ARCHIVED - Self righteous indignation as British Estate agents start marketing Paramount Properties

La Verdad seem surprised at the reaction their incessant hyping has provoked

2010-11-02

And this weeks prize for self-righteous indignation goes to the La Verdad newspaper, who came out with a corker of a headline today, "Paramount is being used as a hook to sell houses in Alhama."

Then, " The company is presenting itself as an associate of Polaris with alleged "bargains" in Condado de Alhama, before the location of the themepark is even official"

"antes de que la ubicación del parque temático sea oficial "

The piece continues, " Condado de Alhama chosen for Paramount Pictures Studios and Theme Park Opportunity for buyers. So goes the publicity which has been put out by the English estate agent, Villa cashback, to the potential purchasers of the UK and the rest of Europe , using the location of paramount in this location, in spite of the fact that it is not yet official, "

Now let me just run that phrase past you all again, in spite of the fact that it is still not yet official, "pese a que aún no es official."

This is appearing in La Verdad, who has single handedly provoked a rash of media speculation by their incessant hyping of the whole Paramount project, and, with one revelation after another, all completely speculative, has raised the pulse of estate agents and vendors in not only the region, but across Europe.

They were the only media source who announced triumphantly that sources within their network had revealed that Alhama was the chosen one, a trumpet which they blared alone for a few days until the other media decided they were missing out on the act, and started finding sources of their own. Even EFE, who are normally above reproach joined the frenzy last week and put out a release in which it quoted, " sources close to the project, " rather than sticking to its normally exemplary practice of just reporting the facts.

The knock-on effect of which has been for the English media and forums to spout a load of dangerous nonsense informing the buying public that the park is definite, whereas all of us who actually speak Spanish, read press releases as well as the press, know that it is not official, although yes, negotiations are well advanced and it could well be officially the chosen location  within a few weeks, although it will not be "official" until the license is formally granted which will take about a year.

Of course the estate agency profession are going to pounce on a nugget like Paramount and use it to sell properties to people who think they can make a quick buck out of buying now, before property prices rise.
Its not illegal, or immoral, and weve all got a living to earn, so as long as the information is right, its a good opportunity for someone who wants to speculate, except that the information isnt right, and as weve been expounding in what somebody called my "weekly rant" the other day, people will get hurt due to this shoddy reporting.

The La Verdad article continues, explaining that the web page of this vendor is offering properties on the Condado de Alhama I Polaris world development, which is next to where Condado II would have been located, had Polaris not experienced liquidity issues earlier in the year.

We checked up on the company web page this morning and on the front page it does say, Paramount Pictures news of a possible theme park in Murcia next to Condado de Alhama resort" but click onto the actual resort information and its pretty much as the paper says. "The new Paramount Pictures theme park and film studios is to be built next to this resort. A huge boost for property prices for owners and buyers who can move quickly to grab the bargains. "
Go through to the news page and it says,

10 September 2010:
Major Hollywood studio Paramount Pictures has finalised negotiations and has reached a deal to open a theme park in Murcia it was announced today. The project is expected to create 20,000 jobs and attract 3 million visitors per year to the Murcia region.
 
 
Such a big name theme park in the region will attract further projects and is expected to make Murcia one of the European hot spots for second homes in the years ahead. Murcia is just a two hour flight from the UK and offers the best winter climate in Europe.

Then on 15th October
"15 October 2010
Paramount Pictures has today chosen the land adjacent to Condado de Alhama resort for the location for its new theme park in Europe
It looks to be a fantastic deal for the four banks that own IRM who will benefit from the increased value that this project will add to the properties they have for sale. In particular Condado de Alhama, where CAM bank and Banco Popular have apartments with huge reductions and 90% mortgages and Mar Menor resort which is just 25 minutes away.
 
This resort will sit next to the second largest theme park in Europe after Disneyland Paris. Currently buyers who can move quickly can snap up two bedroom properties here for as little as €79,995, a price that is well below the €120,000 starting price when the resort was sold off-plan in 2005. At that point there were no plans for film studios and a theme park next door to Condado de Alhama. If prices rise only as far as their level of five years ago then there are 50% returns to be made for investors. However such an entertainment venue, requiring a staggering 15,000 hotel rooms and producing a further 3 million visitors a year, is certain to add a premium even to the prices of 2005 let alone the giveaways of 2010. It offers a tremendous opportunity for buyers.


Polaris World itself says that the properties being sold on this development are not being offered directly by them, and that these are being sold by third parties. They say that they have tried to dissuade this company from using their image and branding and that the company, " has nothing to do with them, " and according to La Verdad, they said  that this company, "is fraudulently using our name and logo."

Of course, whilst they will undoubtedly benefit should the park be constructed at Alhama, as all their resorts are within a 25 minute drive of Alhama, it does them no good to be having unused property touted around at these sorts of prices. They were pretty desperate to sell them earlier in the year when the threat of bankruptcy loomed , but having transferred ownership in the final negotiations will be unable to sell their own stock if there are too many bargains to be had through third parties.

Readers have sent us several links over the weeknd of sites which are proclaim8ng the good news as "definite, " fuelling our sense of impotent frustration that yet again, ex-pats are being lied to.
Its sad to think that lessons havent yet been learnt after the meltdown of the last 2 years, and that the greed to make an easy buck will still lead to people making decisions based on what they want to believe, as undoubtedly few will check to see if the information given is accurate before making a purchase.

But sad to see this self-righteous indignation on the part of La Verdad, when theyre the reason it all started in the first place.

 Sorry, extra note.

Hot on the foot of the article in La Verdad, the IU political party issued a press statement saying that the government should do something to stop this happening. Although they are well known for issuing press statements about everything and can always be relied upon to provide wonderful, controversial comments (small party, big noise) there hasnt been a trace of the P word in their pages since. 

If you want the facts, not the hype, read back through this lot. It will explain that the theme park is not being built by Paramount Pictures and what is actually going on. 

For all stories relating to this topic, Click Paramount Park and Lifestyle center Alhama