Ben Do you have the figures for Majolikova?? Mike

Ben, Please don't forget us Majolikowa investors. You promised to personally get this info for us. Peter

I may be able to shed some light on why PS are having difficulty in updating people on their Cyprus investments, having spent the last 2 months driving the completion of Avlida. 1. you can believe very little of what you are told in Cyprus 2. Avlida project which was said to be complete in Nov 06 was anything but complete until at least Mid March and is only just in a 'marketable' condition for rental or re-sale, the completion certificate was quite unbelievable. 3. After considerable homework we estimate that our apt is currently at 'Break-Even' given all costs to get it to Saleable condition including Selling fees but excluding our time/travel and future mortgage interest. However, if we included all our costs of our time and effort driving the completion of Avlida to an acceptable quality for resale/rent then our return on Investment would be in a negative position for a good while yet. 4. The lack of Project Managers, qualified and skilled labour and Independant Professional Building Inspectors coupled with the 'too close for comfort' relationships between all parties in Cyprus is a serious concern for Investors. 5. The laws and rules are there in Cyprus - but the Cypriots will tell you the rules don't exist. The good thing is that there are still plenty of people around looking to invest in Cyprus and we know that in the last couple of weeks things were picking up as a flurry of activity was beginning to produce results both for rental and sales. Hopefully they won't look too close at the quality or ask too many questions. It is surprising how many people look at Avlida and think it's good quality, it does look OK but beauty is skin deep I'm afraid.

Fair points, chaps. I've chased this on your behalf and am still awaiting a result. Can you please bear with me for a week or so. Majolikova is inexplicably proving trickier thsn I thought it would. I'll clear it all up as soon as I can.

Some comments and questions for Phoenix investors 1) After reading Deric's post about Avlida I fear ivestors in the Phoenix development are heading for a similar experience, I have been trying to find out for months when the expected "completion date" is. E mails to Andrew Klydes and AB developers go unanswered. We were told in a 'phone conversation with AB that completion would now be end of June but loking at pictures posted on this site a few weeks ago this seems highly unlikely. Anyone been told any different? 2) Has anyone had sight of the a certifacate from the supervising architects and civil engineers stating that the second stage is complete. ie, structural framework is in place? 3) Has anyone paid the second stage payment yet?

On Tuesday when we left Avlida, the Phoenix development strutural framework looked about complete and about 50% of the complex had external rendering. You will have to really watch the quality and completion of the build to avoid the problems we have had at Avlida. ABB have learnt alot over the last 3 mths about what is acceptable to Investors and what is not. The Developer is well intentioned enough but doesn't have adequate qualified people to oversee the build - no Project Manager is a serious problem. His Contractors are also letting him down with quality, water ingress has been a problem and the Tilers have alot to answer for at Avlida. There is no formal Building Inspection procedure, the certificates we have seen are questionable and the close relationships of those involved does leave you feeling uncomfortable and vulnerable. We went into this as a Long Term Investment and didn't expect to see huge Capital Growth in the early years, our worry now is that the quality of build is going to let us down in the long term and we may have to sell sooner rather than later. Another issue is getting all other Investors to pay for the Ins and maint, the setting up of Management Committee etc, we have had to do most of this ourselves as this situation in Cyprus was not researched properly pre contract at Avlida - we knew it would be a problem and shouted from the rooftops to PS & the Lawyers but they wouldn't do anything about it and now we have been left to pick up the pieces. We could of course have decided at that stage not to invest, to some extent we wish we had pulled out. We have not lost money yet and prices have gone up but the work we have put into this one unit in Cyprus is more than any other property we have purchased - even the ones we have built ourselves. I think it will be better for Phoenix and Falcon as ABB have worked hard with us to improve (they had to) which is bound to benefit you guys but you cannot afford to be complacent in Cyprus. The culture is not the same as the former communist countries, it is a more Arab culture which if you are used to and understand then you know how to deal with but if you are not used to it then it can be very stressful. Procedures are rare, the laws and rules are there but are often overlooked or ignored.

Deric, Have you any info on progress with Palace Heights, a stage payment that should have been due in Feb has still not been requested and emails/calls to the solicitors have failed to produce any explanation. Regards Alan

Deric, I purchasing a unit in PS Falcon Court and read your comments with interest. What is your advice to us in regard to managing the developers quality. I assume visiting before every payment and not paying until they have addressed you comments / snagg list? Your advise would be appreciated. Thanks, Tim Falcon Court is due for completion in April next year but by the sound of it that could be sometime next year!

Many thanks Deric for your interesting and informative post about your problems with Avlida. Was there a penalty clause in your contract for compensation for late delivery? Jill

answers below, from my perspective. 1) Nope. The only info I have re completion is the email from PS informing it will be in the end of June. 2) No. 3) The bank we signed a mortgage with is liable for the further stage payments. These have not been transfered as far as I can see.