Hi all,

just a visitor to your forum - we've bought on Lakeside - you should see the debates on there right now!!

On the furniture front, thought you might be interested to know about a company in Bodrum called Yatas - on the right, just past Oasis towards Ortakent. Speak to Serhat - he's great. Tell him Steve and Sheena sent you.

I think you guys seem very lucky to have Smile management looking after you - does anyone have any experience of them, what they're like etc?

we have a little website, if you fancy a little more info etc - be pleased for feedback through our "guestbook".

Many thanks

Steve

Hi guys

I have just joined the forum as I am buying in FCC, I am expecting to complete shortly and get the latest news on new restrictions for foreigners buying in Turkey dated 16 April 08, please see below link from a Turkish newspaper.

http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=8713136

I have various concerns regarding completion and the whole investment:

1. How new laws will affect the value growth of the area-developments if only Turkish nationals will be allowed to buy till further notice? current prices are not affordable for Turkish nationals and growth of the area is based on foreign investors.

2. Has anybody complete recently and can provide a status of facilities, Vita Golf club, solicitors support (I am using Legal Independence)?

3. Suggestions on alternative furniture packages and current fees to validate non MRI furniture

4. Manage to get any rental?

Many thanks

buyaflat@hotmail.com

Hi Everyone! 

I have purchased 2 properties on FCC phase II. I need some advice on the following:re-sale websites, other letting agents, other furniture package providers.

I am aware of MRI offers, I would like to know what are the other options available.

Thanks&Regards, Mary

Mr Reynolds makes some disparaging remarks which are not quite correct. As yet, there is no tourism associated with Tuzla Lake so pricing is somewhat dependant on the final quality of the accomodation and facilities of the various resorts. Today he is probably right - there are only local coops and a hotel on the point. If the infrastructure is provided - new roads, individual resort facilities, secure water supplies etc then clearly the rentable price per sq.m will incease. What this pricing level is will ultimately be defined by supply and demand and the quality of the resorts will play a part in this.

I agree that in hindsight (what a marvellous thing that is) that for the unseasoned investor that it would always be better to buy a completed property than an off-plan, especially if your target market is the holiday market. Most guarantees supplied by builders, developers and agents will not come about and as always it is the investor / owner who is left to compromise. Mr Reynolds has indeed hit the right note here.

 With regard to the issue of pollution, this comes from the fish farm which must be resited in order to remove the problem. The lake is also under pressure from the spoil from building work and surrounding industry. This is one reason why every current and potential investor on Lake Tuzla should support the formation of a Turkish legal overseas home owners association which would work with local organisations, politicians, pressure groups and environmentalists to look after and support the well being of Tuzla wetlands. This is not a nicety, this is an absolute requirement for any investor or home owner hoping to benefit long term from the well being of the area.

With regard to the golf area, this has been beset by problems but it is unlikely that the 15 year dream of the owner / developer is going to be dashed by some stubborn grass seed. There is also a second golf course being developed in Gulluk with 2 more planned form the Bodrum peninsula over the next three years.

** EDITED ** Please respect terms of posting

I have just read through this site with horror.  I can't believe people are being lied to to this extent.  There are rose coloured glasses and then there are outright lies.  Lake Tuzla does not attract high end rentals, the sea in the area is badly polluted and the promised golf courses and other facilties just aren't happening. The inspection fees for being certified for rental are insane, there is no such thing and if there was no Turkish company could ever afford to pay them.  The furniture pack prices would be laughable if it wasn't for the unfunny fact that people have paid them.  Even the lawyers fees are crazy, nobody charges £40 for a translator, it is 50ytl.  You poor people are being treated like money trees and it is harvest time.

If you want to buy in Turkey buy something already built. These developments are rubbish as an investment and even if prices go up long term they will require constant expensive refurb and refit to keep their 5* status just like any hotel or holiday park does.

Maybe people buy because they can have stage payments and they think they are safe with a big company but I know small British developers that will sell with 18 months of stage payments interest free and the property is already finished and comes furnished! 

If you want to make serious money from rental you have to buy unique and appeal to the independent traveler, the only person to make money on places like Flamingo are the builders who conned you on price and the big tour operators who will hammer you down on rental price for the privaledge of having your place trashed by binge drinking tourists.

Its a shame.  You are all nice people who wanted a nice place and a good investment.  Sadly this isnt it.

I purchased a 2b/2b Abelia apt. Flamingo 2 phase.

Closing is expected in June, however from what I can see it is a building site now with few facilities.

I was assured that closure would only occur when ALL facilities were in place and rental would be available from day one.

What are expectations of other purchasers in P2?

kevin

Hello to all you new buyers,

I suggest that you do not pay any money over to the Lawyers at this point  because there seems to be a lot of issues outstanding at present that you are possibly not aware of. Should you want further details please contact me privately.

Colin.

Hi,

You may want to look at the sale confirmation slip.  My sales rep was Stephen Mahoney and he hand wrote it on the bottom.  XXX did deny that I had white goods but because I had written confirmation and faxed it to them, they OK'd it.

Max

Unfortunately I dont seem to be able to fine the paper work to confirm the  white goods/aircon, was your confirmation written into your contract or what? who was your sales person and what date did you purchase, I purchased Sep 06 any info would be helpful as I'm going to challenge the above.  Lynn

Hi, this is my first post i  have purchased 2 bed ground floor apartment  phase 1 and have been told last week the Habition Licence is due end of January 08 by MRI sales staff wanting me to purchase a furniture package, my reply was not until the licence is granted and a date of complection on my apartment is confirmed.  I was also told I would have free white goods and air-con as i bought one of the remaining few left on phase 1, this has been denied  by the sale staff - so I have lost out and will have to purchase the above myself at extra  expense

My views are 'take everything they say with a pinch of sale' and dont part with any funds until necessary,we need the euro of rise again anyway

Regards - lynn

Hi everyone, I am a new member to this site and purchased an apartment at FCC back in december 2005. When I purchased I was told by the salesman that there were only 3 1 bed apartments left and if I did not purchase within the next few weeks I would miss the boat! Hmm..... I now realise that was nothing more than the salesmans patter to close me on the deal. Anyway since than I have also been hit with numerous other "unexpected costs" which seen to have cropped up.

Is anyone renting their apartment through MRI or are you guys going to use a different agent? Any advice you could give me would be great. Also when are we likely to see any return on the property's i.e. when will thay we able to be rented out??? I was under the impression they would be ready to rent as from Feb? I have become very worried that this whole thing was a bad idea, I have already taken out a much larger morgage than I expected to cover the creditcards I had to take out to meet the £8000 furniture bill from MRI. They told me if I purchased furniture through them I would be able to rent my property out as a 5* apartment through first choice Holidays, therefore maximising the property's rental protential. That was the last time I heard First Choice mentioned so Im now guessing that was just another one of MRI's closing tatics. This is my first ever property purchase, as I do not own a property in the UK. Any advice anyone could give me would be very much appreciated as I am now getting very worried!!!!! THANK YOU!

Tristan

I am a new member and am purchasing 2 apartments in phase 1, I have not paid any money yet and am really worried in case I shall be charged any extra. Also I have not purchased any furniture packs, I have been co tacted by two lawyers, one for the owners group who sent me photographs which I could'nt work out whether it was o.k. or not but there was no garden which we were promised and the ground outside looked a real mess. The other one was fot the remainder of the money and I do not want to pay over the rest as I understand there is problems.I am going to try to go over about the 6th January and wondered if anyone else was going to be there as I shall be on my own and any support would be appreciated. My telephonr number is 01603 435086 or please send me an E.,Mail because at this moment in time I feel really worried about everything.

Trish (Hickey)

Hi all

I purchasted an apartment in phase 1 FFC. Just woundering has anyone paid the remainder of  the money or how soon will we have to pay.legal Independent have contacted me saying they want me to pay by the second week of December.Has anybody else been contacted.

Hi All

Just like many of you I purchased an apartment at Flamingo Country Club off plan two years ago. I visited the site in September of this year and to my amazement the new link road which was a big selling point for the complex has not yet been built. When I questioned this with MRI nobody had any answers and I am still awaiting a response to my concern which has now been approximately four weeks. ** EDITED ** 

My opinion of  'on completion' is that all the facilities and safety aspects are complete, not 50%! I do not feel that we should be expected to complete until the complex and all the facilities are 100% finished as we will not be able to rent the apartments based on the original selling points as it appears the full range of facilities will not be complete for at least another year in my opinion!     

If anyone has a legal background I would appreciate it, as i'm sure many others would too, if you would be able to read the contract and advise us on the exact legal position for completeing.

Furthermore I am fully in support of the action group but unfortunately I am unable to make the Dublin meeting - is there going to be a similar meeting held in the UK?

Many thanks

Colin.   

hi all

im thinking off buying a 2 bed 2 bath penthose,from a guy who wants to sell before completion,the location is gardenia 12 a penthouse,can anyone tell me anything about the location and views of this apartment,and what would be a good price to purchase for,

many thanks

jambo

Hi Jambo,

Most people believe Turkey and the Bodrum area will be a very good investment. MRI do come in for a lot of stick from past purchasers. You will find the spec of the apartments higher straight from Artev, who have built the MRI development for them. You should also cut the big chuck MRI make as middle man. The money to pay for their TV station and advertising must come from somewhere.

Regards

Justin

hi all

reading some off your reviews,about mri and the service they provide,seem quite shambolic,the agent i spoke to the other day told me everything would be taken care off by themselves,they also said if i purchased from them,there would be add on fees,for solicitors,property tax ec,costing about £10000,does this seem right to you?

i am very worried as this will be my first property abroad?

hi everyone,

i am buying my first property abroad,and quite like the look and sound of flamengo country club,can anyone give me tips on do,s and donts and tell me anything about the complex and mri

many thanks

jambo

Hi,

Thanks for the links.

Unfortunately I have already seen all of this and quite honestly it's all very well to warn people but most of us who read this site have already invested.

Where does all this leave us when we know we have paid inflated prices for our property?

Most of us have also gone with Legal Independence which means (in my case at least) quite a lot of expense arranging Power of Attorney.

Some owners are talking about dropping the whole thing and losing their 30% deposit. To my mind that may be the sensible thing to do but it is also giving "them" money for doing virtually nothing.

A few days ago I received an email stating - At present the current Short Term Rental Mangement fee of €750 per year is discounted by 50% for LIFEtime Aftersales members.  This will be changing in the very near future for any new membership subscriptions. This is on top of renewing my LIFEtime Aftersales Membership fee of €335 per year.

At the moment my thinking is to go ahead with my purchase, buy furniture through Lets-Talk-Turkey and also go with them for rentals. Hopefully once the other company are out of the picture things could improve.

How is everyone else feeling about this?

Carole

Hi;

Can anyone give me the name of a decent lawyer in Bodrum.I have agreed to buy one of the apartments in the first phase from an investor who is "flipping it" prior to completion and before she has to pay the balance monies.

I dont want to use MRI's lawyers so would ppreciate any help.

Secondly I've only agreed to do this today so would be grateful for any response re timescale for completion .

Regards

Huw.

Information Hot off the press from MRI when I requested latest update on construction and completion dates for FCC1.

Believe what you want about the accuracy of the information supplied by MRI, but anyway here it is.

They have supplied photos x3 of which I will post onto this website when I've worked out how to post.

Hi can someone give me the web address of Lets Talk Turkey as I don't seem to be able to locate it.

kind regards Tony

hiya - stewie here! i'm gonna try and answer a few of your questions.

i believe mortgages are still very scarse in turkey. worse still - they are very expensive!  with rates rising in the uk and the market looking very woobly i am seriously concerned about my investment as money here inthe uk is looking much more expensive than this time last year. i am definately looking to sell but whether i will be successful is another matter. anyone know of a good sales outlet?

for furniture - i'm staying clear of mri, they simply can't get there act together. every week theres some new cost, con or problem.  its all rubish.  no travel companies charge for inspections, theyre getting your apartment and making money on it so why would they put off off with a huge upfront charge.  this is just mri trying to expalin away a 6000 overcharge and doing a p**s poor job of it.  to my mind we have two choices - visit and buy ourselves or use a service like that on the lets talk turkey website which looks sound.  while i want to pay the least amount of money for my furniture i am happy to use someone who will do it all for me at the same price as i would pay in the shops myself.  you can see more on there website.

uptodate pictures also on lets talk turkey - june 07 i think when i last looked - there may be later ones now! there also a report on the build progress so worth a look

if i cant sell i'm not bothered about renting through mri as i am going to use several online websites and manage the rentals myself.  i'll probably use a property manager in bodrum to look after the place though. the cost of the manager will be offset by the better returns i will get by not paying extortionate rental fees or the 6000 euro to mri.  all i need to know know is what the monthy maintenence fee will be.  anyone know yet?

thats it....stewie

Forgot to ask are morgages available in turkey yet?

Sharonalexadderley@hotmail.com

Hi,

   An Irish investor here. Can anyone email me on the best furniture package agent. Are most of you going to let MRI rent out your appartments? Has anyone actually tried to sell their appartments yet from phase 1 or 2? I'm getting worried that this wasn't a sound investment, anyone else feel the same way?

im wondering has body purchased a pent house on flamingo site. i have purchased one and am wondering has any body got up to date pictures

thanks mario

Hello readers, many other investears by the sound of it have been contacted by MRI recently. They contacted me this week and said that if I dont purchase the furniture package from them I would be expected to pay 6000 euros plus admin fee if I furnish myself. The fee is for getting the furniture and and appliances inspected by the relevant health and safety inspectors to meet the needs of the travel operators before being able to rent. So it seems fellow investers that MRI have got us by the short and curlies on this one. Even if we are all able to furnish our selves for approx £6500 for a 2 bed and save £3500, it seems your going to pay more eventually by the time you cover all the additional costs that MRI have reminded us of. 

Im looking on going over myself in August and thrash this out and see what comes of it.

Jones

Hi,

Another one regarding the furniture inspection.  My last post is below- please read.  MRI said that the furniture was top quality - so would pass the inspection test.  It is things like the appliances (loads of scary mention of the water heater and dangers involved, especially with the DEATHS of holiday makers in the recent past).  What a load of rubbish I told the sales rep - the heaters are electric, not gas.  They only have to be connected and wired in, possibly signed off by a qualified Turkish plumber (we have to look into that yet).  My partner is a builder and currently renovating properties in Spain - I know what I am talking about!!  The sales rep back tracked immediately.  I could understand the worry about gas, and felt angry that she tried it on.  I was told that this inspection is a NEW thing 'what with the EU and mri being new in Turkey and the complex being so big and the bigger tour operators having higher standards blah blah blah. 

There is another great site with pictures of the development and progress and info for lettings and for furniture packages (including water heaters/air con etc).  Anyone wanting the address please contact me and I will be happy to email you direct with the web address.

I had a call today again regarding the mri aftersales membership as this offers an inspection trip and this may be the best route as I have 2 properties (one on each phase).  I discussed the small print in the initial sales blurp and there is mention of 700 euros cost for short term rental management fee.  mri sales rep seemed confused as to what this was for.  Appartently,  this is an anual fee to go into the rental pool!!!  In addition, they want a percentage of the rental for cleaning and marketing etc.  I am really thinking that maybe the best thing is to go with a smaller company and have less outgoings initially, even if the acutal rental are smaller.

Sorry to moan - any comments?  I just want to pass on any info I have been given.

Regards,

Max

Hi again,

IKEA is in Turkey and were very helpful when I contacted them - if enough people joined together I am sure we could negotiate - anybody interested? Let me know elinormunday@yahoo.com

mri have been in touch again trying to sell their furniture packages but put another spin on it as follows:

because many have decided that they are not happy with the hike in prices, they have decided that they will foot the bill for the 'lettings inspection certificate'.  This certificate is NEWS to me and another expense that we were not aware of.  Basically it works as like this.  If we want the big tour operators to take one our units we have to comply with certain regulations and there needs to be a check done to evalute and make sure our units comply.  Things like health and safety, environmental insurances etc have to be in place and the check is DEFINATELY necessary.  This will cost 4,500 euros for the one off check per property plus an anual fee of approx 350 euros.  Once this is done, the big boys like thompson and cosmos will take our units on and we could benefit from increased rentals.  I had originally been told that if I did not have my property furnished with the mri furniture package, I could not put it into the rental pool.  I asked how the new DEAL could effect things, and was told that if I had the furniture fackage from mri, they would foot the 4,500 lettings inspection check bill.  If I furnished myself, I would have to pay 4,500 to have it checked, and it may fail and not go in the pool.

I did indicate that I may ask if other lettings agents require this check and was told by mri that they probably wouldnt because other lettings agents would not be dealing with the big holiday companies.  I just think that maybe it would be best to get a smaller company to do the lettings and save on this MAD initial outlay/bribe.  Maybe the smaller lettings agent would not get the volume of clients in, but the reduction in income may actually be the same at the end of the day when compare with the offer that mri are putting on the table.

Has anyone else had this conversation with mri?

We need to do  a snagging list before handing over any money, has anyone got any details (apart from getting it with the mri aftersales package of 330 euros).  It just may be costly to go out ourselves and do this and I believe that it needs to be done by a professional. 

I also had a conversation with the sales teams initial optimistic figures he have me about buying and 'flipping' prior to completion.  I am buying as a cash buyer and was told that many who were going to do this, and realized the real situation are now having to get mortgages - any thoughts - please email me.

Regards,

Max

hi everyone

has mri been in contact with all fcc phase 1 owners lately?

regards

g