margarita isle

[ADRIANALLGOOD]

Originally Posted by OPH

Adrian

Whats wrong with Caracola? and back up what you´re saying with figures please not just sweeping statements.........

Caracola is SIPP compliant, tax efficient, carries a minimum 7% guaranteed rental for 10 years backed by fidelity bond (increasing to 8.25% after 5 years if occupancy stays constant) and has a 70% LTV mortgage available...............with entry as low as just US$41,000 or 20,500 GBP, its probably one of the soundest and secure investments around at the moment!

Back up your sweeping statements with facts please!

OPH

what you have to understand those guarantees are not worth anything.
Venezuela has a currency control, you are not aloud to deal with any other currency then the bolivar. the official rate of the bolivar is 2100blv per 1$us,but the black market rate goes up and down right now the black market rate is about 3400 last year it was about 6500blv per $. you could check out the daily black market rate at controldecambio dot com and click on Dolar Paralelo and click on dolar paralelo.
If you want to invest in magarita you should do it when the exchange is high that happens usualy every year a few months before crismast, due to the fact that there is a high demand for the dollar. In venezuela it's illegal to have any type of transaction or contract in any other currency but the bolivar. So when your guaranteed 7% it's not on the price you paid on the unit in GBP but on the amount in bolivars, which if a 1000 000 blv today it's worth 20 000GBP in six month in myth be worth half.

[andyintheworld]

This is something which worries me too about Rental Guarantees in Venezuela.
There doesnt seem to be a legal way of guaranteeing anything other than by way of a Venezuelan contract to pay out in local currency - which fluctuates by as much as 40% during any 12 months.

I had a developer ask me to market a project with a 7% "guarantee" and I told him that I didnt want to use any type of guarantee as there was no way of legally enforcing it. HE AGREED!!! but said he felt obliged to offer one as all his competition were using them.

The problem is - if a company later reneges on the guarantee for whatever reason - who is the client going to complain to?

Venezuelan government will not recognise any contract alluding to hard currency unless it is subject to the "ley de cambios" which I believe comes under the authority - CADIVI.

The construction company for Caracola is Venezuelan but the promoter is Spanish and based in Spain. So unless the contract was written under Spanish law as opposed to Venezuelan there would be no chance of taking a company to court.

Even if a client did take legal action I dont know what the end result would be, given the guarantee is from a Spanish company in Spain on a Venezuelan property registered in Venezuela - and I wouldnt like to have to find out.

As mentioned previously - Caracolas main problem is exit strategy due to the scale of the project and the number of investors who will be looking to exit at the same time.

Unless someone could clarify the obvious problems with rental guarantees - I wouldnt consider the guarantee a selling point.

[andyintheworld]

Good effort.... another attempt at a negative post which looks to have failed miserably....


LOOK!!!! if you seriously want to diss the place and have a magnificent reason to do so. I am guessing you want people to take your opinion seriously (I really will), please provide facts, figures, names, numbers, - anything that lets us know you´re not just another bitter expat who has lost money in X country.

There are many, many people who have lost, I really have to suspect you are one of them as you do nothing but criticize. Please tell us what went wrong for you and how others can avoid making the same mistakes. If you are too embarrassed to tell everyone then so be it, but you are unlikely to gain much recognition as an authority on your subject unless you do.

For example:

I am an Egypt agent - I will therefore spam every other forum subcategory telling everyone how rubbish there chosen area is....

It´s not gonna be long before people figure out that your opinions are not objective. So, provide info, testimonial and facts or dont bother.

[LivingIt]

To clarify...I'm not working for anyone, I'm not selling anything, I'm not trying to make any money. I just live here, happily.

For those who are considering Caracola Beach Resort....


I've lived on Caracola beach since 2005. Not a long time but long enough. It is a great location. However if you are looking at Caracola Beach Resort as anything other than an investment (not someplace to live) you may want to read the fine print. Unless I missed something, it states in the FAQ sheet that you only have use of the unit for 4 weeks out of the year, off season, and this use will be discounted at a pro-rata rate from your rental income.

GOTO: caracolabeachresort website, then management, then click the link at the bottom of the page and you'll see...I'd just post the link but this site won't let me.

As far as living here.... living on any island or Latin American country is a way of life. Let me remind anyone who missed it. In Margarita it's a double whammy, both island AND Latin America. It's not just an address where you choose to hang your hat. It's a lifestyle choice. One likely very different from what you live now. Yes, from time to time it can be tough to find certain items. We always know what those items are and stock up on them. This way, when there is a shortage we have enough until we find it on the shelves again. It's really no big deal. It's an island...get over it. I've been on more than half the islands down the chain and several countries in Central America and I'm here to tell ya, on Margarita, we've got it pretty darn good. Better than many places. There are things we have here many other islands NEVER have very often if at all. There isn't much we need that we can't get our hands on.

As far as being comfortable with our investment...very. But we never bought assuming we would make any money from it. We bought because we wanted to live here. If I sell it 5 years from now for no more than I have in it, it means I've lived free of rent or mortgage all that time. I could even go so far as to say if I lived in it for 10 years, sold it for the same amount I bought it, that I actually made $72,000. How you ask? If I were paying rent, say at $600 a month (not a bad deal for an ocean front 2b/2b condo) for 10 years(hell of a fixed rent) that adds up to $72,000 that I never had to pay out plus the return of my original investment amount. So I'll really have made over 100% profit. If say after 10 years I sell it for $5000 less than I bought it (which isn't likely) so I paid $41 a month in rent for 10 years with a profit of $67,000. Again, almost 100% profit over my initial investment. Is that so bad? I know that isn't how most people see it when they buy a property and live in it, but maybe they should. I'm not sure right now, in this economy, anyone should be looking at real estate investment as a money maker darn near anywhere anyway. So a word of advice.... if you invest in a property on Margarita, do it because you want to be here, and try first to understand what being here is.

[Liberty]

what you have to understand those guarantees are not worth anything.
Rubbish, it is if it is backed by an insurance bond and will be facilitated by a world class management company.
Venezuela has a currency control, you are not aloud to deal with any other currency then the bolivar. the official rate of the bolivar is 2100blv per 1$us,but the black market rate goes up and down right now the black market rate is about 3400 last year it was about 6500blv per $. you could check out the daily black market rate at controldecambio dot com and click on Dolar Paralelo and click on dolar paralelo.
If you buy in Euros through an offshore entity then you protect yourself from any exchange issues. So, if the client buys the company in Euros which bought the property in Bolivars then there are no issues. The client is only ever buying 100% of the shares of the company which owns the property..
If you want to invest in magarita you should do it when the exchange is high that happens usualy every year a few months before crismast, due to the fact that there is a high demand for the dollar. In venezuela it's illegal to have any type of transaction or contract in any other currency but the bolivar.
You are not transacting in Margarita, you are merely buying into an offshore company which happens to own a property in Margarita.
If you do what I previously stated you will protect yourself from this.So when your guaranteed 7% it's not on the price you paid on the unit in GBP but on the amount in bolivars, which if a 1000 000 blv today it's worth 20 000GBP in six month in myth be worth half.[/quote]
Nonsense, if you buy in Euros, you will be paid in Euros for your rent. Demand for the property will dictate its worth in Euros, not Bolivars.
So, Adrianallgood it would appear that your not as smart as you think you are.

[ADRIANALLGOOD]

Originally Posted by Liberty

what you have to understand those guarantees are not worth anything.
Rubbish, it is if it is backed by an insurance bond and will be facilitated by a world class management company.
Venezuela has a currency control, you are not aloud to deal with any other currency then the bolivar. the official rate of the bolivar is 2100blv per 1$us,but the black market rate goes up and down right now the black market rate is about 3400 last year it was about 6500blv per $. you could check out the daily black market rate at controldecambio dot com and click on Dolar Paralelo and click on dolar paralelo.
If you buy in Euros through an offshore entity then you protect yourself from any exchange issues. So, if the client buys the company in Euros which bought the property in Bolivars then there are no issues. The client is only ever buying 100% of the shares of the company which owns the property..
If you want to invest in magarita you should do it when the exchange is high that happens usualy every year a few months before crismast, due to the fact that there is a high demand for the dollar. In venezuela it's illegal to have any type of transaction or contract in any other currency but the bolivar.
You are not transacting in Margarita, you are merely buying into an offshore company which happens to own a property in Margarita.
If you do what I previously stated you will protect yourself from this.So when your guaranteed 7% it's not on the price you paid on the unit in GBP but on the amount in bolivars, which if a 1000 000 blv today it's worth 20 000GBP in six month in myth be worth half.

Nonsense, if you buy in Euros, you will be paid in Euros for your rent. Demand for the property will dictate its worth in Euros, not Bolivars.
So, Adrianallgood it would appear that your not as smart as you think you are.
[/quote]

listen buddy I'm not trying to have a penis measuring contest with you. Buy it if you want, but i know Venezuela very well, and i know what I'm talking about. For the issue and application of the foreign exchange control provisions, the Government created a special agency called Commission of Foreign Exchange Administration CADIVI has the powers to issue general regulations, called "Providences", on the requirements for the purchase of foreign currency; to issue or deny authorizations to purchase foreign currency and to verify and control the use of the foreign currency, the purchase of which from the Central Bank of Venezuela it has authorized. CADIVI has issued a number of Providences on the requisites and procedures for the purchase of foreign currency for the different kinds of operations covered by the Foreign Exchange Agreement N° 1, which is the main body of rules of the foreign exchange control regime. now if you´re buying shares from a company based in Venezuela the contract must be made in bolivars, which by the way the project on the Caracola beach is registered to a Venezuela based company, and if the contract is made by a foreign company out of Venezuela , it´s as good as toilet paper. I do not think that a the smartest, but I'm a real businessman that invest real money all over the world and not a Internet bloger that pretends to be one. By the way would the offshore base company be responsible if Chavez passes a reform that would nationalize property's , like the one he tried to pass last year and lost by 1%. there´s a reason why margarita is

the cheapest real estate in the carabein, that´s because its a risky investment.

[andyintheworld]

Have to agree with Adrian - I see many, many problems here for anyone who ever has any problems with this rental guarantee.

As for the insurance bond - well I´ve never had a great experience claiming on insurance.
Insurance companies spend millions employing people to find reasons not to pay out. I´m sure in the face of a barrage of claims due to a rental guarantee failure, they wouldn´t simply start writing cheques.

I have spent a lot of time in Venezuela - Caracas and Margarita and the currency controls are taken very seriously indeed. If the deal was so good I am sure plenty of wealthy Venezuelans would have snapped them up.

The vast majority of rental clients on the island are Venezuelans. You can get good rental there but there are far better purchases than Caracola. I´d look at resale if I were to purchase there again - the nearer Sambil the better.

As for prices going up at the end of every phase - "guaranteed capital growth" - well if only it was that easy....

[PeixeGato]

I think this is a great post and reminds everyone that you need to put things into perspective and decide on your investment motive and exit strategy BEFORE you buy. The value of getting the right lifestyle is immeasurable.

PG

Originally Posted by LivingIt

To clarify...I'm not working for anyone, I'm not selling anything, I'm not trying to make any money. I just live here, happily.

For those who are considering Caracola Beach Resort....


I've lived on Caracola beach since 2005. Not a long time but long enough. It is a great location. However if you are looking at Caracola Beach Resort as anything other than an investment (not someplace to live) you may want to read the fine print. Unless I missed something, it states in the FAQ sheet that you only have use of the unit for 4 weeks out of the year, off season, and this use will be discounted at a pro-rata rate from your rental income.

GOTO: caracolabeachresort website, then management, then click the link at the bottom of the page and you'll see...I'd just post the link but this site won't let me.

As far as living here.... living on any island or Latin American country is a way of life. Let me remind anyone who missed it. In Margarita it's a double whammy, both island AND Latin America. It's not just an address where you choose to hang your hat. It's a lifestyle choice. One likely very different from what you live now. Yes, from time to time it can be tough to find certain items. We always know what those items are and stock up on them. This way, when there is a shortage we have enough until we find it on the shelves again. It's really no big deal. It's an island...get over it. I've been on more than half the islands down the chain and several countries in Central America and I'm here to tell ya, on Margarita, we've got it pretty darn good. Better than many places. There are things we have here many other islands NEVER have very often if at all. There isn't much we need that we can't get our hands on.

As far as being comfortable with our investment...very. But we never bought assuming we would make any money from it. We bought because we wanted to live here. If I sell it 5 years from now for no more than I have in it, it means I've lived free of rent or mortgage all that time. I could even go so far as to say if I lived in it for 10 years, sold it for the same amount I bought it, that I actually made $72,000. How you ask? If I were paying rent, say at $600 a month (not a bad deal for an ocean front 2b/2b condo) for 10 years(hell of a fixed rent) that adds up to $72,000 that I never had to pay out plus the return of my original investment amount. So I'll really have made over 100% profit. If say after 10 years I sell it for $5000 less than I bought it (which isn't likely) so I paid $41 a month in rent for 10 years with a profit of $67,000. Again, almost 100% profit over my initial investment. Is that so bad? I know that isn't how most people see it when they buy a property and live in it, but maybe they should. I'm not sure right now, in this economy, anyone should be looking at real estate investment as a money maker darn near anywhere anyway. So a word of advice.... if you invest in a property on Margarita, do it because you want to be here, and try first to understand what being here is.

[irishlion]

Originally Posted by Margarita Dawn

Hi red
we are originally from the North East of England Newcastle and Middlesbrough area we moved hear to Margarita island March 06 with our 6 year old daughter, we now own a English bar on the beach in Player el Agua due to open in July 07 called the Rovers Return and we have also just recently bought a house in La mira n/r Player el Agua to make into a posada (B&B )we have a multitude of info and advice for anyone thinking ov investing or moving to the island, Margarita was recently on a BBC program for the best places to invest in 2007 any help we can give you just let us know from residency to cost of living.
Amanda & Gary

hello
nice to hear that everything is going good on the island, im considering the place myself and am glad to hear there is some one i can talk to about general infomation. infact any info would be an advantage, im currently living on the isle of man and am waiting to sell my place over here the market dosnt seem to be as bad as england so fingers crossed i'll be able to move or at least look in 6 months.

one question i am pondering , if i may, is ." the prices on the internet for most areas on margarita, are they inflated at all or is it on the mark, just so i can budget buying costs etc.

you can reach
or contact +4407624 478295

like i say any info would be great, im quiet open to ideas as im going to have to buy either a buisness or a rental opertunity, bed greakfast etc.

look forward to hearing from you.
chris

[Pharaoh]

25 people killed and 70 injured by bullets in SEPTEMBER ALONE

.:: EL SOL DE MARGARITA ::.

cut and paste content of above link into this link for English
Free Translation and Professional Translation Services from SDL

Those thinking of buying...........DONT !!!