Hi - is anybody else in the same situation with the furniture pack for Onix? We foolishly (in hindsight) paid MRI for the furniture package last year, and it was suppossed to be installed on completion last January. After months of chasing MRi they now inform us that because the completion date on Onix was delayed, the furniture installers have now gone off to fit new packages in Italy and will be back to complete Onix "in a few months"!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I advised MRI in this case we wanted to pull out of the deal, get our money back, and arrange our own installation, and they claim that there is a clause which states they are not responsible for any delays in installation and no money will be refunded. Now, they are correct that this clause is in the paperwork they sent us as a receipt for the monies paid, BUT nowhere does this clause appear in any of the e-mails they sent us with details of the furniture pack, prices etc. The deal was done on the telephone with the sales guy, and the first literature we had was the confirmation invoice, with this clause attached.

I cannot see that they can sell us a product over the phone, and then attach this clause to the paperwork after we have paid them the money, so I think they should not be able to hold us to this legally.

I have seen a few comments on this forum about MRis lawyers - does anybody have any idea/opinion on what legal action we should take? Has anybody tried to take legal action against MRI? Anybody recommend a solicitor? I have e-mailed the solicitors who acted for us in the purchase advising them of the problem, but are still awaiting a reply - these were Martinex-Echevarria who were "recommended" to us by MRI. I am just wondering how impartial they are.

Finally, I note the optimism of several peoples comments, and sincerely hope you are right, that the market will pick up in the future! I agree that MRI are not responsible for the chaos in Bucharest, but they have contributed HUGELY to the whole sorry process in their complete lack of responsibility to their clients and their complete failure to honour the Lifetime Aftersales! We cannot rent it out, sell it or make any decisions until we resolve the furniture package installation, and we are getting absolutely nowhere with MRI on this.

Look forward to any comments and advice.........................

a lawyer i am using- david.stabb@stabblaw.com - I am not getting very far with getting my deposit back but he might be able to help more with the furniture packs!

Hi everyone its Gary here i have just spent the last 6 days in bucharest
with deutchie managment alexandra varga and jack and valentina radu from independant solicitors they were very helpfull and looked after me the whole way
they are not linked with mri at all ,nobody has a good word to say about mri on the ground ,its hard for anyone to trust anybody in romania because of them .
deutchie managment have there office in greenfields they will help you with anything you need and i mean everything ,it was a worthwile visit i got my furniture sorted for my apartment i was lucky most of it was there mri promised it would be completed 2 weeks ago it was,nt i got an email saying they were still haveing problems getting the furniture and they could not give me a date ,whats new "

Hi there, I'm keeping a close eye on situation in Romania and I noticed that Impact keep updating their website quite regularly. They went down on prices this month even further and offer now a studio for 56K€ (the one you could buy for 86K€ two and half year ago) and this is probably still negotiable if you have cash... They also describe on their website a whole range of financial options, e.g. installments over 6 years after paying 25% upfront, no APR on installments, securing the price of the property at the lowest level (in case it goes further down) etc. Has anyone got any other update/news?

Hi All

I purchased a property in the Rose garden development in Bucharest and it is coming up for completion soon.

I have noticed a couple of people recommending Dutchie Management on this forum. I too am searching for a furniture and rentals company so I started having a look into Dutchie Management and I came across this http: / /www .propertycommunity .com /forum /romania -property /7096 -investment -romania -ask -question -5 .html
the discussion regarding Dutchie Management starts at post number 44/ half way down the page.
It might be best to steer clear of a convicted fraudster...

Regards

Sam

Hi i went to romania last week i had a good time i got everything sorted deutchie managment sorted it all ,along with my solicitor they were very good i went to my apartment and most of my furniture was there i was very lucky i thought i had nothing it has'nt cost me as much it will be for rent in about a week thanks to deutchie managment who have there office on site they are 100% straight and upfront aout everything they are nothing to do with mri ,they also helped me open up a bank bank account and get my residency there .I am now trying to do a deal with the developer for my 2nd property .

Gary

I'm glad to hear that your experience with Dutchie management has so far been a good one. I just hope that it continues to be that way.
I live by the old adage that a leopard doesn't change its spots... For a while, even the people that invested with Bernard Madoff made money, until they unfortunately realised that it was all a scam... (http: / /en .wikipedia .org /wiki /Bernard _Madoff)
Perhaps Jack (the owner of Dutchie management) has decided to go straight and I hope for your sake that he has. For me though, I will be avoiding giving someone money that;
1. has a connection to MRI
2. has a record of ripping people off

Perhaps the readers of this forum would be better off contacting some of the other companies mentioned on this forum;
http: / /www .grupo -fdp .com /index .php /en
http: / /www .whitemountainproperty .co .uk/
http: / /investmentromania .com/
or maybe the PS member "brasov property' that appears in the following link https: / /www .propertysecrets .net /forum /furniture _packsrecommendation /10486 /36734 .html

I'm leaning towards grupo fdp as their furniture packs look the best and they source the furniture from known shops, which I'm told, is very important in Romania. In my experience, money spent on interior furnishings has always increased the rental return of my properties.

Sam

I unfortunately have to agree with Sam. As the author of post in question http: / /www .propertycommunity .com /forum /romania -property /7096 -investment -romania -ask -question -5 .html I would like to warn the readers of this forum to keep well away from Dutchie Management.
I too am a property investor in Romania (1 apartment in Central Park) and I struggled with getting my apartment furnished and finding a rental management company.
Until recently, I lived in, and owned a bar in Marbella (the town in which MRI had its HQ) for many years and was privy to many stories of unconscionable conduct by MRI and its employees.
In recent times, one of the stories that I was privy to is that of Jacques Kroes, the ex country manager for Romania and the owner of Dutchie Management being arrested in Marbella and transported to trial in Madrid for property fraud.
Allegedly, Jacques was the owner of a timeshare company that ripped off hundreds of clients by selling fake properties and the government by not paying any taxes on his fraudulent earnings.
What I would like to draw to the attention of the forum is that the law firm that represented Jacques in his fraud case is the one and only, Martinez Echevarría i.e. legal independence (the same firm that is recommended by MRI)

I now hear that Martinez Echevarría/ Legal Independence is now recommending Dutchie Management as a property management and furniture installation company.
My advice, as basic as it may seem, stay well clear of a company that is recommended by a company owned by the same person that they recently defended in a case of ripping people off... Especially if they are the same law firm that represented MRI...

One thing that Sam mentioned in his/her post, "a leopard doesn't change its spots", true 99% of the time, for your sake Gary I hope that you're one of the 1%..

This is what forums like this are for, people with varied experiences coming together to help those with a common goal achieve their dreams. In this case, overseas property ownership devoid of unnecessary hardship.

John

I have just read the last two posts on Deutchie Management and Martinez Escavarria, and this whole situation just goes from bad to worse! When I read the comments yesterday about this Jacques, I sent an e-mail to Valentina Radu at Martinez asking if she was aware of his history - I did not for one minute imagine that they were the ones representing him in Spain!

Last week I received an e-mail from Valentina recommending we go to Romania to register as owning the land , instead of waiting until 2012. and sort out the rental/furniture situation whilst we are there. This registering would cost 600euros, and taking into account the air fares etc. etc. would mean we would be another 1000+ euros out of pocket - I was seriously considering after reading Garys comments about the efficiency of Deutchie Management etc, that it might just be worth the costs involved to go out there and see if I could make any progress - now I think that 1000 euros might be better off left in the bank! Our biggest problem is the fact that our furniture pack was ordered from MRi, and of course has not been installed. We do not know whether anything at all has been put in (I doubt it), or even the condition of the appartment, and we are in the crazy situation of not being able to rent (or sell - although that looks like a non-starter) until this furniture pack materialises. MRI, of course, are unobtainable by e-mail, and I am getting nowhere with them.

I contacted Trading Standards this week, and was put through to their European section as MRI trade out of Spain. They are well aquainted with MRI! They did have some very good suggestions which I am very happy to pass on - BUT I DO WONDER WHETHER I SHOULD PUT THIS INFO ON THIS FORUM.? Alexandra Varga did add her comments to the other forum where this information about Deutchie Management originated, which obviously means they have access to the forum, and of course so must other people with vested interests not in our favour! I would appreciate some advice on this as I am fairly new to these forums!

I have also been advised to contact mri-sg@hotmail.co.u,, and www/mri-sg.org and register which I note has also been recommended on this forum in the past.

Hi everyone
i have been with deutchie managment alexandra and jaques for in romania for 6 days and i dont have a bad thing to say about them they are both hard working
and want to help people get sorted in greenfields they helped me a lot
there was no presure i now i have someone over there i can trust to manage my investments they are also helping me complete my 2nd house if it was,nt for them i
would be panacking at this stage i now know my apartment will be let out within the next few weeks i have met some people that are already renting in greenfields mostly romanians there is still a shortfall of over 200.000 places for people to live there i love the country i waas going to buy there even before i met mri ,
they realy let everybody down with there promices torent out and manage the properties and completly furnish them which i paid over the odds for .deutchie managment are now sorting out the rest of my furniture that mri were supposed to get i will still pursue them though and as for valentina radu she is 100% straight
you will never meet a nicer person who was giving me good advise all the way .
Anybody out there that has bought in romania deutchie managment are100% they know the whole situation they will not take any money of there cliants all the rental money goes to the owner and they invoice the owner for payment this is the way it should be ,no more money up front for aftersales ,morgage guarantees etc
you need to out there your selves to see them on site i will post some photos of my apartment