Home › Forums › Costa Rica Living Forum › Paragon properties website is no more
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June 24, 2010 at 12:00 am #167326sallyMember
Looks like Paragon Properties of Costa Rica website http://www.paracr.com/ is now officially out of service, what a shame we can’t say the same thing about the people involved.
June 24, 2010 at 8:31 pm #167327simondgMember[quote=”sally”]Looks like Paragon Properties of Costa Rica website http://www.paracr.com/ is now officially out of service, what a shame we can’t say the same thing about the people involved.[/quote]
How hard could it be in this situation to take control of the properties? If they are free and clear then all the invesotrs have something of value. By their own admission, many people have not paid the full amount for the plots and therefore there is money owing. The price paid per square meter at $12 doesnt seem that outragous even without infrastructure. By appointing one of the country’s leading law firms to administer this these peole would have a real shot at completing the projects at probably less than half what it would have cost some two years ago and wihout anyone paying more than the original agreed amount (if the payments due were settled).
Surely if all owners could agree then people who paid deposits could be given an amount of land that proportionatley represents the amount they put in and they could be asked to pay the full amount which would then be applied to the infrastructure work to be done.
At this point simply going for venegence is probably not going to get satisfaction for any holders. If the properties have Master Plans then much of the important work is already done and these assets have value. It seems to me that no one is really intersted in finding a solution – most seem to want to vent and throw these guys in jail. Maybe that’s what they deserve but it won’t give you your piece of paradise.
Make a deal with the best law firm. Have a reputable firm handle the building work and finish the projects. The Head of the Construction Chamber could be hired to oversee everything if he would take the work. Jaime Molina is his name.
The first step is forming an investors website – in my opinion this situation can be resolved to everyones satisfaction (although of course I don’t have all the facts). Out of some 1,500 people is there not one who will try?
June 24, 2010 at 9:20 pm #167328lurkerMembersimon
I have seen your comments on the Paragon dicsussions and you are always defending these people so I am guessing you worked for them at one time.
Five YEARS ago Paragon was promising peopel in writing that infrastructure would be in place within 18 months.
Never happened in any of their projects.
You probably saw that Bill Gales boss man Stephen Tashman has a 100% track record.
100% of the DOZENS of different companies he has started have gone bankrupt.
Is anyone surprised that this has happened again?
So tell me why you are always defending these people.
They are thieves!
June 24, 2010 at 10:25 pm #167329maravillaMembermaybe he invested his money with them? the few people i’m acquainted with who gave these scoundrels money all defend them, too, with every excuse they can come up with, even after i warned them not to get involved with this company. i suppose nobody wants to admit they were fooled and robbed.
June 24, 2010 at 11:42 pm #167330simondgMember[quote=”lurker”]simon
I have seen your comments on the Paragon dicsussions and you are always defending these people so I am guessing you worked for them at one time.
Five YEARS ago Paragon was promising peopel in writing that infrastructure would be in place within 18 months.
Never happened in any of their projects.
You probably saw that Bill Gales boss man Stephen Tashman has a 100% track record.
100% of the DOZENS of different companies he has started have gone bankrupt.
Is anyone surprised that this has happened again?
So tell me why you are always defending these people.
They are thieves![/quote]
Promising? Or they put it in writing? There seems to be a lot of ambiguity with this point which is why I have consistently asked for clarity from buyers. Without this in writing they have no legal recourse. If you only want to rant we will be non the wiser, I prefer to know the facts.
As regards supporting the owners of this company you seem to be selective in your analysis since to my knowledge I am the only one proposing a solution. You on the other hand state the obvious and offer nothing by way of support to the buyers.
June 24, 2010 at 11:56 pm #167331DavidCMurrayParticipantI have to agree, simon, you are the only one who has even hinted at an approach to a solution. Now, whether what you propose is legal, practical, or feasible I haven’t any idea. Folks need to vent. There’s no doubt. But if they also want a resolution to their problem, the avenue of approach that you propose may actually have some merit.
Were it mine to do, I’d scream like hell — and more than once. Then I’d consult a knowledgeable attorney who might be able to assess the likelihood of a good outcome for those who have been harmed. What could it hurt?
June 25, 2010 at 9:52 pm #167332maravillaMemberyou’d be throwing good money after bad. how many people get any satisfactory results from these land companies that have been ripping people off for years? once they file for insolvency, it’s all over but the crying and wailing.
June 25, 2010 at 10:32 pm #167333DavidCMurrayParticipantmaravilla, simon suggested finding out if those who have invested in these properties could gain title to them, not that they could get their money back from Paragon Properties. Frankly, I think that makes a lot of sense.
If you think about consulting an attorney to look into the title situation for a given property, you’d probably be faced with a thousand or two in legal fees at most. Yes, you might lose the fee, but you might also find out that you could pursue the matter and end up with title to the property you’ve been trying to buy.
Let’s see . . . Originally you put (say) $25,000 down and now you face the loss of the entire amount. Or maybe you “invest” another $2,500 and find out that you could own the property for (say) another $5,000 in legal fees. If it worked out that way (if . . . if) then you’d own the property for a total of $32,500. For something you originally contracted to pay (say) $50,000 for, that wouldn’t be so bad, would it?
June 25, 2010 at 11:03 pm #167334maravillaMemberhow can you own something you haven’t completely paid for? these people didn’t fall off a turnip cart from Silesia, but what if [b]they[/b] hadn’t fully paid for the property? what are you going to get title to? not saying it can’t be done, but i’ve been following this psychodrama for nearly 6 years, and it would be completely out of character for them not to have covered these bases.
June 26, 2010 at 4:48 pm #167335daboss06MemberJust in case anybody doesn’t know this, but Paragon stopped updating their website in Feb 09.
I’m an owner of two acres in Phase Two aka Hills of Pacifica. I have the titles and deeds to the properties, also a plot map with full coordinates.
I met with Gale and Company a few times, in both Costa Rica and in Florida. I believe the last work done by Paragon was to Phases 1,2,and 3 (aka Heights, Hills, and Valley of Pacifica), and I have aerial photos of these sites showing roads being cut and land being cleared.
I’ve been in touch with the law firm in Miami that’s doing the class action thing, and I’m not sure if it’s worth the $500 ante to be part of the class action, especially when there’s no guarantee that even IF Paragon is found guilty of whatever and ordered to pay restitution, that they will actually pay. OJ Simpson didn’t pay the Goldman family a dime, despite a huge multi-million dollar civil judgement.
So now I own what is basically rough campground, accessible only by 4×4, which I paid $25K for back in 04.
I think Gale and Company were planning to complete the infrastructure, but ran out of money with the global financial meltdown, which wiped out people’s money they were planning to use to pay off their balances to Paragon, which was to be used to complete the infrastructure.
Just my opinion.
June 27, 2010 at 4:23 am #167336costaricabillParticipant“I think Gale and Company were planning to complete the infrastructure, but ran out of money with the global financial meltdown, which wiped out people’s money they were planning to use to pay off their balances to Paragon, which was to be used to complete the infrastructure.”
And my grandkids who are here visiting think the tooth fairy is real – the difference is that they actually get money based on their beliefs!
June 27, 2010 at 1:22 pm #167337maravillaMemberWhat about the Easter Bunny? She/he delivers chocolate eggs, too, which is more than the people who invested with Paragon are going to get!
June 27, 2010 at 1:54 pm #167338ImxploringParticipantThese boys were in BIG trouble LONG before the world financial meltdown… promises that went no where… one project started after another without any real progress made on the prior ones… threats of legal action directed at anyone that dare question their business or personal conduct… the warning signs were there LONG before the world-wide house of cards came crashing down.
As to a solution… it’s going to take a lot of TIME, MONEY, and PATIENCE if the folks involved are going to take the route that’s been suggested. And I’m guessing that most have little of that left after the boys at Paragon have had there way with them!
For now the folks holding title free and clear (hopefully) have nice rough camping sites (I had suggested that a year ago)…. and those with partial payments not holding title have a black hole they can throw MORE money into with a SLIM chance of ANY recovery… or, as I see it, an expensive lesson learned that most will walk away from.
Just a thought here…. but what percentage of money that was used for deposits and payments to Paragon was the proceeds of equity loans folks took out on houses in the states that are now under water or foreclosed? Seems Uncle Sam’s bailout of the banks reaches a lot further than we all might think! How many of these “investments” in Paragon are assets that the American taxpayers will be paying off for decades?
June 27, 2010 at 4:22 pm #167339maravillaMemberone word: PONZI!
June 28, 2010 at 1:25 pm #167340daboss06Member[quote=”Imxploring”]For now the folks holding title free and clear (hopefully) have nice rough camping sites (I had suggested that a year ago)…. and those with partial payments not holding title have a black hole they can throw MORE money into with a SLIM chance of ANY recovery… or, as I see it, an expensive lesson learned that most will walk away from.[/quote]
My point exactly. I did NOT take home equity money to buy my two lots, and I do hold free and clear titles to them. I’m not joining a class action suit for $500 and throwing good money after bad with only HOPE of recovering any money (less 30% paid to the law firm). Sure am glad I didn’t give them any deposit money to build on my lots!
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