Hi all,

I was originally attracted to the Al-Houara project (at the time when it was fashionable to invest in anything off plan) because everything seemed to stack up very nicely:

*The security behind Qatari Diar (who currently have an AA2 credit rating)

*The level of investment ie $1.2bn

* Selling agent Sotheby’s Real Estate together with the naming the Kempinski as managing agents.

* Understood the unit price was high but ROI seemed good and the deal allowed some personal use.

*Deposit secured via Escrow

What's gone wrong?

Obviously the recession has seen many projects pulled so expected this one to be delayed, although with such professional partners I expected to be kept up to date on events. Not so. This had led me to ask questions on the progress of the development.

No joy from Sotheby after weeks of e-mails and calls. Even tried Qatari Diar but could not get through to the right department so gave up in the end. Although I did receive a letter some time ago indicating that the foundations might be completed at the end of Q1  2010.

I also read on the Kempinski web site that they would be focusing on the Al-Houara but intended to shelve projects elsewhere.    

I understand from a contact in Morocco that that construction is underway however I would like some reassurance. BlueFish, you mentioned in a recent post that construction was well underway - how do you know this? It would be great if you could reassure me whilst I wait for any update from the developers.  

Any updates much appreciated.