Avoid AMA Homes Development in Edinburgh at all costs,

[maryscott]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I had an extremely disappointing experience with AMA Homes, specifically dealing with their CEO, Behnam. In October, we offered to purchase one of their 4-bedroom houses in Edinburgh and paid a £2,000 deposit. We were in the process of selling our current home, but when that took longer than expected, AMA Homes put the property back on the market. However, when we finally received an offer on our house, Behnam agreed to sell the property to us again.

We encountered difficulties with securing a mortgage because AMA Homes did not have the standard new build insurance (NHBC). This decision was made by not just one but two of the biggest mortgage providers in the UK. Despite this, Behnam reassured us that everything was fine, recommended an alternative lender, and even welcomed the lender's inspector for a valuation. Because of that, we were led to believe that the sale was secured, as Behnam told us on the phone that he will get the house "ready for us to move in".

However, despite these reassurances, Behnam kept the property on the market with a higher price, hoping to catch a better deal. He continued to hold our £2,000 deposit and, just one week before our planned move-in date, after we had already packed up our entire house, he abruptly emailed to withdraw from the deal. The reason given was that we "weren't serious," although it was clear that the real reason was that he had received a better offer on the property. His property advertisement turned into "SOLD STC" immediately after he broke our entire chain.

This entire process was stressful, misleading, and left us feeling completely disregarded. Not only that, but it also affects our buyer's part of the chain, leaving many people's living condition seriously affected. I would strongly advise anyone considering purchasing a property from AMA Homes to be extremely cautious and to consider our experience before proceeding. This level of unprofessionalism and disregard for customers is unacceptable.

I thought to post my experience in hope that it might save someone else a year of extreme emotional distress.

Why would you put down a deposit without a mortgage offer in principle?

If the missives weren't concluded nothing is legally binding so they can pull out.

They don't sound great if they don't have appropriate new build insurance. That's a huge red flag, I'd have walked away then.

You can still go ahead with your sale. Put stuff in storage and rent. I had to do this when a property I was buying fell through but my flat was sold.

I was not very experienced with this as this is only our second purchase of a house. I guess this was a lesson for us. But overall, I still felt an obligation to warn everybody against this builder as their practices were incredibly shady.

I understand buying and selling can be a really difficult process. This is where you rely on a good solicitor to guide you through it.

I'm sorry this happened and hope you find another property.