Hi,
Just back from a very relaxing 2 week holiday staying in the Alcudia Smir area and having travelled out a sceptic I thought I’d give people not familiar with the area some insight;
1) We travelled Aer Lingus Dublin to Madrid and Easyjet to Tangiers (€250 per person return). From Tangiers we picked up a hire car (€700 for 2 weeks)
2) Access is very much improved with the completion of 2 new toll motorways;
a. Toll road (€2/€3) from Tangiers Airport to Tanger Med Port approx 70KM then by dual-carriageway from port over the hills to Fnideq Approx 30km. This part of the road is being upgraded to expressway. Total journey time 1.5 Hrs taking it easy but I guess someone that knows the way would do it in less. Grand Taxi was on offer for approx €30/- . Signposting is ok if you are a local or used to the area however I’m going to make a suggestion to Autoroutes Moroc that the route out to Frideq could be clearer, particularly around the airport and a little Aeroplane on the signs on the way back would translate very well.
See
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=363200
b. Second Toll Motorway (€0.60cents) runs from Fnideq (Al Cudia Smir) for approx 30 km to Tetouan where there is a good Marjane Supermarket
c. The Cornice (Beach walk) is now complete and stretches approx 3km along the front of the site. The area is generally very beautifully landscaped and maintained however they need to remove the balance of building materials on the beach side. The beach is delightfully sandy and was packed every day
3) We were very impressed with the progress in Alcudia and based on our best understanding here are some things we deduced along the way;
a. Moroccan Property prices have remained reasonably stable so anyone that bought at the start of the project is likely to be quids in. (Tested a number of sources)
b. Sales have without a doubt slowed, however during a 2hr stay in the Alcudia Smir office there were 3 walk-in enquiries. No doubt from the packed beach opposite or the busy coast road. It may be just seasonal, however I don’t know of a developer in Dublin with this level of interest.
c. Rental in the area is extremely strong in July/August with €90 (2bed) or €120 (3bed) per night which could be enough to cover local costs. Ramadan will effect this over the next couple of years.
d. While the pools and gardens are being finished the first residents have moved into AP1 & V1.
See video footage we took at;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzlIgeJIoig
See photos we took at;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v763C0TIz0
(Sorry about the music but I needed something to drown out the heavy breathing as I climbed over the hills)
e. The overall site has progressed well. Roads and Pathways were being finished to a high standard and street lighting plentiful
f. Finish on the buildings is good however while locals can lay tiles expertly, they just seem to lose it on the grout. Main issues were cleaning (Which was in progress), quality of the doors vis a vis showhouse. Over/Under grouting of tiles. Water Boiler seemed small for the 3 bed and while I’m no expert and they may be ok, the electrical sockets and switches did not seem to be top quality. Of the 2 roller shutters I looked at neither wanted to operate but that could be me being a plonker. Kitchen was finished exactly as in the showhouse with separate laundry room, cooker & Hob and simulated marble worktop.
g. Nothing serious, but don’t overlook getting someone to professionally snag the property. I found someone local that speaks English that I’m going to use so if you need someone local that is trustworthy to snag/rent/manage then let me know.
h. Landscaping was in progress but judging by what was being put into the ground it will be beautiful when it matures
i. VAT charged is based on the time of payment so payments made in 2006/07 will attract 14% balance at 20%
j. Hotels and Commercial Space still needs to be developed and sold if the frontage/development is to be a success. Nothing worse then a row of empty shops.
k. Euro exchange rate has gone from 10.90 Dirhams on first payments to 11.06 Dirhams now. So a small improvement that may address some of the VAT
l. Overall impression is that these guys will finish the build and present owners with their properties. However given sales are slower and there are a number of property speculators still in the fray it may take a couple of years longer then planned to get to full occupancy.
4) Local costs were pretty reasonable. Petrol 20% less then Dublin, Meal for two incl wine at the top end €80/- , Shawrama beautiful and a lot less, 9 holes of golf for 2 including rental of clubs and caddy €90/-
5) Anything else just let me know.
Dave