Praia
de Cabral Property Development
North of Sal Rei out towards the point
Praia de Cabral the northern end beach on Boa Vista
The potential for a pretty tourist enclave to develop exists on
the strip of rough track between the harbour jetty and the Marina
Club on the rocky point of Ponta do Sol. Not so fine a beach as
Chaves or Santa Maria but it has a good position on the north-west
of the island, just outside Sal Rei. Individual apartment blocks
are being built on the inland side of the road. There is room for
more building on the seaward side, so check the town plan for details
of the Father and Son Development.. Water is going initially to
come from Sal by ship and then by road tanker from the jetty. Until
this is sorted out swimming pools may be more of a dream than a
reality limiting the letting potential.
Por do Sol
The Por Do Sol complex is in two phases of which the first is nearing
completion. It is just to the north of Vila Cabral. It is in two
blocks each with 23 apartments and 8 two bedroom duplexes of 130sqm
with roof terraces, seaviews and access to a 30m swimming pool and
terrace area. The townhouses have small gardens in front. Prices
from £100,000 to £140,000. They have fitted kitchens
included.
Oasis Village
At the northern end of the coast road past Father and Son and next
to the rocky escarpment, this development has apartments and studios
at £52,000. Eventuially there will be 248 compact units. Ground
floor units have a small garden while the roof top units have small
terraces,
Father and Son Development
Right on Cabral Beach front
at the Northern end and on the seaward side of the road.
Dolphin Building next to Vila Cabral
This is being built next door to Vila Cabral on Cabral Beach. It
is a bit smaller and the design is more attractive. It is a long
building rather than a square so apartments should be lighter and
cooler. It will have a swimming pool and garden behind the block.
Some apartments are completed. Prices from £55,000.
Vila Cabral apartments
The largest development on the Cabral beach is this big square
block of apartments.. Construction of the first block is complete..
Most of this is sold out. But a second block has been started alongside
the first one but work has virtually ceased as the developer is
short of funds. There is no sign of the promised swimmi ng pool,
although some palm trees were being planted at the end of 2009.
Underneath the buildings in a semi-basement area, there are open-plan
offices. They have a slightly stolid look but are well positioned
only 100m from the empty and slightly stony beach at Cabral. However
most remain unlet.
The corner units have large balconies. Prices are from £36,000
for a one bedroom studio to £60,000 for a two bedroom and
£70,000 for a three bed apartment property. The properties
are being developed by Constur the builders of Murdeira. They are
well priced and will surely look nicer inside than outside. The
blocks consist of 12 one bed, 12 two bed and 12 three bed apartments.
The first block is complete, but it has developed structural cracking
in the top floor penthouses and some serious repair may be necessary.
Many of the flats remain unoccupied but a few have been let to
locals and some expartiate italians. Long term rentals are very
low and holiday rentals unlikely because of the extensive building
work still continuing. The road will shortly be made into a dual
caariageway, despite the absence of traffic.
M from Yorks has been there and says;
"Property is more expensive than in Santa Maria. The quality
is not good and some of the concrete is stained and peeling already.
"
J from Lancs feels reassured by the developer Turim, notorious
in Sal
"They explained that part of the money came from a local
bank. Half way through the building work they had to stop working
for a few months untill all finance was in place. They have also
had problems with the water pipe but all that is taken care of for
vila cabral 2 and already laid. I thought Cabral 1 would be very
impressive once the outside is tidied up which may take a while
as all the other developments are built, But on value for money
and space it was by far the best that I saw. The sea looks rougher
than Santa Maria and the beach is very stony not like the webphoto
which has a white sandy beach. But we have paid our deposit and
hope it will be lovely. If the sea is that rough I may stick to
the swimming pool with kids."
K from Devon is not so sure
"Building work ceased for quite a time and we thought that the
company might have run out of money, Water supply is obviously an
issue because to start with it will come in by road tanker. There
is no mains supply and water for Boa Vista is being brought in with
ships from desalination plants on other islands. As the Vila Cabral
complex is relatively small it escapes the legislation that permits
building of larger complexes only with their own desalination plants!"
B from Essex has not been to see for herself
" I have reserved an apartment at Villa Cabral 2. What can I say?
So far so good. Like a lot of people I have bought without going
out to the island so it does of course leave you with a few unanswered
questions at times. Quite frankly though theres nothing about the
transaction that gives me sleepless nights. Look at the facts. Have
you heard from anyone who has lost any dosh. I think we would soon
know about it if they had so lets just relax and leave the others
to get the coronarys."
G from Birmingham is prescient
"I have just recently returned from Boa Vista after buying land
and have calculated the figures with reference to building. I know
the building firm and the agent but this may not be suitable for
mortgaging if these become available. Vila Cabral only comes with
a 5 year structural warranty. Why not spend more on building costs
and sell off plan to fund it? We develop property for a living in
the UK. We just worry that any mistakes made early in the development
of Boa Vista could bounce back to haunt others."
I from London suggests being wary.
"Vila Cabral 1 is almost complete and the finish is ok . The main
issue in my mind is that there are no facilites at all in the development,
and are limited in Sal Rei. There are a couple of nice places to
eat. Vila Cabral 2 will have a pool . The specification is different
- e.g double glazed windows, aircon, shutters,better tiles and the
pirce is up. The apartments at the back will have a view that should
be blocked when second line development starts, so check it out
carefully before you buy."
C from Yorks is not impressed by the short guarantee
" Is it true that there is no guarantee for constructions in Cape
Verde? What happens if there are cracks in the structure or the
finishes peel soon after the building is released? Does the builder
have any responsibility? Is the buyer entitled to refuse to receive
a building if he/she thinks that the quality is not acceptable?
Considering that the salty sand is extremely bad for construction,
there should be some guarantee for the house structure. The agency
told me that the properties I was interested in do not offer guarantee
because no guarantee is offered in Cape Verde. Is this true? Do
you know of any property which offers structure and finishing guarantee?
Any builder who is not a thief would give at least a 2 year guarantee.
If they refuse it means that they know that they have a very poor
building and should be rejected. If I cannot find in Cape Verde
at least a 2 year guarantee, I am not going to buy."
I from Birmingham questions the lack of facilities
"Just back from Boavista (and Sal). Villa Cabril phase 1 is almost
complete and the finish is ok (good for rental purposes but not
luxury by any means). The main issue in my mind is that there are
no facilites at all in the development, and although close by, these
are limited in the town (Sal Rei) as well. Having said that there
a couple of nice places to eat in town and the apartments are close
to the beach. Phase 2 will have a pool and some other facilites,
and as more places are developed in the area, facilities are bound
to improve - its just going to take a few years. The developer is
also planning an improved specification for phase 2 - e.g double
glazed windows, a/c, shutters, higher quality tiles etc - this is
refelcted in the prices compared to pahse 1. The apartments at the
back of phase 1 will have a view of a desert oasis/desert plains
and distant mountains - BUT there is no guarantee some or all of
this view won't be blocked in the future when "second line" development
starts, so check it out carefully before you buy. Unfortunately
there is litter, including broken glass on the beach, and its worse
at the town end, and better as you go towards the Marine Club end
of the beach (which is the better end for swimming anyway). "
J from Manchester is unsure of the return.
"I am really worried if we done right thing in investing in Cabral.
Spoken to a few people just come back they said they couldn`t even
stand on the beach as it`s so windy and the water very dangerouse
and this is from November to April the whole point of choosing CapeVerde
was the winter weather so am wondering do I lose my deposit if I
pull out it only been reserved for a few weeks "
L fromEssex feels that there might be other buildings blocking
the sea views.
"I saw a new building site on Boa Vista last week. Some ot
the land on the west of the road has been bought by an Italian company
oddly known as Father and Son some years ago. It is up at the northern
end of Praia Cabral and there is a hoarding which shows quite extensive
plans to establish bungalows and duplexes. Presumably the heights
on what will become the new front line are to be resticted so as
not to spoil the sea views of at least the upper storeys of the
flats being built behind the coast road. But it does raise the question
as to whether more buildings will be placed along the seaward side
of the coast road further south. I suppose that this is inevitable
given that it is a prime position. It should be possible to check
with the Camara in Sal Rei to see what building plans have been
drawn up.
D from Switzerland thought the furniture was excellent but did
not buy.
" I had a look at vila cabral. I was suprised that the finish
was so good...proper kitchens of european standard, soft closing
doors etc....bathrooms of very good quality as well....appartments
are very light, decent sizes I think it has been the best devolpment
I have seen...I decided to buy in Sal instead,"
E from Wales thought it was short on facilities
"It doesn't have a pool or anywhere for eating/drinking/shopping
- its not too far from the town, but there is not much there either
- this is bound to change in time, but this looks like one of the
first developments of its kind to be finished so there will be some
"lag" while other developments are completed and services catch
up "
A from Cambs suffered from poor plumbing hardware
"The tap feeding a toilet failed, preventing flushing. The taps
are poor. Turim offered to repair it but two weeks later nothing
had happenned and the bathroom had to be closed. Turim assured the
letting agent that the problem would be repaired soon. But the letting
agent terminated the let and the tenant that had just moved in left
without any warning."
