Yesterday people who have invested into Vitan Platinum Towers received an email from I-Property Secrets informing them that due to hearing a "rumour through one of our partners that there may be a situation with the construction company for Platinum Towers."

This rumour came from Easy Credit informing Property Secrets clients that they could not get a mortgage because the construction work on the development had stopped.

It took me less than 5 minutes, by calling the local agent, to find out that the work has not stopped. The reason mortgages could not be be taken is because the developer will not prepare all the paperwork until the construction work is completed, when the papers are in place then the client can take a mortgage and the developer will send relevant papers to the bank.

Clearly this type of email causes concern to investors, and I feel it is a little irresponsible to alerts based only on rumours which can easily be checked out.

I received mine today. Yes - it seemed a little odd.

Thanks for putting my mind at rest, although I am disappointed not to be able to apply for a mortgage prior to the completion of construction work.

Andy et al,

This was the message sent to all clients.

We have just picked up a rumour through one of our partners that there may be a situation with the construction company for Platinum Towers.

We are investigating this and will give you the full details and possible ramifications as soon as we have the information.

Please do not be alarmed at this stage.

Andrew, I agree that rumour maybe the wrong word but we have reason to believe that completion dates are moving out because of issues between the developer and the currently appointed construction company. Completion documentation, or lack of, is a symptom of this situation. We are investigating the issues and the likely risk that completion will be postponed further.

Please e-mail me the source as your's could be more or less informed than mine and as I am actively pulling this together with the PS legal team it would be wise to get all the facts before stating either way.

I have tried calling you but have only received your voicemail.

regards

Oliver Watts

HI Oliver,

What I am trying to say is that by receiving any mail of this type it is alarming even if its not meant to be, the possibility of construction coming to a halt immediately makes me think there is a problem with the constructor - such as they have run out of money! Call me paranoid, but we've all heard stories of this type in the emerging markets. That's why I suggested we get the facts verified first.

I have spoken to 3 different people at Euroskis, who all claim the development is continuing as planned. The best contacts for you would be either:

1) Adrian Nita | Project Broker

CB Richard Ellis | Eurisko
Europe House | 51-53 Lascar Catargiu Blvd | Sector 1 | Bucharest | Romania
T +40-21-313.10.20 | F +40-21-313.11.99 | M +40-724.446.702

or

2) Monica Vladescu | Account Manager | Residential Department (Project Accounts Division)

CB Richard Ellis | Eurisko
Europe House | 51-53 Lascar Catargiu Blvd | Bucharest | Romania
T +40-21-313.10.20 | F +40-21-313.11.99 | M +40-729.618.065
monica.vladescu@cbre.com | http: / /www .cbre .ro


Hope that helps

Andy

Minsk - are you in Phase 1 or 2?

I am going over in a couple of months to choose my finishing options on my apartment in phase 2. Would be good to co-ordinate a trip with someone else going through the same proces..

PS - any chance or organising a buddy system for this type of thing?

Dear All

I have spoken to the developer directly, not the agent and they have confirmed that a new construction company has been appointed due to a situation with the previous construction company.

I have also spoken to the deal lawyers concerning this to veryify the situation.

As you appreciate if we are made aware of an issue with a development it would not be appropriate for us to keep this to ourselves. This is why we decided to send an update to our clients.

Kindest regards
Debbie

Hi,

for what it is worth, I have just had a mortgage agreed through Easy Credit on an apartment in My Dream complex - Bucharest.

Although the funds are agreed in principle with the bank, we cannot progress any further until the developer registers the individual apartments with the land registry, and the bank then does its valuation.

This does not seem to be a problem as the developer is due to begin the registration process soon, and completion is not expected until around December.

I am dealing with the developer direct, and keep myself fully informed. Much better (and cheaper) than relying on intermediaries.

HI Debbie,

Thanks for the update. Could you put the developer's direct contact details on the this forum please because I dont have them, and the phone number on the vitantowers.ro website goes directly to a Eurisko agent.

This will save us all a lot of time and hassle in the future.

Kind regards
Andrew

Hi Andy

The contact I have is the Vice President of Vitan, I will speak to him and ask if he can appoint a contact for clients to speak to.

Kindest regards
Debbie

HI Deborah,

Thank you - I would assume as we are purchasing our apartments from his company it isnt unreasonable to expect to be able to speak to someone from his company if we need to.

Best wishes
Andy