Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in Italy

Re: Buying an apartment in Italy

In fairness Askar implied that TRMA's response was biased because they included the last line

Presumably the selling agent being spoken about is a competitor of yours.

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Re: Buying an apartment in Italy

We seem to of totally lost this thread due to needless bickering.

Does anyone think it is good to invest in Calabria at this time on either the East or West coast?

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

Hello all,

My situation is that i withdrew from purchasing an appartment in the Algarve (Praia da Rocha) Portugal through Larionovo. Mortgage finance was not forthcoming for the development. Larionovo/Profile Ltd. in a letter dated 1st September promised a refund of all deposits and admin. fees if clients wished to withdraw.
Following this letter, I formally withdrew by email and phone to Larionovo in early September. I have tried to contact both Larionovo and Profile on a number of occassions by phone, email and letter. My phone calls were not returned and my emails and letters remain unanswered.
I am interested in hearing from anyone that has had similar issues with Larionovo in relation to this or other developments.

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

I think there are quite a few threads with this company mentioned but are we talking about Calabria here or Portugal ! in reply to the original thread concerning calabria for one bed appartments on the East coast dependent on size you sould be paying about 1300 to 1400 a square meter a good one bedroom ushally is around 65 to 70,000 euros old resale properties start from around 25,000 euros.Always use totally independent advice beware of companies who are tied in with solicitors and who do not offer a choice.Hundreds of clients being represented by one solicitor in certain developments is just not healthy
Remember that a draft preliminary contract is what it says and if you need things ammended or added in.get them put in untill you are totally satisfied with what you are buying.
Insure that no monies are transferred from your solicitors holding account othet than your initail reservation fee untill you recieve your copy of your bank guarantee which has to be issued by a bank or insurance company authoirised by the central bank of italy

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

JKT,
My only advice to you is stay away from Larinova. There are plenty of unhappy punters on the forum who purchased Palmela Village, India, Dubai and Albuferia. (all looking for their money back and all unfinished properties). Did you not hear the Joe Duffy show 2 weeks ago.
The right move abroad are seling property in Italy for a long number of years and I can assure you TRMA will not put you wrong. My advise is to do plenty of research and visit the area at least a week before you make a decision. Get yourself a good independent Lawyer and make sure everything is covered in your contract including compensation for delays in completing. Also in view of the current global credit crisis and recession I woud ensure all my monies paid up front are bank guaranteed. If not walk away and put your money in one of our state guaranteed banks where you will earn 5-6%. I have purchased a few properties abroad and let me tell you its not as simple as you will be led to believe. Dont forget all the costs involved once you own it. Taxes, rates, insurance,water, electric, maintenance,sky and management fees. Not a good time to buy unless your getting a distressed property at 40% discount.
Spin

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

If agents do not do do there job and conduct thorough due dilligence before they market products problems arise i looked at the TRMA abroad website and noticed two developments that i know people are having massive problems with Namely Santa Clara beach which was never on a beach and Bella Vista 2 which still has not started over two years on so be careful with your recomendations while slating another.As regards distressed resales and the reductions you are exspecting i do not know where you are getting your information from but prices are holding up well.
With regards bank guarantees in Italy it is the law and legislation was brought in 2005 under article 122/2005 to protect the purchasers monies in the event of insolvency.
You are correct to advise penalty clauses for late completions on all projects there is generally a 6 month grace period for a developer to complete.

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

JKT,
All I was doing was giving you advice to thread carefully. Have never done business with TRMA so was not aware of problems.
I know of plenty of distressed properties available in Spain discounted by 30%-40% and some excellent value to be got. I actually get these lists on a monthly basis so if you want a copy please pm me.
Best of luck
Spin

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

Just with regard to Larionovo they went into liquidation today, so people's worries about them were not unfounded

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

I bought in Borgo Novo through Larionovo. Received email in last couple of days from VFI Overseas Property asking for next installment. Is anyone else in same circumstance? Told VFI I was unhappy to pay someone who I'd had no previous business with and asked for written signed letter explaining why I am now dealing with them. Very apprehensive... I read that Calabria / Borgo Novo is unaffected by Larionovo liquidation as contract now with builder. Is this better / worse? Should I get initial "booking deposit" back from Larionovo as they are not completing what they started?

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

your initial deposit sould of gone direct to the developer in Italy who is building the property or a solictor and is not the correct procedure as it causes problems at the italian notary but if this has since been passed over to the developer you are correct and you will not be affected by Larionova going under.VFI as far i am aware are only the master agents of this development and if this is the case it is not the correct procedure either.
Only pass the money on to your solicitor and insure it goes to the person or building company who owns and is building the property the name will be on your contract.

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

Thanks JackFrench. I got letter from legal firm I used through Larionovo (probably not the best idea), they are now asking for next installment and advising against paying VFI directly (as you also advised). They also advise that extra legal costs may ensue due to Larionovo issue... Hopefully I can get independent advice from acqaintance as am not too happy about making any payment now!

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

Its the Law in Italy that when buying off plan the proceeds have to go direct to the developer.A master agent or promoter does not warrant this particularly if the company is either uk or Irish registered so i am glad your legal people agreed.
A good fully independent solicitor in Italy will ushally cost around 1% with a minimum fee generally of between 1200 and 1500 to get to completion which is money well spent for peace of mind when investing any money and to look after your best interests.

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

Hello Matt1,

I too am buying in Borgo Novo. I was in Pizzo in September and absolutely loved it. The development was just above foundation level at the time but they've made a lot of progress since then. It's good to know everything is on schedule and completion should be in February 2010 as originally planned.

I have emailed my solicitors today to ask them to confirm that the deposit I paid on signing the preliminary contract (30%) has indeed gone to the developer in Italy and, as such, is covered by the bank guarantee. As JackFrench says, you should not pay anything to VFI directly - always go through your solicitor.

Please feel free to PM me if you wish to discuss anything about Borgo Novo.

Regards,
Zagorka

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

I would also advise that you request a copy of your bank Guarantee for yourself, and insure that it includes the clause written in that covers all monies and the full term up to, and untill completion.ie feb 2010 on this or any other offplan development.

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

I lived in Scilla for a while at the end of the 80s. It's great for a beach holiday in the summer, because the water is clean and it's verrry hot (often in the 40s). But being there in the winter is a real turn-off. The people are very basic. Most of them are unemployed. The Mafia rules the roost and there's no foreseeable end to that problem. Personally I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole. Been there, done that. Then again, nobody is asking you to live there.

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

nevertoolate you really are showing your age if not your ignorance, considering your talking nearly 20 odd years ago.

There has been substantial change even over the past couple of years in particular from what you may recall. The infrastructure has received massive investment both from the EU and the Italian government and the GDP while lower than the rest of Italy is continuing to rise and will continue to do so under the EUs cohesion plan 2007 to 2012.

Regarding your remarks relating to the winter I would far prefer to be sitting of temperatures in the low to Mid twenties this week in Calabria than freezing my ass off in West Cork. The people you refer to as basic, are amongst some of the friendliest and most hospitable in the world.

While there still remains certain hotbed areas of Mafia activity or organized crime like any where it is not in your face and there has been massive crackdowns by the authorities to curb these activities and indeed the chances of falling victim to petty crime burglaries car theft, muggings etc. are pretty much non existent unlike elsewhere.

In terms of what it has too offer in terms of climate, culture cuisine, stunning natural beauty and quality of life there are not many places that can match it left in Europe in my view and long live the progress and positive things that are happening in Calabria at this time.

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

"never too late you really are showing your age if not your ignorance, "

jackfrench - do you need to introduce ageist insults or other insults into your post?

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

Cerebros respectfully i really do not want to see this thread hi jacked again as there is some important points that people need to be aware of. However Growing old is one of the joys and gifts of life that unfortunatley not all of us have the privilage of.
As for ignorance it is a lack of knowledge or awareness that i believe was relevent to the previous post.personally i find the remark of calling the Calabrese or italian people basic far more insulting as we are all equal and none of us fundamentally are anymore sophisticated or Basic than the other.

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

jackfrench,

You post in glowing terms about Calabria, here on AAM were are naturally suspicions of such posts from posters who post about little else. Do you have any association or interest with the property business or any allied industries we should know about?

This is the overseas investment subforum in which we discuss the overseas properties interms of their investment potential or otherwise. Calabria is undoubtedly a marvellous place populated by lovely people but posts about its idyllic beauty etc should be made in the holidays subforum.

aj
moderator

If posters are concerned that threads are being hijacked or are OT or are breaching the posting guidelines in any way could the use the report post facility. Thanks

Re: Buying an apartment in Borgo Novo, Calabria (marketed as the real Riviera!) in It

ajapale said:

jackfrench,

You post in glowing terms about Calabria, here on AAM were are naturally suspicions of such posts from posters who post about little else. Do you have any association or interest with the property business or any allied industries we should know about?

This is the overseas investment subforum in which we discuss the overseas properties interms of their investment potential or otherwise. Calabria is undoubtedly a marvellous place populated by lovely people but posts about its idyllic beauty etc should be made in the holidays subforum.

aj
moderator

If posters are concerned that threads are being hijacked or are OT or are breaching the posting guidelines in any way could the use the report post facility. Thanks

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I have invested in overseas property over the past six years not only in Calabria but several other European countries,


.The main investment criteria i undertake before i make a decision to purchase is local, regional and legal due dilligence,and i am happy tp pass on any advice that i have learnt.The fact that Calabria does have beautiful beaches and mountains and indeed people is relevent to anyone considering investing there as these are attractions and give rise to the potential of providing a longer season in terms of the rentals you may achieve on your investment ,which up to recently was largely restricted to the Italian market,and the months of July and august.While we can seperate such information as to the attractions into the holiday section it is in my view worth considering everything when making a overseas investment and sould be included.