Hi all, the council of Torre Pacheco and the main property developer in the region is being investigating in what it is suppossed to be a case as big as the case of Marbella.
So if you invest in a property like a POLARIS WORLD one you can find yourself stuck in a very bad issue.
Peter, I have failed to see this in any UK or Spanish paper and neither has it appeared on Spanish TV. Polaris World are still advertising on Spanish TV.
As a point of interest - May I ask what is the source of your information ?
We do not offer Polaris World in our portfolio of property projects, we do have many other Golf projects, but we like to keep uptodate with the market.
Hi Susana, I usually read the Informacion most days and my wife is Spanish so we normally have a good feel for what is going on. My point is if it is that bigger story it has not had much publicity. But thanks for your reply.
I think the key to this current investigation is the consideration of ‘favours’ to certain developers, from the Urbanismos at local Town Halls. In the past developers who have exceeded their planning licences have been required to pay a Multa but, and this is the important point, no action has been taken against properties already built.
Over the past 7 or 8 years the removal of key planning decisions from local to regional level, in Murcia the regional government in Murcia capital, has been a response by Madrid to curtail corruption and bribery. The planners at Murcia can overide any local decision but not vice-versa. The move now is to demolish any development which is in contradiction of planning in order that those who breach regulations are not being rewarded by flounting the law. The option to pay the Multa will not exist.
Polaris World is not the only company turning Murcia into a ghetto of housing estates, with little thought for the future and how the infrastructure sustains these developments. We already have a shortage of water, Telefonica struggles to meet demand, the medical services are burdened by an influx of elderly ex-pats to add to Spain’s ageing population and there is still a huge preponderance of English who pay no taxes here or in the UK and persist in driving their 20 years old transit van on UK plates with insurance, ITV or road tax. OK, I exagerate, but you get the picture.
Greedy townhalls, where the mayor’s ‘cousin’ has provided all this development land, may well live to regret their decisions.
If people simply followed there instincts as we did you would not have any trouble.
When we decided to look at Polaris World we visited a few agents on-line all promising various unique deals. In the end we choose a company called Grupo Opl http://www.polarisworld-opl.com / www.polarisworld.net, they were the only company that wanted to listen to us and advised us not to buy on La Loma.
We bought through them and are pleased we did. - All I can say is follow your instincts!!!
If people simply followed there instincts as we did you would not have any trouble.
Instincts? That’s what you’re suggesting people do to avoid trouble? Dude, people’s “instincts” are lost by the time we’re 5 years old. If you mean intuition and gut feeling, then also note just how often that gets people into trouble too.
If people simply followed there instincts as we did you would not have any trouble.
What you mean is if people had done the same as you. I very much doubt you have got to age 44 without ever making a mistake in your life. People do follow what they think are their instincts but sometimes it is the wrong decision.
All I tried to explain was, that if you follow good sound advice and don?t listen to the Bull you are told from so called property specialist, do propery due diligence and seek the advice from a real Lawyers; you stand a very good chance of not being let down.
I find your insults “The Expatriator” offensive but I guess the beauty of this forum is that we can all voice our own particular views.
All I wanted to say here was that we are very happy with our choice of agent Grupo Opl and love the idea of owning a home in a Polaris World resort.
If I have upset anybody in this forum, again I apologise!!
I don’t know where you are but I see sunshine and blue sea. A bit windy but too nice to stay indoors on the computer. I’m off out for a walk, following my instincts up and down the promenade 😉 Happy Easter to you too Guy.
I guess that’s part of the issue Guy - we’re all strangers in a strange land (obviously it becomes less strange with more time). Not all of us have the money or time to invest in doing due diligence - but you’re right we all should be doing as much as possible. That’s not really “instinct” though, and so when you use that word it implies that it’s unnatural for us to be duped, for some of us to be so trusting as to not ask these innate questions. Unfortunately, most of us come from highly consumer oriented cultures that protect the consumer’s rights. This is not the case in Spain, so our trusting nature backfires.
This post was probably originally posted in order to warn people about Polaris, so that people doing their due diligence on a Polaris property can be better informed about an investigation into the company.
It sounds like you and I would both agree that consumers need to empower themselves. I’m glad to offer a forum that helps people do that.
Congrats on finding a property that works for you and it’s good of you to provide that perspective for the discerning property buyer.
I think, well sometimes, that we are all very apt to take the easy road out and when buying in Spain, the sunshine, the excitement of the trip, the anticipation the pressure of the sell, then to make it happen easier, we find people offering us the “all in” package, then we do take the easy way out, then in some cases live to regret it. Yes we should get independent legal advice and independent financial advice, sit back and think about it, but no. we jump, we buy and then we can not sell it a few years down the line and we are stuck.
Not all developers/agents are the same, most of them are just trying to earn a living and some will try anything to get you to buy. As long as you fore armed with this knowledge, then you should be OK. The best thing I did was to visit a few times before I bought. These days, the chances are that the property will still be there in 6 weeks time, so there is no rush.
But the biggest news is the arrest of Daniel Garc?a Madrid, the mayor of Torre Pacheco in Murcia, and former lawyer of Fecundo Armero ? one of the founders of Polaris World. Fecundo Armero, who sold his stake in Polaris World to a group of investors including Credit Suisse for 300 million Euros is also being investigated, and, inevitably, so is Polaris World. Jos? Luis Hern?ndez ? president of Polaris World ? has been called in for questioning, as have other members of Polaris World?s management. It?s going to be interesting to see where this investigation leads.
