Vila Verde Resort Santa Maria

Outstanding Issues

2011-11-26T05:44:00.001-08:00

We have been informed that many clients have still not received reponses to their outstanding issues. As tecnicil believes that this is NOT the case then it might be useful to have a "Show of Hands" on this post by adding your comments. We will publish all comments, except abusive comments.

Thanks!

Rental Return Payments

2011-09-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

Boa noite a tudos!

Just a few words to get you into the spirit of where you have bought. Or we could say "tudo dret" from the Criole.

We wanted to communicate to you the committment Tecnicil have with all the clients in the rental return scheme. While true that we have been unable to pay anyone any of the amounts for the last two years this has not been for reasons within our control. What Alfredo Carvalho has said is that we plan to start paying the delayed rental income apart from March 2012! I am sure you will agree this is positive news and we look forward to see you on Sal.

Remember if you are in the rental return scheme and feel you are owed money then ensure you have informed us of this by writing to Gustavo Semedo, the Financial Manager on gsemedo@tecnicil.com

Contact details for Tecnicil

2011-09-09T16:07:00.000-07:00

After consultation with the board of directos they have finally agreed, and as you know it has taken time, for the contact details to be published so you can write directly to those members of the board you feel it important to communicate with.

Tecnicil Board Members who should be able to assist you.

Chairman of the Board and Owner of Tecnicil Group

Alfredo Carvalho

email: acarvalho@tecnicil.com

Alfredo speaks and understands English very well.

Ex CEO and current replacement for Nuno Martins, role as yet undefined but appears to be taking hold of many aspects of the resort.

Jorge Benchimol Duarte

email: jbduarte@tecnicil.com

Mobile: +2389912145

Jorge speaks good English and will be willing to help.

Other non board members.

Gustavo Semedo - Financial Manager

email: gsemedo@tecnicil.com

Mobile Phone: +238 9974128

We have put Gustavo's telephone number although calling him might be hard as he doesn't speak English or much Portuguese. He really only speaks Creole as he does not get off the island of Santiago much.

Gustavo is responsible for payments (or non payments!) of refunds, rental return income and other expenses on the resort and within Tecnicil. Many of you might find it useful to write to him, he will be able to find someone to read the emails to him so you can be sure that he will read them. If not you can try and call as his assistance Francisco is always with him and does speak some English.

We regret to report that Iain Tozer has terminated his contract with Tecnicil as of this week. We had hoped he would stay on for longer but unfortunately it appears it was not possible. He has said he will still be available to assist clients via the company Silver River Consultancy. You can write to him on iain@silverriverconsultancy.com

In the meantime have a great weekend. Boa noite!

Furniture Update

2011-08-22T04:50:00.000-07:00

Although the title sounds like we may be about to give some new news, we really wanted clients to be aware that as yet we have taken no decision as to which furniture supplier we will use to finalise the installation of furniture in Vila Verde.

Items that remain outstanding include, but are not limited to:

Regretablly we have been unable to reach agreements in the last two years to actually purchase the remaining items. Hopefully there will be a deal brokered soon to resolve this, in the meantime please bear with us as we are trying to ensure the resort has the best finish posible.

We are publishing this information in a spirit of openness. Tomorrow we will publish the full excel file with the breakdown of what is missing by community. It will have to be a downloadable file.

Item	Initial Stock	Total Requirement	Stock Necessary
Item
Sofabed 3 seater (Chocolate brown)	57	432	375
Sofa 2 seater OLIMPO (Chocolate brown)	39	285	246
Extendable dining table	234	285	51
Buffet	369	394	25
Console	311	319	8
Console Mirror	309	319	10
Mattress 150x190	62	335	273
Single double/single bed whit slat	478	555	77
Single bed	8	14	6
Mattress 90x190 (Colchão 90x190)	216	1074	858
Paintings (60x100)	26	52	26
Paintings (60x100)	26	52	26
Paintings (60x80)	8	20	12
Paintings (60x80)	8	20	12
Paintings (60x80)	0	12	12
Paintings(60x80)	0	12	12
Paitntings (50x80)	13	27	14
Paintings (50x80)	13	27	14
Paintings (80x80)	21	39	18
Paintings (80x80)	21	39	18
Paintings (60x60)	19	28	9
Paintings (60x60)	19	28	9
Paintings (60x60)	6	14	8
Paintings (60x60)	6	14	8
Paintings (60x120)	3	18	15
Paintings (60x120)	3	18	15
Paintings(60x60)	1	20	19
Paintings (60x60)	1	20	19
Paintings(60x60)	1	7	6
Paintings(60x60)	1	7	6
Paintings(60x60)	15	24	9
Paintings(60x60)	15	24	9
Paintings (50x70)	19	53	34
Paintings (50x70)	19	53	34
Paintings(60x60)	6	13	7
Paintings(60x60)	6	13	7
Paintings(80x50)	13	21	8
Paintings(80x50)	13	21	8
Kitchen pack T0: box 1/3	16	44	28
kitchen pack T0: box 2/3	16	44	28
Kitchen pack T1: box 1/3	32	105	73
kitchen pack T1: box 2/3	32	105	73
Kitchen pack T2: box 1/3	60	222	162
kitchen pack T2: box 2/3	60	222	162
Kitchen pack T3: box 1/3	9	56	47
kitchen pack T3: box 2/3	9	56	47
kitchen pack T4: box 1/3	0	7	7
kitchen pack T4: box 2/3	0	7	7
Ironing board (Tábua de passar)	117	432	315
Dush pan (Pá de lixo)	117	432	315
Drush	117	432	315
Coffeee macker (Maq. Café)	117	432	315
Steam iron (Ferro passar)	117	432	315
Juicer (Espremedor eléctrico)	117	432	315
Kettle (Fervedor eléctrico)	117	432	315
Toaster (Tostadeira)	117	432	315
Bedding T0: box 1/3	17	42	25
Bedding T0: box 2/3	17	42	25
Bedding T0: box 3/3	17	42	25
Bedding T1: box 1/3	31	105	74
Bedding T1: box 2/3	31	105	74
Bedding T1: box 3/3	31	105	74
Bedding T2: box 1/4	53	222	169
Bedding T2: box 2/4	53	222	169
Bedding T2: box 3/4	53	222	169
Bedding T2: box 4/4	53	222	169
Bedding T3: box 1/5	9	56	47
Bedding T3: box 2/5	9	56	47
Bedding T3: box 3/5	9	56	47
Bedding T3: box 4/5	9	56	47
Bedding T3: box 5/5	9	56	47
Bedding T4: box 1/6	0	7	7
Bedding T4: box 2/6	0	7	7
Bedding T4: box 3/6	0	7	7
Bedding T4: box 4/6	0	7	7
Bedding T4: box 5/6	0	7	7
Bedding T4: box 6/6	0	7	7
HYTW8003 H 20CM	1265	3987	2722
HYC8002 S 15CM	449	2025	1576
HYC8002 M 25CM	550	1982	1432
HYT8001	386	1548	1162
Decorative Vase Lilac	20	25	5
Decorative Vase Lilac	8	25	17
Decorative VaseCoffe Silver	63	89	26
Decorative Vase Coffe Silver	46	86	40
Decorative Vase Red	21	28	7
Decorative Vase Red	4	28	24
Bath screen	125	520	395
Shower screen	59	198	139
Bathroom accessories T0	17	42	25
Bathroom accessories T1	33	105	72
Bathroom accessories T2	65	444	379
Bathroom accessories T3	9	166	157
Bathroom accessories T4	0	28	28
Rugs 5x100 Pewter	40	62	22
Rugs 5x100 Cappucino	18	34	16
Rugs 2x2.6 Cappucino	7	9	2
Large Rug 1-,6X2,5 Vanilla	15	16	1
Rugs 5x100 Vanilla	30	56	26
Rugs 5x100 Champagne	70	130	60
Rugs 5x100 Mocca	52	64	12
Rugs 2x2,6 Mango	4	10	6
Air Conditioning (exterior)	47	146	99
Air Conditioning (exterior)	34	102	68
Air Conditioning (interior)	178	713	535
Air Conditioning (interior)	131	440	309
Air Conditioning (exterior)	56	239	183
PVC Rattan chairs	0	944	944
PVC Rattan armchairs	0	828	828
PVC Rattan table	0	44	44
PVC Rattan Square table	0	384	384
PVC Rattan Rectangular table	0	59	59

Contact Details

2011-08-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

Good day to you all.

Given the difficulty some of you are experiencing in communicating with Tecnicil, something will be made worse now Nuno has left, we thought it important for you to have the contact details of the people who are dealing with issues in Tecnicil.

The ex CEO Jorge Benchimol Duarte has come back to the company in a role that has not been defined to us but it appears he is in communication with some people. He was a member of the board of directors but we are unsure if he still is.

His email is jbduarte@tecnicil.com and he can be contacted directly on his mobile which is +238 9912145

Many thanks for your patience. We will update you when we get more information.

In the next few days we will post the list of missing furniture items for you to assist with your planning.

Changes at Tecnicil

2011-08-10T05:06:00.001-07:00

As has been advanced to some of you by some of the legal firms, Nuno Martins no longer works for Tecnicil. He has gone on to pastures new and we wish him all the best.

Nuno was with the company for 6 years and has seen the growth of projects such as Vila Verde since the very beginning up to now. He has done his best always to try and bridge the cultural / communication gap between our clients and the company. It has not always been easy and Nuno has always made a tremendous effort. In a world where extra effort often goes unnoticed we want to thank him for what he achieved.

Good Luck Nuno!

Refund Clients

2011-07-23T07:31:00.001-07:00

Some clients have signed agreements with us to get their money returned.

Given we have experienced some delays in beginning refunding we would be grateful if any refund client could write to itozer@tecnicil.com

Many thanks!

Furniture Update

2011-06-03T00:04:00.001-07:00

Early next week we will update the blog with some information regarding furniture on the Vila Verde Resot. There have been a few let downs when it comes to the delivery of furniture and as a result many apartments are, as some of you, missing some items.

The full list of missing items plus the steps that are being taken to remedy the situation will be included. If you believe you are missing iems please leave a comment here on the blog.

Mortgages

2011-05-03T02:55:00.000-07:00

Good day to you all! Some clients have had questions about mortgages. Please direct any questions or concerns to mortgages@tecnicil.com or to itozer@tecnicil.com

It may be that you have written to us recently. If so please contact itozer@tecnicil.com to be given priority with this.

Many thanks.

Compensation

2011-04-12T02:52:00.000-07:00

There have been some communication to us about the compensation. There appears to be confusion here and we would like to explain what is happening.

The completions process, as we have explained before, involves both buyer and Tecnicil having to jump through certain hoops at certain times. What we have explained clearly several times is that if a buyer simply does not complete then we have to begin reducing the compensation. It is VITAL that you communicate with us at Tecnicil. We have seen that it is not always very efficient to limit yourself to writing to the lawyers. They have their hands full and may not communicate with Tecnicil in a timely fashion.

As the resort is now ready and 99% of the units have been released for snagging, all clients who have purchased with us and intend to complete should be in dialogue with us regarding this. Once the compensation levels begin to reduce they can not be put back.

So if you have issues that you feel have to be resolved BEFORE deeds you need to contact us urgently so we can discuss this with you.

I hope the spelling is better now!

Updates on Completions

2011-04-05T08:31:00.001-07:00

Some clients had pointed out that we had not mentioned other units apart from the apartments in our post about which properties have been finalised and are now ready for snagging.

Let's be clear. ALL properties on the Vila Verde are now finalised for and ALL clients, as far as Tecnicil is concered, have been notified to snag. If you feel you have not been notified then this will be because we do not have your contact details correctly in our system. We use ONLY the details contained in the contract.

The ONLY exceptions to the above are certain units on Washingtonia and in Melaleuca.

If you are concerned that you have not received notification please contact Iain and he will explain the process.

Remember that the snagging notification provides dates for you to inspect you property. If you have missed these dates then the property will be sold "as is".

Once again contact us if you think that you have not been notified or if you have any other reason for not proceeding directly to deeds.

Write to itozer@tecnicil.com and we will acknowledge you in the same day.

Have a great evening.

Snagging Updates for ALL Communities

2011-03-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here at Tecnicil we wanted to make it as clear as possible what the current situation is with regards to snagging and which communities should have been snagged by yourselves or your snagging representatives.

The Communities that have been finalised now and should have been snagged are ALL of the communities except Melaleuca.

To be specific the following communities have beeen finalised and ALL clients should have been notified for snagging. If you have not arranged the snagging of your property by now then it will be sold "As is". If you have any questions concerning this please contact Iain on itozer@tecnicil.com

Communities Finished to date.

Phase I Communities

CANNA (Unit codes beginning C04)

SEDUM (Unit Codes beginning C07)

ALOE (Unit Codes beginning C05)

COPROSMA (Unit Codes beginning C11)

ATRIPLEX (Unit Codes beginning C03)

PEPPER (Unit Codes beginning C09)

FICUS (Unit Codes beginning C08)

CALLISTEMON (Unit Codes beginning C06)

TASSEL (Unit Codes beginning C10)

PHASE II Communities

LANTANA (Unit Codes beginning C01)

RAPHIS (Unit Codes beginning C12)

CACTUS (Unit Codes beginning C02)

If you own property in MELALEUCA the please start the arrangements for snagging the property now.

COMMON SNAGS AND DEFECTS

Just to assist you through the completions process you may wonder why some of the defects on your property have been marked for later correction. This is NOT because Tecnicil does not want to correct these issues, it is merely from a planning point of view.

Bear in mind that Tecnicil have been in the construction business for many years and intend to continue in this business. We do not intend to leave any snags outstanding but by the same token some snags are more efectively dealt with if we do them all in one go.

So if there are some snags that have been outstanding and you have not received a written assurance from us as to the correction of these defects please request this today.

Be advised that we will not hold up the completions for these types of defects. Once you have the assurance you should move to deeds. Also bear in mind you have a one year guarantee for the apartment so you need not worry about certain defects that may appear after deeds as we will also attend to these.

ALL owners from the above mentioned communities who have not yet completed need to communicate their concerns to us in the next week or so. We have to begin withdrawing units now so as to plan correctly for the next 6 months.

The Country Club

2011-03-15T06:05:00.000-07:00

Some clients have asked us some questions about the Country Club and the idea is that the club will offer restaurant and bar services to both residents and non residents of the resort.

The country club will be the centre of other activities such as live music and even corporate events. The hotel and resorts management team envisage preparing conferences there, for example. Cape Verde does play host to many conferences from other African countries and we hope to see our facilities on Vila verde as a venue for these.

Onsite Facilities Looking Good!

2011-02-19T02:42:00.000-08:00

Updates on common areas.

Many clients have asked us about the surrounding areas of the Vila Verde Santa Maria resort on Sal Island. People have been concerned that these areas are not ready.

So here are a few photos for you all.

The children's playground is finished.

For those clients still waiting for informaiton or feel the ball is in our court, so to speak, please contact us on info@tecnicil.com so we can resolve any doubts you may have.

Country Club

2011-02-07T10:27:00.000-08:00

The country club by the townhouses is coming along very well. I have added some photos today which you can see in our web album.

https://picasaweb.google.com/VilaVerdeSantaMaria/CountryClubAndTownhouses#

Photos of Cactus and Maleleuca

2011-01-27T00:47:00.000-08:00

Good day to you all. We have got some photos of Cactus and Maleleuca for you. We have posted them on our web album in the usual place. The higher photo is Maleleuca and the one below is Cactus. Click on each photo to see the respective album.

Cactus

2011-01-22T03:32:00.000-08:00

We know, we know. We have promised photos for the interior of Cactus but we have had all kinds of daft problems that have impeded this. If some of you regard this as a parallel to our service then it should be pointed out we are real estate development company and, in the light of recent comments, agree that we should not be conteplating starting any form of photographic company!

In terms of written updates in Cactus. The whole community is now finished and every client should have received notification for snagging. Many have now received notification for title deeds.

If you have not received any of these notifications and are owners of a property on Cactus community please contact us via itozer@tecnicil.com and we will see what's happening with the communications.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Riu Hotels announce dates for their new hotel

2011-01-15T02:44:00.000-08:00

Last week the Spanish hotel group Riu Hotel and Resorts announced that they have set May 6th as the day for opening their new hotel on the Cape Verdean island of Boavista.

The Riu Touareg will be the 5th Riu gotel in the country and will be a frontline, 24 hour all inclusive hotel.

In this hotel the group have decided to depart from their usual model and will be separating the resort in three distinct sections - An Adult Section, Families and Children and the Classic section. The group have explained this philosophy like this.

In the area for adults the guests can enjoy certain exclusive services such as having a restaurant and swimming only for adults.

The Family area will have exclusive swimming pools and play areas as well as group activities tailored for families.

Finally the Classic area will offer the services that all of the other Riu Hotels offer.

This is great news for Cape Verde as it indicates, once again, the long term view that many large groups are taking with regards to tourism. While may argue that all inclusive tourism doesn't benefit the country, we at Tecnicil welcome these initiatives. After all, the more tourists that come, the more tourists will want to return. Their first visit may be all inclusive but perhaps their second visit will be self catering in our resort.

Whatever your opinion, we congratulate Riu Hotels and Resorts and wish the Riu Touareg great success for the future.

Cape Verde Third in Lonely Planet's Top Ten Countries for 2011

2011-01-12T06:31:00.000-08:00

Good news for Cape Verde's tourism market as the travel editor's ranking of the top ten countries for 2011 showed Cape Verde in third place after Albania and Brazil.

In choosing the destinations the lonely planet team use four main criteria for choosing a destination: topicality, excitement, value for money and, that all elusive aspect the "X" Factor. I think we'd rather call it the "Wow" factor, but we know what the media is like.

You can see the whole report here.

Melaleuca Photos January 2011

2011-01-09T12:43:00.000-08:00

Good evening to all of you! We have just posted some photos of Melaleuca taken last week.

Do give us some feedback on these and let us know if you have any questions moving into 2011.

As many of you know we are into the final leg of completing the resort and are making preparations for the "soft launch" of the resort. We will send out more details when we are closer to the date.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T04:06:00.000-08:00

And all the best for 2011 from everyone at Tecnicil!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2010-12-25T08:33:00.001-08:00

And we hope to see you all soon in Vila Verde.

Have a great holiday!

Tecnicil.

Mr. Nelson Evora

2010-12-18T05:54:00.000-08:00

Many of you will have had dealings with our Area Manager for Sal Island, Mr. Nelson Evora. Regrettably Nelson has now left Tecnicil. He has moved on to another opportunity that presented itself and we wish him all the best and offer our thanks for the time and effort he put in over the past few years.

Good luck Nelson! It was good to have you as part of the company!

For any enquiries and questions you had for Nelson please direct them to Denyse Evora (No relation) on devora@tecnicil.com

Many thanks.

Christmas is Coming

2010-12-12T02:32:00.000-08:00

and we have seen huge changes in the resort over the past few months. I know that for some people they may regard these changes as taking too long, but anyone who has been on our resort over the last lap have invariably gone home extremely happy.

The internal finish is excellent and the overall "look" of the resort is exactly what we wanted. Of course there are snags, there are no developments in the world built without snags! However, the greenery is growing in now and the "face" of the resort is really outstanding.

We have had a steady flow of owners staying in their units now. This has been a steep learning curve for all of us. Having clients come to stay on our resort has been new for Tecnicil and we have added resource to our team on the ground there so to try and meet the expectations and demands of our customers. Bear in mind that we have a committment to Sal and to Cape Verde that is, perhaps, greater than that of the resorts such as Riu. What does this mean? Essentially we bet on local staff to provide our services. This can mean selecting personnel from other islands, training and bringing them in.

As our small team grows in both size and experience we are confident that we will meet and ultimately exceed the demands of our clients.

This month should see the opening of the supermarket and the finalisation of all of the buildings. We then only have to attedn to some cosmetic aspects and our resort will be finished. Next year will see th eproper "launch" of Vila Verde Resort Santa Maria.

Many clients ask us why we do not seem to have agreements in place yet with many tour operators. We do actually have some agreements however, in these tough economic times, many of the tour operators want to decide at the last minute. We are lucky on Sal as we still have Thomson providing ongoing tour operations (They have pulled out of the Algarve, for example!). This keeps our Island on the top of the tourist mind.

2011 promises to be our year at Vila Verde. We will roll out the resort properly to many countires. we will open the shops and bars and we will attract, without a doubt, all of the tourists that are on Sal.

Completions and Communication

2010-12-01T05:01:00.000-08:00

Good day to everyone. We have seen the news in London of snow on the ground, albeit fleetingly, so warm greetings from Cape Verde where it is currently 26ºC.

We thought it would be a good idea to explain what we are doing at the moment with regards to communication. We have a team of people who are helping clients coordinate with the lawyers and the team we have on Sal Island. Our team may call you and try and find out where you are with regards to your completion.

Aspects to take into account: This is a service we are offering to help you! It may be that the person you speak to is not up to speed with all communication you have had with various members of staff in our company. We do not have a centralised system so if you have agreed something with Nelson, or Iain or Nuno, the person you speak to may need to check these details before advising you. Please take into account that this is quite normal in any business. Anyone who has called Orange Customer Service in the UK like we did on our last trip will agree with us.

The person coordinating this process is Denyse Evora who speaks excellent English and will be happy to answer questions on where your completion process is at any given time. You can write to Denyse on devora@tecnicil.com

Have a great day!