home inspector pass their homes as safe, (new and old) have found problems that were missed and made their new homes unlivable. I have seen him assess unsafe basement renovations, home additions, and other home upgrades, and with his team of skilled plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc. (his own family included) he not only brings these peoples homes up to code, but makes them the safest, most secure and loveliest homes you could ever wish to see. He has even had to tear down an entire house due to bad renovations and build a brand new one for the homeowner.
The people he does the work for are good deserving people who have been cheated or ignored by contractors, inspectors and even townships who have left them high and dry to deal with unsafe conditions with their own pocketbooks. A lot of the avoidable problems found will cost tens of thousands of dollars to fix and most of the time these people just don’t have the money to fix it. A lot of the material used on the shows is donated by the retailer (they get some sweet advertising by being a part of the show) and the workers salary is paid for by the production.
Mike Holmes is a terrific role model for boys and men, he uses his skills to help people who need it, he works hard to fix the mistakes made by people who should know better and make life easier for the people who need it. His generosity of spirit and fierce sense or justice is inspirational. I truly feel more hope for humankind when I see smart caring and hardworking men like Mike Holmes doing so much good for his community, his country and the world.
This Christmas, I have a very special gift for Mike, his crew, and all of you! Tune in to the Holmes Spot on Christmas Eve 12/24 to see! Wondering what it is? Here's a little preview...
Hot of the E-presses... the December 2012 E-Newsletter. And as would be expected, it's decked out in holiday cheer. You can get Mike's newsletter delivered directly to your inbox by going to makeitright.ca and signing up. If you're still looking for the perfect gift for the Holmes fan in your life, or if you want to send me a present, you have until December 17 to get your order in! Quit dragging your feet!
Last week's brand new episode of Holmes Makes It Right featured homeowners who were duped out of their money when a fraudster contractor trashed their kitchen and ran off after a bad renovation. Bad and downright fraudulent contractors are a big part of Mike's world. In his shows, he attempts to educate people so they won't be taken advantage of down the road. "As far as I’m concerned, the best way to beat home renovation fraud is by educating the homeowners — and the public in general — on what’s a scam and what’s not," he states in a recent article, reposted from the Ottawa Citizen. Fraud can be hard to prove in court, and the law is not always on the consumer's side. "It’s always better to prevent than to treat. As far as I’m concerned, the battle isn’t won in the courtroom. It’s won at home when you kick these people out of your house and you don’t give them a dime," Mike advises. Read on...
Show fraudsters the door, and fast
By Mike Holmes, The Ottawa Citizen December 13, 2012
Mike Holmes, left, has seen too many cases where homeowners get burned by fraudulent contractors.
You would think that after 10 years of me showing case after case of bad contractors that there wouldn’t be so many of them out there. But there are. And they’re still taking homeowners’ money and running.
People are always telling me, “Mike, why don’t you go after these guys? Why don’t you do a show about catching these crooks? They’re giving us good guys a bad name.” I agree — and they’re dragging the industry down with them.
When it comes to home renovations, add fraud to greed and you’ve got the kind of people who deserve to be in jail. They calculate and strategize on how they can take homeowners’ money and get away with it. They know the fraud laws.
Fraud laws state that as long as you do a little bit of work in the house you can’t be charged with fraud. That’s because a contractor can come back and claim that they were doing their due diligence. As long as the contractor has done some work, it’s difficult to prove in court that the contractor didn’t do what they were “supposed” to do.
And even if they’re charged with fraud, odds are by the time it goes to court they get away with it — most homeowners don’t have the money to fight the case. Especially not after a bad renovation.
They don’t care about you. They don’t care about your kids. They don’t care if your house burns down. What they care about is getting your money. And they will do and say anything to get you to give it to them.
Intimidation is used a lot by fraud suspects. They’ll threaten to put a lien on your house or report you to the police. This makes homeowners not want to report anything or deal with them altogether — to the point where homeowners just want them to go away. And that lets them off the hook.
Homeowners need to report home renovation fraud suspects. These cases go unreported too often. People are embarrassed and think they won’t be taken seriously.
But there are many organizations that you can go to — organizations such as the Better Business Bureau, Ministry of Consumer Services, Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and local police departments. The more information you give these agencies, the more likely they can go after these crooks.
In order to fight these people, agencies need “similar fact” evidence. Similar fact evidence is something that repeats over and over again in a number of households. That’s why homeowners need to come forward. Without that information, these agencies are handcuffed.
New measures are being taken, like the prepaid contracting licence endorsed by Service Alberta. Basically, it prevents contractors from receiving a deposit and then never completing the job. If you’re a residential contractor in Alberta and you’re accepting money before all the work is finished, you now need a prepaid contracting licence.
As far as I’m concerned, the best way to beat home renovation fraud is by educating the homeowners — and the public in general — on what’s a scam and what’s not.
Homeowners also need to look at the contract. Seems like I can’t say this enough. Is there information on what the job is going to look like or how much it’s going to cost in floors, trim, repairs, building walls, electrical and plumbing? If it doesn’t spell out anything other than “I want your money and we’re coming in on this date,” kick them out. And if the price seems too good to be true, I guarantee it is.
Know your rights. Most homeowners don’t know that they can cancel a contract within 10 days — it’s what’s known as a cooling-off period. They can also cancel their contract if there is any misrepresentation by the company they hired.
The last time I got subpoenaed to court, a “professional” kitchen company brought in this big lawyer. Before we went into the courtroom I told the guy, “Do you really want to do this? Do you really want to fight these people or do you want to give them their money back right now?” He decided to fight them and he lost. In the end, the judge took the money this company paid upfront to defend this case, charged them more and then gave it all to the homeowners.
But homeowners have to take some responsibility and do their homework. I don’t want you to think that going to court is your first option; it’s expensive. It’s always better to prevent than to treat. As far as I’m concerned, the battle isn’t won in the courtroom. It’s won at home when you kick these people out of your house and you don’t give them a dime.
Catch Mike Holmes in his new series, Holmes Makes It Right, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on HGTV. For more information, visit hgtv.ca. For more information on home renovations, visit makeitright.ca.
When you buy a home in many places, you have the option to buy title insurance. It's not mandatory to buy title insurance in Canada and many other places, including where I live. Many people, however, mistakenly believe that title insurance is some kind of home warranty, when really it's designed to protect homeowners against perils such as fraud and liens against the property. It's very important for homeowners to know just what their policy does and does not cover before something bad happens. "You buy title insurance for a reason, but too many homeowners aren’t clear on what that reason is. And that can lead to a lot of trouble," states Mike Holmes in this article, reposted from the National Post. In the article, Mike talks about what a title insurance policy typically does and does not do, and explains how homeowners can protect themselves from getting burned. The best way? Ask lots of questions and keep informed. Read on...
A flood of misinformation: Title insurance is not a home warranty
Mike Holmes | Dec 10, 2012 8:00 AM ET More from Mike Holmes Title insurance covers losses related to the title or ownership of a home and property. Homeowners need to make sure they know what their title insurance covers.
There’s a lot of confusion about title insurance. Some people call title insurance the “surprise” insurance because they assume it covers any surprises with the property they’re buying. It’s only when there’s a problem that homeowners actually check what their policy covers. By then, it’s too late.
What does title insurance cover? Does it cover structure, hidden things in the basement, leaks? How many homeowners ask these questions before buying any insurance related to their home? Not enough, I can tell you that much.
Most people buy title insurance when they purchase a home. But it’s not required in Canada. It’s meant to protect homeowners from such perils as title fraud, unpaid liens, encroachments from neighbouring properties — anything that can challenge the ownership of your home, or anything related to the title of your home. It also covers losses related to the title or ownership of the property. But it’s not a home warranty or home insurance policy.
Every insurance policy is different. And, as the insurance company makes up the rules, do you think they play to lose?
For instance, most insurance companies don’t cover a leaking foundation. Why? Probably because almost every single foundation leaks. Insurance companies would go bankrupt if they covered leaking foundations. That’s why they make the rules on what they will and will not cover. That’s just smart business. So you need to be smart, too.
You buy title insurance for a reason, but too many homeowners aren’t clear on what that reason is. And that can lead to a lot of trouble.
Let me give you a scenario: A couple bought title insurance on an old house that had been renovated. They discover the renovation was done wrong and now they’ve got more than $100,000 worth of repairs on their hands. Their title insurance policy says it covers any losses related to work done on the house without permits. But in this case, there were permits on the work. Permits mean the work was inspected by a city building inspector. If the government comes in and signs off on a job, it’s saying everything’s been done properly to minimum code. That signature puts responsibility on the government because the work was passed by the city inspector. So now the title insurance company is asking for the city to issue a work order.
When the city issues a work order — sometimes called an Order to Comply — to a homeowner, it usually means some part of their home needs to be brought up to minimum code. And there’s the problem. The city passed the work. But the title insurance company is asking them to say — in writing — the work is wrong and needs to be fixed. This would make the city liable.
When something’s wrong with a job that has been passed, there’s a big problem. Title insurance isn’t going to pay for repairs because permits were issued on the job, and they were passed. The city isn’t going to come back because it doesn’t want to be liable. Who’s going to pay? No one.
Who’s at fault? Is it the homeowner who got the renovation? Is it the contractor that was hired? Is it the title insurance company, the building inspector or the government? As far as I’m concerned, it’s all of the above.
Bottom line, some homeowners do what they are supposed to do. They get a home inspected before they buy it. They look into past renovations and ask if there were permits. They buy title insurance. But when there’s a problem, who gets stuck holding the bill? They do. Is that right?
The only way to get around this is to ask plenty of questions about what your title insurance covers. You need to know what it covers and doesn’t cover, and any limits as to money and time. Also find out if you can pay extra to make sure it covers everything. It might be $1,000 more, but I’d pay $1,000 for that extra insurance. Or you might need a different type of insurance altogether.
Before you buy title insurance, talk to a lawyer and the title insurance company. Make sure you understand what you’re getting.
When you buy the most expensive investment of your life — a home — it’s your problem. No matter what, the responsibility is always left in your hands.
You need to make sure the insurance you get does what you need it to do. No one else will make sure for you.
Catch Mike Holmes in his new series, Holmes Makes It Right Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on HGTV. For more information, visit hgtv.ca. For more information on home renovations, visit makeitright.ca.
Yesterday's brand new episode of Holmes Makes It Right showed Mike and his crew picking up the pieces for one family after a con of a contractor scammed a bunch of homeowners and fled. Mike always categorizes contractors into three categories: "the good, the bad, and the ugly," and I think Mike would definitely put this guy into the "ugly" column. In this news article, reposted from the St. Catharines Standard, the couple featured on the episode discusses their experience with Mike and how it differed from their previous experience with the other contractor who ripped them off.
Holmes Makes It Right airs on HGTV Canada at 9PM EST. Outside of Canada, Mike's new show will premiere in early 2013 on HGTV.
News Local
Community
Kitchen reno complainant calls Mike Holmes
By Karena Walter, The Standard
Mike Holmes stepped in to repair this kitchen
ST. CATHARINES - Their kitchen renos were like night and day.
“We went from high to super low, back up to high,” said Greg Kay, whose first kitchen renovation with wife Laura was a flop.
The owners of the St. Catharines renovation company they hired last summer — All Canadian Kitchen — were arrested for alleged widespread fraud of clients, and their kitchen never was completed.
So, the Burlington couple called celebrity home renovator Mike Holmes.
The couple are scheduled to appear on HGTV’s Holmes Makes It Right, on Tuesday at 9 p.m.
The summary for the episode, Money For Nothing, on the Make it Right site states Holmes and his team “make things right by giving one of the victims the kitchen that was stolen from them.”
None of the allegations against All Canadian Kitchen operators have been proven in court.
Like dozens of others who have filed police reports about All Canadian Kitchen, the Burlington couple said they were left with bare base cabinets and holes in their walls after they hired the company.
They say their kitchen was ripped out by the company in June and they were left without a working kitchen until the Holmes team came in for two to three weeks in September.
While Kay isn’t allowed to say much about the episode, he said the couple’s first meeting with Holmes was on camera and unrehearsed.
“He came through the door, just like you see on TV,” he said.
The experience was completely different from their first reno. Legitimate contractors and men with vans that had the actual names of their companies on the side showed up, he said.
The family wasn’t allowed to see the final product until the “reveal.”
“It was a super-positive experience,” said Kay. “They did more than they said they would in the exact time they said they would.”
For a family that got by barbecuing and eating at relatives’ homes for months, having a working kitchen is like a dream come true.
“It’s awesome, to be honest,” said Kay. “Every time you come down the stairs and turn the corner, it’s like ‘whoa.’ I can’t believe it’s mine.
“It’s what we wanted in the beginning, but obviously it was a total disaster after that.”
Niagara Regional Police said in September the number of customer complaints they received about All Canadian Kitchen had grown to 60, with another 15 employees coming forward claiming they were defrauded.
Sandra Byrne, 48, and Shane Byrne, 37, were each charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000 and two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud in August. The charges relate to defrauding the public and employees.
They were released on bail with the condition they cease operating All Canadian Kitchen or All Canadian Outdoor Living.
They will next appear in court Dec. 18.
karena.walter@sunmedia.ca
For all you lucky Canadians out there, HGTV Canada will be airing a brand new episode of HolmesMakesItRight tonight 12/11 at 9PM EST. For those outside of Canada, Mike's new show will premiere in early 2013. Here's the teaser from HGTV Canada via their Facebook page:
On tomorrow's new episode of Holmes Makes It Right, when the police arrest a kitchen contractor responsible for ripping off dozens of homeowners, Mike Holmes narrows in on this large-scale scam and shows what it takes to catch the con in ‘contractor.’ Watch this preview of tomorrow's episode now:
