LISTEN UP!  All owners of Paragon Properties of Costa Rica -TIME IS RUNNING OUT!   Casualties of the Now Defunct Paragon Properties of Costa Rica continue to surface daily.

 

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DISCLAIMER: I am neither an attorney nor a real estate agent! The following information has been gathered through my personal experience as I endeavor to develop my own properties which were purchased from Paragon.  I make NO claims regarding the validity or legality of the information contained herein. I advise everyone to seek legal counsel with respect to their properties.

My investigation of the Paragon Properties fiasco has been a compilation of information derived from several sources- the Registro Nacional of Costa Rica, my attorney, the local municipalities of Costa Rica, US court documents, conversations with individuals who purchased property from Paragon and even personal phone calls with William Gale (Paragon Properties owner and President). Paragon sold hundreds of lots to hundreds of people for millions of dollars and for all intents and purposes, these properties are currently worthless.

Here are some of the reasons why:

  1. Many of the deeds were never recorded and registered into the Registro Nacional (National Registry.)

  2. Many owners never received deeds naming them as rightful owners of their land.

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  3. Many of the documents Paragon delivered were corporate books; a Sociedad (a.k.a. corporate entity) which Paragon attorneys executed on their behalf wherein they named themselves the legal representatives of those Sociedades. These corporate entities were created as a holding company for the properties we purchased from Paragon. The structure of these Sociedades nullified owners rights (our rights as the purchasers of these properties) by empowering Paragon attorneys to buy, sell or transfer any and all assets within entities without notice or consent from the property owners.

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  4. We know through our investigation that many of the “alleged” transfers of properties into these Sociedades never took place so, in essence, many of us are holding corporate shells. Many owners have been paying corporate taxes for these Sociedads with nonexistent assets. Please check with an attorney and verify that your properties have, in fact, been transferred and are held in your corporate entity. (Mine were not and I had to pay my attorney to amend the articles of incorporation to substitute my husband and myself as the legal representatives of our sociedad.) Your property may be dangling outside your corporate entity and you may be powerless to transfer it into your sociedad or change the title to reflect your name instead of the corporate name. Please contact an attorney to help you amend your sociedads.

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  5. And of course, those who posses their legal titles, deeds, and/or have control of their Sociedades can’t build their Costa Rican Dream Home because Paragon never developed the infrastructure they promised to build within 18 months of receiving payment in full.

  

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We have waited patiently for 10 years for Paragon to develop and build our Costa Rican communities. We have had enough. I have a few questions for former associates of Paragon Properties;

  1. Why is it that when I search the Registro Nacional, the president of the now defunct Paragon Properties still shows up as the legal representative for some of these properties?

  2. Why is it that some of the past corporate officers of Paragon also show up in the registry as the current corporate officers?

  3. If we are to believe the claim of “bankruptcy”, how can they still posses these properties?

  4. Why have they not signed and delivered deeds to people who have proof of payment in full and signed contracts for these exact properties that are currently reflect them as the legal representatives?

  5. Why is it that some of these properties were never registered as “segregated parcels and planned communities” in the registry? They appear as a “finca” with no master plan or subdivided parcels.

While Paragon associates scampered away into hiding, we are left with worthless pieces of property or worthless pieces of paper and hundreds of thousands of our dollars siphoned from our bank accounts. We must now take matters into our own hands and determine the best way of gaining rightful ownership of our land and to develop their infrastructure ourselves. Leaving these lands to waste away with overgrown vegetation and allowing squatters to take over their use is simply unacceptable.

The complaint that was brought against Paragon in a Southern Florida US District Court was dismissed without prejudice, read the complaint here. The case was dismissed because the judge determined the complaint was a “shotgun pleading”. You can read the judge’s decision here.

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Time is of the essence. We must all come together NOW to create a united front and form a Land Owners Association. It’s doubtful that Paragon will admit to any wrongdoing or mitigate any grievances caused by their despicable greed.

However, if we want to save our investment in Costa Rica, we can take a proactive stance and protect what we know to be the truth; whether that truth comes in the form of an executed deed, a signed contract, a cancelled check, or any other legally binding document. Those documents link us to our properties and Paragon to their obligation of registering our deeds into the National Registry and developing their infrastructure. I believe we must pursue all avenues for justice however; it seems that suing Paragon via a “civil” lawsuit did not elicit a respectable response. I wonder what would happen if there was a criminal law suit filed against them for fraud. I believe the penalty for a guilty verdict is jail. That seems fair to me.

There are many more of us than there are of “them” (Paragon associates). Together, we can stand strong against these bullies who took our money, our time and are now trying to take away our hope. Please know that we can reclaim our dream by coming together, finding our own financing, developing our own infrastructures, and creating our own communities. This is the best way to show Paragon that we won.

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What’s your name, where do you live, where is your property, did you receive your deeds, have you paid your property taxes? The dead line to pay them is December of this year, 2014. If you DO NOT PAY THEM, YOU WILL LOSE YOUR PROPERTY! Are you interested in meeting down in Costa Rica with other owners and help us ban together to form this Land Owners Association? If so, please click here and send us an email.

  • Your name on the deed/title creates certainty in ownership if anyone were to contest your right of possession.

  • You pay NO more corporate taxes (which cost approximately $205 per year if it is classified “inactive”) and simply pay property taxes- which are minimal (approximately $100 per lot.)

    • In my last article I advised you to survey your lands and stake your claim to your lots. You MUST delineate your individual parcels; hire a surveyor and fence them in. Costa Rican “Squatters Rights” makes it easy for any unscrupulous entity/person to take your property through adverse possession. If you are interested in getting the facts on how to survey, fence and run surveillance on your properties, please let us know- Click here and send us an email. We can connect you with the appropriate sources for those services.

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    I believe everything happens for a reason and sometimes, things happen to force us into an expanded state of awareness. We are then moved to walk into our power. It is then that we realize who we are and why we are here. Maybe this is one of those moments? What do you think?

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    Written by VIP Member Clarita Bassett.

    Article ID Number 4829

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    There is one comment:

    • James L Jock at 11:51 am

      I had the same thing happen yo me and have not received any information on my purchase even after going there multiple times.

      Reply

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