         
|
Vila Verde Off-plan Property SalSanta Maria-Espargos Highway, SalA development lying back from the sea and along the main Highway. Red Mountain is involved with the company that is building Tortuga Beach in front of it on the shoreline. It will consist of villas and apartments around a pool and restaurant. It is being built by Tecnicil, a Cape Verdean company which has already completed a lot of work for town flats in Santiago. A Portuguese site manager has been appointed and works from an office near the Pirata night club. So it should encounter few planning difficulties. Also bank guarantees are to be offered on Cape Verdean banks. Prices are very high eg as much as £80,000 for a one bedroom apartment but the protection may make it worthwhile. These are also being sold by Mark Up Men based in Malaga at prices 20,000 to 30,000 higher in return for a subsidised inspection trip. Tecnicil is developing another complex at Vila do Sol on Murderia Bay also being sold at higher price levels by Mark Up Men from Malaga. A from Wilts has been out to look at the proposed site. "Sal is a very interesting place and we thought the Morabeza was great. But Vila Verde - what a waste of time. Apparently 99% of people have bought there without even seeing it. If you do plod around the sites, it is interesting, but the off-plan developments are not super cheap."I from Yorks is wary. "I guess I am naturally suspicious of discounts and the hype that goes on around them. The recent misinformation about direct flights is a case in point. Some investors might also have been tempted by the new price of €99,000 (the MarkUp price of €118,000 seems to be very optimistic of investment interest). But the resale potential is still a big unknown in CV. This is more realistically a medium to long term investment. So the real question is how the rental market will work and shape up next year when we go through to completion - the suggestion of managing the apartments as a group may be the way forward if there is no guaranteed rental scheme in the contract."A from Derby has bought speculatively" I put a deposit on a two bed townhouse at Vila Verde in December 2005, the prices then ranged from €175,000 to €195,000 but now they are all selling at €192,000. I have also bought two apartments at Djadsal, at the discount price. I bought from A and personally believe I got a very good deal. May still go ahead with Vila Verde if I can secure the plot I want when they release more details. I had done a lot of research, but I feel in the short term the Djadsal may qive a quicker return, and one could always buy at Vila Verde in future phases which might be better positioned than phase 1."A from Hants was disillusioned to discover where it actually is. Some seem to buy without discovery, "One of the developments we had been keen on from the comfort of our UK armchairs had been Vila Verde. A truly disappointing site! Plans show good quality design and architecture however it`s location is in No-Man's Land. It is sold as being near the beach but all the land between Vila Verde and the beach has been sold for beachfront developments. These will be private gated communities allowing no access or short-cuts through. Vila Verde residents will have to walk along the island's main road, cross it, pass several beachfront complexes (each as large as VV) to a small opening and walk over the sand dunes just to access the nearest beach. A considerable walk that's a bit too strenuous for a relaxing day at the beach for me! Interesting to note that the four agents we dealt with over there all said that once they showed the site to people not one of them has sold a property at Vila Verde...hmmm food for thought!"!E from Grenoble paid top dollar."We bought in Vila Verde (like everybody else it seems… we are quite horrified at the size of the development but we bought off plans and hadn’t seen the island before so we had no idea what kind of eye sore this might end up being…). We bought it via MarkUp. It turns out we’ll be close enough to Ponta Preta to just walk to it with our surfboards so we’re happy with that. We are considering buying somewhere else there, maybe Murdeira which is much quieter (we loved Murdeira and went lunching there quite often and enjoyed the lovely creeks and beaches of the area!) and keep the apartment in Vila Verde as an investment which we’d rent. We’ve seen some interesting stuff while up there but as much as my husband is keen to invest again in Sal, I’d rather not put all my eggs in the same basket. I’m thinking ahead and with global warming, the CV islands might end up under water one day. Also crude oil resources are rapidly disappearing so I’m thinking that we maybe should invest closer to home (maybe Britain or France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, i.e. places you can always access via boat, train, car, push bike!!!). We did see a wonderful flat in Santa Maria and nearly bought it as it was ideally located but as I said I had my reservations and finally managed to stop my husband thinking with his heart but rather with his business head! He was so relaxed when in Sal that I think anyone could have sold him pretty much anything had I not been there to stop him! What’s funny it’s that back home he is the one with the business head and I’m more of a dreamer! Anyway, I’m sure we’ll get to meet on Sal one day: as you said it is a very small world particularly there!!!"S from Birmingham was not convinced by the rent guarantee"I went to Cape Verde with an open mind looking to buy to let. I visited both Sal and Santiago. Sal has better roads which are less congested. Several developments have 10 to 15 year build programmes. I would expect property prices to go up. But letting I feel will be restricted by the number of all inclusive hotels. Front line resorts will always command a premium over any other development. Vila Verde is only a short walk from the beach but you would have to walk down a road between the Tortuga and Paradise Beach developments which will be under construction for 10 plus years. The beach is a public beach not a private one. If you are hoping to let, the developer will not be the person managing your investment. I found that few developers had any management company or could explain charges or letting income. My idea would be speculate on a price increase and put it up for sale as it nears completion. "S from Cornwall feels that it is over-priced "villa verde - well far too expensive & over priced, paying for so called exclusitivity, snob value with adjoining marina and golf course if developed! At their prices cannot see resale value icreasing dramatically until it becomes like Canaries with cheap direct flights - my opinion only, but seen similar pattern down here in Cornwall! And look at Murderia at present, some owners bought high now have difficulty re-selling"N from Birmingham paid on a bad payment scale. "I am in an unhappy position with MarkUp and Vila Verde.,My terms were €3000 for reservation, 40% on contract, 10% 6 months later, and 50% on completion. I too am using the MarkUp reccomended solicitor in Cape Verde. Spencer-Medina ? I did receive a call 2 weeks ago from them promising the contract by the end of the week, but as of yet, I have received nothing. I must admit, I am keen on Vila Verde, but for everyday that goes by, I have doubts in my mind, and sometimes fear that they may not deliver. I know this sounds cynical, but I have bought many an investment property, and usually, the legal process is quite prompt. I am told its normal to expect delays, so for now I shall be patient. "G from Birmingham is wary of the subsidised visit machine selling Vila Verde. " I gather that MRI are a bit disorganised. I arranged a meeting with a rep before I went out to CV and he never turned up at my hotel to meet me. I had to call the UK office for another meeting but ended up going with another company that offered a better stage payment deal. Check out the Vila Verde sales agents for different deals, Vila Verde isn't beachfront but is a well designed resort by an established Cape Verde developer with 50% bank guarantee on first 2 stage payments. Good if you want more peace of mind, and would rather sit by the pool than the beach, like me. If you go on MRI's subsidised 3 day inspection trip they won't give you time to see other developments. It would be extra money well spent to go independently and visit a few of the other islands. There is much more to Cape Verde than Sal. "The artist`s impression on the Internet are very misleading as it appears to show the resort on the sea front. It is not. It has Tortuga Beach and several shops scheduled to be in front of it. It is circulating on the Internet. It seems clearly designed to mislead investors. This is published purely as a WARNING. If we published this as a TRUE picture in the UK we could face a criminal prosecution under the Misrepresentation Act 1967. By the way the grass and deciduous tree in the artists` impressions above are unlikely to appear either as grass does not grow like this in the sandy, salty topsoil of Sal. The best you can get is palms and hibiscus.. .Check recent news |