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COSTA CALIDA EDITION
Your English Newspaper
roundtownnews.com
Issue 23
05 APR - 11 APR 2013
INSIDE THIS WEEK
RTN Spotlight on Property
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Will luxury golf resort become little more than an area of cheap social housing?
Corvera golf owners are angered by plans to rent out luxury properties to disadvantaged families at bargain basement prices
Photo courtesy of www.murciatoday.com
by Murciatoday.com THE ECONOMIC downturn and property slump has taken an unexpected turn for residents of the Corvera Golf urbanisation in Corvera, Murcia, as the developer takes the decision to rent out high quality resort properties to disadvantaged families at bargain basement prices. “A promotor offers 150 homes, with or without furniture, for the low rent of 150 euros” was the headline in Spanish language daily, La Verdad, the first indication that any of the 400 expat residents of the resort had that the new owner of the resort had decided to offer residences for public rental, “The promotor, Corvera Golf and Country Club is offering 100 to 150 homes to families evicted for non-payment of their mortgages, long-term unemployed with children, women who have suffered from domestic violence, and young people under the age of 30 who are unable to become independent due to being unemployed or having low incomes.” The resort “changed hands” in December, although residents complain that they have been unable to ascertain clearly who now owns the properties on the resort, indeed, the first thing they knew about the existence of Sr
Antonio Rizo, named as the promotor of Corvera Golf in the paper, was in this article. The paper says that Corvera Golf, who “acquired the resort in December ” is not “worried that there could be a conflict between the tenants of this social housing and the remaining residents, who are few in number, and mainly English and Scandinavians, “ the paper said. “The future tenants can enjoy the full installations of the complex, with community pools, children’s play areas, sports facilities, cafeteria, gardens and 24 hour security. “ “Our aim is to help people who need help and who don´t have any money, “ said promotor, Antonio Rizo, justifying his decision by affirming that the costs of running the resort are high, a million euros a year. Costs, which as the residents of the resort, who all paid double the prices now being quoted by the promotor for their own properties, are having to assume themselves, as the promotor is so far in arrears with their own contributions to community payments, that some services may well be discontinued in the near future if suppliers are not paid. However, this does not include the security being so generously offered to the new tenants as part of the package, as
the residents are currently paying for this themselves out of their own pockets on a separate contract, as the promotor is unable/willing to contribute to this essential service. There are several different angles to this situation, each of which could put a different slant on this situation: THE CURRENT SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CLIMATE The government is operating a scheme called the FSV, Fondo de vivienda social, or social housing fund, into which banks with repossessed properties are pooling housing which can be rented out to disadvantaged families, the same criteria applying as for these particular properties. This aims to provide low cost housing for those who have been evicted from their homes. However, unless the promotor did not purchase this resort, and it has in fact, returned to the banks, this housing being offered could not be FSV housing, but is a private rental initiative. There is a dire need for properties to house those who have lost their homes since the onset of the economic crisis, an estimated 250,000 families, most of whom are economically unable to support themselves and have no work. Continued on page 6