Buying on Majestic Hills

Hi,

I'm new to this site - So hope someone out there hears me!!

We are considering buying on Majestic Hills  Casares- as the site looks well built, quiet and (mainly)well kept. One or two of the properties look a little unloved?

I have been a little scared off by the forboding posts on the history of the development.

Are the issues cleared up?  Are the licences now in place? What is the community like?

We are looking for a holiday home  for ourselves, family & friends (British couple / no kids ).

Any comments would be much appreciated.

Thanks

It will take many years to shake off the bad reputation.

Based on my limited experience and a decade in spain i woudl say avoid any that have a bad reputation.

It will always stick and there is many more problems that continue.

Thanks for your replu Mungro.

Are your comments specific to Majestic Hills or more generally about property with a "past" ?

We have been chatting to a friend who lives in Benalmadena and she says it probably would be more difficult to sell property down that Estepona/ manilva/ duquesa end of the coast. ( which might be bourne out by the attractive (cheap) prices for some of the properties we looked at down there.

We really liked the Duquesa marina - but there is more to owning a holiday home than a nice marina and a few English speaking eateries.

We also liked the beach front Sinfonia del Mar - but got the distinct impression that these are most deffinately short term holiday let apartments rather than longer term holiday homes?

The other area of interest is the golf complexes - which are beautifully maintained and built to a very good standard.

Any further comments would be very gratefully received.

Thanks

Pliny

Generally all places with a bad reputation will take a long time to shake and not just Majestic

But as a local i know majestic hills well and its a bit of a grotty ghettho.
If the houses havent got for sale signs on them its because they are currently in the middle of reposession.

As for Golf complexes
They are ok i suppose/
but they are not seafront apartments so they are always inferior and a second choice.
 

The seafront hold their value very well and have good resale as well as superb rental ability.
Golf are like a poor mans version of a seafront apartment (in my opinion)

As a person thats been lookign at buying a house for 6 years but never actually taken the plunge i could write a book on it so i speak with some experience as well as local knowledge.

To give you an example of how crazy it is buying houses round casares.
A house i was looking to but was reduced from 725k euros to 275k euros.
So i was going to offer a silly offer of 240k even thogh they would reject it.

I never actually got round to offering it and 4 months later it was on the website for 214k
I enquired but they had already sold it for 180k

The person who was buying it couldnt get a mortgage so it came back on the website for 280k

But i digress.

In my opinion for what its worth
A seafront is always the first choice in a costal resort like Manilva.
 

Duquesa Marina is nice and i used to live there for a year.
My back garden was the marina with the boats and the front to the left was the sea.

That was lovely

The hustle and bustle in the summer is superb but if you havent got a parking space you have many problems.

Always rentable as well because its in the port.

Dear Pliny,

Perhaps this is rather late but I have not checked Eye On Spain for some time.

Mr. Mungro (assuming it is a "Mr.") obviously knows the area well but I purchased an apartment off-plan at Majestic Hills in 2002 so I think I know the development as well as anyone else. Majestic Hills is one of the more upmarket developments in the area but it has had its fair share of problems since the property crash. The developer went bust but fortunately the complex was 95% finished, unlike Majestic Gardens down the road that was probably 50% finished.

The main problem today is the collection of the community fees charged on each apartment for the maintenance and upkeep of the complex. As it stands, 4 of the apartments were never sold (these are being reposessed by the bank) and about 12-13 other owners have not, or can not, pay the fees. Some of the apartments have never been occupied which is why they look a bit tired. If you have visited Majestic Hills you will appreciate the beautiful gardens and swimming pools but the community is struggling to maintain the desired standards because of a shortage of funds. It is sad for all owners who pay the 6-monthly fees to see the standards declining. For example, the whole complex was due to be painted this year but there is a debate going on as to whether this will go ahead.

Overall, it is a very nice community and there is a variety of owners - predominantly British/Irish - comprising of retirees, couples with children and summer renters. I find it very friendly and sociable and enjoy spending time there when I can get away. Bear in mind that the apartments were sold for between Euro 300,000 to 750,000 off-plan in 2002 and the current market price is less than half of this. Build quality (by Spanish standards) is very good and the Owners Community has continually made repairs and upgrades to maintain it. All the licenses are in place and Majestic Hills is fully compliant with the laws, rules and regulations.

Just a word of advice, if you decide to buy in Spain, please ensure you use a reputable lawyer to check everything. If you buy an apartment in a community you will be liable for outstanding community fees so this must be deducted from the price you pay the seller. Some of the properties in Majestic Hills have a back-log of up to 40,000 Euros so please be aware.

Good luck! Despite losing a load of money I am happy to have a nice property in a nice part of the world.

Martin

 Hi Martin,

Thank you for your candid reply.

We have viewed several properties on Majestic Hills ( & a couple on Majestic Gardens) on three seperate occasions.  We certainly do appreciate the lovely gardens and general build quality but each visit opened our eyes to more in terms of empty properties and poor maintenance.  Having said all that, we are still watching with interest as these are undoubtedly some of the best apartments we have seen.

The bigger worry is the general malais in Spain ( and further  afield ) and how this will ultimately impact on taxes etc etc,.( An area we are not familiar with - but rather cautious of).

Thanks again for your advice.

Regards

Pliny

Do you know of anyone obtaining a refund from banks in this development?

Hi Maria

Found this on the Internet today. Website restricted.

Builder seeks freeze on Majestic Hills developer's assets ...

https://observer-reporter.com › news › localnews › builder-seeks-freeze-on-...

Jul 30, 2019 - Builder seeks freeze on Majestic Hills developer's assets ... Majestic Hills agreed in 2004 to ready 179 single-family lots for NVR to build homes on. Instead, the builde

Hope this helps

Thanks, Nigel

M

“30 Jul 2019 · Majestic Hills agreed in 2004 to ready 179 single-family lots for NVR to build homes on. Instead, the builder claims the developer's negligence caused landslides that forced township officials to condemn three houses and demolish them. Some owners of houses in the neighborhood have also sued the developer.”

Presumably the developer has not produced or instigated a thorough site investigation to determine the correct foundations associated with the existing ground conditions?

This begs the question is a developer in Spain legally bound to take out indemnity insurance against third party claims?

If the Bank suffered a financial loss at the hands of developer negligence, would the Bank be expected to claim against third party insurance, but would this then delay any subsequent claim under Ley57/68 until such time as that was resolved?

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Please have answers below in bold green ( same text as our email): 

“30 Jul 2019 · Majestic Hills agreed in 2004 to ready 179 single-family lots for NVR to build homes on. Instead, the builder claims the developer's negligence caused landslides that forced township officials to condemn three houses and demolish them. Some owners of houses in the neighborhood have also sued the developer.”

Presumably the developer has not produced or instigated a thorough site investigation to determine the correct foundations associated with the existing ground conditions? I cannot know.

This begs the question is a developer in Spain legally bound to take out indemnity insurance against third party claims? Yes, of course.

If the Bank suffered a financial loss at the hands of developer negligence, would the Bank be expected to claim against third party insurance, but would this then delay any subsequent claim under Ley57/68 until such time as that was resolved No,  both claims are independent.

Did anyone of you obtain a refund in Majestic? We seem to have found the way for it