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The
Sixth Appliance
Some deals offer digital access
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"The Sixth
Appliance" is getting rave reviews at new home communities in the
GTA.
You may have seen this term used before in
advertisements from various builders.
The so-called sixth
appliance, in many cases, isn't a fridge, stove, dishwasher or
dryer. It's actually a year of free digital cable and Internet
access through Rogers Cable. You get five cable outlets throughout
your home, and have to cough up $9.95 for a hookup charge.
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New Brooklin, a community
created by Melody Homes and Fernbrook Homes in the hamlet of
Brooklin, was the first community to get on board with the cable
company in the summer of 2000.
Melody Homes' deal with
Rogers offers buyers 12 months of free Rogers high-speed Internet
service, 12 months of free VIP cable and 12 months of free digital
cable. That includes The Movie Network, four U.S. Superstations,
access to pay-per-view channels and music channels, and visiting
tech support.
Queensgate Homes, Cachet Estate Homes and
Greenhaven Homes are some of the building companies that have
climbed on board with Rogers' promotion.
Most of the
communities involved in the Rogers deal are in the GTA's east end,
including Brooklin, Oshawa, Whitby and Curtis.
Melody Homes
liked the program so much, they signed their community of
Innovations in Brampton into the program, and made a deal with
Cogeco Cable in Peterborough for the community of Fairview Hills.
Rob Mitchell, project manager for Melody's New Brooklin
site, said buyers are responding well to the program.
"People who come in here with satellite systems will put
them away for a year," Mitchell said. "A lot of them are thrilled.
Who wouldn't be happy if you're a first-time homebuyer and you can
save that expense on your house every month?"
First-time
homebuyers are the people who will appreciate this program the most,
said Tony De Caria, project manager at Queensgate Homes.
"Generally, when two people are buying a new house, they've
got to get some money together for the down payment, and (cable and
Internet access) is something a homeowner sometimes can't always
afford," said De Caria, who estimated the cable/Internet package to
be worth about $867.
Queensgate communities involved with
the Rogers deal include Claireville in Brampton and Olde Winchester
in Brooklin.
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