OwnCostaRica.com Anyone know anything about them?

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  • #174580

    We are going down in Febraury to look at these sites. I am curious about which phase you bought into, and when your house contruction will begin.

    #174581
    shelaghd
    Member

    We bought in Phase 6 – the community lots. Our house in under construction now and we hope it will be completed April/May. I think they are selling Phase 9 or 10 presently and these are south of us, but we have not been to see them yet. We will be down mid-February to see how our house is progressing – perhaps we will see you there…

    #174582
    jojanzen
    Member

    Hi!
    My husband and I purchased a lot in Phase 6 four years ago, we are looking into the possibility of selling it but we really need some updated pictures, of the developments going on, the lot itself and the surrounding area. I see that you are travelling their in Feb and was wondering if you would be interested in taking some pictures for us. We would be willing to pay for the pics!
    So awesome that you are building, we wished we could have done that it’s absolutely gorgeous there. I am really looking forward to hearing what is going on down there as far as development especially in the Phase 6 community.
    We are located in Edmonton, Alberta.
    Regards J & J Janzen.

    #174583
    shelaghd
    Member

    We are leaving first thing tomorrow morning, so if you can let me know you lot # in time, we would be happy to take some pics for you. One thing to consider is that it may be a bit overgrown and not look so appealing. Robert will clear the lot for about $25 I believe, and if you like we can make that decision (based on the condition of the site) and get him to do that before we take the photos. Let me know how you feel about that.

    Too bad you are selling, there will only be about 8 or 10 homes on Phase six thus far and we need more neighbours!

    Looking forward to your reply.

    shelaghd

    #174584
    dperotti
    Member

    I noticed your posting and would love it if you could snap a few photos of mine as well. I would be happy to pay for the pictures. I own lot 18 in section 8. If it isn’t too much trouble, I would really appreciate it. I would be happy to pay the $25.00 to clear the lot too if that would be helpful to taking the pictures. I lost the pictures that I had from the lot to the ocean and would love to see the view pictures again.

    If you could drop me a line to let me know how the homes that are going up in the developments are looking, I would greatly appreciate it. I bought my lot two years ago and haven’t been back since. I have plans that have been put together but probably won’t start building for a year or so.

    It’s great to see that there are others in the devlopment that subscribe to this fantastic site.

    Thanks again

    Dave Perotti

    #174585
    jojanzen
    Member

    Thank you so much, that is fantastic!
    The lot we purchased is C2, should be along the road at the front.
    I’m sure it will probably need clearing, but I am comfortable with you making that decision for us and $25 is no problem at all.
    Also let me know what you want for the pictures.
    Enjoy your trip, it must be very exciting for you to see the progress.
    Regards J. Janzen (Edmonton, AB, Canada)

    #174586
    gshelstad
    Member

    Hi everyone. We just went to the seminar for owncostarica.com and got nervous because they didn’t register with Alberta’s Brokers. I pulled out today pending more info.

    Can either of you tell me how the financial transaction went and if this is a developer that is honest.

    Jo, this is Gladys, are you Jeff’s wife.

    Gladys

    #174587
    Darrel257
    Member

    I feel that it is important to shed some light on the new direction that OwnCostaRica.com has taken and to also lay some facts out for all to review. Your decission to pull out is probably agood one at least until you know the facts. Yes it does go against the Alberta Real Estate regulations to take a deposit of property in a develpment based in a foreign country especially from a development company that has not presented a Offering Memorandium on the project investment or have clearance through the Alberta Secuities Commission to offer such an investment. This does not mean that you need this clearance to go to Costa Rica and buy property, it just means companies cannot accept deposits towards the purchase of these properties in a Canadian jurisdiction without them being duly authorized and cleared to do so.

    It also does not mean that companies cannot market these deveoplemnets or do seminars in Calgary or anywhere else in Canada, there is no problems with that, they just cannot take deposits on the land pruchase.

    Regarding the link to the Ventana Del Pacifico project from before I beleive that there is some confusion as to OwnCostaRicas claims that they were the developers of that project. Following is an excerpt from a letter dated January 30, 2007 from the owner of Ventana Del Pacifico.

    January 30, 2007 – QUOTE
    “Ventana Del Pacifico has been in business in Costa Rica since 1990 and is looking ahead to many more years of success.

    Brian Hughes and OCR joined us in 2001 and today, we are as surprised as you are at the direction OCR is currently taking. While we wish Brian Hughes, OCR and its new team the best in their latest venture, it is important for everyone to understand that as in the case of OCR’s previous private venture, “Los Borucas”, Ventana Del
    Pacifico is in no way involved in the Tambor development, as the present-day Web site would lead you to believe.

    Brian Hughes and OCR were employed by Ventana Del Pacifico for the marketing of our different projects and were compensated on a commission-per-sale basis to promote Ventana Del Pacifico’s developments located in southern Costa Rica. OCR has never been a shareholder, financial partner or director of Ventana Del Pacifico and has never been involved directly or indirectly in the design or development stages of any of our projects. OCR’s current Web site offers much background material that highlights our work over the years, mistakenly leading the viewer to believe that its Tambor development is just another in a long line of projects undertaken by OCR, which is not the case, and we feel that it presents our work to add legitimacy to their new undertaking.

    Due to these circumstances, we will no longer be using OCR’s marketing services and we will demand that OCR remove all references to Ventana Del Pacifico and its projects from their Web site and marketing materials in general. This will be inclusive of but not be limited to: the Ventana Del Pacifico name, logo, development plans, photographs of projects, sites, homes and testimonials, which are quoted from the Ventana Del Pacifico Guest Book.” END QUOTE

    I am open to any comments or questions anyone may want to ask regarding this subject.

    #174588
    OCR
    Member

    Dear Members,

    Re: reply to message posted ‘Apr 02,2007 1:33 PM’

    Our attorneys in Alberta have provided ample information to us regarding RE securities laws there. They have also been in direct contact with the governing RE and Securities Board to insure our compliance. We will take every step necessary to insure our legalities in all area of business.

    The ‘Jan. 30th 2007 Quote’ that you posted was written in attempt to discredit us. It has no merit and for the most part is untrue. It was written after my company announced (Jan. 25th 2007) that we were no longer proving clients to this developer because of personal and professional reasons. It should not have been posted publicly as it’s libelous and carries legal ramifications to the author.

    For any further information, please feel free to contact me directly.

    Brian Hughes, Senior Partner
    OCR Properties Group Inc.
    International Office
    Tel.: (905) 750-0010
    Fax: (416) 981-7147

    #174589

    Curious how your visit went, and how is your house progressing? Is it the house with the styrofoam core and sprayed on concrete? Looked very interesting. We toured by this house when we were down in February. We bought a lot in Ph. 10.

    Steve

    #174590
    Shelley
    Member

    Brian,
    I am not sure how you find the comments provided to this forum about OCR to be libelous. Was the information provided untrue?

    I have attended your seminars and those put on by other commissioned sales persons for your Tambor development. The information provided at these seminars led the attendees to believe that your group had been developing property in CR for the past 7 years. Pictures of developed properties from Ventana were shown during the slide show presentation which again led attendees to believe that you had developed this property when in fact you were just a commissioned sales person.

    So what is your experience in developing properties in CR? Do you support those running seminars on behalf of OCR to use innuendo and untruths to get people to invest in your Tambor development?

    #174591
    shelaghd
    Member

    Hi Steve;

    Congratulations neighbour! Actually ours is a lot more traditional – Spanish Colonial actually – and a traditional build. We are across the road from the one you refer to and closer to the main entrance. Ours is up on the hill to the left as you enter Phase 6, the one with the round rancho.
    As for progress; moving along okay and should be ready for us when we move down in November. They are working on the landscape now and we will be there mid September to check again. When are you planning to go back? I am opening a store in town in January (Royal Palm Interiors) and you should stop by when you are down next to say Hi!

    Shelagh

    #174592
    OCR
    Member

    Shelley,

    Our company has been valuable in providing clients and services to many developers in Costa Rica and it’s simply our evolution to move on and into Tambor. Our Engineers, Topographers and Builders have decades of experience in CR. Our success is collective and is not from one source or person. Sales, Marketing and Seminars are only one aspect of the process. Land acquisition, Setena applications and other permits / approval processes are equally as valuable. We are entering our 7th year in CR RE and our 1st year in Tambor. Phase 3 will begin this September 30th and have acquired more prime ocean view RE for phase 4,5,6 coming in 2008.

    Our seminar information and presentations are accurate and do not display info or photo’s as you suggested. I would ask you to be specific with such comments – refer to our website or attend another seminar – all seminars are posted on our site.

    Competition is a normal part of business and inaccuracies go with that.
    For accurate information please feel free to contact me directly or visit our web site. Or simply post your phone information and I will call you directly.

    Regards,
    Brian Hughes
    Tel:(905) 750-0010
    http://www.owncostarica.com

    #174593
    almac
    Member

    Brian,

    This is an awkward subject for a chat board, but just noticed your posts/comments and will say briefly.

    Concerning images, I am not familiar with any presentations you may do in Canada or elsewhere.

    However, a considerable number of images used on owncostrica.com, owncostarica.biz, monterracostarica.com and several sub domains promoting your project are my copyright and several other images are for our own land project which is next door to you in Tambor.

    It is entirely possible your company is an innocent party regarding use of these images, however, I would urge you do perform due diligence on the source of the images.

    It may also be that there is another issue regarding the possible purchase of land, specifically property where you may be awaiting the titling process prior to completing a purchase. Again, I can only stress due diligence, despite land registry documentation, and if any property involves an Ltda which currently holds 360 hectares of land (including 64 hectares of primary forest) covering five fincas – this Ltda is currently the subject of legal action by us where we seek recovery of our land assets in that area, specifically 360 hectares.

    Our lawyers or I will contact you or Jack Cohen shortly regarding the images.

    Al Macleod
    Director
    Flamingo Springs S.A.

    Edited on Sep 01, 2007 08:08

    #174594
    OCR
    Member

    Dear Al,

    My company is not involved with the land purchase you mentioned however thank you for the notice. As for our web site images, to my knowledge we have permission to use any images on these/our sites but if there are images you feel are not compliant please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

    Brian Hughes
    International Office (905) 750-0010
    Tambor Office (506) 820-5899

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