Deals at Polaris World

Hi Chris and all

 I agree with  your positive sentiments but on the other side of the coin, although  the  Euro strengthening against the pound by 18% would suggest that our investment has increased by 18% (everything else being the same). The problem is that the remaining 70% will cost an additional 18 % if it comes from a UK source, or the cost of a Euro mortgage will cost an additional 18% to service from a UK source. Also renting is likely to be poor, until at least the time when the golf course is up and running, but once everything is operational  I would imagine that Corvera will be very competitive as far as rental  is concerned.

Also as you have said Pablo pricing a ground floor Tilo at 225-240 K Euros is not the same as a firm bid, I have seen  phase 1 GF Tilos going for as little as 180 K ( which I believe would be less than purchase price) , and I've only looked on one resale site : www.murciagolfproperties.co.uk/corvera_resales.html  so I would say that prices are currently depressed and I've heard that basically even at these sort of prices they are hardly moving.  If the values remain  low this will also reduce the amount the banks will lend us as far as the mortgage is concerned.

The good news  I  believe is that the current property values are likely to  increase significantly in the next few years as the development becomes fully functional and we leave the 'credit crunch' behind (especially if the ECB cut interest rates as some expect) and Corvera Golf will be seen as an excellent development. Therefore from an investors point of view it would be a good idea to hold on for a few years( if that option is available). Unfortunately I will need to sell one of the two properties I have at Corvera in the short term, if anyone has any advice on the best way to do this ( eg which agent would be the best to sell it ) I would appreciate a pm.

 

kev

This message was last edited by kev2 on 5/7/2008.

Hi Kev, just noticed that someone on the Roda site has just sold his property.  Maybe worth a private message for some advice.  Its posted under a Penthouse required thread.

Good luck, Anita.

i dont want to sound like a pro E U person but you wouldnt be having these currency problems if the great Tony Blair didnt bottle it and come into the euro zone when he should have

Hi Anita

Thanks for the info, I just sent him a pm.

kev

we were at corvera late april and they told us 6 months to completion phase 1 and 18months for golf course (although i find this unlikely)
looks like the whole town is moving up a step for corvera opening.
we already have penthouse at roda - see below for pics etc.

Good Morning All, i have been reading the posts with interest and thought i would put a bit of up to date info on.  My agent (who is also a friend so i can trust him) went down to the site yesterday and has advised me that now the license issues have been resolved, initial works are progressing incredibly quickly now.  Looks like completion of phase 1 (where my 2 apartments are) is going to be very early part of next year.  With all the worries at the moment about credit crisis and the numerous changes in the mortgage markets i have already got myself pre approved for mortgages on both apartments.  Although my broker has advised that these offers won't hold till completion at least by doing this now it has given me a bit of peace of mind and if anything changes in the interim, because i am already dealing with a broker, they will let me know straightaway.

Hi All

We now live in Spain and went by Covera at a couple of peoples requests,  they have rented  our apartment on Roda whilst waiing for their own to be completed at Corvera.  We were pleased to see the progress they are making and it all looks good and they certainly seem to be moving along much quicker now.  ** EDITED - Commercial post **.  We will be going over to Covera at regular intervals so will keep you all posted on progress

Regards Mike & Linda

This message was last edited by EOS Team on 5/13/2008.

Hi,

We have an apartment for rent at Roda for all those Corverians who need somewhere to stay during the construction phase!

PM for details.

Just visited the Corvera website to see if the Ariel photographs have been updated and couldn't get in.  However, I noticed a new heading in the list on left hand side, right at the bottom - 'Construction Works'.  Looks like things are progressing even faster than I thought!!  Take a look.....  Best get a mortgage sorted.

Anita.

Hi Anita

Guess you must be very excited by all the work happening at Corvera at long last.  I last went up there in January so I am really glad to see progress on site.  

Incidentally if anyone needs accommodation or a taste of what Calidona can offer, then we have an apartment at Roda Golf available for short weeks or long weekends - just pm me for details.

Best regards
Sandra

Thank you Sandra, will definately keep you in mind.

Regards, Anita.

Hi all

 From what I read on the Corvera site, they will be finishing some of the apartments 'shortly after summer'.  As I am new to the Spanish property market I am hoping that someone will be able to help me with the following questions:

Has the estimated completion time of April/May next year been brought forward? 

Once completed, is there normally any significant delay in getting the habitation license?

Would you normally wait for the snagging and habitation license to be in place before the final payment is transferred? Is there anything else that might delay the final payment? How long would you normally be able to wait to pay your final instalment once everything else is in place ( ie snagging, habitation license etc)?

Can anyone recommend any reputable mortgage brokers or companies? How long before completion would you normally start looking ? Does anyone know what mortgage interest rate you can get at the moment? Has anyone had any experience with CFP? if so would apprecieate a pm.

Can anyone recommend any rental agencies? Has anyone any experience with the Calidona management agency? What is the current rental market situation like? Realistically how many weeks would be able to expect your apartment to be rented out?

Sorry about so many questions,  any feedback would be appreciated .

kev

Those are great questions. Please post answers! Don't just pm them please.

John

Hi All
Sorry I put our website on the previous post in error which has been deleted rightly so.   As I said previously we live here in Spain now and go over to Corvera to see progress and send pics to a couple of people who have requested them.  Thankyou to those of you who have come over and stayed in our penthouse apartment in Roda to checkout the finish and get a feel of what Corvera will be like.  If anybody is interested in doing the same even if only for a couple of days please PM me and I will give you our website to look at.  This is when the fun starts when you start to look for mortgages, furniture etc so Good Luck and enjoy the experience.

Regards
Linda Butler

Hi Kev, what a lot of questions...

I would look around at mortgages/brokers as soon as possible, only so you have some idea as to current rates/how much you can/want to borrow etc.  If you belong to SPA (Ian Maitland's) website, a company called The Rights Group seem worth a visit - mortgage brokers.  Alternatively visit banks on the internet to see what they are offering.  A mortgage offer is only valid for 6 months from issue but just verbal approval puts your mind at rest.  Remember, you may be offered the Developer's mortgage which should save you some money.  Contact Calidonia.

I have already contacted someone to do our snagging, just to understand what service they provide.  Snagit Murcia and Inspectahomespain.com seem to be very popular having looked at other sites.  If you contact Roy Howitt at Inspectahomes he has a very comprehensive list of what happens and when and has contacts for other services.  He sent me an e-mail yesterday, it seems to cover everything!

Air Conditioning - Polar Air Conditioning Costa Blanca has been recommended to me.  I have requested information from this company and their response was immediate.  I am waiting for them to call this evening to explain what they think we may require.  They have installed on Roda so should be quite knowledgeable of Calidonia.

You mustn't Complete without the LFO,  as mains electricity, gas etc cannot be connected until this certificate has been issued.  The License is issued by the Town Hall to say your property is habitable. Your Solicitor should check that all Licenses are in place before Completion. 

The above is only info I have gained from looking at other forums/sites, I have not personally used any of them.  Not sure what else you asked but hope above is OK.

Furniture - we brought our furniture from Villapac three years ago!!  They have had two price increases since then.  Furniture fantastic quality and very upmarket.  Maybe worth a try, or look round at local furniture stores.  The Roda forum covers furniture quite a bit.

Let us know how you get on if you contact any of the above.

Anita.



This message was last edited by Anita on 5/28/2008.

Me again.... the Corvera website ariel photographs have been updated.  Fantastic.

Anita.

I have just received an e-mail from Esther at Calidonia regarding the website.  She says that the wording has not translated correctly and is in the process of being altered.  Completion will still be April/May 09 for anyone on Phase I/II who was told this.  Information about assistance with mortgages will be sent out in September.

Anita.

Hi

Just to say thanks Anita for that info ( my adrenaline levels are beginning to return to normal), and thanks for the reply to my message, very useful.

Also for the investors out there, I just looked at a website  http://prices.kyero.com/average-house-prices  about the latest government released property prices in Spain ( I know that they do not necessarily reflect reality), there are details about such things as average payment by foreigners, resales, new builds etc up to the end of 07 - according to the stats some areas have gone down, but not Murcia ( the area has shown a small but steady rise, lets hope Murcia to some extent can  buck the general trend).

thanks again

kev

hi all

Now that we are beginning to think about mortgages I thought I would share my experiences with CFP ( the company MRI recommended). I became a platinum member with CFP around 2 years ago when I was purchasing in Bulgaria, I must have spent months trying to contact the local agent but was always fobbed off, at the end of the day I found it impossible to get a mortage with them. I read many other messages about the company, no one and I mean no one had anything good to say about them. I contacted the spanish contacts (thinking that maybe they would be different)  via the website and on two separate occasions people got back to me saying they would contact me the next day ,but guess what they never got back to me, mega surprise!

If anyone has recommendations about a good mortgage firm please let me know.

kev


This message was last edited by kev2 on 5/30/2008.

I would agree with Kev.

When we visited Corvera we had a dicussion with the CFP rep who promised the earth. When we agreed to buy (which was about 3 hours before we were due to fly home) as part of the rushed signing process they told us we needed to agreee to pay CFP £450 for their services. it was only when we got home we started to question why we had done this.

We did manage to get our money back from them but it took a number of weeks and we did lose out with the difference in exchange rates. I also believe the person involved had since left the company. I wouldnt touch them with the preverbial barge pole.

I would be interested to hear how other peole go about obtaining the best mortgages, especially how we can have access to the developers mortgage. We have bought on Phase 4 (which presumably will be ready by the turn of the century!!) so have a bit of time to do this but dont want to be in the position having to think about it at the last minute. I would aslo hope this site continues when Phases 1 and 2 are occupied so we can hopefully continue to learn from other peoples experiences.

On the question of rentals I for one will be looking to rent a Phase 1 or 2 property when they are built so that I can come and see what the site is like and how my property is progresing.