'I've cried a lot of tears': Floating home dreams sink for southwestern Ontario residents

The dream of a life on water has drowned in a sea of sadness for a group of Chatham-Kent, Ont. residents who paid a Wallaceburg-based company for a floating home they never received.

"It just never happened," stated Meg Connelly, who along with Melissa Jacob and Keith Thompson say they're waiting for their money back from Stronghouse Canada Corp./Twin Dolphins Canada Corp.Company owner Alex Topol in Chatham-Kent, Ont., on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

The residents even have a court ruling, ordering restitution and they’re still waiting for repayment.

Wallaceburg resident lost life savings

"It's really disheartening. I've cried a lot of tears," said Connelly.

The 71-year-old retired nurse said she was excited about the idea of living on the Sydenham River when it was first presented in 2020.

She sold her mortgage-free home to get one.

"It was a great concept," Connelly explained. "I loved the concept. It was ecologically friendly. It was a perfect solution to what I was looking for."

Now, Connelly describes herself as a senior with no nest egg who was forced to take a part time job at a grocery store to make ends meet.

"It's been really disappointing. Disheartening. I lost my life savings doing this. I sold a home that was paid for, and eventually after two years I had to try and find another place to live. I was living in a camper in my daughter's backyard. I got a condo, but I now have a mortgage on it."

According to Connelly, initial framing for her futuristic home began, but didn't progress after being told by company owner, Alex Topol that it was too complex.

"There were all kinds of stalling excuses, things happening, Covid. Just a number of things and the home was never built," she said.

"He (Topol) didn't have an adequate place to build them. He didn't have the equipment to build them, and he didn't have any materials to build them with. He eventually found a factory that worked for him and he kept asking for more money to cover retooling the factory and buying the materials that were needed to build the home."

Connelly recalled as time went on without a new floating home, she eventually launched a civil lawsuit.

"I have a court order for him to repay me the money that he owes me,” said Connelly. “He has given me one payment of $15,000, and he is now paying me $100 a month. But it's a far cry from the $300,000 that he owes me.”

Dresden couple starting over

Melissa Jacob and Keith Thompson began planning a new life on water in Lighthouse Cove in 2021 after seeing floating home advertisements in the area.Melissa Jacob and Keith Thompson in Chatham-Kent, Ont., on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

"Alex (Topol) told us everything was good to go," Thompson said. "We had all the permits and everything all in place. Everything was ready to go. But it was wasn't."

The couple said payments began after they were assured by Topol that all the proper zoning and permits in Lakeshore were in place, only to later learn that wasn't the case.

"He's a very good talker. He just sucked us in I guess," Jacob explained. "We don't trust anyone anymore and that's sad because there's good people out there that do good things. But we're scared now."

Jacob and Thompson also launched a successful civil lawsuit, but continue to wait for their money back.

"How do you start over at 42 and 47?" Jacob asked.

"We hoped to have a home to live together in. We have nothing. He hasn't (given) us a dime back. Nothing. We have a judgment. But how do you get the money from a judgment?"

Jacob said Topol owes them nearly $128,000 along with $30,000 in lawyer fees, noting the ordeal has caused an unmeasurable amount of stress.

Between the three, Topol owes a combined $412,000.

"You would think after you get a judgment, the courts would enforce it," Jacob said. "Why do we have to pay more money to try and get the money from the judgment?"

"I'm surprised we made it because there were a lot of bad days," she continued. "We don't want this happen again to anybody. It's ridiculous that people can do this to each other."

Thompson added, "There's no enforcement at all. If you want enforcement, you got to keep paying yourself."

Topol intends to repay and change his business plan

In an interview with CTV News, company owner Alex Topol said he plans to pay all the money back, but disputes the claims made in court.

Topol did not represent his interest and did not have a lawyer during the court process.

Regardless, he said he will abide by the decision and pay restitution.

"The bottom line is they are going to get the money back. And that's what I'm doing," Topol said.

"I wish I had the money right now and I would be honoured to sign a check and give it to them and then they can go on with their life and I can go on with my business.”

Topol, 79, said his company lost dozens of orders when the Municipality of Lakeshore backed away from floating homes in Lighthouse Cove.

The Municipality of Lakeshore said floating homes were never permitted in the Municipality of Lakeshore. It added Lakeshore defined and prohibited floating homes with a zoning by-law amendment in August 2021.

“In the light of (the) publicity, which is not really positive, it's extremely hard to visualize (where) the funds will be coming from that, whatever we were aiming for," Topol said.

He still believes his product is an eco-friendly floating vessel that can be placed anywhere on the water.

As such, Topol told CTV News he’s optimistic his company can continue to receive new orders which will help him pay for the court-ordered restitution.

"We're not going to be stopping,” said Topol. “You know, just basically we're going to improve on our research and conclusion that they need to be placed on barges if they're going to be livable."

"There are still a lot of people out there who wish to live on water. So we're basically changing policy that's going to be classifying it as a houseboat - period."