A Halifax real estate agent says he is faced with a desperate situation. Four of his clients not able to reach the builder of their homes, which are nowhere near completed.
“All the buyers, they’re trying to locate where the builder is and try to sit down with the builder and ask what’s going on?” Bill Chen said, a Halifax real estate agent.
Four of Chen’s clients bought pre-construction homes in West Bedford in October 2020 with a closing date set for June 2021. The four lots are all on the same street and were sold to a company called Optimo Group Inc.
Global News has requested interviews with the company’s director, Hamid Nikkhah, and the company’s lawyer. There has been no response.
Chen says he grew apprehensive a few months after the sales when he checked on the progress of the lots.
“There was no action on the job site. So, I start to question the listing agent, ‘What is going on?’ The deposit was paid, the agreement was signed, there was nothing going on. There should be some sort of construction,” he said.
Chen says his concerns were met with a response from the builder, requesting the buyers to amend their purchase agreements to each pay $100,000 over the original sale price.
Chen says the builder argued that he couldn’t proceed with securing a bank loan to finish the construction due to increased costs.
Not wanting to lose their homes, Chen says the buyers agreed to pay an extra $70,000 on top of the original price of sale.
That amendment came with a new closing date that Chen says has since been pushed back to June 2022. Construction on the lots is still in the very early stages.
“I don’t deal with the builder directly, I deal with the listing agent. And the listing agent has been trying really hard to reach the builder, and the builder hasn’t been able to tell her a good time to meet. So, at this moment, all the buyers, they’re trying to locate where the builder is,” he said.
Global News has verified the price increase by obtaining a copy of the amendment.
Chen says all his buyers want is an honest discussion with the builder. Their ultimate concern is that any legal action they choose to take may lead to him claiming bankruptcy.
“They can get their deposit back but they cannot get their loss back. Considering the price they paid versus the price that the market sells right now, I think there’s a good $300,000 difference on each lot,” he said.
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