Marketing of La Tercia Development

[valerie]

Hi All

We would be interested to know if La Tercia is being marketed to other nationalities, or just to the British and Irish.  Has anyone seen or heard anything about this.

Valerie K.

[Gary]

Hi Valerie k,

Good to see you back…all ok now then? Would be interested to hear what happened, Perhaps you could PM me?
Did you see Sandrab’s post in, United Golf Advertising purchasing incentives?
Would be nice to see some purchasers from other countries joining, they must be out there! If there are any, perhaps reading this. Please do join in.

Wonder how many took the car incentive!!! Would be nice to see how the sales are going, anyone have any news?

Gary

[mark]

Hi Val
       The site is being marketed in several countries including Holland Belgium and Scandinavia. quite alot of Spanis have also bought on the site so it should be a good international mix

Mark

[valerie]

Hi Mark.

Its great to see that the properties are being marketed to other nationalities, and that the Spanish themselves are buying.  Its a bit disappointing that the townhouses are being turned into more apartments.  I guess that they must be struggling to sell.  I don't like the way United Golf can make changes like this as you wonder what other changes are going to be made before the project is completed.

Regards Valerie K.

[mark]

Hi Val
       The townhouses did not sell because of the design. They have now decided to build apartments but only on 2 floors so the people who have bought in the block behind will not have obstructed views. I liaise with the builders quite often and I can tell you that the only changes  that the builders are making are for the better. An example of this is changing the floors in the apartments to marble instead of tiles and altering the 3 bed apartments to make the lounge bigger.The villas have been delayed because of changes to the origional plans again on reflection some of the kitchens were tooo small and others did not let in enough light. All the changes are to benefit the clients and not just profiteering as some of the other builders do. As a sales agent here in Murcia I would say it is one of the best developments in this region and very good value for money. Anyone who buys or has bought on this site will not be disappointed.

Mark

[Dave]

Hi Mark

Do you have any indication as to how many buyers at United Golf are serious buyers or how many are just interested in selling on when nearing completion?.

Can you tell us what other changes have been made or will be made?.

Any other information you may have that would be of interest to us.

Thanks
Dave

[valerie]

Hi Mark.

Thanks for the reply regarding the latest changes that you know about.  As in all new developments we understand that there will be design changes as the project evolves.  My husband is a construction manager and has yet to be involved in a project that has stuck rigidly to the original plans.  Our concern was that (and although we are buying an apartment ourselves) too many could make it feel over developed.  As you have stated the new apartments will stay the same size as the old townhouses.
Secondly another point you have mentioned that is a concern to us is that the 3 bedroom apartments will be having a larger lounge.  As this is the type of property we are buying could you please try and find out where they are finding the extra space to do this.  Are they making the bedrooms, bathrooms or kitchens smaller?

Look forward to hearing from you.

Val.

[mark]

Hi Val
       I don´t know when you bought your property but the showhouse of the 3 bedroom apartment has the adjustments made already. They moved the wall facing the front door back about 30cm. This has made the front bedroom smaller, but still a good size , but is made a great difference to the lounge area. It is an improvement for the better as the lounge was a little tight for space before the adjustment was made.


Hope this makes things a bit clearer.

mark

[Gary]

Hi,

Anyone have any info available on the new style of apartment? Be nice to see what they look like.

Gary

[mark]

hi Gary
        I will have a set of plans early next week and will forward them to you as soon as I get them. Tried to get photos again today but once again could not get close to the villas because of safety measures. I can tell you that the challenge villa has had one modification to it. They have inserted glass blocks int the upper part of the lounge walls to let in more light and it looks very effective from a distance. I will let you know what it is like close up next week.


Mark

[Bill & Barbara]

Mark,

Very interested in your earlier comments about the quality of the La Tercia development. I suppose it is difficult for you to make too favourable a comparison with other developments, as I see you have some of them on your company's books, but it would be useful to have an overview of the rival developers. Polaris World were just too big for me with too many unsavoury people out there promoting them. Just look at the number of websites purporting to be Polaris World (e.g. Polaris Worlds) and you'll see what I mean. I met some of these people at the Ideal Homes Exhibition and they certainly weren't doing the real Polaris World any favours. Roda/Corvera are much more appealing- a nice company called Golf and Sun Properties (Graeme Purdy and his delightful Spanish wife) sold me on the idea of Murcia and the Mar Menor and I was all set to buy at Roda when I spotted La Tercia at a local property exhibition. Roda looked great (the beach club is a real plus) but by then the lowest priced flats were 204,000 euros and La Tercia was on offer from 132,000 euros so I took the plunge. I then thought: What have I done? the Spanish Property Insight forums were full of horror stories about dodgy agents and solicitors, insolvent developers without building licences, investors with burnt fingers, distress sales and the coming crash in the Spanish property market.

Which brings me to my question: why did everyone else buy here? How much due diligence did they do? And how do they feel about it now? One year after putting down my deposit (first mistake: didn't have a reservation contract, never mind a lawyer) I'm a lot more relaxed. For a start, they have a building licence and they're actually building something. The product looks good, too. My lawyer (independent, and not a man to mess with) said the contract was better than most. United Golf's sales agents were pretty responsive. Sales seem to be going well, which suggests that United Golf won't run out of money. They need to get this one right if they want to move onto their other planned golf developments. The close proximity of 2 (soon to be 3?) airports will drive holiday lettings and sales, so we may have made a wise investment. And finally, Gary's excellent website means that we can share information- it's reassuring to know that you're not alone!

The downside? There are a staggering number of similar developments in the area, so letting and selling could be harder than expected. I'm sure Mark will confirm that, for agents, off-plan sales are more lucrative than resales. Hopefully we will have a decent proportion of holiday home owners and permanent residents rather than investors hoping to "flip" before they have to complete (I think they're in for a shock). We don't yet know what the community charges will be, and the Spanish tax regime is far from welcoming! (I hope that the speculation about a fall in CGT for non-residents is right). I also worry about water- our golf course needs a lot of it. Will the planned Cartagena desalination plant be big enough to cope with all these developments?

As this is the part of the forum which deals with marketing La Tercia, I guess you (Mark) might find it useful to understand why we chose this development when you're marketing it to others. Equally, I am sure that many of us would like to know how you think it compares with other new developments in the area.

Bill N

[mark]

Hi Bill
      I have many projects in the area and I chose UGR as a development I wanted to sell because of the quality of the product. I deal quite a bit in investor business and always look at the value for money aspect as well as capital growth and resale values . This was a project that had all of the above criteria, price per square metre was very reasonable, location was good, facilities on site etc etc. I also place quite a lot of mortgages to different banks and I gave the plans to a local independent surveyor for him to evaluate and he came back with a value 30% higher than the actual sales price of the property. Taking into account the natural growth in the area and the phase increases on the site I believe it is a very good investment for my clients and presented it to them on this basis.
     You are correct in saying that agents do prefer to sell off plan properties and do not get involved in the re-selling of the properties. I have been talking to UGR about this situation and will be launching a website purely dedicated for the reselling of properties on UGR. The reason for this was I was in their sales office one day and a potential buyer came in looking for a front line villa. All of these as you know are sold and the guy went away disappointed. I then spoke to the sales and marketing director and asked if he had any investors who had bought front line villas that wanted to sell on and make a profit. He said probably but did not know who....This is when I decided to start up a database of investor purchasers who are willing to flip their properties and take a profit. The site will be their purely for resales so buyers and sellers will be able to either sell their property or for buyers who may want a specific type of property or a particular location. Of course their will be charges in relation to the operation but it was a service I wanted to provide for my own clients and allow other to use the facility ( and make a few bob on the way). I like most people do not want to see hundreds of property boards for sale or for rent as this only drives down the prices of the properties and does not give a very good image of any project. With this in mind later this year you will see the websites for resales, property management and rentals all dedicated to UGR and will be located on site with people living and working there 24 hrs a day.
       If you compare the sizes of the properties on La Tercia compared to other promotions you will see that they are very good value for money, the project is bank guaranteed the quality of build is far superior to others in the area, all of the building licences are in place and the builders are on target for their completion date of Dec 2007.
        For me all of you buyers have made a good purchase and I am sure you will not be disappointed in the final result.


Mark

[Dave]

Hi Bill N

Here`s our answer to your question,

We came across the united golf development while on a sales trip, we originally wished to go to see another development in Almeria.
We visited to 2 developments in the area one was Roda and the other united golf,Roda was above our budget that we had in mind so went to visit united golf.But i still wanted to see the development we had originally planned to visit,the sales agent really did not think that this development would be for us.Anyway he took us and what a shock i received when we reached the development out in the wilderness in Almeria,no golf course no air conditioning as standard no white goods included, our minds where made up there and then that united was the place for us.With the new type of hoover to clean the floors .

How do we feel now a reference to football springs to mind OVER THE MOON and not as sick as the parrot, yes Eileen was a little apprehensive at first but thanks to Gary having this site Eileen can see the development moving on.Also being in contact with other owners and having a laugh is great( what about that little tree it would be nice if it is kept though  ),life`s to short to worry as the song goes DON`T WORRY BE HAPPY .

Well one of my concerns also is the number of buyers at the moment that are not going to complete and try and sell on before completion,as you say Bill i think they may be in for a shock.I think the community charges have been mentioned before and a figure of 600-800 euros where mentioned i`am sure i will be corrected if i`am wrong.

And to end i think this development will be excellent and at least we have started the ball rolling with getting to know one and other and hopfully long may it continue.  to be a excellent community .  

Dave & Eileen

[mark]

Hi Dave
         the indication I am getting regarding community fees is 500 Euros per year. This eventually will be set by the community themselves once an administrator of fincas has been appointed by the owners.

 
Mark

[Dave]

Mark

Thanks for the quick response.
Do you have any other information along those lines that would be usefull for us to know about?
Also do you have an estimated figure of the number of buyers who are looking to sell on?

Dave