Ocean Estates Exhibition in Bournemouth at the Royal Bath Hotel De Vere Suite
On the 12 November 2006
Private Meeting between the people below
In a separate room to the conference suite where the exhibition was being held
Messrs:
Alisdair Mac Donald Ocean Estates President
David Stone Sea Golf Regency apartment owner
Duncan Lewis ditto
Julian Calcinotto ditto
Roger Elford ditto
The Questions and points raised and put to AM
Q.Was Alasdair Macdonald (AM) aware of the turistico problem at Sea Golf Agency
A.No
Q.Was AM aware that we had an impending time frame given by the Spanish Authorities to sign the apartment to a Hotel as per the planning approval.
A.No.
Q. Was AM aware that the developer was selling a Hotel.
A. No.
Did he ask to see the planning documents before his company decided to sell residential apartments to the general public.
Was he aware that he was falsely selling self-contained apartments in a Hotel Complex?
If you are selling off plan you have a duty of care to know what your company is profiting from.
Are you financially involved in any way with Alleerton Holding? Or are the companies linked?
You were the sole agents (exclusive) to this development. Under what contracts documents was your appointment with Alleerton?
Why did you want to sell this development which was out of the way and much more difficult to sell?
Why did you not sell this development to your block investors?
Is it because their lawyers would have known that they were actually buying a Hotel? And they wouldn’t be interested.
Is it because they were difficult to sell and therefore it wasn’t financially viable to sell the re-sales for the profit margin the block investors required?
OR is it because Ocean Estates are involved financially?
There was no follow-up after sales? Why ?
Was he aware that the sales staff and senior sales staff including Management were selling this development as having good rental potential.
Additionally they advised buyers that they were guaranteeing 50% rental income if the property were managed by the Sea Golf Hotel which I believe was also sold by OE.
This property has now been demolished and the developers etc linked to OE have been put in gaol.
Was A.M. aware that the Alleerton Development (J.Stone Aureus) further down the coast are also in a similar situation and they are starting their own petition
We believe from their group that they were also told the same story by Ocean Estates Sales Agents. Were you aware?
When you have board meetings with your staff these questions must arise?? I.e How are we going to sell these apartments what was your angle ??
When you decide to take on a development do you have quality procedures to vet developers and their backgrounds? If so can you demonstrate your company policy if only to protect your own money.
Do you scrutinise their documentation before you sell their profit making apartments to innocent people investing their life savings??
If not, why not and do you not have an obligation under Spanish law to check before agreeing to sell apartments is their no code of conduct for selling agents.
Who makes the documents for the marketing strategy?
Who makes the decisions on which developments he sells? Board, President?
Who makes decisions on commission rates?
Who briefs the selling agents on selling techniques?
Are your agents properly trained?
We were wined and dined by your Senior Sales Manager? Is this normal protocol to get a Sale?
Is it a coincidence that the Aureus developments was undertaken by Alleerton under a different name and you OE where again the sole Agents are using the same selling technique co-incidence??
Are you linked with the lawyers and developments as this all seems a little bit underhand?
Did you think you were going to get the planning condition removed before the final completion and there would’nt be problem. But now there is a problem , you have decided to disassociate yourself from the whole scenario.
You (OE) are supposed to be a professional responsible organisation which relies on integrity. Is it not your duty to know Spanish planning laws and selling laws? And also what your own staff are telling people or are they selling the apartments as instructed by you and senior staff? Under false pretentions?
We stated that this was not going to go away as many peoples lives are severely affected and if needs be criminal proceedings are being considered by both steering groups at the Sea Golf regency and Aureus Owners Forums.
We are very suspicious of all parties including the lawyers who have also failed to highlight the turistico issue which would have been a basic checking process in the Deed of title and contract of sale.For three separate professional organisations to have failed to point this out, is a little bit difficult to believe, do you not agree?
Did OE agree to sell this development for higher commissions rates than usual because of all the hassles associated with the development;i.e dishonesty and increased risk taken by all professional parties involved?
Were OE involved in selling the land.
Were OE involved in introducing the Land Sales?
Were you aware that all buyers were told that the area around our development was deemed to be garden area and was not to be developed. Other surrounding areas were also stated as being green belt and none developable because of it being owned by the Government and it could never be built on. When in fact other developments are starting to appear.
Where you aware that the German Hotel in Alcadiesa was being touted as a Thomas Cook Hotel which would require additional apartments when busy which would have been another opportunity to rent out the apartments.
Most of the questions were not answered, however Alisdair did agree to help our case by trying to remove the turistico problem.
I have since been contacted by Paul Blagdon MD of OE for a meeting in Puerto Banus on Fri 18th November 2006. to discuss our problem.