SaidiaSpy reports on Med-Saida - all developments

[SaidiaSpy]

I've been lurking for years on the forums. I'm a very regular visitor to Mediterrania-Saidia. I'm not pleased with how matters are unfolding. I've decided to dish the dirt and 'name and shame' mal-performing developers (and the occasional buyer) in an attempt to raise the standard of conduct.

1) Groupe Fadesa Maroc (GFM) have not been paying their way. For example, the security guards on AP's 2, 4 and 6 have not been paid for more than 2 months. This week they were cut to one guard per shift per development. Security was struggling to cope with the influx of people this Summer. The guards are demotivated and disinterested at the moment. What do you think is going to happen? How secure is your property? Have you had your locks changed? Do you know where your keys are?

2) Property Logic and Oasis have both pledged to people that construction will re-commence at the end of September after Ramadan. Where are all the workers going to come from? Azur has all the workers at the moment.

3) The beaches are an absolute disgrace. Bins have only been provided in the last week - after the hordes have gone, leaving rubbish and faeces scattered over "the kilometres of golden beaches". Municipal services need to be improved. There's no money for this, so who is going to pay?

4) There are people living in a property on the Magnum (RT1) development. They have a car in the parkng lot. Their towels were hanging over the balcony. They were in the swimming pool. I have photos of this.

All for now.

SaidiaSpy

 

[SaidiaSpy]

Latest news from Saidia is not as good as the resort requires.

1) Azur developments have been forced in to admitting more delays. Nothing going to be delivered this year. Plausible excuse given: replacing kitchens and bathrooms. Truth: time will tell.

2) Both hotels are closing. Iberostar already closed. Barcelo closes end of month and reopens in May. Visitors now have to go back to the awful Atlal, but luckily several AP apartments available for rent nowadays.

3) Still no sign of golf clubs to rent at the golf club. How is the golf course supposed to be a success without clubs? You have to take your own if you want to play a round.

4) GFM are trying to foist a property management company on to AP's 2, 4 & 6. This company will tow their line while money is extracted from owners to pay for c*ck-ups made by GFM. The 'meeting' to impose this happens 10-12 October, but to date nobody has received letters about this - although the letter was dated 25th August. Owners need to move quickly to prevent being saddled with more financial commitments but getting very little in return.

5) GFM have now not paid the security company for 4 months. Petty theft has been happening. Even a water cyclinder was knicked from an apartment.

6) GFM have not paid the cleaners. Last week they went on strike, protested in front of the GFM sales office and eventually stormed the manager's offices to have it out with them. They have not been seen since.

GFM/Addoha must go!

Spy

 

[invalesco]

SPy - thanks for the updates.... really helpful being so far away from it all

 

[barry.flash]

Yes - thanks for the info Spy.

all appreciated

 

[Basilpea]

Very grateful for your reports Spy - keep up the good work.

 

[SaidiaSpy]

After my latest visit, I can report as follows:

1) Despite personal assurances to numerous people by the North brothers who head up Oasis that they will break ground at the end of September, to date absolutely nothing has happened on the ground. If I was a buyer I would have seen a lawyer long ago.

2) Property Logic have for 2 weeks had a set of scrapers and rollers working over the luxury villas plot - endlessly. How many times does the same piece of earth need to flattened? Something not right there. Other than that, no other work being done by PL, despite promises to start work at the end of September.

3) Fadesa have seemably given up on constructing anything too. Half-finished construction is going to be left open to the elements for another Winter. All that they are doing is low-level cosmetic touch-ups on AP's 2, 4 and 6 as a consequence of run-ins with the owners association on AP6. This is all in preparation for handover to a property management company. Still no mention of how much the monthly levies will be.

4) Azur are the only people making any kind of effort at the moment. Albeit small-scale - a few dozen workers - they are the only people doing any notable work on the resort. However, it looks like it will be another 6 months (at this rate) before they hand anything over.

5) The 2 hotels are closed - but there is a small army of workers/accountants trying to undo the mess of paperwork that is the back-office of the Barcelo. Absolutely nothing is moving at the Iberostar. Rectification works are supposed to be happening over the Winter. The golf course is closed, but some cheeky people are wandering on and having a free round.

On the plus side, the weather was marvellous - pleasantly warm sunshine every day that I was there. I really look forward to this becoming a year-round resort...one day.

All for now.

SaidiaSpy

 

[daktari]

Oasis at Saidia

Have North Brothers managed to progress at Saidia since October?

I wonder if new buyers are still enticed to register in the UK for Saidia unaware that the project may now be heading for a very long delay and a possibility of a repeat of the demise of The Superior Group (converted to a new banner of Oasis Beach & Golf Resort).

Can anyone brave and see in the crystal ball if another side exit is being dug by the Brothers to repeat what they did in January 2008 with The Superior?

 

[SaidiaSpy]

I went out to Saidia for Xmas and New Year's. I've finally found the time to write up about it not have to dodge snow-induced traffic jams.

1) Glorious weather. Jeans and t-shirt order of the day. It is possible to spend time out there over Winter.

2) Absolutely no work being done on the site. Everything had ground to a halt, the little that was being done when I last reported has even ceased.

3) The reason for this progress hiatus was unclear and manyfold. GFM had apparently run out of budget. Azur had made some progress, but now hit a snag with GFM. Oasis - are, well - a mirage (I'd sik lwayers on them pronto). Property Logic? Well, rumours are swirling, covering all the possible angles and scenarios. As with many things in Morocco, the truth is hard to discern. PL have done no work in over a year. If you're a PL customer, you might want to contact them to ask where your money is.

4) Xmas: There were some visitors on the resort enjoying the sunshine. On my walk/patrol on Xmas day, I saw a group of people having a barbecue on a balcony on AP6. Seemed a great idea. The marina was quiet, but Xmas is a non-event in a Muslim country anyway. There were a few restaurants open for business, which is better than last year's choices. So, some progress there.

5) New Year's day: Some acknowledgment by the locals but not great fanfare. No fireworks at midnight or anything like that. A few of the restaurants made a special effort to have set menu's for the evenings, but on the pricey side. I keep telling myself that prices will be high initially because of the small numbers of patrons offset by having something on offer at least. As footfall grows, so will choice improve and prices will normalise. Capitalism at work and all that.

6) GFM: Still trying to get GFM to give me a clear and final explanation as to what has happened to RT1. For the AP's they ceased all work (the little that there was) and have promised to resume after 15th January when their new budget cycle starts. RT1 might come on-line one of these days. Still badgering them about the TVA issue though.

No news is supposed to be good news, right? Not when you're waiting for things to happen.

I look upon 2010 in Saidia with a mixture of trepidation and optimism. Optimism? Things have to start getting better at some point.

SaidiaSpy.

 

[SaidiaSpy]

Unexpectedly last week I had reason to be in Saidia. Below is a brief account of recent events.

1) GFM's AP4 plot was deemed ready for handover to an owner's body with it's own management company. The meeting was held in early Feb at GFM's sales office on the resort. It turned out that proceedings were a sham. GFM had got together with a Spanish chap who represents a group of investors who own 50 properties on AP4. Together they had 52% of the vote. (Is a developer allowed to vote in such proceedings - nobody knew). The farce continued. GFM and the Spanish chap then imposed their earlier decided agreements on all present or represented. There was strong opposition from owner's representatives in particular, but these were largely ignored. 52% of the vote gave the conspirators 100% of the power.

2) The outcome was that an outfit called Paris-Oujda were appointed as the management company. Paris-Oujda previously only operated in the nearby town letting out holiday properties in the summer. They have no experience of full property managment. They have developed a reputation for high prices and terrible service. So when it was revealed that GFM and the Spaniard wanted them, people were worried.

3) Since Paris-Oujda has been in place on AP4 nothing good has happened. Their dealings with owners and their representatives have been very unprofessional. The existing security and gardeners were fired without notice. There own security was put in place - and are paid 40 Dirhams a day. (What kind of security do you get for £3.20 a day?) Nobody, repeat nobody, has been allowed access to the plot. Owners and renters alike have been prevented from entering the site. Only after much arguing and phone calls, does somebody from Paris-Oujda come to the site from the town to sort things out. Even then owners agents have been barred from the site. Owners who are letting their properties out can now not have their people look after their properties - and forget about having paying guests coming and going as they please.

4)Obviously this is not a good state of affairs. But what is going on? The type of questions that Paris-Oujda are asking people reveals all. They want to force all owners to let out their properties on AP4 through their lettings agency. The Spanish chap, who was “elected” president, cares not because his properties all stand empty anyway.

5) Point 4 of my post of October 1st is becoming reality. Owners are going to be forced to start paying money – to fix what GFM has got wrong. GFM have not done any remedial work to the common public areas since last year. - and they're not going to. GFM has now washed its hands of AP4. It now benefits from having previous customers paying for the upkeep and repairs to it's product that it still has units for sale on.

6)There are concerns that Paris-Oujda will do anything that GFM and the Spanish chap instruct. Are the proper monies by these 2 going to be paid? Or will there be a book entry in a ledger saying “Yes, they have paid”, followed by a flurry of small withdrawals for “work” that never actually happened, that is the money going back to GFM and the Spaniard?

7)Inspection of Paris-Oujda's prospectus reveals that their schedule of works and responsibilities is basic at best, so as to disguise their value for money. As with so many other resorts in Morocco, the suspicion is that as time goes by, as more things require fixing, the monthly dues will skyrocket. How does it happen that people end up paying €400 a month in Spain? This is how. They get in with a low offer and then ratchet it up every chance they get.

8)I have found out that AP6 is next in line for this treatment. A meeting of owners will be held in mid-April. Those owners might want to get organised and find their own management company, otherwise they are going to allow themselves to be ripped off by Paris-Oujda.

Consider yourselves warned – again.

SaidiaSpy

 

[Doylie]

Hi there Spy, first time I have been on the forum and found all of your posts very interesting. I am waiting on two properties on the greens to be finished, very delayed, AP14 and AP15 through AZD Morocco who go through Azur. really nervous about giving them any more cash to be honest.

Thanks for the info though..

 

[Iba]

Hi,

For starters, I am an apartment owner in AP2.

Second, I would like to say a big thank you to Saidia Spy for all the valuable information that he has provided here.

Third for those who may not know, a Managment Company is due to be elected for AP2 in the next week or two. As far as I know, one can not use a proxy to vote at this meeting and therefore I doubt that many overseas owners will be at the meeting and therefore the Managment Company elected may not be in our best interests. Anybody else got any views/opinions on this?

Fourth, I could not find a forum on this site exclusivily for AP2 owners, in this regard, should I start a new thread for AP2 Owners or is there one but Im just too silly to find it, again any thoughts on this?

Fifth, can someone please explain to me how one goes about having electricity and water connected in one's apartment please.

And finally, can someone recommend good furniture packing companies that have experience with saidia?

Regards

Iba

 

[SaidiaSpy]

Iba, all contributions are valuable because they raise the level of knowledge and improve standards.

Firstly, I must correct you on one very important point. Proxy voting IS possible. The cd that GFM sent out has this form on it. However, it is in French.

I know that few people on AP2 are botherng to attend. GFM still has +/- 300 properties for sale on that plot. Hence, the vote is theirs. I also know that on AP6 there are only about 30 properties on GFM's books. Thus the owners there have a far greater chance of getting a management company of their choosing. Voter apathy might destroy their chances.

I know that many of the owners on AP6 are in contact with each other. I do not have their contact details but believe that Saidia Holiday Rentals might be able to help out with that. I believe that they have proxy forms from several owners allowing them to vote.

I consider the upcoming owner's meetings a watershed event. On a positive note it is a sign that the resort continues to develop. On a negative note, if owners can't be bothered to vote (or have someone else do it for them),then all that it will mean is that GFM (via their stooge) will be extracting more money from people to pay for things that GFM have messed up.

If GFM foist the bumbling Paris Oujda "management company" on all the plots, then an obvious lack of competition to raise standards will result in the resort becoming a Third World, third rate failure.

An example, if I may. In the past week Paris Oujda have surpassed their inept standards.

1) An AP4 owner arrived wanting to get some work done on her property. Security wouldn't let her on site. After several hours this was resolved. Then she was told that any works she wanted done on her property had to be done through Paris Oujda and its contractors. Their game is now obvious to me.

2) Another AP4 owner sent a friend to stay in his property. The friend was denied access to AP4. The owner then made the effort to come and resolve this issue, but Paris Oujda were not interested. The owner and his friend were turned away. Very infuriating and embarrasing for the owner. His friend? The provincial Walie from Oujda - the King's personal representative in the region.

Want to pay for the same thing twice? Want to get ripped off? Then do nothing.

Want to get the resort you were promised? Then a little effort at this critical time requires your vote.

You've been warned - again.

SaidiaSpy

 

[SaidiaSpy]

Some good news at last.

The AP6 owners voted in a management company of their choosing. Well done AP6.

That plot now has a chance at showing how things should be done. Owners will be rewarded by having people visiting the resort wanting to rent, vacation or own on AP6 because it should turn out to be better than the others, in the short term at least until competition kicks in.

A little slice of Med-Saidia has been wrested away from the incompetent clutches of GFM.

Long overdue progress, let's hope they deliver.

SaidiaSpy

 

[Iba]

Regards to all.

So the elections took place for AP2 and paris Oujda won the contract thanks to GFM who had the majority voting rights - really there was nothing that us owners could have done at all - perhaps in two years time when more apartments are actually woned by individuals we will be able to change the managment company; I thinkl they have been given the contract for 2 years.

Besides that, can anyone adise me how to go about getting the electricity and water connected for my apartment in AP2 and how much does it cost?

Regards

Iba

 

[SaidiaSpy]

From my latest trip out to Saidia I can share the following:

POSITIVES:
1) There are more restaurants and shops open in the medina next to the marina.
2) The golf course is open, its restaurant is good and the course itself is excellent. Bit tricky to play though. Still no pro shop and balls are expensive, so take your own.
3) There is frenetic activity around the third hotel being built. It's to the east of the Iberostar toward the old town side.
4) The Barcelo and Iberostar hotels opened in the first week of May. A few guests plodding around. Obvious signs of repairs being made over the Winter. New, trained staff on hand. A much better show than last year. Prices have gone up though.
5) Generally more people about the resort. There were holidaymakers already in the hotels and self-catering apartments. Big progress compared to a year ago. The parking lots of the AP's have dozens of cars in them every night.
6) There are properties on RT1 that have been signed for and people are now living in them. The RT stipulation appears to have been dropped. Common sense finally prevailed.
7) The King spent the month of May in the region and locals towns were spruced up and national flags are everywhere. Streets were swept, flowers were watered and stray dogs were culled. All long overdue.

NEGATIVES:
1) The AP's (2,4 & 6) that have had owner's associations and management companies voted in and appointed over the course of the year are still waiting for GFM to make good all the areas neglected by GFM. All the pools are in a sorry state. If the pools are not ready soon, then owners and guests staying in the apartments over the Summer will not be happy. The general state of repair in public areas is poor, particularly AP's 2 and 6.
2) The roads around the resort are in a sorry state. There have been problems with the main water supply and the roads have been dug up, but not yet resurfaced.
3) The beaches on and around the resort are dumping grounds. It's disgusting and dangerous. Broken glass is a problem. The beach was cleaned this time last year for the King's visit.
4) GFM and Azur Morocco (AZD) are at a stalemate. Azur is having people sign for their properties commencing this month, but the stalemate will have ramifications.
5) GFM no longer exists! They've changed their name to Excilia, but have told nobody. Emails, as usual, will go unanswered. GFM only do something if compelled to, so what's behind this? Nothing good I'm sure. Keep an eye on this.
6) It does not appear that any building work by any of the other still-existing developers (Property Logic, Oasis) will resume any time soon. The owners are rightfully up in arms, but to what avail? Only Azur seem set to deliver anything this year. Well done Azur, struggling ahead in the face of such adversity.

All for now.

SaidiaSpy

 

[SaidiaSpy]

Oh dear.

It seems Paris Oujda are being prats again. Here's their latest howler:

Latest news from Saidia - a.k.a. the SaidiaHolidayRentals blog

No resort needs this.

 

[SaidiaSpy]

A couple of points of note and interest.

1) The problems that Paris Oujda (PO) have been causing have got me thinking. Why are they doing this, essentially upsetting owners and workers alike? Can it be that they want to get thrown off the resort because they've realised that they're out of their depth? Or is there something more sinister going on? Keep in mind that PO only have 6 properties on their books for the resort.

The cynic in me thinks they are trying to get rid of competitors in an effort to win new - desperate/clueless - landlords who have no choice but to use them for the lettings of their properties. That's kind of obvious now. But they are also trying to force owners to only use their other services when kitting out/furnishing/modifying a property.

But wait, there's more...

PO want owners to sign what is called a "procreation" which gives them complete control over a property in the owners absence. A "procreation" is a full power of attorney. It means they can sell the property on the owner's behalf without the owner having to be present.

Can it be that they will force as many owners as quickly as possible to sign over a procreation naming PO as their agent in Morocco for their property? Can it be that they will then set about selling all these properties without the owner's knowledge and consent? Given how often owners visit their properties, this process can take a year or two before anybody is the wiser. There is nothing stopping this from happening. Why not contact various people on the ground in Saidia and ask them what they have experienced with PO.

2) GFM (now calling themselves Excelia) have launched a Summer sale on unsold properties. It's only apparently until the end of July. Prices quoted now are the same as what they were in 2005. For example, a 2-bedroomed apartment is now selling at €79k.

The question is: are they selling properties that nobody has ever put a deposit down on? Or are they selling properties where the buyer has pulled out - but not refunded the buyer their deposit less the 25% penalty as per the contract? Who's going to know?

Are the new sales (money) going to GFM or the new Excelia?

3) People who bought GFM properties were given 10 year builder's guarantees. Given that GFM now longer exists other than as an entitity on paper, who will honour the builder's guarantee if need be?

All for now.

SaidiaSpy

 

[saidia_yok]

@saidiaspy

any news from saidia now and are you there now

and please someone explain me what is AP1..6

there is a new hotel opening in a few days i saw on site

 

[Mitch]

Moroccan law

SaidiaSpy

Do you know if Class Action Law Suits are recognised by Moroccan Law?

Group of purchasers wishing to take legal action at a resort in Tangier.

Mitch

 

[SaidiaSpy]

Just a quick reply and update...

1) Mitch, YES, class action lawsuits are very common in Morocco. However, they tend to be fruitless victories. If the loser appeals, this can take up to a year to resolve. So as a stalling tactic, appeals are just as common. The loser, usually the property developer, then will not comply with the court judgement even after their appeal is quashed. Getting the loser to pay up is the real battle. The real victor is the law firm that whips people up in giving them the business and gets paid up front, so their downside is negligible. Of course if there is an appeal and another court case is required to actually get the money, then that costs extra...

2) Paris-Oujda has failed miserably in getting AP2 and AP4 ready for the Summer. The 2 most important things they have not done: the swimmng pools and satellite dishes. The pools are a disgusting green algae and bacterial swamp that animals won't go near. Unless a property has its own private satellite dish, then no television is possible.

Owners and renters on AP2 and AP4 are hopping mad. A group of them cornered the owner of Paris-Oujda and let him have it, but it made no difference. They merely empty out a pool when the complaints become too much so that it is good for 1 day, then for the days afterward it is unusable. They have no idea what pool maintenance involves. If memory serves, even GFM last year kept the pools operational. Rental agents are having a tough time placating dissatisfied holidaymakers. Not good for the resort.

As a consequence, people are trying their luck and walking on to AP6 to use the pool. It's the smallest pool on the resort - V2 villas have bigger pools. Overcrowding is a problem and the AP6 lifeguard is busy 12 hours a day dealing with unsupervised children. The AP6 security guards are turning people away all day long, but some slip through.

The AP6 management company has done a much better job so far compared to Paris-Oujda on AP2 and AP4. But then again, that's not hard to beat. All that Paris-Oujda has done is put security on to harass owners, workers and guests. They also had a a few cleaners about for a few weeks initially, but these have not been seen recently. The odd gardener can be spotted sometimes.

3) However, AP6 also has some ills. There aren't enough rubbish bins and these are constantly overflowing. Not a pretty sight and something of a health risk as the cats rummage through what is left on the ground next to the bins.

Worse still is the raw sewerage that for weeks has been pumping out of a drain on the main road up to the monument next to AP6. With thousands of people now on the resort, with 3 hotels "open", it seems the sewerage system capacity has been reached and at the point where it all flows to (outside AP6) the pressure of the sewerage has blown the manhole cover off. A mobile septic tank comes along several times a day to extract what it can. The smell in the heat of the day is unbelievable. Not good for the resort.

4) The third hotel has opened. The Grand Oasis is next to the Iberostar and was supposed to open 1st July. They've only opened a wing of the hotel as they've botched getting ready for this Summer season.

This new hotel poached many of its staff from the Barcelo to such an extent that it affected the Barcelo's operational ability. One Sunday morning there was no food at the Barcelo because there was no staff. The paying guests went ballistic and the police had to be called to restore order. Not good for the resort.

5) The golf course is magnificent. It's easily the best thing on the resort. You would think that it would be teeming with people every day. Not so. For the past month they have averaged 6 people a day. Last year Troon, the course's management company, had 5 experts working on the course to make it what it is. Today only 1 of this 5 is left and he wants to go too. The resort management obviously do not know how to use the golf course to help drive the resort forward.

6) The master developer of the resort is controlled by Addoha. Addoha is raising a lot of money (several billion Dirhams) to fund its growth. However, in a recent press release it categorically stated that not a single Dirham will be spent on the resort. You can read about it here:

XE.com - UPDATE 2-Addoha plans capital increase in July - source

So there we have it, Addoha is not interested in the resort.

The time has come to pressurise Addoha to either shape up or ship out. Anybody got an address for the King that will lead to things improving?

<snip>

Saidia Spy