Aroca Seiquer & Asociados

Hope everyone is well.

I am currently in UK and was wondering if anyone has any update to the status of Vista Hermosa development in Santa Margarita.

I was aware there are four phases, and I have bought on the 4th phase, but was wondering if they are constructing anything yet.

Does anyone have any insights? Photos? Comments?

Gibbuyer

Hi,

We are buying an appartment in Phase 4 with a planned completion of Oct 2008.

Just got some photos from my lawyer which appear to show initial work taking place quite high up on the slope. Although it's difficult to match the photos to the site plan, they do look like the car parks and first floors of the Appartments.

Tried attaching photos to this but it didn't work.

Try sending me a private message and I'll send you the photos.

JJ

Just worked out how to post photos !!!

Photos from around Jan 2007 now on the "Shared Photos"  tab.

JJ

i was there 4 weeks ago and phase 4 had not started , but equiptment was clearing  the site for entrances etc.

the sales office was still there and this is due to be demolished when phase 4 starts

the expected completition date for phase 3 is october 2008.       is phase 4 due to finish at the same time?

a lot of progress happened since i last visited in the end of february.

according to the sales office everything is on schedual.

my next visit is due end of august.

PP

When we were there at the end of May we were told that Phase 4 would also be complete by October 2008.

I think all the phases have to be complete before any of the development can be released.

my agent informed me today that completition date has now been put back to december 2008.

i expect that to run a few months late so i will be making my plans for the middle of 2009.

pp

We have also got the same message (March 2009 completion) and for the same reasons.

This is not bad news for us, as we are still trying to work out how to finance the remaining 80% of the purchase price.

Anyone out there have any idea what the current sale/resale value of the appartments are (just in case !!). One other good thing about the delay is that the Spanish property market will have a little longer to recover

If you look on the website for Andalucian dream homes (Cadiz section) there are a lot of these apartments still for sale at around the same price we paid. Also the Promaga website is still offering them at the original price AND they are building others nearby at a cheaper price (further back from the sea I think).

Pretty much as I guessed.

When we were shown around by the ADH rep over a year ago, he said there were only 2 or 3 appartments left.

He also said that within a year we would have made at least £50k on the original price and that people would be desperate to buy from us before we completed.

Whilst I knew he was probably stretching the truth somewhat, I am surprised how blatent they were. Good lesson learned. At least Promaga are a reasonably respectable builder, and as Agents go, I suspect that ADH are probably no worse than others (and are probably better than many).

Hi, just got back from site and have had a long chat with Christian who is still in the show apartment. He says March completion is definitely the longest prediction and they want to be finished by the end of 2008/beginning of 2009. Promaga did not want to give false hope and perhaps have to move the goal posts twice - hence what seems like a long extension. They are just building block 7 and will be starting phase 4 imminently. When we drove down to the beach we noticed that a lot of work had been done to tidy up La Linea's beach front since we had visited last October. Christian was also adamant that the airport at Gibraltar was still being developed to recieve more flights and licenses etc had been granted. We said we had heard otherwise but he was positive it was all going through - watch this space.

Regarding money - some friends of ours rang and asked the price of a 2 bed apartment and were told 275 000 euros which is 35 000 up on the advertised price. They are still selling onsite so the likelihood of re - selling is slim and Christian did say that the days of making a quick profit by selling before completion are gone. Investors do not buy like they used to and the only way to make money is to keep it for a few years and then sell. He was VERY honest actually!

We took lots of pics - some onsite - some of the surrounding area - I will upload them later. Site photos will show the views from block 2 phase 4 which is where we bought.

Linda

Hi,

Thanks for the update. The increase in price for the 2 bed appartment is encouraging.

From what I've read (both on this site and elsewhere) the Spanish property crash was more media hype than reality and was related primarily to the share price drop of a few specific property companies. However, that's not to say that some prices will fall, and many others will stabilise for a while, but it's probably only going to be a temporary thing.

We had always planned to retain our appartment for several years, so hopefully, by then, there will have been some more growth.

Not sure what anyone elses plans are, but we intend to use the appartment for holidays/short breaks, but also plan to rent out.

Anybody have any recommendations of good property/rental management companies ? Also, what commission would you expect them to take (15 - 20 % ?)

Looking forward to seeing the latest photos.

hi,

thanks for the update but i have a question for tylersol re you post on the 6th aug. you said some friends of yours rang and asked about prices for 2 bed and were told 275,000 euros whichis 35,000 up on yhe advertised price.

question1:  who did they ring ADH or PROMAGA direct.

question 2: what block and what floor level are you talking about   ground , 1st floor, or penthouse.  were you comparing like with like.

my next visit is due in sept. but its nice to know that other people are keeping an eye on developments and reporting.

looking forward to  photos.

i too have met christian a few times and find him a very  pleasant and helpfull person to deal with even though he does work for PROMAGA.

pp 

Hi

yes we THINK they were! i.e. they actually have a maximum budget of 200 000 euros and asked for the cheapest - a first floor 2 bed. They rang Promaga but were put off a little by the woman's attitude - " Do not book a visit unless you are going to buy, it will waste your time and our money." This is a complete contrast to our experience with ADH who applied NO pressure at all and to our experiences with John and Christian onsite who bend over backwards to answer questions and give support. Of course knowing their budget may have affected how she dealt with them, however Promaga are also building Vista Mar just up the coast and these are cheaper apartments but she did not try to re direct them.

Hope this helps!

Linda

Hi All,

Just recently been doing a little digging with an alternative estate agent to try and get a covert feel for what the market is like at the moment, specifically around Vista Hermosa.

We are buying a 4 bed, top floor appartment in Phase 4 Block 3 at a cost of approx 330k euros. Without  giving this info, I asked the agent if any of these were still available (bearing in mind that when we bought off ADH about 18 months ago we were told we got the last one !!). The agent said that there were 3 in block 2 but none in block 3. The prices ranged from 327k to 332k euros..... so basically the same as what we paid. So in 18 months the price has not increased, but on the positive side, even after the property price scare, the price has not gone down.

Interestingly, the top floor appartments are now being marketed as "Penthouses", rather than top floor appartments (thats like me calling my back yard at home a terrace !!)

They also wanted 30% deposit with 70% on completion. This was worse than the 20% - 80% deal that we got with ADH.

The agent also said that completion was expected in Summer 2009. This is after the recent March 09 date that most of us have been given formally. This may just be this particular agent being pessimistic.... but who can tell.

I was also told that Vista Hermosa would be a "Gated Community" which I wasn't aware of....... Can anyone corroborate this ?. If so, it should help with security.

I have a good set of photos of the showroom as supplied by the agent, which I'll put on the "Constuction Photos" part of the EOS site. Also there is a good PDF of the whole site which allows you to zoom into individual properties. I don't think I can attach that, but if you PM me I'll send you a copy.

Thats it for now.

Regards

I've just come back from Spain. The Promaga reps are saying March 2009 for comletion of Phase 4. Work seems to be going ahead well on the other phases. Phase 4 yet to start but Promaga office due to move shortly.

Ann

Hi guys

Just got back from the site 2 weeks ago at Vista Hermosa, and I have the following updates, some of which may be repeated:

1. Phase one is nearing completion

2. The show flat is to move very soon to a phase 1 flat, so visiting the new show flat will give you a truer indication of what the finished flats will look like.

3. Mar to Jun 09 is when I was told that phase 4 was to be completed. I predict more delays, so am not expecting the keys until after that.

4. Check some photos which I am uploading now - luckily I went on a sunny day :)

I have a query, has anyone asked for anything custom made in the flat. For example, I am keen to remove the bidays that are being installed, and was told that this can only be done if a) the contructors are kept happy and b) enough people request much of the same thing - has anyone got any comments?

JJ - would it be possible for you to send me a copy of the pdf you mentioned in your last post?

Regards