| Message | Posted by |
Im an NRI...
Thanks hosurman for the checklist. Will find out about the points when i'm in goa.
Anyone with more inputs? | beachhouse |
hi beachhouse
congrats on your decision to purchase. here is a checklist i can think of:
1. please find out and see for your self if work is underway - there was some confusion whether this project was stalled by the local villagers. though i was given to understand that there was no interruption and that the electricals, plastering and tiling work is in progress in the row villas
2 has the pool been tiled
3) please ask the developer and ashok (site manager) what the realistic date of completion is and when can people take the keys to their homes
4) has the stamp duty increase (from 2% to 3%) been put into effect - if not when do they expect this to happen
5) how many row villas and apartments are left to sell
6) if you can take as many photos as possible - row villas and fapartments -inside and out and post them here -that would be much appreciated
are you from india or NRI ?
thankyou | hosurman |
Hi,
I am a prospective buyer (probably one of the last ones) of a house in Coastal Paradise and have read every single post in this forum. Since i have found mixed views on the project, but most of which are positive, I have planned to make a visit to Goa and the site this weekend (26th Jul) .
I'd be glad if someone can advise me on what info I should be getting back with me or a checklist of sorts. Of course, if any of you had any queries and needed someone in person to find out.., I could be of help (im not going to inspect your houses though:)). , as it's gonna benefit us mutually.
Please reply fast!
thanks.. | beachhouse |
micon recently updated their website and the construction completion is scheduled for
' Quarter 2009 ' it doesnt say which quarter  but it seems unlikely that the site will be complete this year. according to the site contractor most of the outdoor work is complete and with the monsoons here, they are now working on the tiling and other indoor work in the row houses. while he expects the row houses to be complete by october of this year , the apartments will take longer and till the entire project is complete they will not be giving possession to anyone - so dont expect to get the keys before june 2009 - and that too if everything goes without the incidents other construction sites in south goa have witnessed not long ago. | kalyani |
Has anyone been given a timescale for completion of the row houses? - we are keen to start planning our next visit and are hoping to tie this in with completion - later this year? We have tried emailing Micon without sucess but as it is monsoon I'm not hopeful of any reply soon ! | dogooder |
I came across this presentation by Rajan Parrikar - an NRI Goan who has returned to discover how quickly Goa has undergone a change for the worse. He has combined his knowledge of indian classical music, photography skills and understandable concern for his homeland to make this eye opening slide show / presentation.
http://www.parrikar.org/misc/rape-of-goa.mov
I applaud him for his efforts - as a buyer I feel indirectly responsible for the adverse effects of development on the environment of goa and feel that unless there is a check on rampant development, the beautiful Goa we love will be no more . If Goa becomes another Mumbai, would we want to live there ? I think we should take it upon ourselves to do our bit to offset the environmental impact developments cause - whether it is by planting lots of trees and greener or explore opportunities of rain water harvesting , solar electricity of common area lighting etc. Unless we contribute by doing the things that benefit our environment, I feel we are only adding to the problems that this presentation highlights. | kalyani |
hi andy,
as an oci (pio) i am unfamiliar about the leasing option but my understanding is that similar to an agreement (for construction and sale), a lease agreement is definitely a document worth its while and would hold up in a court of law just like an agreement for construction and sale would ..
what does your lease state about renewal once the term is over - if the developer has left this open ended - it does give him the option to not renew. if this is so there is no guarantee that the developer would keep renewing the same - specially if he was to go under. but if he was to go bust - then everyone ( IN / PIO / OCI / FN ) would suffer the consequences.
on completion of the lease if all parties agree, a new lease would have to be drawn out for a term that is mutually agreeable and as allowed by the law ..
at the end of the day it all depends on who we are dealing with. while the law of the land currently provides limited options to FN's - one of which is the lease route, I am assuming that you would have paid the full (freehold ) value of the same by the time your row house is complete - which as your receipts prove is the full value of the property. what is written on lease is one thing - but what is significant is the (unwritten) understanding between you and the developer - and that is that you are indeed the owner - if the developer has unethical standards or wants to take advantage of the situation - he could, but my personal take to this is that contrary to what some people have said, i dont believe that this developer is one who would screw his buyers - having met him my gut feel is that he is reliable . moreover he has built several developments in the past and has plans to build several more after this one - he has a reputation to maintain unlike some fly by night operators one reads about ..
I would hold on for now - things are uncertain for everyone who has bought (not just FN), pulling out now would only complicate things and at most you would get only what you paid less any penalties stated in your agreement. (the market value being substantially more now than what you paid) , i would personally pay the balance 10% when due and on completion enjoy the property (and many beers by the poolside) without hassling your self too much about the leasehold/freehold status..
my advise is - hang on to this - keep in touch with the developer, maintain a good relationship with him - i dont see why he wont renew your lease - even if you must do so at terms you are not totally happy with.. and if and when the law allows FN to buy freehold
(and again im positive this will happen eventually) - you could have the leasehold status changed to freehold. all the best .. | kalyani |
Hi All,
Similar to Dogooder I too was also one of the first people to reserve a rowhouse (before the apartments appeared on the development plans ). I too have paid up to the roof slab stage and have just 10% remaining.
I originally found this development through website http://www.goawayhomes.co.uk/ and dealt with a lady called Sirpa who was very helpful. I can't remember now but I think I paid a 1% fee or something.
I am an English person and at the time I was going to go down the route of setting up a company to purchase the freehold. After a couple of months I decided against this as there were too many costs involved. Since then obviously a lot has happened in respect of this 'workaround' so in hindsight it's probably wise I didn't do this. Therefore I am on this revolving 5 year lease contract. Can anyone give me some advice on the following questions?
1) Are these 5 year leases worth the paper they are written on? Where is the guarantee
that the developer will keep renewing the lease and at no extra cost, especially if he went bust for example? Could he just let them expire? I assume a separate contract in respect of the lease would have to be signed by all parties prior to completion.
2) Soon it will be 2 years since I signed the agreement letter. Would I be within my rights to request my money back ( plus interest ) as completion will be well after this date especially as I only purchased the rowhouse thinking there were no apartments in the plans? Or is this a bad move as prices have really increased over this period? Is it worth holding on and dealing with the lease issue at completion.
3) Does anyone think that the rules governing freehold property for non residents will ever change ?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated | ANDYMCRORY |
Times of India article showing the names of developers to who stop work orders and show cause notices have been issued ..
Another article in the TOI about how the huge demand for homes in Goa is pushing up prices. just goes to show that despite the setbacks (no pun intended) developers have not stopped purchasing land, and applying for new projects. The agitation of the benaulim villagers is understandable - once these developments come up and people move in, the village life they have known for years will change forever. the high demand for homes which has led to unprecedented price levels means that thousands of crores of rupees are involved and there is a good chance that even those builders who have not gone by the book and face stop work orders (who still have the opportunity to comply) will make the required amendments - as there is too much at stake if they dont ..
| kalyani |
Regarding the news report in the Oheraldo - I just spoke with the developer who confirmed that while the villagers were there with tape measures on Saturday, work has not stopped. He explained that since the villagers are generally unhappy about the over development in benaulim, they are out looking for any excuse to disrupt the on going work of any and all developments in the village. Some are trying to take advantage of the situation and demanding money but he refused to pay as everything ios being done by the book and while the villagers 'declared' the project illegal, the fact is that unless the authorities find irregularities (which they have not), it would not stop the developer from continuing with the work..
He confirmed that there are 4 (not 2) septic tanks. 2 were covered and 2 open - so the villagers thought there were only 2. according to him they were ineberated and agitated - refusing to listen to the developer when he tried to explain that everything he had done was completed per the plans that had been approved by the panchayat and other authorities. | sethiji |
teagirl - i thought your position on local goan news papers was that they spout verbal diarrhoea ? so why come here quoting them and providing links to a news report with an interpretation that is baseless ? " It's looks as if the project is on stop'"
understandably you are frustrated with how things turned out when you bought in goa (danika). but I don't believe you are a buyer at micon coastal paradise - so you should'nt be here negating and exasurating news reports..
nowhere in the oheraldo article does it say that the coastal paradise project has been stopped or that a show cause notice has been given. the villagers may have been there with tape measures and observed 'irregulaties' ( if they are indeed that - this is for the authrities to decide). irregulatites (or lapses) are more easily fixed than some of the larger issues such a home ownership by foreigners
contrary to what teagirl terms as bad news, overall, this may be good in the long run as the builder would be asked to install more septic tanks - benefiting home owners and the environment where these homes are being built. adding more septic tanks would provide a larger soak area and should not be difficult as there is enough space to do so and also make them far enough from the pool (which is the other point reported in the news report). since a sewerage system does not exist in the area, all of benaulim has septic tanks, including the other large projects in the area and adding more tanks spread out across a large area is very doable.
as far as selling the parking as shops - if true - this SHOULD be revoked as the project is residential only . again - can be done.. | kalyani |
http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=4849&cid=26C
Check out the herald guys it looks like Micon Coastal Paradise is in trouble with the village It's looks as if the project is on stop.
There is a picture on the forn of the herald showing the site and the villagers out with there tape measures
It also says that he is in viloation of only supplying to septic tanks for the whole project and the village is up in arms because they are feeding straight into the paddi fields
Sorry to bring bad news.
| Teagirl |
Hi dogooder,
A PIO or OCI card would definitely help when it comes to obtaining sale deeds.
A birth certificate of your mother / grandmother (showing they were born in india would be required (notarised copies) for obtaining a PIO card.
Considering that the more recent of the two births would have been your mothers, you could start with finding out the municipality of the city where she was born and details such as date and place of birth - if the birth was in a hospital (which hospital) would be useful.
Assuming you are not in India at this time, I would try a site called www.yourmaninindia.com - one of the services they provide is applying for and obtaining birth certificates on your behalf and from what I understand , you dont even have to be in india for this . i tried going to the site and it seems to be down at the moment - maybe its under maintenance at this time..
but from what i know, the site is owned and operated by a well know company - and im sure their site should be up and running soon..
good luck - hope you get the birth certificate and pio card ! | sethiji |
Hi,
We were one of the first to reserve a row house ( before the apartments appeared on the development plans !) - our agreement states 18 months form signing (June 2006) but with a leeway of 6 months - when we were last there in Nov Ashok said the row houses would be finished by monsoon 2008 - we felt this was a bit optimistic so were hoping by the end of the year !
We have paid up to the roof slab and this was on when we visited so we just have the last payment to make - 30% on signing - 30 % floor slab & 30 % roof slab - so just 10 % left -
Our only problem now is that I am having difficulty getting a PIO card as have been unable to get a birth cert from India for my mother / grandmother - if anyone has any advice on that matter I would be grateful - | dogooder |
the micon website seems to have been updated recently. they have a new address which appears along with the old one.
S-1/2/3, Ground Floor,Delia Residency, Opp. Rosary Church, Adj A.V. D'Costa Hospital,
Fatorda Margao - Goa. 403602, India
G 1, Ground floor, Desiderio apts., Near Gaylin chinese restaurant,
Varde Valaulikar road, Margao Goa. 403601, India
Ph: office: 2739630 Res: 2736118 Fax: 0832 2737399 Mobile: 9822159432 / 9860038340
Email : info@miconrealtors.in
they have also updated the ' latest pictures of this projects ' link - but there appears to be a problem with the acrobat file that contains the pics - anyone able to open the file ?
two new projects are advertised on the site - 'autumn leaves' and 'arabian sea views' | sethiji |
| Recent pool construction pic | kalyani |
hi dxbshirley and others here:
the payment structure for row villas appears differ from apartments (below). this was taken from an agents website and gives a good idea of what i believe to be similar to the structure that everyone is following:
the last installment as per the row house payment schedule is payable on completion - mid 2009. would others on this forum (row houses/ apartments) please indicate if this is consistent with your agreement ?
row villas are expected to be completed before the apartments, but possession will only be given when the entire project is complete - apartments, row villas ,swimming pool, gym/recreational area, common areas.
For Row Villa:
• Booking Amount
• Signing - 36%
Remaining balance paid 2-3 months until completion (indicated mid 2009 )
For Apartments
• Booking Amount
• Signing - 15%
• 1st slab - 12%
• 2nd slab - 12%
• 3rd slab - 12%
• 5th slab - 12%
• Masonry - 12%
• Fixing of doors & windows - 12.5%
• Possession - 12.5%
swimming pool work is progressing (see photos section) | kalyani |
Hi Guys,
Upto which slab of payment have majority of the buyers done. Is it up to the flooring ? or more? | dxbshirley |
| my agreement does not mention a specific completion date but mentions that it would be complete within 18 months of the agreement which was signed in early 2008 - implying that the premiseswould be ready for possession in june/july 2009 | kalyani |
Hi Niloufer, welcome to the forum and sharing this with us..
Sorry to hear about micon not being willing to put the tiles of your
choice though the supplier is willing to work with you on this.
I wish they were more sensitive to home buyers.
We too had contemplated different tiles and had also visited the shop
where micon buys tiles from but foreseeing logistical issues caused
my miscommunication, decided to go with whatever tiles micon was
providing - though they may not be to our exact taste and liking
(hopefully they are'nt purple or green) , we did look at the samples
of what was used at danika (earlier micon project) - and felt we
could live with that. to justify our decision, we came up with two
advantages of going with the developers choice - since he is buying in
bulk the rate is less than ordering different tiles where a bulk discount would
not be applicable. the other is - should there be a problem with the
quality / tile laying / workmanship - one would have to deal with gomes only.
according to ashok (site manager) who i spoke with recently, the tiling has
only just started - so if they have'nt done tiling work on your row villa yet - you
may want to speak directly with the tile supplier and have him convince gomes -
if im not mistaken the supplier is Edwin Lopez of Interdesign Marketing ,based
out of margao (not far from the micon office). email address is
interdsg_92@yahoo.co.in and phone no is 2736656, 2702804. all the best
with that - do let us know if you were able to get your choice of tiles installed
Stamp duty -are you referring to the 1% stamp paper on which the agreement
was signed ? My understanding is that the stamp duty is 2% (rumored to go
upto 3% soon) of the sale amount and is payable 'after' completion at the time of registration of sale deed along with 2% registration fee.
All that we have paid so far for our row villa to the authorities is stamp paper
of 1% of the sale value on which the agreement for construction and sale was
typed and signed by us. if they have abolished this, i would like to know more
and see if and how we can have this refunded.
i would also like to know what others buyers here have paid the authorities so
far and if the stamp duty / registration duty payable at the time of completion/
sale deed registration is consistent with what i have stated here..
| kalyani |
Hi, Ive just joined this.
Re Alterations
Noticed Shaffs message re alterations. A frtiend and I have bought together. I made 2 trips down just for this. The first was last April when Gomes insisted I come down quickly as all was finalised. When I got there I found that they had not selected any of the tiles etc. I provisionally selected tiles at the same shop that he was buying from.
Went down again a couple of months ago after my friend personally spoke to Gomes and told him we'd be there for this purpose. Despite confirming his being there he was out of town. We finalised our selection of tiles for the bathrooms. However Gomes refuses to make any alterations on the pretext that he has oredred all the tiles. The shop is willing to take tiles back for our villas. And supply the new tiles. To no avail. If there are more of you with a similar problem we could perhaps get together...
Re Stamp Duty
Since stamp duty has now been discontinued does anyone know if we can get a refund on what we have already paid towards this?
Re completion dates
Do any of your agreements state the completion date? | Niloufer |
to continue my last post, once there are enough of us talking on this forum we will have a better sense of each other and the common problems we face. i know for instance that out of approx 40 row houses , only 5 are unsold. in other words there are 35 row house owners who could be talking to each other, but there are probably 5 or 6 in this forum..
if any one knows how many apartments are sold and how many are available , please share this information here and if you know other owners please point them to this site and encourage them to talk to the other owners.
i was told by a reliable source that tiling work is in progress and the swimming pool is almost complete and they expect that while the row houses should be finished soon the apartments will take some more time - they expect the whole project to be complete by may / june 2009
there was something in the news about the stamp duty cost increasing from 2 % to 3 %
but this has not yet been implemented - hopefully they will dilly dlly on this for another year till this project is complete and we have registered our sales deeds by paying the existing stamp duty rate of 2%. | kalyani |
I doubt it too. from what I understand the issue is the width of the road being only 2.5 meters while the approved plan specifies 8 meters. when i last visited the site, i do not recollect a road of 2.5 meters width . moreover as far as access is concerned the development is just off the main road and the entrance is pretty wide (definitely not 2.5 m) as one can see in the picture i have uploaded on this day. while the 3 sites mentioned in the article are not identified, they have access problems and would need to build a road through paddy fields - which is something the local villagers are not too happy about..
as far as collaborative action is concerned, seeing that this is probably the best place to discuss this development, we need to use this forum more effectively - if we know other buyers, we must encourage them to come here and share their experiences, photos and suggestions.
| kalyani |
This is worth reading http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=3480&cid=10 it mentions 3 construction sites that have had their licences revoked. I am tryign to get a sense of whether this would include our development? (I doubt it though - its probably new developments)
What kind of collaborative action do you recommend?
| Shaff |
micon coastal paradise under fire ?
Rajan Parrikar appears to be an activist who is understandably concerned about the over development and concretization of south goa. as per the letter to him (see pdf) from the office of the senior town planner the micon coastal paradise project seems to have been given approval and has also built within the maximum height permitted (11.5 meters) - nevertheless Parrikar mentions this project in his reference to developments that is contributing to the problem ..
i think it is time for all stake holders (who are buying into this development ) to get together and safe guard ourselves against unexpected situations that we never expected to face when we booked our flats and row houses ..
| kalyani |
TONIGHT WITH TREVOR McDONALD - is interested in the plight of FN's
of course they want somebody to go on camera for an interview!!!!! Is there anybody brave enough.
They also want to hear your story please email Jemma.North@ITV.com with your story
she has had emails from the British Expat Site, tell her your story. | Cariad |
There is a reporter willing to help with publicity
All emails are confidential, and she can be trusted. Tell her your story, change your name.
ginetta.v@ntlworld.com
| Cariad |
Dear Shaff,
Hope you are able to get the response you are waiting for and that the work is completed as per your requirement . Do let us know when you have an update and any news of the development and indications of the completion date.. best wishes.
| sethiji |
Dear Sethiji
Thank you for your helpful and considered response to my posting, and sorry for the delay in responding!
You are right about using email to contact, it certainly is not a priority communication tool for Micon!
We originally purchased outr apartment through an agent Homes4living in London, who have now taken on the responsibility of pinning down 'Sir' and they (as you havce suggested are calling daily) so far to no avail, but we remain hopeful! I will let this message board know if we get an answer. But thanks again for your attentive response. lets hope we all have somewhere by the coast soon! warm regards, Shaff | Shaff |
developers cannot resolve the ' current chaos and
confusion with Indian property ownership.' this has to
do with the goa government / registrar office who at
this time is refusing to register properties for foreigners
- a reason that comes to mind is this: while there
are people who have taken the 'legitimate' business
route , one of the the issues under the scanner is the
real' purpose of their setting up the business - as it is
suspected that majority of foreigners have registered
businesses in goa only to own homes - so while on
paper things may appear legitimate, most of these
'businesses' are ultimately paper firms - figures at the
Goa Registrar of Companies office, indicate that in 2001,
the ROC registered a total of 129 companies, in 2002
it was 114, in 2003 it was 189. Subsequently, the
numbers jumped considerably to 397 (2004), 655
(2005), 647 (2006) and 565 in 2007. "In the last three
years, it’s mainly foreigners who are coming to register
companies," an official at the ROC not willing to be
quoted, said. this is from an article in the asian age and
at http://howrah.org/india_news/9201.html
surely the investigation will probe into why it is that most
businesses being registered in goa are by foreigners !
and what would become very obvious is the blatant
misuse of the fema/rbi provision - which puts all the
legit business owners in this situation.
i see little point in signing petitions - it is highly unlikely
that a member of parliament would be able to straighten
this mess - at the most they will write to the indian
embassy or to the indian government - who will react
with assurances that this would be looked into - and
that would be the end of that.. perhaps a good lawyer
representing all the stakeholders and taking this to the
mumbai high court - as class action law suite may
work better..
most foreign buyers who thought they were buying
freehold have committed on paper to pay for 5 years
of maintenance - even though what they were leasing
(not buying) so i dont think one need to worry too
much about the maintenance factor. if they cease to
pay installments or the agreed amount before
completion of the project - they risk paying high rates
of interest and even losing the flat - legally making it
possible for the developer to sell to someone else.
5 years is a long time - hopefully things will settle down
by then and the legitimate business owners would be
able to get their sale deeds - otherwise at the end of
their lease - the developer (who is still the owner and
has a stake in reselling the once leased units) will
simply sell the same unit to someone else who is
more qualified to have free hold possession -
(nri / oci / pio/ in) .. | kalyani |
I am new to this site and have been reading others as well. Sadly I did my homework too late and am now in the boat with you. I notice in all of these sites that there is no suggestion of getting rid of the hated FNs who have laid their money down, by giving them back their money and selling on to their beloved locals, who really deserve to own the land.
For those of you who want to stand up and be counted one brave soul has started an on line petition which requires 200 signatures to be picked up by a UK MP. Do go online and sign it, it may do no good but we can try. For those of you who still believe that you will one day 'own' your properties, indulge us poor faithless unbelievers and sign the petition. It can't do you any harm.
The web address is http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Goa-Properties
At least we can get some clarity on the situation. | ToldUSo |
While there are a number of ‘owners’ within the development with ‘Deed of Sale’, there are long term issues that will affect us ALL. As there are a high percentage of FN’s within each development there needs a collaborative approach and response with the current chaos on ownership of property.
I have seen many developments that fall into complete ruin in Goa where the maintenance and repairs of such developments have been placed at the hands of just a few of the owners. No FN entered into this without either seeking clarity or business acrimony that owning property was viable. Why would any of us pay the freehold price for a 5 year lease? What will then happen in some cases in the next 3/4/5 years when there is the expectation for EACH ‘owner’ to contribute into the maintenance and society fund when these issues of deeds have not been addressed. Believe me it will be an issue for ALL.
There is though an opportunity that started with the US refusing to invest into either Indian business/ property if there is not a change in the current law. This has now been taken up by a number of UK politicians that are to address this issue with the Indian Embassy and Indian government. Can you please refer to the ‘BRITISH EXPATS GOA’ website under ‘BUYER BEWARE’ to support the current petition to be presented,
With thanks. | WESTLEY |
please look at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/goaproperties, and if you think appropriate please sign.
Thanks | Cariad |
Hi
Thanks for that - but I know 9 people who registered in our complex all on the right 5 year x
visa etc. and a few others being investigate. One of my friends moved into a flat and within 6 weeks the D of E knocked at her door and gave her a letter like ours, telling her she had to
report to Panjim 14th January - she went there was no one there, and was told to go to Mumbai on another date. She has now gone to an Advocate for him to deal with it. You are ordered to answer all their questions within 15 days we have been waiting since Jan 2007 for a reply after giving our file in.
This is not fair making people live in limbo. We all ought to get together with the Advocate that Scarlett's mum has, he does not seem to be in anybody's pocket.
I am just concerned for my friends buying on this project, or any other, if they can get their money back they should | Cariad |
| sorry for the bold text ! | hosurman |
Cariad - i agree - those who have abided by the rules should not be harassed - since you have registered successfully i dont think you have much to worry as you've done everything by the book and seem to have been inadvertently caught up in this investigation fiasco - i read somewhere that a pio who bought in goa is also under investigation ! so all kinds of bizzare things are going on at the moment. ultimately it is for all the owners - which includes everyone from indian nationals, pio, oci, foreign nationals, goans, non-goans to get together and fight this. if people have spent their hard earned money and life savings and done everything by the book - they deserve better..
i think when they have sorted out this mess with the russain mafia buying huge tracts of land they will relax a bit - the investigations must have been instigated by that .. | hosurman |
Hi,
I totally agree with what you say about foreigners NOT purchasing at the moment. Many builders are lying saying that you can purchase this way and that. We all know that the 5 year lease is a load of .......... because after five years the property belongs to the builder, and there are many unscrupulous builders, who are waiting to repossess.
The rules are changing daily, there is not one Advocate who knows what he is doing, they certainly don't give you the same advice.
We are under investigation have bought on a 5 year x visa, covered the 183 days. brought the money into the country legally, and registered our deeds.2005 etc. etc.
We cannot blame the developer as the rules have changed, but in all fairness the Government should stop picking on those who abided by the rules at the time of purchase and go for the BIG BOYS - by that I mean their own POLITICIANS who have sold out Goa for their own ends. | Cariad |
| Just visited Goa last week and did vist the site .... work is in progress and moreover work continous on Sundays as well | dxbshirley |
hello sherwyn,
having visited the micon coastal paradise development recently, I found no problem with the build quality and overall progress. I have also had my lawyer go through the title deed of the land on which the project is being developed, and that looks okay as well.
What needs to be kept in mind is that the Goa government is not in favour of selling properties to foreign nationals. As things stand today, you should not have a problem buying on a freehold basis and get a sale deed if you are an Indian National / NRI or have PIO / OCI status and card *.
If you ARE a foreign national, I would advise you not to buy in Goa at this time (from any developer - no matter what you are promised) as things are very uncertain and most foreign nationals who have already bought in the last few years are under investigation and may lose their properties.. (very unfortunate but true )
The adverse comments one reads about this developer are from foreign nationals who bought while the rules were ambiguous and changing (as they still are). Many foreign nationals set up companies in order to use a loophole which has now come to the attention of the authorities. Not finding redressal to their unfortunate situation, some foreign nationals are venting their frustration on the developer(s) and saying things about them which I dont believe to be accurate or true..
The temptation to buy in Goa for some foreign nationals is so great that many use their hearts, not their heads and while several were aware of the pitfalls, they listened to only what they wanted to hear - unfortunately this situation was exploited by some agents and lawyers..
* OCI - Overseas Citizen of India
PIO - Person of Indian Origin
for more info see http://www.mha.nic.in/oci/chart.pdf
| hosurman |
hi, there
we plan to buy a row house in costal paradise project benaulim. Please can somebody who has invested on the project let us know if the project is fine to invest in or purchase.
Would be grateful if somebody gives me a quick response.
Thanks
Sherwyn
| dxbshirley |
| | hosurman |
Congrats on your purchase Shaff. We also bought at Micon Coastal Paradise and like you had requested minor changes. Similar to your experience, we have found Micons office to be unresponsive to most emails - its almost like the staff needs to wait for Mr Gomes ' Sir ' to approve any communication that is sent out !
I have therefore been calling long distance to inquire about the progress and keep getting verbal assurances that an estimate would be sent soon - but 'soon' seems to take forever
and I have to follow up with more calls ..
While their lack of response and seemingly uncompromising attitude does cause anxiety, specially when one is so far away, it is my understanding that with a few exceptions of a few, most builders and other businesses in India operate this way - every one seems so caught up with day to day chaos, they are barely able to respond to phone calls - emails being given lesser priority as they are considered ' written communication' and office staff is reluctant to put things in writing till they are approved by 'sir' . The other reason is that telephony being so inexpensive in india - thats how most people communicate (email takes time and internet connectivity and an erratic power situation makes it an avoidable hassle for most folks)..
So I would suggest that you call and speak with Mr Gomes directly. They like to have written instructions for alterations/ modifications. Have they asked you to provide the same ? I sent mine a while ago and hopefully the minor changes I want will be carried out.
Since construction is in progress, it may be premature to ask other buyers at this development if modifications that were requested were carried out in a satisfactory manner - perhaps seeking feedback from owners of (completed) Micon developments like Danika (different thread on this site) may provide a better idea.
I too am a NRI/PIO ( recently got my OCI papers (OCI - Overseas Citizenship of India), which provides similar rights as PIO.
Thanks for posting the March Pics - it seems like work on the drainage / pipes and swimming pool is just about getting underway..
It is my understanding that the project will be finished by the end of 2008. | sethiji |
My family have just purchased a 4th floor apartment at Coastal Paradise and signed the agreement during a visit in November 07. We met Mr Gomes who has a very uncompromising style, but we felt reassured that all would go to plan.
We asked for a few alterations to be made to our apartment ie removal of kitchen wall (replaced with a half wall breakfast bar) to create an open plan space, plus different tiles and wall colour to be used. He said ths was fine and he would confirm this later via email- but we have not heard anything even after follow up emails. As we are based in teh UK (but are PIOs) it is difficult to communciate with company. There is never a response!
Was wondering if anyone else has requested alterations too- did these materialise as planned or did you just get the original flat without your personalised requests?
Also have just posted sme pics - my friend visited 2 weeks ago in March 08 (though the dates come up as 2006 for some reason) You can see that progress is comign along.
All the best, Shaff
| Shaff |
| the opposite actually - jan 10 2008 appears shows up as jan 10 2006 ! | sethiji |
| i just found some more pics which i had taken in my trip in jan 2008 - all of these were shot from the roof. feeling brave that day, i had climbed up on a rickety ladder (!) and was rewarded with a pretty good view of the development . again the dates on this site are screwed up - jan 10 2006 shows up as jan 10 2008.. | sethiji |
| You are right Sethiji! I should have been more precise: Only foreign nationals are having this scam perputrated against them. Any Indian or person of Indian origin will get the deeds. | 21 |
We visited the micon coastal paradise site in early Jan this year and were happy to see the progress of the row villas - the quality of construction looks great (pics have been posted on this site but for some reason the date shows up as 12 jan 2006 instead of 12 jan 2008).
Meeting Miguel Gomes and his staff was reassuring - they seem professional and sincere and a lot of doubts and suspicions that one has after reading posts here and in other places were put to rest.
for those who want to see the location on a map, enter micon coastal paradise in the search box on wikimapia.org
Looking forward to other posts and progress photos.. | sethiji |
UNTIL THE ISSUES BELOW ARE CLEARED UP I WOULD ADVISE AGAINST ENTERING INTO A CONTRACT WITH MICON REALTORS.
Tragically it seems as if Micon Realtors may have a different agenda at Danika & other sites. It appears the plan is to harrass, and deny purchasers the deeds, until they are worn down, and then offer them a refund.
Of course this means Micon owns the houses, and then sells them a second time for over double what we paid. Several people seem to have 'chucked in the towel' already, and accepted the loss, just to get rid of the mental anguish/stress.
(A word of warning: do not give Micon your receipts, they are offering to exchange them for new ones, however they will state that you are only buying a 56 month lease (your original receipts say you are buying a house))
RE DANIKS: The site is virtually insecure. No main gate as promised in the contract. We are told there will not be one either. Thus we are all having to have expensive grills fitted to guard against our houses being plundered when we leave for the rainy season.
(All other builders seem to be playing fair and not giving this hassle. We know this as we have bought in the North aswell.)
I imagine he will try and do the same at Coastal Paradise. I hope I am wrong. He refuses to give any of us our sale deed, saying we must provide RBI approval and Home office NOC certificate first. Our lawyer states that it is nothing to do with Micon, and they should give us the sale deed as per the contract. Then it would up to us to get all necessary permission and register the sale deeds to our Indian Company. (After all, what have we paid stamp duty and deed fees for?)
The Assistant Attorney General has clarified this in an article earlier this year, stating it is mandatory to give the sale deed to an Indian company even if the directors are foriegn.
If we do get our sale deeds, I will of course appologise on this forum for being so suspicious! | 21 |
Sorry, forgot to add that the Micon office will be moving shortly, the new address is :
DELIA RESIDENCY
GROUND FLOOR
NEXT TO JJ COSTA HOSPITAL
FATORDA
GOA
There will be a new telephone number, I was told ,but they couldn't give yet. | kazandy |
Hi, I have bought a one bedroom top floor apartment with my partner,( first payment paid Dec 2006) , and have just returned from a three week stay in and around Benaulim. While we were there, we had numerous visits to the site, talking to all the site managers, and even managed to have some alterations verified with Michael Gomes. We were assured by Ashuk the site manager that he expects the site to be complete in 6 months (we will be very happy and surprised if it is 12 months from now, but you can live in hope !) We have taken many photos, which I will post on this site if possible. I know there are some worrying comments about Micon being floated around, but I have to say that up to now ,(touch wood) we have had no problems. If I can answer any questions for anybody I will.
Cheers, Karen
P.S. After visiting almost every costal area in Goa, we are convinced that location wise, you will not better where these apartments are situated. | kazandy |