margarita isle

[andyintheworld]

I suppose we shouldn't buy anywhere where there is any gun crime then.... Unlucky all those people who have bought in London over the past 20 years - you fools!!!!

Also here is the English:
The majority of these homicides involved with firearms and knives were in Achípano, Los Cocos and City Paper, Mariño municipality. Asimismo en las urbanizaciones Pedro Luis Briceño y San Antonio, en García. Also in Suburbia Pedro Luis Briceno and San Antonio, in Garcia.

Anyone who knows the island knows that these ARE NOT tourist areas, expat areas. They are the barrios where homelñess people congregate, where drugs are sold and where people of any stature never find themselves.... I know Margarita Island very well and you seem intent on painting it in a very poor light.
the pace isnt perfect but it is absolutely nothing like you seem to want people to see it.

You really seem to hate the place!!! Putting your tabloidesque post into context shows that these are the types of crimes that are committed in the run down areas of all cities in all countries. Also the numbers are unusually high - hence the headlines.

STOP PICKING ON MARGARITA!!! JUST BECAUSE YOU LOST MONEY THERE!!!

Either present an unbiased and objective view or just dont post.... You have left the Island - Move on - forget it and learn from your investment mistakes.

[reidepot]

As we are all facing more difficult times and many people have concerns over the security of their investments I have received some information from the developer of the Caracola Resort project Mar-y-Casa that will give investors comfort of the security of their investments:

See below e-mail from the Developer.

We have been developing for more than 20 years now and the financial situation of the company is very solid. We have also diversified a lot. The company has invested massively in the last year in other projects. For example in Solar Energy, which is booming now. Our partners are financially key, and our revenue does not come only from construction but other sources too. Developing in Margarita has other advantages. Banks can finance up to 100% of the construction cost. Bearing in mind that the land has been paid already, there is no distress. The finance is secured at 100% for the whole development cost.

The key thing in the Caracola project is the common areas, which is what makes it a special development (and the location as well). Worst case (which would actually be the best for the investors) is that they would have the first block and all the common areas. The hotel operator is aware of this too and happy. So worst case scenario, we would develop the first phase altogether with the whole common areas and leave the other blocks until the end. We are starting the construction in November.

I understand that in the actual credit crunch, some investors might feel some stress, but there is no reason to be pessimistic about Caracola.

[olgashv55]

Hi
I there anybody who knows what is happening with La Ensenada development?
Shall be gratefull for any information
Best regards
Olga

[KDJX]

Originally Posted by olgashv55

Hi
I there anybody who knows what is happening with La Ensenada development?
Shall be gratefull for any information
Best regards
Olga

Not good news Olga. The main agent has moved on and has put me in touch with the developer directly. He has been busy trying to find another investor to replace a previous one that was a victim of the credit crunch. His management of my expectations consits of sending several negative reports about the collapsing tourist industry, inability to raise loans and political instability.

Building operations have ceased until (and unless) he finds a solution and agents are being asked to remove the sales brochures etc from their web-sites. The bank on which the developer was pinning his hopes has recently declined to invest.

So...who on earth is going to invest in a piece of desert with a few partly completed houses on it in the current climate ? It's hard to see anything moving in the forseeable future.

The betting is that at some point the site will be sold to the Goverment at a knock down price and become a housing estate for locals. In which case we will eventually be left with the consolation that we have personally financed the housing of a needy family. In the meantime losing £40,000 hurts big time !!!


K

[olgashv55]

Originally Posted by KDJX

Not good news Olga. The main agent has moved on and has put me in touch with the developer directly. He has been busy trying to find another investor to replace a previous one that was a victim of the credit crunch. His management of my expectations consits of sending several negative reports about the collapsing tourist industry, inability to raise loans and political instability.

Building operations have ceased until (and unless) he finds a solution and agents are being asked to remove the sales brochures etc from their web-sites. The bank on which the developer was pinning his hopes has recently declined to invest.

So...who on earth is going to invest in a piece of desert with a few partly completed houses on it in the current climate ? It's hard to see anything moving in the forseeable future.

The betting is that at some point the site will be sold to the Goverment at a knock down price and become a housing estate for locals. In which case we will eventually be left with the consolation that we have personally financed the housing of a needy family. In the meantime losing £40,000 hurts big time !!!


K

Dear K
Thank you for reply
I also got similar letter from developer - just "financial crisis, oil prices etc, etc"
I sent him several mails with request to explain how the funds collected from the buyers (i suppose, that with first stage totally sold, with financing equal to almost 50% of the selling price he MUST have funds to proceed, even with low speed) but he does not answer to these mails.
I already informed my lawyer in Margarita to get in touch with Ensenada Inc. lawyer
Or you think that nothing can be done in this situation?
brgds
Olga

[Chaz_The_Sun]

Took part of my honeymoon in Margarita. Absolutely georgeous place - sorry to hear of your troubles and I hope it all works out.

[andyintheworld]

I have told lots of people NOT to buy off-plan in Margarita. Caracola will be next and we will see all the clever arse agents who have been flogging the crap out of that place on the back of bullcrap insurance and rental guarantees - disappear.

Like so many places the risk completely outweighs the potential reward.
Plus you all got ripped off buying in La Ensenada anyways.

I have quite a bit of property in Margarita for sale and know the place as a local. We are going to buy somewhere there for ourselves at some point this year - just waiting for the dollar to fall against the Euro.
Locals have bought in La Ensenada and they will either get to completion or get there money back because if they don´t the developer will fear for his life - that kind of country.
They also pay in local currency - Bolivares.

I was there in 2008 and asked the developer how much I could sell La Ensenada for. His first question was: "Who are you selling it to?" he then utterly refused to give "real prices" to any of the Europeans we would introduce.
His name - Andrés Rodríguez, president of the Real Estate Chamber of Nueva Esparta, partner in Century 21 La Redoma and Century 21 Bricks Margarita and also the person behind La Ensenada.

This is the guy who told me to my face that my clients would pay more than Venezuelans because they are from outside - whilst preaching about control and standards, President of the real estate this, that and the other - joke.

The price in Bolivares for a 2 bed marketed by Century21 was 385,000Bs which is $70,000 or £35,000 (at that time).

The main promoter in the UK - was selling these for between £46,000 and £51,000 so at least a £11,000 mark up on the price. Sub-agents were than bunging on their commission as well

Given that your money was paid over and changed into dollars and the dollar has appreciated against Sterling by 35% since then, they could QUITE EASILY refund a large amount of your money.

Also bear in mind that these promoters earn their commission (10%) just for getting a deposit off you. Really they shouldn't be making a penny until you get to completion.

If you want to make money in Margarita, buy a decent resale apartment for about $80,000 upwards in Porlamar or Pampatar. Get a good rental agent on the island who can fill it most weeks )plenty of locals who offer this service) and also rent it out yourself to Europeans.
The rental agent will make enough in local currency to pay all your community fees, bills, depreciation on furniture and repairs with PLENTY left over and you will get enough in hard currency to make the investment worthwhile.
When you want to exit, sell it to a local - the local real estate market in Margarita rarely slows down.

THAT is how you invest there for between $80,000 - $300,000 and make good money. Not through these fly-by-night idiot agents sat in their mothers spare room gobbing off on forums about countries, resorts, laws and developers they know nothing about!

I am sorry you have learned the hard way and I hope it doesnt tarnish your thoughts about Margarita - beautiful island - I love it there but if you think about it - it is common sense to buy from people who live, work and know the place you are buying in - not from some clown in the UK that has maybe been there once and has a nice flashy website with a generic description of the Caribbean and a load of bull about a racetrack....

You need a very good lawyer and you need to attack these people over the handling of your cash, quiz them about the transaction, your lawyer needs to contact the bank involved and needs to know if the monies were transferred into Venezuela legally or on the black market (Ley de Cambios and the people involved are looking at jail time if they get caught cutting corners) whether tax has been paid, building certificates issues and then sue Century 21 for your money back - they are still active and certainly haven't gone under so it will depend on the structure of the company you signed a contract with. Your lawyer also needs to report the companies and people involved to the SENIAT - venezuelas "IRS" hard core and don´t take any crap from any of the companies there. they closed down the equivalent of BT for not paying their taxes on time!!!

You can get your money back from these snakes just don´t be scared off or give up, form an action group - find as many other purchasers as you can and don't give up.

And if you ever think about investing their again (Okay, it´s a long shot...) but let me know - I have worked with some good agents and lawyers over their. My wife is Venezuelan and we will make sure you don't get ripped off again.

Let us know how it all goes and what happens and good luck.

[BPR]

Originally Posted by andyintheworld

I have told lots of people NOT to buy off-plan in Margarita. Caracola will be next and we will see all the clever arse agents who have been flogging the crap out of that place on the back of bullcrap insurance and rental guarantees - disappear.

Like so many places the risk completely outweighs the potential reward.
Plus you all got ripped off buying in La Ensenada anyways.

I have quite a bit of property in Margarita for sale and know the place as a local. We are going to buy somewhere there for ourselves at some point this year - just waiting for the dollar to fall against the Euro.
Locals have bought in La Ensenada and they will either get to completion or get there money back because if they don´t the developer will fear for his life - that kind of country.
They also pay in local currency - Bolivares.

Andy, you aren't quite correct in what you're saying.

First, buying a property pre-venta means that the Alcaldia hasn't issued a Certificate of Occupancy, so there isn't any title registered. Ergo, the buyer is getting a sales contract with the company that's developing it. If the company goes bankrupt, that's it. It's bankrupt. Liquidate and divide up whatever it brings, and deal with the lawsuits. That's the way it works. Trying to go after the people who ran the company into the ground isn't as easy as it is in the UK or the US. It's damn difficult.

I had numerous people ask me about La Ensenada, and I always told them that 1.) it's on the wrong side of the island;
2.) it's in the middle of no-where and Venezuelans wouldn't want to buy out there;
3.) if you want to stay there you need a car because it's so far out and taxi service is a joke. If you're in the Porlamar-Pampatar area and tell the taxi driver that you want to go to La Guardia, they say "NO!";
4.) You either get to shop in Juan Griego, or plan on driving for at least 30 minutes each way to get to Sigo, longer if you want to get to the Sambil/Rattan area.
5.) It was way, way overpriced. The cost of construction for a place like that is about $1000 per meter, and that's a generous estimate based on a Bs.F. 4 per Dollar exchange rate. Those places were being sold for much more than that, and the local market wouldn't pay that much money for an apartment next to La Guardia.
6.) Did I mention that it's next to La Guardia?
7.) If you want to sell, you have to wait until the place is sold out, or find another gringo to buy it. To find another gringo, you're competing with the developer to sell your apartment. This is a recipe for losing money.
8.) There are lots better places to buy, that are better investments and have a much more liquid market if you want to sell.

Want to make money? First, buy where the local market is hot. Right now, that's just about anywhere within 10 minutes driving time from Sambil Mall. Playa Real and Porto Vechio in Playa Moreno just pretty much sold out at 11,000 Bs.F. per meter, and most of those sales were back when the exchange rate was hovering around 3.2 per Dollar. I expect to see these apartments selling for 20,000 per meter by mid 2010, because that's where the Venezuelans want to be.

Second, there is a way to invest here and get a guaranteed profit of 40% to 50% on your sale. I've done it, and I can do it for any foreign investor, but only if the correct procedure is followed.

It isn't that difficult.
Brian

[andyintheworld]

Originally Posted by BPR

Andy, you aren't quite correct in what you're saying.

Thanks for your reply Brian - there's no "easy money" anywhere but there is sensible money to be made.
And as you agreed it is not in these fly by night clowns selling make believe investments on an island they simply don't understand and i most cases havent even visited. Our family own property in Caracas, Puerto and Margarita as well as a fair bit of land in the eastern states.
We have a very good understanding of the market there which is why it really pains me to see these generic international real estate portals pushing absolute garbage and I think it does nothing but harm the image of Margarita when they go completely tits up as this one has.

I am not in Margarita right now but you are. Perhaps you know a realistic way for these people top pursue and get their back from these sharks. I have an excellent, well known abogado in Caracas who would look into this type of case if there was a large enough group to raise a decent amount of litigation funds.

Anyone in Margarita knows who Andrés Rodríguez is and he is obviously the person to be going after especially since he is so keen to tell everyone he is going to build a mall bigger and better than Sambil (I´ll believe it when I see it).
He´s obviously not short of a bob or two so why should his clients lose money?

As for La Ensenada, yes it is in the middle of no-where, the resale potential is limited and the reason they bought that land was because it is DIRT CHEAP.
Weren't Century 21 behind the other great off-plan failure in the Macanao Peninsula 10 or 11 years ago????

I tend to find wherever I work in the world - the bigger the real estate company, the more absolutely full of **** they seem to be....

[BPR]

Andy

Last I heard, Roberto Calverisi (Provomed building) was representing the investors in La Ensenada who lost money and are trying to sue anyone and everyone. Big mistake. Lot of money will get spent, and nothing will happen. Also, my understanding was that the guy who was really behind the La Ensenada deal was an American named Steve... and he doesn't come down here anymore.

The guy you're talking about was the main promoter, but to the best of my knowledge he wasn't the one in charge of the deal.

Next time you're on the island give me a call and we can drink a few beers while I explain how to really make some money here. I can bring money in on the Paralelo and take it out with CADIVI. It's not easy, but it's damn profitable.

Brian