It would not have been a mistake in terms of every floor above and below this unit has it in the as-drawn position, but this one doesn't. Somewhere along the way, plans changed for some reason, and the only way to find that out would be to go through the right people at Lanterra (that could take some time, or might never be answered) as to why.

Anyway, if the door that slides in that pair of glass panels pictured above is the one that's closer to the wall, then the arrangement as show in the suggested furniture layout should still allow you to walk out to the balcony between the couch and the corner chair.

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Unfortunately, this is what was installed!

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I'm not even sure what is the issue here. That's a great view, with unobstructed windows sans-cheap spandrel, in a spacious dwelling with no other real variance in the floor plan layout, I gather. I think the courts will look at me a little funny if I took the dev on over this... >.<
 
I'm not even sure what is the issue here. That's a great view, with unobstructed windows sans-cheap spandrel, in a spacious dwelling with no other real variance in the floor plan layout, I gather. I think the courts will look at me a little funny if I took the dev on over this... >.<
NO ISSUE, Really! Are you OK to climb over your couch to the balcony? If not, what is the possible alternative?
 
Only your lawyer could advise you on whether you had a case or not… but @ProjectEnd was right on page before this; Lanterra are probably covered by fine print.

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Fortunately, I am not one of the owners of this unit in Phase 2. Unfortunately, I am about to have one in several months. It is frustrating that Lanterra's customer service is non-responding even though the doors are not yet installed. Down the road, if the solution has to involve a lawyer, then lawyer it is.
 
A spacious living room that can only accommodate the smallest couch. LOL

Sell it unfurnished: Buyer probably won't notice the things you're concerned with. Not knowing exactly what you bought is one of the risks of buying pre-construction, and why until around 2006 preconstruction was quite a bit cheaper than recently built resale. I'm not sure why people pay extra for to take on that risk.

That said, with either door placement, my couch would be against the wall rather than in the middle of the room. It's pretty rare that we watch TV, so it would be ceiling mount and drop down on the rare occasion it's wanted. Most of the time the centre of the room would be open or multipurpose space.
 
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What is even worse than the doors that slide the wrong way... is the second floor units with stairs!!! Is this even legal? Seems like terribly managed and major builder mistake. Anyone know what to do about this if the second floors has stairs? Lack of accessibility, loss of floor space, no floor to ceiling windows... Any thoughts from anyone on how to deal with this?

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What is even worse than the doors that slide the wrong way... is the second floor units with stairs!!! Is this even legal? Seems like terribly managed and major builder mistake. Anyone know what to do about this if the second floors has stairs? Lack of accessibility, loss of floor space, no floor to ceiling windows... Any thoughts from anyone on how to deal with this?

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completely legal and actually quite common.

No way to deal with it either - I mean what would the solution be, raise the floor of the entire unit?

it's a couple of steps - it's fine.
 
completely legal and actually quite common.

No way to deal with it either - I mean what would the solution be, raise the floor of the entire unit?

it's a couple of steps - it's fine.
I suspected that Tarion/APS would completely protect Lanterra, but being common? Disagree, unless comparing and looking at other shoddy developments - this should have been accounted for. Surely everything is "fine" but this is a major deviation from floor plan that involves steps that challenges accessibility requirements, among other major deterrents for this kind of change as previously mentioned such as impeding furniture, reducing square footage (will make space feel much smaller) and losing floor to ceiling windows. Significant hit to resell value and builder should be accountable and liable. But hey, bet these crooks will get away with it.
 
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I imagine it's not an accessible unit, so I'm not sure where you are getting that it's an accessibility issue. Only 15% of units have to be "accessible". Most units are not designed for wheelchairs. So no, you don't "need" a ramp to get to your balcony. If accessibility was important to you as a purchaser you should have purchased an accessible unit.

I mean define "major" as well.. there is almost always a step over of some extent to the balcony in basically every condo unit I can recall being in - it's much more unusual to have a 100% flush balcony which would be fully wheelchair accessible.

Regarding lost space.. it's a 2sf stair. Not ideal, but it doesn't exactly kill half the living room or something. Looking at that living room, the TV will likely go against the wall on the left and the couch closer to the Camera.. the step goes where there will naturally be a walking space in front of the TV already anyway.

Steps like that are not the most common configuration, but I see them in condo buildings all the time. Particularly on lower floors which can have complex structural and design features necessitating them.

Read the fine print of your pre-sale purchase if this incenses you. It's a pretty common thing in apartments.
 
You almost always need a stair out to a terrace, by nature of its design. Not so a regular balcony, but as @innsertnamehere notes, there will still be the door slide threshold so it's not, technically, fully accessible.
 

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