Praia de Cabral Property Development

North of Sal Rei out towards the point

Praia de Cabral

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.

Father and Son Development

Right on Cabral Beach front at the Northern end

Dolphin Building

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. Some apartments are nearly completed.

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 and could be ready in three to four years. Underneaththe 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. 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 serrious redesign may be necessary. 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

"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 outsideis tidied up which may take a while as all the other developments are buil. t 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 web impression where it shows a stunning 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 suitablefor 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. VC 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 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 questiions 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 its 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.

capeverdeinfo.org.uk