Marsa Alam

[CRZ990]

Hi everyone,

what do you think about new 3D video of the Marsa Alam Beach Resort?
it seems that the plan of resort leisure area was changed a lot.
I dont like that I didn't see normal size pools near junior suites area, just a pool bars with running tracks

 

[chriscross34]

Hi, i've seen he 3d video and it is fantastic, i hope the vision translates into reality. I don't think the pools are an issue there appears to be a couple of large pools then much smaller ones but when you look at the quality and design of the resort, it looks very impressive. Well done IPI!

 

[dave2u]

so whats going on with ipi and zaffrana beach resort if you look at the forums could look like more investers could be loosing there dream


heres one qoute

I agree absolutely none!!!

EMR and IPI are trying to ease their conscience by explaining why this thing has collapsed, the truth is a mixture of greed on behalf of EMR and incompetance on behalf of IPI, I appreciate loads of stuff has gone on but this is what it boils down to, simply greed and incompetance

 

[chriscross34]

Hi dave2u, I have read some of the recent postings about the completion of Zafarana Beach resort on Naturally it does give me a concern especially as I am investor in the Marsa Alam resort. If anybody particularly investors of Zafarana has any updates, please can you post them on this site too.

Are you an investor in either of these resorts yourself dave? I had noticed that work appeared to have stopped on Zafarana.

 

[dave2u]

i have not invested in this project but nerarly did so have been keeping my eye on it and it always looked ok there was a blip in jan which seemed to be overcome .so to see investers could loose out in egypt again is very concerning and as ipi are still building marsa i thought that this should be brought to the forum

 

[chriscross34]

Hi Dave, thanks, I knew there were delays with Zafarana and nobody including me is that naive that there must be problems, what I wasn't aware of is the how serious these are. I think we have to be careful about how this information is handled but as long as it is factual information, then it should be shared on the forums.

The irony is that i intended to also buy a studio apartment in Las Cabanas, but decided to pull out due to OUD's poor after-sales service inc marketing, yet, now it looks as though this part of the resort is almost completed, so am really glad for those investors.

I had a contact on here, a young couple who purchased an apartment some time ago in Coral Sea pearl, and that collapsed and they lost about £20k, it upset them so much one of them was contemplating suicide, I can't tell you how sad that made me feel. Most of us are not rich people, just working class folks who want to do something better for their family. I am only 37 and remortgaged my house to pay for my investment so i could have a holiday home to visit as time goes on and for my parents to visit as they get older.

Lets stick together as investors and keep each other informed with factual information.

I have to say that in my dealings with IPI on MABR i have found them very professional and prompt when dealing with queries. I hope that somehow a solution is found regarding Zafarana.

Chris

 

[realinvestor]

Hello Marsa Alam investors,

Anyone heard about Stark enterprises, IPI's global marketing agents, no longer with IPI My UK agent has informed me of this and it raises the question as to what problems lie ahead for Marsa MABR. I am an investor in both Zafarana and MABR and even though I bought MABR nearly 3 years back, and my contracts says that my unit will be completed in 18months, here we are almost 30 months later and they have not even started work on my unit! Has anyone though of starting a MABR owners group to represent ourselves as a united group? IPI dangling a carrot in front of us and buying time saying that it will be a more superior resort looks like a classic pyramid scheme of a junkie asking for more and more. In the latest newletter they have admitted that phase 2 is no longer presold and even 30% of phase 1 is still left unsold. One wonders if they can now complete phase1.

 

[dave2u]

alan cockanyne and peter mitry are very quite on this your input would be apreciated

 

[Alan Cockayne]

Hi.
Alan here.

Yes, I too received the letter from Stark Enterprizes and have tried to talk to both parties as to what's going on. But the lines are on answer machine. I'm also waiting for a reply from my e-mail to IPI Holland.

I'm also concerned that Zafarana, with partners EMR & IPI having had recent issues.
I wonder if this is causing a knock-on effect. The MABR Phase 2 has been re-issued to IPI, I believe, because the Italian partners for that phase couldn't meet contractual targets.

So here we go again with European-Egyptian relationships.
But of course the truth of the matter when it comes out, will always be about "MONEY"
The Egyptian curse......


Alan.

 

[chriscross34]

Hi Realinvester, i did think how 'concrete' the deal was that IPI had for the sale of the Phase 2 of the resort and how all of a sudden this is no longer the case. The deal could not have been that watertight in the first place.... Yes a consortium/group does sound like a good idea, what do other people think and has anyone from MABR investors contacted IPI about whether there are any repercussions?

 

[penni653]

Investor

Hi all I am new to the forum but I also have invested in the Marsa-alam project and have read all the posts with concern, I contacted IPI with a few of my own concerns and must say that they got back to me within 24hrs, which they always have done when I have contacted them.

Its just my opinion but if you have any worries contact them and ask them direct, they may not give you the answer that you want to hear but it is better than the info coming through a third party.

Below are my questions and their replies

Hi Sue,

I have a few questions with regards to the Marsa-alam project and was hoping you could answer them:


Q) After doing a bit of research with regards to the project I have noticed that the Zafarana project is causing some serious concern for people and a lot of people are stating that they are going to loose a lot of money. Is this true and will the outcome have any bearing on the Marsa project?

A) There are some issues with Zafarana at the moment but these are to do with our partner in this venture. We are dealing with these issues. It is unfounded that people will loose money. Zafarana has no bearing on Marsa as these are two totally separate builds and entities.

Q) Are Stark enterprises your global marketing agents, no longer with IPI and if not why not? and if they have gone have they been replaced?

A) Stark Enterprises have changed their role within the "IPI family". Agents are now being dealt with internally by myself and one of my colleagues.


Q) Could the Marsa project go the same way as the Zafarana project?

A) No. Please be advised that IPI is in a salient position to complete the resort. The situation we are in ZBR is due to our Egyptian partner. For MABR we do not have an Egyptian partner. We have had carefully analysed the current market and believe that with the possibility of Shared Ownership and the World of Wellness concept we have opened up a much larger market to target.



Q) Has the Marsa project been developed differently with cast iron guarantees because of mistakes made and learnt from on the Zafarana project?

A) The whole situation IN ZBR has taught us a lot. Furthermore it made the authorities clear that we are a serious company who are dealing with difficulties in a positive manner. This is also in our benefit for MABR.

Please could you answer these few simple questions without asking me to wait for the next news letter.

Many thanks for your time

Lee

 

[chriscross34]

Dear Lee aka Penni653, thanks for your reply which is very helpful. I didn't contact Sue Lovett immediately as it is only recently that i had read some of the concerns about Marsa Alam on here. Like you I have found the after-sales service of IPI to be second to none and Sue is excellent.

I hope that their excellent vision for the resort will translate into reality

Chris

 

[penni653]

Hi Chris,

I'm glad the info was of some use and I couldn't agree more with you about Sue, still my only slight worry is that all the bad press would put of potential new investors yet I too believe the new concept looks excellent and can only be a good thing for those that have already invested! I appreciate that we are in a recession and believe the new concept is the best way forward, Id rather that than IPI stand still and just hope that everything is going to get better!

Kind Regards

Lee

 

[Darryl Marsa Alam]

Hi There,

We puchased a two bedroomed garden apartment back 2008 pre release, looked like a good investment at the time, Yes IPI are running behind but after visiting Egypt several times the work ethic seems a lot slacker. Sue from IPI has always given us answers to any of our questions and I am not unduly concerned with the delay. We are still getting our Rental income from IPI so it's not all bad.

On Another note is anyone concerned about the troubles in Egypt or is it not going to effect the MABR??????

Thanks

 

[chriscross34]

Hi Darryl, firstly thanks for your befriend request, have added you. When i heard about the initial trouble in Tunisia and how it could have an impact on the other north african nations, i became concerned and now this has only been confirmed on the national news. I think at the moment we will have to play things by ear. In terms of the protests, they are unlikely to affect the red sea resorts but its more about the longer term. Political instability if not resolved may change the way people holiday in Egypt if at all, particularly if the country becomes lawless. Its a shame to see a beautiful historic country in turmoil but lets see what happens and let us hope that Obama can exercise some influence for peace.

 

[quirkef]

Marsa Alam - freezing of rental guarantee

Hi,

My name is Finbarr, from Ireland, and am also an investor in the Marsa Alam development. The developer is aiming to freeze the guaranteed rental yields. I received the notification on the 25th Feb but was out of the office so missed it until today.
I will look through the contract tonight in this regard and see whether this situation is covered in it.
It sounds a bit rich to so quickly pass on this kind of risk to the investor after less than a month of work on the development halting. According to the note i received 'force majeure' is not being invoked to give legitimacy to this freeze.
Has anyone had some thoughts on this? I have not reverted to the developer just yet - am gathering info for now.

Regards,

Finbarr

 

[realinvestor]

Hi all

Hi everyone,

What IPI is doing is very concerning. According to their letter they in fact have invoked "force majeure" and hence the justification for suspending penalty payments. I do not think that waht is happening in Egypt can be termed as an extraneous event such as "force majeure" even though developers like IPI will face a lot of unceratainty in Egypt. Has anyone contacted the ecsrow director? The job of the escrow manager is to solely protect the investors investement and if they use this then the escrow manager should use hs powers to get a refund from IPI and give it back to investors or at least give whatever is in the escrow back to investors! the problem is that despite their great marketing in which the escrow manager was deemed to be completely independent, in reality two other directors had resigned from the ecscrow a long time back and the sole director left is the CEO of El Sery and this is a scam as it becomes a complete conflict of interest when the guys wears two hats at the same time. See this link below which also suggests that an agent has suspended links with IPI as due diligence was lacking and proper permits were not in place.

Realinvestor

MARSA ALAM BEACH RESORT INVESTIMENTI IMMOBILIARI IN EGITTO | Okversilia Real Estate


My name is Finbarr, from Ireland, and am also an investor in the Marsa Alam development. The developer is aiming to freeze the guaranteed rental yields. I received the notification on the 25th Feb but was out of the office so missed it until today.
I will look through the contract tonight in this regard and see whether this situation is covered in it.
It sounds a bit rich to so quickly pass on this kind of risk to the investor after less than a month of work on the development halting. According to the note i received 'force majeure' is not being invoked to give legitimacy to this freeze.
Has anyone had some thoughts on this? I have not reverted to the developer just yet - am gathering info for now.

Regards,

Finbarr[/QUOTE]

 

[Peter Mitry]

The Future for Property Owners in Egypt

Hi Darryl, firstly thanks for your befriend request, have added you. When i heard about the initial trouble in Tunisia and how it could have an impact on the other north african nations, i became concerned and now this has only been confirmed on the national news. I think at the moment we will have to play things by ear. In terms of the protests, they are unlikely to affect the red sea resorts but its more about the longer term. Political instability if not resolved may change the way people holiday in Egypt if at all, particularly if the country becomes lawless. Its a shame to see a beautiful historic country in turmoil but lets see what happens and let us hope that Obama can exercise some influence for peace.

Anyone owning property in Egypt in the resorts of Hurghada or Sharm need not worry; your property ownership rights are enshrined in law and nothing in the constitution can change that. Both resorts have been unaffected by the troubles and life goes on as normal. There has been a shortage of tourists as other countries warned about travel to Egypt but most of these restrictions have now been lifted and the flights are resuming immediately.

This was not an issue based on religious differences but was between the people and the bullying, corrupt and repressive government of Mubarak. Since the 25th January when Mubarak withdrew the police from the streets you would have expected the country to degenerate into a state of total lawlessness; well guess what? In Hurghada and Sharm there has been less crime and an amazing sense of National pride as the Egyptian people celebrate their new found freedom.

The future will not be without problems but Egypt is still a great place to own property and things will get better, not worse. The interim government have already begun to crack down on corruption and this will very quickly filter through to the economy.

 

[chriscross34]

Hi Finbarr, i too received notification of IPI's proposal to suspend penalty payments/rental guarantees effective from the 1st February until further notice. They have also confirmed that work will be suspended. Therefore this should mean that any monies held in escrow should be paid later due to the the deferred work, however I do share your concerns regarding impartiality of the escrow director. I signed up to the guaranteed rental which would be paid in lieu of penalty payments ordinarily. I can see why IPI might cite force majeure in light of the political instabililty which may have an impact on material costs and the ability to agree fixed priced contracts etc.

The difficulty is that unless we have evidence, we have to take this on face value. In fairness to IPI on this resort, I cannot fault their after-sales service and their integrity up to now has appeared to be intact.

I would be interested to know of investors experiences in Marsa Alam and neighouring resorts. For example, have other developers cited the same issues to their investors and has this affected ongoing work to the resort etc?

The Rea Sea resort in Marsa Alam for example? What about the Makadi bay resort being developed by Orascom?

We have to be careful of our actions and be reasonable in terms of what action we take.

Peter, you seem to have your ear to the ground, can you comment further on the impact of the recent instability in Egypt against off plan/developing resorts?

Thanks Chris

 

[Peter Mitry]

We have always found IPI to be a good company to deal with and they appear generally to have the client's interests at the forefront. This advice therefore came as a shock and speaking to some of my colleagues we believe that they are using the technicality of 'force majeure' to try to mitigate any potential loss if tourist numbers fall. Of course, during the last month they have fallen dramatically but most world airlines are resuming flights to Egypt from next week so must of us here are not expecting the negative influences to last more than three months.

I am puzzled that they have stopped building; here in Hurghada construction has continued as normal. There appear o be no shortages of materials or labour so it is hard to figure what the problem is. I think that all buyers should look very carefully at the contract and ask your lawyers to find out why this statement was necessary given that very little has changed in practical terms, other than a short term drop in tourist traffic.