Site Clearence has started

Hi

My wife and I have just returned from 3 weeks on the Mar Menor Golf Resort, On our second day we visited the Polaris office to find out when our investment of 40% on a Terrazes penthouse Apt. may be built.

We were shocked to learn the ground clearence at the site has only begun in the last few weeks and a rather unhelpful member of staff  told us the earliest any handovers will be is in January 2009 and that if we didn't like that we could always seek legal advice but they (polaris) would win.

We took a drive  along a muddy farm track and through a still working farm yard to the boundary fence of Terrazes. This place will never be ready by Jan 2009 especialy as other resorts are running around 1 year (at least) late.

AGP

I have just returned from a trip to visit the site.  I was very disappointed at the lack of progress.  Because of this I visited the Polaris office in Murcia where I was told by a not very helpful young lady that the site would not be ready until the approx March 2009.  The completion date seems to be drifting into the distance.  I also visited La Torre and was surprised that there is still considerable work to be completed there.  Maybe PW have overstretched themselves.

JS

I visted the site of Las Terrazas at the end of August - marked by a large Polaris World sign and a row of flagpoles. The area is fenced off (with security on watch) and there are quite afew tower cranes in position. Also it looks like a new access road is being constructed.  

I also called into the PW HQ and was impressed with the model of the completed resort - this is how it will be with no changes planned. I was told that construction had been delayed because of delays in obtaining all building licences, partly due to the Spanish local elections. Building work will start as soon as these licences are in place which could be as soon as next month. PW plan to start handing over properites in 2009. As with the other PW resorts the town centre will come later, however, La Torre town centre (less than 3km away) will be available from day one and easily accessed via a direct link road between the two resorts.

Waiting to live the dream.

Hello all,

I was in La Torre last week and was shown the end towards TDLT. The school between the two has been completed for younger children and the senior part is well under way! On TDLT were a great deal of cranes and there seemed to be a lot of work going on. All in all, having seen the same thing on Condado de Alhama but from a closer perspective, it appears that once work gets under way, PW do build very fast indeed and throw a lot of labour at it.

Jamie

Hi - I've got a deposit down on a Penthouse in phase II (well I thought it was phase I), however I have been badgering my solicitors to get confirmation of building start date. They have just told me that phase I started in September and phase II will start Oct / Nov. I have asked them to get that in writing so that I can take action if they don't deliver in the 18 months which the contract states they should. They didn't sound particularly hopeful of that, but its a good sign!

I'm intending to go to Torres next year and see how things are getting on. If anyone has any contacts for places to rent, please get in touch.

Thanks - Dave

Hi Folks

I was over at Polaris 4 weeks ago and put down a deposit for an appartement on Phase 1. There were many cranes onsit at that time and it was obvious there was quite a bit of activity. During my search through the solicitors he pointed out that there wasnt a building permit in place yet and they were still awaiting it. That was approx 3 weeks ago so if the building has started as you have been told it has all happened very quickly.

Hope it has and all starts going very quickly now.

Look forward to more updates from you all.

regards

Steve

Hi all

Very interested to read Steve's comment that the permits have still not been granted.  We asked our Solicitor to confirm that the building permits had been granted in September 2006 and was advised that they were in place.  Have sent an urgent email to them and to Parador Properties for clarification. 

We are due to re-locate mid to end 2008 and as we are purchasing on Phase V,  I do not hold out any hope of the property being ready.  We are making enquiries as to the possibility of getting our money back so that we can purchase something already completed. 

Shame as I think the development will be great when it is completed.

Regards

Jackie

Hi all

Have now heard from my Solicitor with the following:-

Not sure why they need further permission?  Any updates would be appreciated.

Regards

Jackie

Hi there everyone,

I am not a builder or developer but have a pretty good idea of the process of building and selling developments in the UK and Spain. It is very common for plans to change during the build process and hence further permissions must be granted at each stage. in the UK i used to work for a very large developer and their normal strategy was to initially apply for one form of permission that was very likely to be granted by sometimes very difficult planning officers in London (this was normally green or brown field sites) and once planning was in place, they would constantly lobby the council to extend planning further and further to get more value (profit!). The builders would start construction on parts of the site having already factored in the changes they were hoping to be granted.

In Spain, this is less stringent but equally beaurocratic and many licenses need to be in place. Firstly, you would need the land to be classified accordingly, then an approval to build, then an architect's plan would have to be approved, then a license of works granted, etc, etc. At the end you would need a license of occupation - all of these licenses cannot be given until all the previous ones have been completed satisfactorily. I know it sounds worrying but no council can guarantee all the licenses at the start (what if the builder builds substandard property with no infrastructure? will they get a first occupation license - i hope not).

As I understand it, PW have all the paperwork they need for this stage of the work,  and must apply for the next stage as and when - but, in principle the town hall understand the project and have committed to granting approval to the whole project. And they are very keen to give it due to the amount of employment and tourist money it is going to bring in to the local area.

I hope this helps, i do not know all the precise details of the different licences but do know this is how it works. Due to many bad experiences and scare stories - people are rightly nervous. With PW I would not be. And no, I do not work for them!!

Jamie