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So glad to be reading that some of you are staying in. I had been beginning to feel nervous, especially when there seemed to be a spate of cancellations. At one point I was wondering if we were the only ones not pulling out!! I suppose all we can go on is information and intinct, and ours have been telling us to stay in. As I said, we looked at so many properties and locations and this one ticks the boxes for us. I spoke to one of the guys at Viva Estates and he said that it was highly unusual for the banks to be giving back deposits so easily. One of the possible reasons, he surmised, (as others on the forum have pointed out) was that the banks are thinking they can get more money for them now. If there were long-term problems with this build, I think they'd be hanging on to those deposits and making us fight to get them back.........yes, we'd have a right to cancel, and eventually they would have to pay up.......but make it easy? Don't think so. That's just the way that business works. Best of luck to all who are pulling out. I don't blame you, and who knows, in September, if our lawyer advises it, we might be joining you.

All

just to let you know my solicitor has today contacted me to say he has received a cheque back for my 33% deposit with legal interest of 4% - so the insurance companies have started to pay up.  Please note that the refunds of deposits has nothing directly to do with developer (in fact my lawyer did not even speak to the developer as he knew they have given the go ahead for refunds) - all solicitors simply do is call the insurance company on the bank guarantee and then they will pay up within a three to four week period.

My solicitor also advised that compensations for late payment are an absolute no-go - the developer would rather give the money back rather than pay compensation.  The push for compensations would be slow & extremely painful (via courts) and there is nothing in the contratcs re this point.  It is generally down to goodwill and those of you who purchased early from Arenal at sub 180k euros will get nothing for late completion - as mentioned you can have your deposit back and get out.

There is a tinge of sadness about this as even my solicitor has pointed that compensations for late completion tends to be the norm and no developer wants to lose sales and allow buyers to cash in bank guarantees especially in a market that is over supplied and with prices falling upto 30%. My lawyer has stated that the market (though over supplied with new builds) has not crashed and the economy is buoyant with property  prices fairly static (like they are here !!).  The only cheap apartments are the off-plan buyers who cannot complete and they will soon be gone.

Those of you thinking of cashing do need to think how on earth you can buy something like Arenal at that price in a location like Duquesa -  Though i am thankful to have my deposit back i do feel that i have let go of a bargain property in a superb location.  I don't actually feel that happy and i even feel the developer is not doing anything so most of us cash our bank guarantees in !!

cheers

Pistol Knight - block 1, top floor - and despite the commercial centere there were sea views !!

Pistol Knight - was it not you who said mid june that we must all be mad to have our money back - think your opinion of us all was we were a bunch of tossers!  What made you change your mind?

upgrading my property in the UK and the recent arrival of our 1st child swayed the decision - but only just. I stand by what i said that people whose circumstances have not changed drastically from when they reserved on Phase 1 around four years ago would be mad to let go as all they have done is fund the development.

I have been out four times to duquesa since reserving and know that it is a superb location - if i could then i would hold onto the apartment but i simply couldn't.  the recent increases in UK interest rates has also not helped my situation.

Elaine - i didn't think anyone was a bunch of 't*******' - i respect everyones decision as this has been a tough and stressful time for us all.  Ultimately a decison has to be made and i made mine.

best of luck !

Very sad that you have left the fold Elaine, I did send you a pm but I don't think it sent, the site was playing up on Friday.

It is always sad when one of us drops out especially at this late stage.  But I respect everyone's decision and wish you all well. 

 

Hi there, we`re brand new to this forum having only joined having only joined 15 mins ago. We bought into Duquesa in april 06. The apt has been ready since jan but like everyone else we are stuck in limbo. We too love the apt and location but are now renting in Gibraltar due to work etc I was informed by our solicitor that penalty clauses of 10% purchase fee and 4% legal fees would be accrued by the developer after 30/06/07 has anyone else knowlege of this.At the present moment our thoughts are to take what we get and go albeit with sadness and disillusionment

Dear Coullie.  We bought four years ago.  A top floor for E170,000 plus costs.  We like the position and the quality is good - but the apartments are a bit on the small side.  We have taken advice and they are worth E200,000 finished now.  Hence no margin now and the chance of the market growing for the next few years is slim.  There are too many two bedroom apartments around Duquesa.  Longer term they are a better bet because of position but we think there are better opportunities.  Also, although we are in Phase one I do not trust the developer.  I may be wrong but my instincts make me distrust anyone who does not communicate.  I would be more worried if I was in the later phases

If you paid more than us I would definitely get your money back.  There are some bargains about at the moment if you look.

Some people have said here that the develper wants us to cancel as he can sell them for more.  The developer is not accepting cancellations it is just that the bank gaurantees are being called in which returns the money plus 4%.  It is not in the Developers control.  I have never heard of the 10% compensation you mention.

We have bought in Alcaidesa and it is a much better bet if you work in Gibralter.  Smaller place, smarter and the local council seem to have more control.  Surrounded by Golf courses,  off the main road, and once the developments are finished there is no more space to build

 

I agree that the apartments are small in fact when I visited the site a few months ago

I was shocked to notice that the show flat which is on the ground floor and at the end

of the block which are suppose to be the larger ones is quite tiney I had an end flat

on the second floor block 16 phase 1 which is the same type and is supposed to be

84.4sqm plus 12sqm terrace well I can tell you these apartments are no more than

65sqm to 70sqm so this means the original developer is in serious

breach of contract I paid 191.450 euro for 84.4 sqm so if  the apartment measures

only 70sqm then I have been overdharged .and looking at the poor quality of the

pool no tiling just painted made me wonder what everything will look like in a few

years from now this development  I recken is not good value for money  I am out

of here.

Guss

 

 

 

Bye.

its very easy to suddenly start saying anything bad you can think of about a project, which a lot of people pulling out are doing, but remember some of us are still in and looking forward to our apts.  i understand that when people purchase on another development, after deciding to pull out, then they are bound to be full of praise for thier new place. however, there is no need now to post and make everyone feel bad about their new homes they have worked hard for.  constructive, factual critisism only please.   honesty is important but just nit picking for the sake of it winds me up. i think we can all make our minds up about our apartments and lets face it, the problems are all about just getting completion!!

i;m sorry for all those that are deciding not to go ahead and wish everyone well, i may end up doing that myself who knows. i don't think anybody knows which is the best route at the moment

suzanne 

I totally agree Peps.  Lets hope everything works out for those of us who stick it out.

yes, i hope we're not eating our words one day ha.  i'm still looking forward to it and every month that passes now im not having to pay the mortgage on it but have put it in the spanish account anyway so i might be a millionaire by the time i get in it eh?

i have to tell you this, if any of you remember i had rentals booked for june this year that had to stay elsewhere in duquesa.  my parents went out there for 2 weeks also, having never been to that area before.  i was worried they would come back and say they didn't like duquesa but (and this is the truth) they have since arranged an estate agent to sell their house and are moving...... to duquesa!!... permanently to live!.  i can't believe they are going to beat me out there.  they fell in love with it that much. they're going to rent long term so if anyone interested in renting out?  now that is a big yes on the area.   and our appartments are in a great location too, manilva town is beautiful and accessable for us as well as the beach, port and sabbi. 

Hi its Guss again.

Dont get me wrong folks everything I put on this thread is factual  not made up

and definately not spoken with any vested interest in mind like a selling agent

making extreamly posative comments for the purpose of keeping unsuspecting

people on board or even the developers agent it is very suspicious with such a

disasterious development  people coming forward in defence the over the top  posative

comments are misleading people instead investigate seriously into the real quality

and the size of the units after all its the apartments we are   buying not the purto duquesa

itself so check out the facts for the sake of those who are staying in thats all I am saying

nothing else, now that would would be a positive move for the purchasers.

This message was last edited by guss on 8/6/2007.

Our apartment is a ground floor end one, in the middle near the tennis courts. Back in January, we measured the sizes of the rooms to see how they compared to the plans issued by Arenal yonks ago.

The dimensions were spot on. The only difference is that the rear terrace outside the second bedroom and also the patio are much bigger than we had been expecting. Yes, the bathroom layouts weren't as origiannly specified, but let's not start that one up again!

Have you actually measured the rooms in yours, Guss? I know that empty rooms always look smaller than they really are.

As I have posted before, we have a similar apartment at Casares del Sol that we put the deposit on at the same time as Arenal Duquesa.  It is almost identical in size and layout to Arenal Duquesa, except that the Arenal apartment is far, far superior in quality.  We took possession of the CDS apartment last October, and there was lots posted on that EOS Forum about apartment sizes (read them if you wish).  IF the same applies to the Arenal apartments, I think you will find that the square meterage includes the terrace and some of the communal area around your particular apartment.  Lots of CDS purchasers were considering taking Interlaken (the developer) to court but found that the size was exactly as stated in their contract, they just didn't realise at the time or possibly didn't read their contracts or it wasn't explained to them. I don't think that the developers were/are trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes, that's just the way they do it in Spain - it's not the UK after all.  I'm not sure if it is the same at Arenal but check your contract if you're worried.

Having said that, I personally feel that the apartments are quite big enough for the purpose for which they are built. We have stayed at the CDS apartment whilst we were setting it up and found it to be ideal for a holiday.  You spend a lot of your time outside, there is an en-suite bathroom and a separate shower room for bedroom 2, which I think is a real bonus for a two-bed apartment.. The kitchen is fine to cook every meal in - should you want to!  Ok, there isn't masses of storage room in the apartment, but we have a store room in the garage.  It is currently let long term to a doctor that has a contract  to work in Gibralter so they are living there on a permanent basis at the moment and I have only heard positive feed back from them.

Don't be put off, most of the two-bed apartments that are newly available (all over Spain) are very similar.  Who want's a huge place to maintain, pay local rates on and clean when you're supposed to be enjoying your holiday.  I still am of the opinion that they are a good purchase and will maintain capital growth, albeit at a slower rate than the past 5 years. 

A positive post - yes, am I staying the distance? - yes, am I meaning to mis-lead anyone? - certainly not!!  Everything stated above is fact.  As I have said before to those that are staying... we are nearly there and I'm certain it will all be worth it in the end.

Thanks for the info and comments. It appear tht my solcitor from Lawyers of Spain is having difficulty dealing with Gerens but has been able to getdetails of the person in charge of the new duquesa project as follows Soraya Camacho Lopez e mail scamacho@gerens.com t/n0034951295151/618612487 fax 0034957478715. I personally have tried phoning Gerens but this is akin to headbutting a brick wall as 1yrs Spanish classescertainly do not equip you to deal effectively with an office in Cordoba that speaks English on a selective basis.

Thanks for the info and comments. It appear tht my solcitor from Lawyers of Spain is having difficulty dealing with Gerens but has been able to getdetails of the person in charge of the new duquesa project as follows Soraya Camacho Lopez e mail scamacho@gerens.com t/n0034951295151/618612487 fax 0034957478715. I personally have tried phoning Gerens but this is akin to headbutting a brick wall as 1yrs Spanish classescertainly do not equip you to deal effectively with an office in Cordoba that speaks English on a selective basis.

On one of our early trips down to see the development,  we were given a 1:75 scale plan of our apartment by the sales office on site.   9 months ago, we were able to get access to our apartment armed with a tape measure.   Not one single dimension was less than shown on the plan and the terrace was more than double the size we expected.

Our home in the UK was built Crest, a large respectable nationwide builder, but they could learn a lot about quality from the builders of Arenal Duquesa.   

  Our first G&T on our terrace is sure to be  the best we have ever tasted !!!

Jon

You mention terrace so are you ground floor?  We have never been able to gain access to our apartment so I'm not sure about the size.  We are 2nd floor so I guess the balcony will be as advertised although bigger would be nice.

You mention terrace so are you ground floor?  We have never been able to gain access to our apartment so I'm not sure about the size.  We are 2nd floor so I guess the balcony will be as advertised although bigger would be nice.