Has anyone any recent news regarding this development. Giambrone & Law are the solicitors. Does anyone have any recent experience with them or with this development. Thanks.
I considered this development but as ever I was deterred by the lack of rental season. Capital growth used to be my main criteria, however after many years investing abroad I've found she is a fickle mistress, so the focus has to be the legnth of rental season.
There is nowhere near enough leisure infrastructure to extend the season. Even many Spannish resorts suffer from this let alone a new backwater like Calabria.
The only place I've found I will get an extended season are the Royal Plan Azure mega resorts being built in Morocco where the core of the plan (10 years in the planning) was to ensure the resorts are year round and not winter ghost development (yet just a 3 hour flight).
We are buying a 1 bed on Jewel of the Sea. We are using Giambrone & Law. They are very very slow. We have had 2 contracts both with the wrong names on them. The only thing they got right so far has been their bill! We are trying to get a copy of the site plan but this seems almost impossible, all they send is the artist impression, I have asked what the builders are using to dig foundations, a copy of that will do…..but no. There is also some concern about planning, 2 other companies selling in Italy have told us it has not been granted although the head of VFI has assured us its in place. We have spoken to other solicitors they have reported problems getting information out of the developers. It’s a really nice site and I want to continue with the purchase but unless I get some progress on the issues I will have to reconsider. Anybody had similar experiences?
Walk away. I've seen this so often,where devlopers are'nt forthcomming.
Better to stick with developers who fall over themselves to be investor freindly. I promise you will still be tooing and froing 2 years from now.
Also I have heard the devlopers are second hand carsalesmen types. I actually spoke to one when this site first came on my radar. The guy was very roughly spoken and not very intelligent.
Again I cant see much off season rental here so the investment case is not strong.
Your right. Having done some more digging the worse it gets. The contract is a real nightmare we could be in a position of having to make the final payment before the development is finished, builders tend to lose interest once they have all the money!! As for the size of the apartments we have been told that the size could be + or – 30% (I know on which I’d put my money on) and there is the possibility of more units on the site. So I’m out and would advise others to do the same!!
I would agree with Thorr. There are reports of hard sell tactics being used in this part of Italy and in some cases, planning permission has not even been granted.
VFI is the irish italian developer if I recall. Giambrone and Law called me up one day on behalf of a client, polite and professional. If I recall as well the your issue (and again this needs to be checked) is the golf course maybe an issue.
People say rental income, from people who run rentals down there, the yields was 8% which is very healthy, but because of price growth and supply growth, rentals may tail off. It is still a very attractive part of Italy. (with less Mafia now!)
Services maybe a problem as it is the most tranquil and backward part of Italy. So for your high speed internet and modern communications, it could be a little while, but some times that is part of the charm.
It has been, or was a very popular destination, especially as the cheaper flights, Easyjet in particular fly direct to Lamezia from Stanstead.
Is about 30% or more cheaper than the Spanish costas, and you can still get a 3 bed, 2 bath ski lodge for 80.000 euros. Where else in 1st tier european country can you get this.
First of all i would like to clear up a few issues here before i go any further.
1. The rental season in Calabria at present is mainly between april and october. During this time most holiday properties in Calabria are occupied, mainly due to the fact that there is a lack of medium to high end rental accomadation. Once Jewel of the Sea is completed this development will fill this void. What you will also find is over the next number of years the rental season will grow with the influx of Golf Courses and off cource the increased exposure of the ski resorts in Calabria. If you look back over the last number of years and take any country as a comparison you will find that it takes time for a market to grow. The special thing about Calabria is that you are already getting high rental yields and this can be seen by researching for yourself how much it would cost at present to holiday in Calabria during high season.
2. Concerns over planning. This is an issue we have always had to combate. First of all the full planning permission is in place and most importantly we have obtained the appropriate stamp from the Local authority. Second of all, if we did not have the full planning, well then why is constrution allowed to continue 6 months into the build. Third of all, why have we gone to contract on over 650 properties on Jewel of the Sea and had no problems at all.
3. It actually states in the contract that you do not have to complete on your property until the site works are complete.
4. Overseas property is a highly competetive market so i am not concerned of the fact that our competitors are saying that we do not have the appropriate building licences. If this is the way they want to do business so be it.
Dear Ron. I am buying in Jewel on the Sea and i am using Giambrone and Law. Never ever ever use this Law firm. They are slow. They don't answer emails. There are huge problems in this firm
I was thinking of buying into this particular development but some of the stories about this and about Calabria on another thread are really making me think again. One person was suggesting that they were having real difficutlties getting their deposit back. Has anyone else epereinced this?
I suspect the stories you are hearing are true. We have seen this development and another two from the same developer. One of their other sites, Pizzo Beach was of interest to us and we decided to go for it. Since reserving we have found out that a number of things we were told are untrue. Its not like it was a rogue agent either as a number of reps were all telling us the same thing which lead us to believe them whilst we were there.
Turns out that the use of nearby facilities in the neighbouring Club Med are no longer free for residents of Pizzo Beach Club and the electrical wires that go over the site will not be going underground as stated by the developers. The lawyers told us that we can add this as an addendum to the contract and subsequently were advised by VFI Overseas Property that they can't accept these addendums as we will have to PAY for the facilities now and also that the electrical wires can only be moved by the Electricity company. Now we are struggling to get our deposit back which we paid in good faith!!
I hope forums like this make the developers realise that its not ok to make false promises to which they don't adhere too! I strongly urge everyone buying in Calabria to take NOTHING at face value and always get EVERYTHING in writing before signing any papers or paying a reservation whether its a refundable or non-refundable one. These developers wouldn't be able to get away with this kind of stuff in the UK and it escapes me how they can get away with it in Italy, a founder EU member country!!!
If anyone else has experienced the same please share your views...
We are buying an apartment at jewel of the sea and have been over there to see the development. We have had no problems with Giambrone & Law and found them to be helpful so far. The development is close to the sea but a road and train line lie between the development and the beach but trains are not that frequent. The selling points for us were on site facilities, closeness to beach, low rise (2 storey), close to ski resort, close to Reggio. On the downside there is the train line which runs round the entire coastline, 2 KM's from Brancaleone, 2 hours from Lamezia Terme. From what the experts are saying this will be a good investment and if the golf course gets the go ahead then even more so.
2. New Emerging market in an established EU Country
3. Florence, renowned as the cradle of the Renaissance, is an artistic and cultural centre to rival any in the world.
4. Romantic Venice floats dreamily on canals and lagoons and is a place everyone must visit at least once in their life.
5. The hauntingly beautiful lakes of Maggiore, Como and Garda are the first natural wonders you’ll see when entering Italy from the Simplon, St Gothard or Spluga Passes through the mountains.
6. Calabria, the ‘toe’ of Italy, is an increasingly popular region being visited by growing numbers of Italians and tourists from all over Europe every year.
7. One of the most unspoilt, idyllic areas of Italy, Calabria has near perfect weather all year round and a relaxed, very Italian way of life.
8. All of our properties are 100% insurance bonded.
9. 10 years build guarantee ensures peace of mind to the owner.
10. Currently there is no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax and the wealth tax is only 0.4% of the property value, which all adds up to huge savings on your investment.
11. Like the food they love, the Calabrese people are fiery and warm, open and welcoming. They will adore your children, welcome you into their homes and generally treat you like long lost friends.
12. A little money in southern Italy can go along way!
• A synthesis of colour, fragrance and flavours that reflect the melting pot of traditions, creating an extremely rich natural and original cuisine, belying its purely Mediterranean context. • The typical calabrian cuisine is a balance between meat-based dishes: pork, lamb, goat, vegetables and fish. In contrast to most other Italian regions, Calabrians have traditionally placed an emphasis on the preservation of their food, in part because of the climate and potential crop failures. • The sausages and salamis, spiced with black pepper, chilli or other flavours, all have their own names, some of then unpronounceable and unique flavours....
Be very careful with dealing with developments in calabia. I have bought there myself and whilst there are some excellent properties be careful who you are dealing with.
The have been some issues with VFI properties who are a marketing agency not a developer. It is possible that these will be sorted out. They relate to building specifications that have been changed and properties which have been sold but are very late being built. but do your own careful investigations. See the calabria forums on this www.incalabria.com
Also be aware that Lawyers Giambrone and Law have many disatisfied clients. There are many posts all over the interenet about this firm. AT Least one person has made a formal complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority about this firm and involved her Member of Parlament on this issue.
Giambrone and LAW have moved their operation to Italy from London so you will not be protected by UK regulations for real estate transactions in calabria. BE CAREFUL DO LOTS OF RESEARCH. Some peole have suffered losses and breach of contracts
