la farandole

i HAVE THE LETTER FROM REA IMMIBILIER, AM JUST WONDERING WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON , CAN ANYONE ENLIGHTEN ME. I DONT EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM BEING ASKED FOR

I am not sure what all the items are. I know that the largest is 175,000 + taxes for repairs to the foundations of the extension.

They are stating that they will apply for a bank loan to pay for these works and then we can pay the loan back.

It's all quite suspect, which is why we have all get together to hold both REA Immobilier and Eurogroup to account.

If you look at other threads on this site you will see that managing agents are not the most popular.

Hi mark and fellow owners,

yes it is worrying that we are being asked to pay for costs

but do not really understand what is going on. Please keep

us in the loop to see whether we can get a full translation

of the AGM and our supposed liabilities. We may have to

appoint a lawyer to speak on our behalf.

Regards,

Naz

If you've recently joined, can you post here on the site. We need to establish how many people are in this group. Also it would be good to know how many people have bought from Assetz France . I ask because it might be an idea to ask them for their support and assistance.

It's crucial that we all work together to deal with the queries and issues that have arisen.

I've had some communication back from Mr Crossetti's assistant (Mr Crossetti is the SYNDIC rep). For example they say that the building is 20 years old and the extension is 15 years old. However it didn't answer all my questions and provide any of the necessary supporting documentation. So I have replied to them to that effect.

Regards

Hi all, I am an owner at La Farandole and did also buy through Assetz France. And fully back the need for more information on the re-inforcement works that they are saying needs to be done.

Thanks

Paul Winch

Hello

I am just noting that I have joined the forum. i am part of a group of investors in La Farandole, who have concerns.

For info

I also bought through Assetz France.

Hi,
I am an owner of an apartment in Farandole along with 2 others(who purchased 2 other apts) and we also bought through Asstz

Yes, I bought through Assetz also, was going to buy two Leasebacks, sooo sooo glad I pulled out of the other, have had a few sleepless night over this one. Wish I had never heard of Leaseback. Does anyone actually know how much money is being asked for individually. I would, if necessary prefer to have financed it here, but that is not possible without even knowing how much.

Hi all,

I purchased through Assetz as well and they have been appalling in their willingness to provide post sales support so I don't know how far you will get. but worth a try. Please keep in the loop as we will have to get organised to tackle these issues. Experience from another leasback tells me- some of these operators are scoundrels and need a good lawyer to tackle them. We have to have an owners association for a start.

Naz

In terms of ‘what the hell is going on’ I understand it to be this, please correct if I have misunderstood:<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

- The hotel needs serious structural work on walls costing around €180k starting September. There is also a contractor quote for €38k in addition, I am not clear what this is for

- The co-owners have agreed this needs to be done and paid for (via the attendees at the meeting)

- Payment options tbc – apparently too late to deduct from rent so either cash or management fee recharge of a bank loan

Apart from this, Eurogroup are supposedly having financial difficulty (hence late rent in Feb) so the worst case is paying for this separately and not receiving rent

Further Questions I have:

- Why is building work not covered by Insurance?

- Is each development ring fenced in terms of profitability for Eurogroup? I can’t see how this could be the case but seems odd if they are not paying rent on some developments (per the forum) where we and presumably many others have not had any issues up to now.

I bought through leaseback.co.uk in 2006.

Chris

MCCOS,

Thanks - La Farandole is a hotel in Les deus alpes and was refurbished in 2006 and rooms sold to Investors as a leaseback. The new build guarantee will therefore not apply but regardless Buildings Insurance is surely a must for any sensibly run property?

Chris

How come this issue has only just come to light? surely this issue should have been identified when the hotel was refurbished?

I received the below mail from the SYNDIC. I have requested that they chase the buildings insurance,quotations and rental reviews from Eurogroup on our behalf. Rather than expect us to. After all they are representing us.

Also, Assetz have kindly agreed to lend their support, for instance by way of requesting some of the information we are seeking (if it's not forthcoming). I shall be emailing Delphine shortly with our requests for further info on the works required, copies of quotations & insurances, information on occupancy rates and an enquiry about re-valuations ( + anything else people thing is necessary for them to provide).

Regards, Mark

agence des pins to me
show details Jun 8 (1 day ago)

Good morning,

Sorry for the delay !

I asked Mr Crosetti concerning the information about La Farandole :

1- the total funds for the repairs will be 200 000€. this will be shared by the owners according to their tantièmes (percentage)
2- the residence is 20 years old and the extension is 15 years old.
3- For the copy of the buildings insurance (hotel and extension) Please see directly with Eurogroup
4 - the quotation was provided by "le maitre d'oeuvre" (I havn't his name for the moment but I will ask Mr Crosetti)
5 - Concerning re-evaluation of the hotel and the rentals please see with Mrs Darthial at Eurogroup.


It is important to have the works done otherwise the residence can no longer be in activity.

I hope these information will help you.

Regards

Why is it up to us to deal with Eurogroup, surely REA are acting on are behalf with regards to this?

Paul

Accept that if there is a problem that will stop rental then it has to be fixed. Great work getting intouch with Assetz, At least we will be able to get translation from Delphine. Still unsure how the finance is to be sorted. And cant remember how many units are in the hotel. Would love to know how much it is going to cost

Sam

Cost will be your vote share (which you should see in the REA document and depends on your size/number of units owned) multiplied by around 24 (€220,000 cost of repairs / 9200 total vote shares).

Hi all

I purchased through Assetz and have been in touch with

about 12 other co-owners, over past few months. I'm

pleased to hear that this forum is quite active! I

received a long-awaited reply from M. Crosetti at REA

last week. Essentially he has not answered my questions

in respect of buildings insurance and has referred me

back to Eurogroup! I'm happy to follow this up since

I've previously been in touch with Myriam Darthial at

Madame Vacances over occupancy rate issue:

01/01/2009-31/12/2009 Hôtel La Farandole **** &n bsp; &n bsp; &n bsp;

Hôtel La Farandole **** le 22 Avril 2010 (21:24)where

the T.O (occupancy rate) was quoted at 31.4% (how

alarming!?)

Will let you know when I have more news

Regards

Sarah

31.4%

Hi Sarah,
As I indicated to you in previous e-mail,la Farandole is an excellant product but not marketed properly.We as owners are not market ed to offseason and the prices are very expensive when the only option is full board.
Eamonn

Hi Sarah

Delphine has offered her support to the group, given we are all Assetz purchasers. As a start I was going to ask her to request the information and proofs from Eurogroup - given Assetz might still have a relationship with Eurogroup. So what do you suggest?...should we try both avenues? (i.e. you get in touch with Myriam; Assetz get in touch with their Eurogroup contact).

regards

Hi Eamonn

Yes, thanks for your email. This is certainly another

issue, but I feel the most pressing priority is to get

to the bottom of the buildings insurance schedule, for

the planned underpinning foundation work that is due to

commence in September....will post when I get a reply

from Eurogroup to this effect

Hi Mark

Yes, we can definitely try both avenues! Myriam Darthal

will be getting an email from me this week...

Hi everyone

Email has gone to Myriam Darthial(cc. M. Crosetti, REA).

I've requested copy of builder's insurance, exact date

of extension and plot that it's in. Also, buildings

insurance schedule that we all pay in to. Have queried

why Eurogroup are not paying for the underpinning of

foundations to their hotel, when they resorted to pay

for boiler repairs the other year....Will let you know

when reply arrives!

are assetz a pile of crap,they seem to have sold an awful load of developments that have gone wrong.

.

Great. As you know I have previously contacted Myriam and Mr Crossetti but have had no reply. Hopefully you have better luck!Also, as mentioned previously I asked Delphine from Assetz to request some information. I'll chase this up. Finally i spoke to Stephanie Massonat today (accountant from Expertim Fiduciaire) and she is going to make enquiries on our behalf. So we should start to get to the bottom of things.

I wonder why we haven't had any communication regarding how we wanted to pay for the works...we were supposed to hear something by June 1st weren't we?

Mark

quote sienna:

Hi everyone
Email has gone to Myriam Darthial(cc. M. Crosetti, REA).
I've requested copy of builder's insurance, exact date
of extension and plot that it's in. Also, buildings
insurance schedule that we all pay in to. Have queried
why Eurogroup are not paying for the underpinning of
foundations to their hotel, when they resorted to pay
for boiler repairs the other year....Will let you know
when reply arrives!

Hi Mark

I must have missed the bit about 1st June...will look at

minutes again!

Hi Sienna

One thing i forgot to mention is that I requested a copy of the quotation in my emails. It might be useful to get this.

regards

OBS,

I am also an owner at la Farandole, yes the account needs to be kept topped up but more than this is being paid off as capital so I don't consider it a bad investment..yet.

I say yet as rent has not been paid on time for January '10 - can you confirm if you have been paid or not?

Has anyone visited the hotel? If so, please confirm

whether the swimming pool is actually part of the hotel

or, housed in a separate building? Thanks

Hi, I am also an owner at la Farandole - I was told today that the rent will be paid this week - I will update once this has or hasn't happened.

Nick

Hi Nick,

Thanks for the update, I sent a fax requesting payment today. Did they give any reason (I recall last year was late as well but not into Feb) - obviously we're interested to know if they are struggling to pay..

regards

Chris

This week Stephanie from Expertim kindly sent an email on my behalf asking if anyone wished to join our group. There have been 5 replies so far, all of whom want to join the group. This is great news! I've asked them all to join this forum.

regards

mark

Hi Mark

Excellent stuff! Hopefully this will generate more

discussion on the issue of imminent funds required to do

underpinning foundation work at the hotel!?

Does anyone have a plan of the hotel? If so it would be

interesting to verify the location of wall needing

underpinning in relation to the pool....

Any ideas when was this extension was built? Have

received a speedy response from M.CROSSetti at REA and

Mlle. Leroux at Eurogroup. If anyone is interested

please email me

Regards

Hi Chris, I have received my outstanding rent today.

Thanks
Nick

Hi Everyone, many thanks to Mark for taking the

initiative to contact Stephanie for our e-mail addresses,

etc.

Having been made aware of this forum, it is reassuring to

know that I am not alone. When I received the

letter/minutes of the AGM and saw the figure being

requested for, I thought "Naaaa, the French are speaking

German, surely this can't be right". Well, truth of the

matter is, it is and it needs to be resolved one way or

the other.

The two questions that come to my mind are; Did they plan

this right from the start. I struggle to understand how

this same building could have passed structural survey

less than 20yrs ago, and today needs such substantial

work (when there wasn't even an earthquake in the

region!). Secondly, the funding. Surely it has to be

subsidised by insurers. We all have building insurance on

our houses/homes in the UK. God forbid the hotel caught

fire, would we be asked to pay the cost of rebuilding it

too (I know it is not a direct comparison but it is worth

thinking about).

Well, I bought that property as an investment for my

daughter who is 3yrs old right now. I worked hard like we

all did to raise the deposit. So, under the reassurance

of my Christian Faith, I leave it all to God.

I'll keep reading this forum just so I know when/where I

can help. I work with a lot of Structural Engineers

however in this occasion, I am not sure what

questions/advice they could give me without having to

physically visit the building in France.

God Bless.

Issy

Hi Issy and Ian

Great to hear from you! I would like to see copies of

building plans Ian, to confirm the location of the wall

in question (Eurogroup have been unable to supply).

There is a tool on this window to insert images from a

web address. Failing this I can let you have my email.

Issy, from your perspective is there anything else that

we need to get answers for re: structural surveys? I'm

in process of compiling an email to the Mairie, to

request building plans and the name of developer that

built pool & extension....also to confirm when it was

built and if regulations were complied with. Is there

anything else we need to ask?

Regards

Hi Sienna, I assume you'll be speaking to David (lawyer) before compiling the letter to the Mairie? When I spoke to him he realed off quite a number of questions about the construction that he said would need to be answered. However i didn't note them down at the time.

Regards

Mark

Hi Mark

Yes, will incorporate this also - thanks

Hi all,

Got the message from Mark via Stephanie at Expertim Fiduciare so just wanted to say hi as a fellow owner of La Farandole.

I'm also concerned about the last minutes received detailling the high cost to be incurred and why this has only recently come to light.

At the time of my purchase, I had enquired about the rent being revised "up to 65% of the variation of the building cost index published by the INSEE" and tried to get my contract to state that it would be 65% of the index variation for exactly this reason (up to means it could be 0%) but to no avail.

With regards to the rental payment timeliness, I haven't had many issues, to be fair. I've had more problems with them having to deduct French taxes (plus penalty) as directed by the French government which I hadn't received any request for or had already paid.

The vacancy rate is worrying. It does look like a lovely place based on the brochures I've received since buying and the materials I received at the time of purchase.

Not sure how I can help but certainly willing to do so. Just say the word.

Hi Jason

Great to have you on board! Yes, there are several

issues that need exploring. We are currently focusing on

the funds requested for underpinning work, which is

proving to be a challenge! More to follow once a reply

is received from the Mairie....

Hi all,

I have just had a call direct from Euro Group with reference to negotiating the rent review. I have now owned property for 3 years. Has anyone else recieved a call? And what would be an accceptable increase?

Thanks

Paul

Does anyone know how proxy voting works, for people that

are unable to attend meetings?

Hi Paul

No, have not received a call! Looking at the Commercial

Bail (lease contract) article 4 (rent) states that "the

rent shall be revised every 3 years up to 65% of the

variation of the building cost index (base 100 in 1953)

published by the INSEE on the anniversary of the

effective date of this lease". However it might be worth

checking out other forums on this subject, since it is a

point of discussion!

Good luck & let us know how you get on....

If anyone else receives a call about the rental revision it would be good to know. It's kind of odd that just one person has received a call.

If it came to it, the group would have better negotiating powers than individuals.

On a related matter, has anyone received an email from Madame Vacances (new name for Eurogroup) offering discounts for friends and family? It would seem they are adopting a more proactive marketing strategy. They need to realise that keeping groups like ours on board is in their best interests, as we might want to holiday at La Farandole ourselves and we can market the property to our friends and family via our own networks. Might be a good idea to remind them of this when they are not being forthcoming with information!

regards

Have never had any communication with anybody ever but think this would be a great idea. On a totally different note does anyone have a french will I had just wondered where my children stood if anything happened to us, I dont think UK will covers french property.

Thanks to Sienna, Mark and fellow owners for keeping us all up to date. My immediate worry is ofcourse the costs of the structural work but also the delay in rental payment yet again for the second quarter. Anybody been paid yet?

sitarist

Hi Mark, yes I also received an e-mail from Madame Vacances

advertising staying at the hotel.

Sam, I also have thought about a French Will. I don't think

my UK Will covers that. I contacted Stephanie and she gave

me the address of a French will writer or so. I have not

contacted them yet...putting more effort into praying that

God grant's me a healthy long life so that I can look after

my family :)

Has anyone been paid their July rent yet? or at least been told when it will be paid? Normally it has been paid by now.

not yet

Hi all,

After my call from them to discuss rent review I haven't been able to get through on phone to discuss further and they have not re called me or emailed as promised. So not looking positive!! And also no rent as yet. It appears that they have the position of strength at the moment and call the shots, how can we turn this around?

Thanks

Paul