Just got back from Corvera

This is for both IV and LS buyer. I am 100%IV
Just got back fom Corvera. Purchased as IV but philosophical that nobody could have forseen what has happened in the economy - it is not Calidonas fault.
Like many IV purchasers I am stressed - our short term investment has NOT worked for us' we feel we have no option but to complete (I totally understand that not all IV purchasers are able to do this and wish you well).

Lets now talk about what we have bought and get some enthusiasm!
We have bought a quality product on a low density build - no other golf course will feel as spacious as ours! Walk around Roda Phase 1 then you will appreciate the benefit of this.  Most of us will be able to see the green of the course  (don't want to gloat but I AM rather  excited - I'm gonna be able to smell it!

The climate is excellent for long season rentals! - it was 24 - 30degrees when we were there. We have even went on the beach last December as well!
There is going to be an international airport within 5 minutes ( Think about the long term rental opportunuty of the 100's of workers who wil be deployed to work on it? )
The PGA endorsement
Devere association
Championsip golf course in an emerging golfing destination. (People who own on La Manga are said to have bought units)
It's close proximity to the city of Murcia
It's close proximity to the Sea with ferry links to La Manga 

The development is really progressing. We could see our Tilo it is near the patially painted unit @ end off strip. We drove to back of it and got quite close. You can now begin to 'feel' what it will be like. The buildings have an 'open' feel , most having  reasonable sized balconies which are not overlooked.  It doesn't feel like a concrete jungle.

We drove to Murcia (15mins easy drive - good parking in centre underground) 
If you haven't been I would recommend you take a trip into the city it is a totally undiscovered little gem. 
Breathtaking Cathedral (free info leaflets from tourist centre opposite - get maps for your future clients!); free entry - no queues!!  
Lots of shops, bars, restaurants, coffee shops. Stylish by day ( there are a few beggars around). We went on a Saturday it felt quite cosmopolitan in a low key way. Not brash and touristy!! Had a much more stylish feel than the coastal areas we had previously visited. By night I imagine it is atmospheric and only a short Taxi ride from Corvera - Are you begining to get the picture and feel it yet - if you don't how can you sell it to your renters?

I am sure most of you have been along to the Mar Menor. Kilometers of clean beaches - we paddled in the sea, cycled along the long promanade then took an ice cold drink overlooking the sun set shimmering on the  water (getting a bit poetic now) -  come on you must be getting it by now?

We looked around Roda, in such a short time it is now looking established - it really is nice. We visited the new club house twice , once by day and listened to the chat of the golfers as they had a well deserved drink after their rounds of golf - after all it was 28degrees! There is a good vibe there. The club house really is quite something - stunning views!

On the evening prior to our departure we returned to Roda - sat and ate and drank on the balcony of the club house (reasonably priced) and watched the sun set on the water features. Come on guys this is what we have bought into. 
Sorry Roda folk if you are reading this but I really do believe that Corvera is going to be feel even better, it has the unique factor of being a Golf and country club, not like many which are just a golf course along side the motorways. I know Roda is golf and beach but I don't realistically think the beach is walking distance (sorry that's my take on golf and beach) - if you need to drive to a beach it doesn't matter if it is 10 or 20 mins away and then you all have to then find a parking slot!

Come on investors get the feel of the place ; it really is going to be something special - we need to sell that to our renters!!! 

Carole

Totally agree.

That was a lovely post regarding the fab last visit and something to lift this whole website

As i am sitting here in HBOS I feel uplifted(today , at least!!!!!!)

hooray!!!  someone who sees what i see
we are agreeing about economics too,investors who buy anything for gain have to realise "some you win some you dont!"
if everything was a sure thing everybody would do it,the whole world is suffering just  now,not just murcia or britain
if any corverians are unsure ,look around at some smaller developers sites,
look forward not back,dont have regrets,theres always worse that can happen

Great post Cazbaz, especially as a 100% IV. As a 100%LS I agree fully with your assessment of Corvera. It has an opportunity to be unrivalled for the many reasons you say despite the glut of golf courses in the area.

I'm still delighted with my choice, I've just got to worry about how I'll pay for it.

CAZBAZ, 
BIG thanks I needed that.. You try to remain upbet but with or the doom and gloom coming through, it's just great to read your message.. 
          Regards



This message was last edited by HQ on 10/21/2008.

This message was last edited by HQ on 10/21/2008.

Thanks Cazbaz.  
Like Chris we're LS but having recently come back from a visit ourselves we totally agree with everything you say about the area - Corvera; Roda; Murcia; the airport; the beaches; the lot....  
Just need to sell our house here so that we can get out there!

Great post Carole.
Yes agree with all you have said - your reasons seem to be are our reasons for buying - low density, quiet, top quality golf course, in mountains, good all-year round weather (although when we bougt (in Jan) it was snowing at Corvera itself - the fist time in 28 tears), near Murcia city itself.  By the way, spent a long weekend there 2 years ago and felt really great - you can walk to most places !  All we need now is for the £/Euro exchange to improve - gradually improving in last 2 weeks - up to 1.2895 today !
Kenny

+these posts=!

Please keep going!  But we do need to pin Calidona down on their commitments. 

From a long-term IV who needs lots of reassurance that this is the right investment.

Excellent post Carole, great to see there can be positive thoughts amid the current economic gloom.

I like yourself remain convinced that Corvera will be the best development in the area which I am sure will even work out for the IV's all be it you may have to wait a bit longer for your returns.
My current fear is the amount of people who may not be able to complete due to financial restraints outwith their control and the effect that may have on the development

Brian - totally LS

hey Fifer

When it comes to finacing at completion, I'll sell my wife, kids, mother, grandmother, pets, hell ! even my motorcycle.

Well, maybe not my motorcycle. This is going to be THE place to live in Murcia.

This message was last edited by SteveandJane on 10/22/2008.

Hi everyone,

It's good to read all the positive feedback re: Corvera but as someone mentioned in a posting just now, there are some of us who, for reasons COMPLETELY beyond our control, and not caused by greed or anything else, find themselves in a really nasty situation.

As I mentioned recently, my wife and I are sitting here in our relatively newly completed house and home in Oz and looking wistfully at our garden and aching to be able to stay here.

We bought as investors at Corvera and quite legitimately so, as did others, by their own admission and for the same reasons.  However, we suffered the slightly earlier loss of 200,000 Pounds through our insurance company, after investing in Corvera, so we were already way ahead of most folks in the losing game..... a real double-whammy.

So, this does not make us negative toward Corvera, far from it but, like others who are seriously worried about how the Devil we are going to pay/cope with all of this, we do hope and trust that by airing our JOINT concerns/aspirations etc on our forum, we can all find time for one another.

If you are lucky, well, then, jolly good luck to you, with all sincerity and we wish you well but we all have our needs.

The only way in which we could stay here, because we are so cash-strapped (and in our mid-sixties and so have limited youth/career and other options) would be to opt to 
(a) Forgive me please: Be released by virtue of the developer being in Breach of Contract and thus receiving a refund of the deposits, which, I fear is not going to happen
(b) Forgive me again: The developer going bust as soon as could decently be expected or
(c) Walking cleanly away but losing our deposit, which we cannot afford to do but by the skin of our teeth, could just about manage to PROVIDED that we had written and verified proof that we could so without harassment *  or
(d) Receive sudden and reliable evidence that we would be able to let the properties to the new airport professional staff early on, at a rate which would allow us to keep them as was originally envisaged

Don't forget that in addition to airing our concerns, I have submitted several very upbeat and encouraging postings, including my recent one where I enthused about the positive influences/prospects in connection with the new airport and requested more info/thoughts and feedback in that respect.

Also, please don't forget that we do not want to walk away from both of our properties as we'd like to keep one for rental purposes and there is a distinct possibility that after a couple of years of renting here in Oz (after selling our home here)  which is what we are going to have to do if none of the foregoing crops up, that we'll actually come to Corvera and retire to our remaining apartment, so we'll still be neighbours anyway.

If all goes well, maybe we'd sell and buy a later phase home to suit our needs.

Anyway, what I was wondering was, after all the initial enthusiasm for a cohesive and joint effort to pin down Corvera and the developers to specs, times and date etc ASAP by employing the services of our independent legal eagle, why has it gone so quiet on that front?....... has the idea it lost its appeal or lustre?

Reflecting on the recent very positive messages, yes, great but we NEED PROOF rather than promises and idealistic dreams. OF course that's what we all actually WANT but we must deal in realities and as I've said before, if we "sit back, relax and enjoy the flight" until the day that we fly direct into the side of the mountain that we have overlooked or worse still, ignored, we've lost it and we join all the other part-completed, semi-abandoned developments.

Thanks a lot,  John/Fizzler.

see you there then Steve

Hi further to my post on the 'thinking of walking away' thread we were in Corvera recently would make the following observations:

1) the building works are progressing well and Carmine confirmed that the Club house and the tennis courts will be completed at the same time around Dec 2009 when the course is ready to use. We could see some evidence of the works for these items in the distance. They do not see any reason "to press on with other facilities until such time as their are people there to use them"?!
2) there are a number of new staff at the office (2 extra employees since the Spring) and whilst we were there (wed late am) two separate couples one spanish and one british turned up on spec to look around and appeared genuinely interested in buying - there are still people buying apparently!!! No prices mentioned however
3) The new airport is well under way and although you are restricted from getting too close it is only 10 mins from Corvera G&CC
4) Following a meeting with our solicitor, he confirmed that Caledona were more likely to survive the economic woes than most Spanish companies, they are financially strong with a solid balance sheet - in his words the chances of them going bust and consequently buyers being able to walk away with their deposits is zero
 5) Caledona are aware that they must provide the facilities they promoted in their literature or they could be sued for misrepresentation but of course no time scale is given for completion of such items.
6) Our solicitor is confident the development will be one of the best in the whole of southern Spain but that it will take time to become established with or without a recession. He rightly made the point that it took 10 years for La Manga to really become the finished article.

In a nutshell we still have all the concerns of everyone else on this forum but see little point fretting over something outside our control. There is no doubt that rental potential in the first 12 months will be very limited and will probably only become a strong reality when the new airport is up and running because of its proximity, but there are many things to be positive about for those of us planning to be in this for the long term - fingers crossed!
Regards
Kevin  

PS who said it is the driest region in Spain we had 2 whole days of the wet stuff!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Thanks for the update its good to get current info.
Rick

Hi i too was over in corvera last weekend ,i had bought a place on phase 1 in 06 but i changed my mind and then bought on roda ,so i have had an outside interest , i would like to state i am not biased in one way or another but this is just what i thought from what i seen on my visit to covera last weekend.
I still cant see how without  the golf course anyone on the early phases would be able to rent a place till its ready for play.(i would have been one of those people)
The biggest problem i can see with the place is this (i  know i will get it in the neck for saying it but its like the big elephant in the room that no one wants to see is there)ITS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE,now can i just say i brought 2 couples up with me and this was thier reaction on seeing the place , we all play golf and have been away on trips and as the couples said to me (and this is the major problem corvera will have in my opinon )we would all have no problem going up there to play the course but we would not base ourselfs there for the simple reason that there is nothing to do after the golf course.now i know you are all going to say it will have a hotel and a few places in the commerical centre but like on roda that will be way into the future in rodas case they have 1100 properties completed and still no centre,but from my personel experinces on a golfing trip we as a group like to stay away from the over priced hotel bars and go out and about into the local bars and nightclubs but there is nothing like that in covera village itself,its a one horse town i know some people may like this but there is no option to do or go anywhere thats near ,at least in roda the square is only 2 minutes away where there is everything you need .since i was last up there in 06 i thought there would bee big improvments in the village i.e. new bars resturants shops ect .but there was none except a new building with apartments.Where do you have to go to get a pint of milk bread ect, antway i stop now cause it looks like i have it in for the place but i dont iam just so glad i changed my mind back in 06 cause until all the facilites are built up there and i fear it could be years there is  no chance of renting a place to golfers who want a game of golf and some apres golf drinks and entertainment cause they will stay on roda or somewhere else that has everything on there doorstep

Interesting post ErinZak. I am a phase 2 buyer on Corvera and have stayed at Roda on many occasions whilst Corvera is in development. There are many reasons why people have invested in this particular development. In my experience at Roda to get to a beach you need to get in a car, so will we at Corvera. To get to the resort it is only a short drive from the airport, so it will be for us at Corvera. The only advantage we will have is that once Corvera airport is open San Javier will probably return to a military airport only, making it a longer drive for Roda owners. When I am playing golf I do not wish to contend with lorries, Cars and police sirens running down a motorway alongside a fairway. Corvera owners will be able to play golf in a quiet relaxing setting. When I was in Roda last as I recall we had to either drive or get a taxi into the square as too far to walk. Corvera owners will be able to walk to the nearest bar off the main site, also they will be able to shop in the town without a car ride. As we both need to get taxis or drive to nightspots what better then Murcia town itself a short drive away from Corvera. On reflection I don't think we are that much different, although I feel Corvera shades it because of the uncrowded layout and COUNTRY feel, the clue is in the title of the development. icspain ps back out to Roda in February so it is not all that bad.

Erinzak, why would you expect Corvera village to have developed bars restaurants etc when the development is noweher near ready for occupation. Why would anyone open a bar in a small village/town when there are no customers there yet?  I am aware of a fellow Corverian who plans to retire there and will be opening a snack bar in the town - he already has outline agreement on premises - but clearly he wont be opening that until he is there permanently and he has some customers to serve.

We also considered buying at Roda but decided as others have that a beach resort should be on the beach and a high density housing estate by the side of a motorway was not my idea of a relaxing holiday home but I appreciate each to their own.

I agree with most of your post HRW, until the country club is finished and people are living there. Nothing will be available. 
It's supply and demand.

Once there is demand, the supply should come on stream. The new airport will also give the town an extra revenue stream too as workers/commutors begin to live/work in the surrounding areas. But I agree Corvera town IS A ONE HORSE TOWN at the moment, but I am sure if we take a look in a few years time, things would have changed for the better.

Rick

Horse?

What horse?

Where?

Nice Ice-cream stand in the middle of the village though.

Patience is a virtue.