Anyone considering pulling out?

Not a lot going on but this must help the claim in getting the funds back I guess.

Received an email doing today advising to pull out of FV or transfer onto a Taylor Woodrow development.

Anyone any thoughts or advice?

Anyone done a site visit recently?

We keep getting the emails too about the Taylor Woodrow developement but on further investigation these are just part buy properties.  We still haven't heard much from Valla Romano other than the golf course has been delayed.  Apparently this is caused by the builders going into receivership.  But then thats happening everywhere.  I know when we spoke to a friend in October who lives near Valla Romano, he said the apartments were still being built which is encouraging.  As most other sites near and around were at a complete standstill.  I am still waiting to hear some hard evidence that we should be pulling out.  Until then I am sticking with Valla Romano as the only way is up now surely.

JO

Hi All,

I also got sent details of Taylor Woodrow developments.

I will spend some time over the next few days looking into all this in detail and report back.

As anyone got any info from VR recently?

Hi all,

As I sent the email out to Village purchasers about Taylor Woodrow I will explain it further and update.

It was in the newspapers about the construction company Valle Romano were using for the Village going into liquidation.  I have found out today that they have now found a new construction company.  I have also heard that the golf course will not be ready to open until next year, instead of this month.

The Taylor Woodrow offer I mailed about was not a part buy scheme but a chance to swap your Village property for a completed apartment, within an established and successful golf resort.  Taylor Woodrow will take your existing Village deposit as part-payment but are happy to wait for it, as it may take some time to get it back by your bank guarantee being exercised.  

The apartments are not offering exactly the same as The Village (not Tourist apartments and not furnished) but they are in a far better location and rent out  way better than the ones at Valle Romano will as they're much better situated.  I own at Los Arqueros and will vouch for the quality of the apartments and resort.

This offer is for people that want an apartment that they can start using and renting now.  It's a chance to get more for your money, with penthouses available at 215000€.

If people want to stick with Valle Romano fair enough and good luck to them, I'm not trying to force this on anyone.  I just wonder what The Village is going to be like when nearly everybody pulls out and millions of euros have to be paid back in returned deposits.

Kate

Thank you for your comments

As the source of this email under discussuon would you please identify who you are and what interest you have in VR/FV & Taylor Woodrow.

Also would you clarify who should pay the legal fees to recover deposits and what will be the situation if these deposits are not returned. Will Taylor Woodrow take it on the chin and complete on VR/FV properties? And what is the situation with contracts that cannot be assigned?

As I understand matters banks and insurace companies are not exactly rushing to hand back deposits and various courts rule that delays are not sufficient reason for pulling out and reclaiming deposits. You only have to read the many postings on EOS and SPI to see the long road ahead and few ever seem to get the money they weree chasing but do end up with sizeable legal fees and if they lose then also have to pay bank/developer legal fees also.

Will Taylor Woodrow be indemnifying anyone transferring over in this regard or could it be a situation out of the pan and into the fire d ultimately forced to complete on two properties or a life time of legal battles on Spanish soil.

We need to know a lot more of what is being proposed and the risks involved and anyone going this route needs to see independent independent legal advice and written guarantees and indemnities from Taylor Woodrow!!

This being Spain there will no doubt be additional commissions and legal fees!

Faro,

For a proper legal explanation on how this works please contact Lexland lawyers.  They will be able to give you all the ins and outs of the deal, so that you can decide if it's something that suits you.  I am telling all purchasers to do the same, as Lexland are dealing with all the deposit reclaims, to make sure that they are satisfied before moving forward with the swap.

I'm afraid I don't know who you are and whether you are one of the clients I am dealing with.  All of the purchasers I am dealing with are free to ask me anything they like, but until I know you are one of those I will leave the toing and froing and essay writing for now.

Dear Kate

Anyone else have any thoughts on proposals to switch to Taylor Woodrow developments?

Hi Faro

I have had it  that the first set of people who claimed have now had their deposits back (actually had the cash returned). I am not sure how it will affect them should the Superior Court over turn this.

Hi Musicman2007

That is good news if it's true!

Anyone in a position to confirm?

Last thread from Lexland was 9 Sept 2009 and they said then still waiting ..... tied up with courts ..... or something along those lines.

I have also recieved an email from Lexland stating the initial lawsuit against the insurance company has been settled and the initial claimants have been paid,

Being one of the later claimants I have been informed that Lexland are waiting for the insurance company to respond "within the allotted timescale" hopefully this should not be to long and I would be surprised if the insurance company went back to court after losing the initial case and appeal, but who knows, when it comes to it the longer they drag things out etc etc.

I also received the email regarding Taylor Woodrow's development and in my opinion it has been sent to drum up much needed business, if you do get your deposit back and you are still interested in buying property in Spain,  best take advantage of the current low prices on offer and shop arround, take proper legal advice and make sure you take all the normal precautions before investing.

Shuggybhoy  

Further to my previous post, anyone who has had their claim settled willing to divulge the breakdown of the insurance payout, did they cover legal costs and was interest paid?

Hello.  Yes, I have received my money just as I was expecting.

As per previous posts I can assure you again that I believe that Lexlands independence as a Law Firm is completely out of the question. They were not the recommended Law Firm by the developers I really can not understand where this has come from they were recomended by the Football Clubs to protect their football fans interest as they know there are lawyers and lawyers.  They are one of the largest Law Firms in Spain and not a small practice round the corner. They have taken every care on negotiating and obtaining the appropriate guarantees to protect and being proactive on advicing how to best protect my interests as a client against the developers and the guarantors which I am incredibly grateful for.

As far as I am aware they are still the only Law Firm offering this option. Other clients that I met a few months ago who had chosen Criado & Kraus as the lawyers recommended by H2O (Estate agent) are still advising clients against executing their insurance policies.  These clients now regret very much their decision and have started to wonder and query if Criado & Kraus have hidden interests as they are advising clients not to take legal actions against the developers or Insurance company or maybe they are just bad conveyancing lawyers with no litigation expertise.  I really feel for these people as like me they  would now have received or would be about to receive their money, rather than now that it has been proven Lexland was right have to change over them in order to start the proceedings six months later. It didn’t take me years to get my money back but only a few months from the moment I decided to engage Lexland to do so exactly as expected.

This will be my last post in this forum as it seems the whole thing is finally over for me. For now I will go and enjoy my refund by finding new ventures!

I hope the rest of you are refunded shortly.

The reason the Taylor Woodrow email went out was because it's a great solution for those clients that would still like to buy a property in Spain but are fed up of waiting and want an apartment now.
 
The Taylor Woodrow apartments are great properties, I live in one and I've always thought they are a far better investment than buying at Valle Romano.  Los Arqueros is a successful resort in a really good location.
 
There are only a handful of the Taylor Woodrow apartments left, which is why I am informing people that they can switch, so they don't miss out.
 
I don't work for Lexland, I don't work for Taylor Woodrow, I don't work for anyone.  If people aren't interested in the apartments that's fine.
 
If any VILLAGE PURCHASERS have questions, whether they are interested in further property or not, they can email me.  This offer does not apply to lawyers, Faro (Criado & Kraus).
 

Hi Everyone,

I am writing this from an hotel room near Burgos.I am driving home after a week spent moving in to my apartment at Villa Borghese.Incidentally my wife is flying home from Malaga to Glasgow.I was/am the mule train.

Anyway we have taken possession and moved in to our apartment at Villa Borghese phase 1.Those who have followed this thread will be aware that I got involved via Celtic FC but latterly decided that the tourist apartment concept (although an attractive concept with financial advantages) was not for us.However we were really impressed by the site and decided 2 years ago to buy at Villa Borghese as it gave us the option of permanent residence at Valle Romano.

Over the past 2 years I think we have all suffered major anxieties ,if not traumas, due to the impact of the credit crunch and the downturn in the global economy and the housing market in Spain.Over the past 24 months or so I know that I was sceptical and suspicious of everything that I was being told by various people who at times sometimes seemed to be  pursuing self and company interests at my expense.

Sometimes my cynical side came in to play.Have all these glamour celebrities really bought a house there,I asked myself or was this just sales talk?What discount/commission did they receive? What are their apartment numbers?.Now that the market has changed, will their agents now sign them up to do endorsements for starlifts or private health deals etc.?I do hope that I am doing our celebrities a disservice.My other concerns were centred around the viability of the hotel and beach club  etc.

I used to lie awake at night wondering,as a member of the so-called Celtic family,if the club really cared about my real family's situation at VR, now that they have received their commission from the Village,or had they just moved on to their next corporate affinity deal?

"Who to trust ?"That  became a big issue for me,as it seemed that everyone had something to gain except me as I was tied in to what seemed  at times a diminsihing asset.Yes,I was told, I could pull out ,but at what cost and at what risk?So many imponderables????And so many people it seemed keen to make a buck/living regardless of whether the housing market went up or went down,whether one or other company went into liquidation,whether the scale of or nature of the project had changed  and  regardless of the interests of those that had been promised nirvana and at times appeared to have had their dreams smashed.Thankfully it wasnt as bad as that!

Anyway enough of the rant!! I have moved in .The apartment is tremendous!The workmanship is excellent!My wife and I are delighted and extremely happy.We have walked over the golf course.... it is in superb condition.There are a lot of ground staff and work is ongoing on the safety barriers for the buggie routes.All I can say is ...it seems to me that no expense has been spared on the facilities I have seen.It is a five star site.

And yet there I was sitting on my terrace feeling good about this,resting from putting together another piece of IKEA furniture(you are spared this on the football village site of course),admiring the sea view,and feeling literally on top of the world and thinking philosophically that we were right to stick with it ,when low and behold I receive an e-mail on my Blackberry from Kate Davies implying (and I paraphrase) that everything has stopped ,we are buying into a ghost town,the site is going nowhere and that we would be better moving to a Taylor Woodrow site down the road where she lives and that if we really hurry we can snap up the last ten houses or so at bargain prices cheaper than what she paid! Talk about spoiling the moment? ........Expletives deleted!!! Is this this the same Kate Davies who was extolling the virtues of the Village a few short months ago,and who wrote to me telling me how wise I was to sign up to the developmet and not to listen to the Jeremiahs who were saying the site was not sustainable following the new challenges presented by the credit crunch.I wonder why Kate didn't introduce me then to the opportunities of the Taylor Woodrow site? 

The real irony was that I was sitting on my terrace watching scores(if not hundreds) of workers  constructing the football village apartments as well as well as the other projects on site when her e-mail arrived.Let me state clearly that there is a hive of activity all over Valle Romano! Why is Kate Davies writing to all of us saying otherwise?Why has she become a siren voice? Does evidence not matter to her? What is her angle?

Moving on.My conclusion to all this speculation.....pull out/dont pull out;transfer somewhere else;stick with it..????....Is, do what suits you! Follow your instincts and your interests.I have lived through the booms and bust (and negative equity) in Scotland and more so in London.Economics are cyclical.Who knows what will happen to property prices in the future.One can only guess.

As for the "experts and professionals", doling out "expert advice" on the way forward.My opinion is always ask yourself (and others) "Who benefits?" from a particular course of action. There is a latin phrase for this.Nothing is new!There have always been people ready to make a killing regardless of the state of the marketplace.

Again in philosophical mode,I ask myself,are scruples and principles secondary to making a bob or two?

My view now, is to,always ask myself :"Who gains?" ,when being given advice /recommenmedations.

I decided to stick with it! I am happy! I was not in it to speculate but to improve my family's quality of life.By the same token I didnt want to see my life savings being frittered away.It seems to me from my untrained eye that everything thus far at Valle Romano is five star.I have met neighbours and met others on the golf range and look forward to spending a lot of time there.

I will be back at Valle Romano in three weeks.I am looking forward to seeing the progress.

Incidentally if you think this is a glowing advert for Valle Romano can I assure you that the only thing I have to "gain"and "benefit"

is making the site a success now that I am a resident but also as a barrack room lawyer seeing others getting an objective picture of what is happening.

You can seek my credentials out on google if need be.

Danny Carrigan

This message was last edited by danielca on 20/11/2009.

Hi Danny

Congratulations on your purchase and may you and your family have many years of enjoyment there and thank you for such a long informative email paticularly as it's upbeat in these recessionary times.

It sounds like we need to do a site visit and find out the facts for ourselves and then make our own decisions.

I agree with you in that in Spain everyone is on the make and trying to earn a fee or commission and that means you have to always question their advice and independence. 

I will make no further comment on Kate and her motives.

Hi danny,

What a pleasant surprise on the VR forum - POSITIVE NEWS.......

Actually got to the stage where i didnt want to check the forum because everyone so dam negative.

Good luck in your new holiday home.

Hi, can someone pls advise where the proposed beach club will be and what exactly is planned? Will it be directly opposite the resort and if so what is the beach like there?

Also, are there any restuarants or shopping facilities being built on the complex along with the hotel?

thanks

Alex

 Hi All

Our biggest concern is what value will be placed on the apartment and therefore how much mortgage we will need. We have currently paid 20% at a sale price which was at the peak of the boom. Valle Romano constantly defer the question when I ask them what valuation Kuxta Bank will offer us a 70% mortgage on. We also have no news on the rental management scheme and what guaranteed return we will get. Add to that the fact that there will be no hotel for years, a sports complex which hasn't even been started and we really do start to worry that our investment stacks up - no matter how lovely the place looks.

Read my posts and you will see I am one of the positive thinkers on this forum, just like Danny. But Danny moved to Borghese - not just non-turistico but a lot cheaper apartment complex than The Village. Even Valle Romano have recognised that I have been positive on this site greeting me by my Musicman name on a recent visit!

The communications from Valle Romano have been almost nothing. One letter, and one email in Spanish in the last two years. Lene from Football Village has been great but she does not have the information Valle Romano does.

I guess there are about 150 of us still in The Village out of 250. I would be interested in us discussing how we can get Valle Romano to give us some piece of mind about this project before it becomes a ghost town. Now the first claimants have been paid out on their Bank Guarantees, VR must surely see we all now have this option. Surely?

I think Kate is just offering people an easier way out to a different development - if people are worried about the legal process taking so long. Of course she is not doing it for free, why would she? We looked at the offer and it just didn't stack up for us personally although we like the development. If it had stacked up, we would have taken the deal.

You may not be interested because you paid a good price for your apartment at The Village but for any who feel the same as us and don't necessarily want to pull out please feel free to contact me - I would be more than happy to be a spokesperson and see if VR will do something.

Hi Danny

Out of intrest what are the monthly community fees and do you know if FV will be the same?