Thursday 30 July 2009

San Sostene Club August 2009

San Sostene Club progress report August 2009









61 comments:

TJ said...

does anyone have a revised date for the completion of this project? October 2009 is obviously not happening

thanks

clinton said...

I thought the completion date was March 2010? Anyway I have told by VFI that it will be completed by December 2010. This must be the case as the solicitors are asking for information to get the ball rolling.

Snowdrop said...

So glad that someone else seems to be buying at San Sostene as it never appears on any forums !!! We constantly ask VFI for photo updates of the bit we are buying but never get anywhere. We were told completion date of Dec 2009 but obviously a long way off that. You heard that it's Dec 2010?

TJ said...

is anyone using AG LAw for the purchase of the property

Clinton said...

Sorry snowdrop, i should have said December 2010.
Any way it will be a fair while until the pool is done hey?

Clinton said...

I mean December 2009. Doh.

Snowdrop said...

We are using Francesco L'Abbatte for our purchase.
Does anyone really think it is all going to be ready for Dec 09! this is important to us as we are selling up in the UK and going to live there full time.
Also, has anyone joined the aftersales club thingy?

TJ said...

I'm going over shortly I'll update you with whats happenint upon my return, me thinks a year is a good bet

Snowdrop said...

thanks TJ that would be great. hope you have a good trip. we are buying a townhouse on the left as you look down from the road. unfortunately all the pics we see never show that bit so we havnt a clue whats happening. just waiting for VFI to ring back with an update on my various questions so i will post anything interesting that comes up

SMK said...

Snowdrop, having just discovered this part of the blog, thought I would post my comments about the completion date! Every time I speak to VFI I am being told Dec 09 but not sure I really believe that! Am waiting now for further confirmation on that & other little issues. I will post any useful answers. We too are using Francesco L'Abbatte & have found him to be really helpful so far.
We have also joined the after sales club as we wish to let our duplex as well as use it for ourselves

Sykeylad said...

Great to hear of others buying at San Sostene. We are purchasing a 1 bed via AG Law. Original completion date was for end Oct and we've also been told it's now Dec 2009. Italians tend to have the whole month of August off though so, hopefully, it will shoot up from now on. I agree it looks a ways off yet though.

Hilde said...

We are really happy to have found this part of the blog and thank you to TJ for posting the first comment.
We have bought a duplex somewhat in the middle on the first row from the road, helped by Atlas International & AG Law. No complaints so far, but what is the after sales club exactly?

sunseekers said...

We are buying 2 duplex apartments at San Sostene and returned from our second visit there last night. The Italians do have most of August off but things are on the move again now. Out of the six blocks, only three are under construction(the front 3). The pictures on the website are not up to date as the block on the right now has a roof on the top floor. I think it is very doubtful that the complex will be completed by Dec 09!

Snowdrop said...

wow I'm so glad that there other people buying there and have found this site as we can be really helpful to each other. After lots of e mails and calls to VFI finally got a reply today re completion date. They now saying April - June 2010!. Is anyone going to be living there full-time - we are! Re the aftersales club, ask them to e mail you details. we havnt joined yet - just as well as our 12 month membership would have run out before we actually moved there! Anyway they can help with bank accounts, doctors, buying cars, furniture, any re-location probs etc, also airport pick ups. Roll on!

Clinton said...

Yes, looks like it will be April 2010. VFI informed me yesterday (23/09/09) Have checked out the new furniture offer and it looks better than what they offered a few months ago (new supplier) that's if you go for the gold. Just have to make sure they are not too expensive. I will use Giambrone Law as my legal advisor. They have not done a bad job up to now.

Snowdrop said...

Are you going to be living there Clinton? Also, re the furniture package, did you have to join the aftersales club to get the info? What is your lawyer doing at the moment? Months ago we were pushed to pay ours his 'final' bill with only the notary stuff etc left to pay etc.

Clinton said...

No I will not live there. My friend and I were planning on using it for short holidays with our families but since my friend and his wife have just had their 3rd child I guess that might be on hold for a while. The after sales w team sent me the furniture brochure on request even though I am not yet a member. I will be when I am ready! We are both at the same stage with the lawyer by the sounds of it. Put it this way while the British pound is so weak I am happy to hold onto my money for a bit longer and wait for a few euros more!

PW said...

our contract details a completion date of August 2009 and includes penalty charges for each month VFI are late.
Does anyone else have this
Visited site earlier in the year and based on the number of builders onsite and their progress over 1 week we estimated that completion would more likely be Dec 2010.

sunseekers said...

We have always been told Dec 09 and this is what is on our contracts. Our contract also states that we will receive a payment from the builders for every month they go over the completion date but they are allowed six months grace after the completion date before any penalties are paid.
We have been over there twice this year and the photos are not up to date. It would be helpful if VFI provided more recent photos.

Snowdrop said...

Sunseekers, that is exactly what they told us - dec 09 completion but they have up to six months overlap before they start paying out compensation so guess they will be rushing (if Italians can rush!) to get it finished before June - hope that doesnt mean quality of build will be rubbish as they obviously have loads and loads still to do. also, is ANYONE going to live there full time or is it just us ??!! at least we'll have the pool to ourselves and have to spend a bit of time at the bar !!

anna said...

We are buying a 1 bed via AG Law. We haven't been out there yet and would like to know if everyone is happy with the location, views and building work because it's so hard to tell by VFI's photos. Can any-one recommend a place to stay near the complex? We were told that completion would be around June 2010 (this was back in August).

Glider said...

Pleased to have found this site. We are also buying at San Sostene (through A G Law-happy with them so far!) We are visiting Calabria at the end of this month with UK friends who are also buying in S.Sostene. Like all of you we aren't able to get any firm indication of the likely completion date and agree that December 09 seems very unlikely! We will report our findings on this site when we return in early November. Good to see that there are a few more UK buyers as well as ourselves!

bobbisgirl said...

Has anyone recieved letter from Giambrone about suing builders at S>Sostene for late completion.Would be interested to know.

penang bhoy said...

Yes, I've got the same letter from Giambrone Law.

I would be interested in any thoughts anyone has re the way forward.

penang bhoy said...

Re the furniture package being offered-

anyone who hasn't been out to see the apartments might not realise just how small they are, & in particular the living area. We are knocking through to create an open plan area in the downstairs level, which will cost us a bedroom (£ bed townhouse), but make the house a whole lot more liveable.

We had said to VFI that the furniture options they are proposing look very, very big for what, in 3 bed form, is a pretty small area!

So, I'd say that anyone contemplating buying a furniture pack should be very wary. I don't think that VFI have really thought this through properly.

bobbisgirl said...

Spoken to Giambrone 2day they said May10 at the earlist. The letter is not applicable to us per se, as we signed our contract July08 giving Dec09 as completion plus the 6mths. leeway before they start to pay 500euro per month compensation.Hope that this is helpful.

Hilde said...

We also have 30 October 2009 as the completion date in the contract and have contacted AG Law for advice.

We have also asked the builder to leave out the downstairs wall to create a bigger living area, 2 bedrooms is enough. We did for that reason also ask the airco pre-installation to be extended to the upstairs bedrooms since we find sleeping in a cool room is important.

Glider said...

Hi penang bhoy & Hilde-Have VFI/the builders given you a firm price for changes to walls and air con? Will this involve yet more legal costs?

Hilde said...

We had to sign a contract stating the alterations we wanted and a fixed price, €720 for all the alteration works. We had to pay this amount at the signing of this extra contract, but had no extra legal fees.

penang bhoy said...

Hi Glider,

we have agreed the same as Hilde, at the same cost, but not yet signed the additional contract, or paid any extra.

I am not expecting that this will involve any extra legal costs, but with Giambrone law...!!.

Snowdrop said...

Oh my god, every time I read a new post it seems to be getting worse!
We too are buying a townhouse and asked for the downstairs internal wall to be left out, a kitchen window to be put in and with extra aircon upstairs. However, VFI and our lawyer has said nothing about putting that into a contract form or extra money mentioned. I'm going to get in touch with them I think. Also, can I ask has anyone travelled there from the north of England. We've only been once and involved two flights and a nine hour wait at Stansted. Any suggestions or ideas?

sunseekers said...

HI Snowdrop.
Our Lawyer sent us an addendum to the contract for the wall to be removed downstairs. I would e mail Francesco L'Abatte and confirm it.
We have been there twice and travelled from Stanstead. It's a 2 & half hour drive to the airport but it's direct to Lamezia. I think the route has now been stopped for the winter.
We are thinking of living there but we have 2 lads at home so we need to make sure they are set up before we can make the permanent move.

penang bhoy said...

Re travelling,

its easy to get internal connections in Italy, so if you can get to, eg, Rome, Milan, Pisa or Bologna from your local airport, Stanstead can be avoided (always a good thing!).

Hilde said...

Is it a good idea to exchange 'real' contact details, just in case this blog 'disappears'? I have no clue of how to do this safely (I mean without posting your details on the internet), but tips are welcome.

Glider said...

We agree with Hilde that we should all now stay in touch. Don't know how 'cos I'm a computer dinosaur but,like many parents,I will ask my son for any ideas!!

bobbisgirl said...

Glider i couldn't agreed more.Would like to think that we could meet up somewhere with our experiences and ideas.

penang bhoy said...

Hilde/everyone

you might want to join the www.incalabria.com/forum re this.

Glider said...

Hi everyone. Glider junior(!) is in the process of setting up an experimental site which we can all use and which could not be deleted by outside parties! This would not require any of us to divulge our personal details. This is purely a suggestion & would not go ahead without your approval & support. This may not happen before we get back from our Calabria trip on 26th October.

sunseekers said...

Hi neighbours,
We have just read pnang bhoy's comments to join the "incalabria" blog web site and we felt that this is a good idea as we can get to know of other buyers in san sostene.My wife is putting on recent photos that we took in July 09 and September 09.Hope it will show the progress made on site and that it will not be long before we are all out there enjoying a glass of wine on our balconies!!

Biffa said...

hi everyone, i have just found this blog site and find all your comments very helpful. we too have bought a one bedroom apartment in san sostene. We have been out there three times now the last time being May and we found huge progress with regards the building work !!we have now been told by VFI that we should now expect completion before April 2010.Our solicitor is Francesco L'Abbate and we find him more than helpful our completion date was 31/10/09 so we are looking a compensation from April. we are going back out in March next year and have found an apartment for rent at reasonable rate near to our complex.

SMK said...

Hi All

It is some time since I have posted a comment, but have been following everybody's comments with interest. We are buying a duplex that is situated above trhe restaurant. Before signing our contract with Francesco L'Abate, we had it agreed that we would remove the downstairs bedroom; that was back in April 09.

I have been constantly chasing VFI for regular updates, but they are none too quick in their replies! I am still trying to get more information about the furniture package, as well as getting more pictures.

I agree that we should keep in touch and happy with the idea of both the websites mentioned. We are also interested in the idea of seeing if it might be possible to meet up, sop that we can discuss things more easily.

Snowdrop said...

Hiya everybody - it's getting more exciting the more people join in, but some things are still a bit worrying like some of us being told different things and some of us signing contracts for changes we want and some of us not! Sunseekers - are the pics going to go on the incalabria bit?
Also, was anyone promised that the cost of the original flights would be refunded once we'd bought? Our 'free' viewing trip cost us a fortune as we had to get a connecting flight from newcastle to stansted, wait 9 hours for the next one and then evening meal at 501 hotel cost about 90+ euro. I think they (it was experience international) promise anything just to get you over there! Oh well, roll on that red wine on our balconies !!!! and yes, it is a brill idea to have our ownsite where we can all post our comments etc. Ciao for now !

TD said...

Hi all. I've been following your comments for a few weeks now, (getting more info from you than VFI). Just spoken to AG Law to clarify the 6 month clause and discovered that it does not exist in my contract and so from 30th October 2009 I will get 500 Euro reduction per month off the settlement figure. So check your contracts because I believe they are all different. Can't wait to see you all once built.

Hilde said...

Hi everyone, TD just beat me to it. We also have 31 October 2009 in our contract and no 6 month clause (was just confirmed by AG Law, Atlas (the agent) and the developer), so the penalty for us also starts on 1 November. We were wondering whether it would be a good idea to go over in the second half of December to check out the progress (the last time we were over there will be 1 year ago). Do you think that is useful or a waste of time and money at the moment?

Snowdrop said...

we are using Francesco L'Abbate and we have the six month clause. it seems to be different dependent on which lawyer you are using. Also we have requested changes and VFI have finally told us that they have been passed to the builder and OK'd, whereas some of you have got it written into their contact and we havn't. I just hope it's going to work out for us all. I think if anyone could check the place out and see what stage it's at that would be brill, but it's really difficult for us to get there so it will be probably be springtime before we manage it. is anyone buying a townhouse in the middle row looking down from the main road?

sunseekers said...

Hi Snowdrop
First of all, I have tried to upload the photos to the other site but without success.
The only way I can think of is for me to e mail them to you direct if you want to give me your e mail address.
The 1st viewing trip we went on cost £90 each which included 3 nights B&B in the 501 Hotel. The 2nd visit cost us £50 each which also included 3 nights B&B at the 501.
We are buying Duplex apts. in the first block behind the restaurant.

Hilde said...

Hi Snowdrop, we are buying a duplex in the row behind you, no. 131

TD said...

Hi Sunseeker.Sounds like we are behind you as well. We are buying 128 so Hilde that makes us neighbours.

Snowdrop said...

Hi Sunseekers
thanks for that. it looks like one or two of us are going to be fairly close neighbours. we are buying a townhouse, number 20. How do i give you my e mail address as i would love to see the pics. do i have to post it on here?

Unknown said...

Hi Sunseekers et al!

Some more recent pictures would be great. Is a facebook page of our own forum viable, and is anyone looking at it? Any ideas of how I can get my email address to you without posting it on here would be good too!

I've purchased an apartment there and it is good to see other people investing in the project. I haven't actually been over as yet, can you tell me who organised your inspection trips please?

Also, has anyone had a rather worrying letter about Giambrone Law recently and what do people make of it!?! (I hope that's not too inflammatry for this blog!)

Cheers

SMK said...

Hi All

We too are buying a duplex in the first block behind the restaurant.

As we are finding it very difficult to get VFI to provide us with updates either by e-mail or on this blog, we too would welcome seeing some more up to date pictures. Are we all going to post our e-mail addresses on this site or is it safer for one person to do this & the rest of us contact that person so that we build up e-mail addresses that way?

As for the 500 euro penalty clause, we have a completion date of 31 December and the 6 month clause in our contract, so we won't see any payments unless they go beyond June 2010!

Unknown said...

Hi there,
For those of you that don't know there is an email loop for San Sostene buyers to exchange info, photos etc. You can join by emailing info@locationsinthesun.co.uk

Bluepatch said...

Hi all,
This is our first time on blog. We are a couple from the west of Ireland and have purchased a 1 bed apt on the ground floor. We look forward to sharing comments with other buyers,hopefully as a group working together we can sort out the difficulties. Presently,we are waiting news from our solicitor on the situation and will come back with any news.

Thanks.

Biffa said...

hi there bluepatch, we have also bought a one bedroom apartment on the ground floor we are just behind the townhouses. it would be great to hear from anyone going out in the next couple of months but we are in scotland and the flights are stopped now for winter so our only way would be via milan or bologonia.

Bluepatch said...

Hi Biffa,
Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately we are not going out until the spring. The flights from Dublin are not great in the winter. Our apt is on the restaurent side and just in front of the pool. Keeping our fingers crossed that all will go well!!

Thanks.

sunseekers said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
sunseekers said...

Hi everyone
Just to let you know, we have set up a facebook site for us all. will give you the details later this evening.

sunseekers said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
sunseekers said...

Hi all again!
We have managed it at last!
We have set up a facebook account where we all can add comments and photos and chat to each other!!
If you email me on: sansosteneresort@hotmail.com for login details and password.
When you have logged in, go to profile, look under photos on the left hand side and you will find 2 albums that we have added from our visits in July and Sept 09 and 1 from other people who have visited since Sept 09.
Anyone can add their photos but please try and add captions so we know what the photos are of and also when taken and who by.
If you do not know how to use Facebook - ask your children or friends! We are new to facebook and if we can do it - so can you!!
Hope to speak to you all soon on Facebook.

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sunseekers said...

Hi all
Sorry for the late reply but we have been away for a few days.
We went on our Inspection trips with Calabria Property UK. They were very good and still very helpful with any questions we have.
We also went on the e mail loop but we found it to be more useful to people who are with Giambrone Law as it seems they all have the same problem with this firm. We are with Francesco L'Abbate and are very happy with him (so far)!
It might be an idea to set up a facebook page as someone suggested so people don't have to put the e mail addresses here. I shall ask my son to have a go when he comes in!
I know there are a few negatives going around, but between our 2 visits in July and Sept, we actually thought there was good progress.
Talk to you all later.

RE POSTED FROM OCT 09