sharmcliff.info Indipendent information about real estate Sharm el Sheikh

The SinaiWeekly - Issue n.38 - Sept. 1th 2008

What do you get if you put your money into the hands of an off-plan project owner you have not researched well enough? You get an 'all inclusive' package of headaches, extra payments and defeated expectations - all for a price of 47 thousand Euros.
"The 'Lucky' Ones": this is the harsh reality of nine foreign families living in 'Sharmcliff', a 'wanna-be-luxurious' compound on Hadabah. Attracted by the nice design of the compound, the promised greenery of the region, as well as by relatively affordable prices, compound's perfect location and an approaching delivery date, these nine families purchased their flats being completely sure that within maximum one year they were going to invite their close friends for new-home celebration parties. But life had other plans on this matter....

"The Scenes of a Horror Movie": "Back in 2005 when prices on property in Sharm were more than affordable, I decided to purchase a flat in Sharm El Sheikh." - Says Mrs. Cristina Gheza, a local resident - "The representative of the owner reassured me that the project will be completed in lots within 3 to 12 months, but seeing that the delivery date was postponed and the developer didn't do much to keep up his promises, I decided to move in." - She continues. This was not an easy task but after long negotiations and arguments with the owner Mrs. Cristina finally received the keys of the flat. The state she received it in was yet another story... "Power supply was still under the generator, as the whole complex was connected to the main power station only three months later. I also had to install my own pump to have water on the second floor, waiting for the owner to install the main pump for the complex. Other promises, including a telephone line and a satellite remained on the long list of 'coming soon' services." - She remembers. Time didn't bring any improvements either, as open power cables still remain on the ground putting the security of residents at risk; rubbish is still seen on every corner increasing the amount of rats in the neighbourhood; the pool is still 'under construction'; the promised blossoming areas still have nothing but heaps of sand and withered grass; no handrails raise the risk of a dangerous drop from the second floor; no security services make this region a perfect spot for thieves and other criminals; and the building constructions in front of the compound still make a lot of dust and noise. But this is not it: out of 78 promised flats, only 16 were completed up until now. Ten of them are occupied by the nine "lucky" foreign families (one family has two flats), while the other six belong to the project owner, who had turned them into staff housing and rented them out.

"Behind the Scenes": the person who made this nightmare a reality is a reliable and honest businessman with an irreproachable reputation. His official web-site depicts him as a leader in such fields as "urban and touristic developments, housing, floating hotels and Nile cruises, ostrich farming, agriculture as well as oil and gas exploration." What it forgot to mention, and as stated by Mrs. Cristina Gheza, "is that Sami El Ashram is serving a six months' sentence for 17 cases on fraud and money speculations, including a huge debt of 6 million USD to one of the national banks. Being arrested, he could no longer control the project bringing him a solid income. He needed an assistant that was soon found in the face of his wife Lamia also called 'the walking nightmare'". After her husband was put behind bars, Mrs. Lamia is taking a full charge over the project. "Under her strict supervision we were forced to pay maintenance for the non-existing services, greenery, pool and security. Furthermore, due to the fact that Mrs. Lamia did not pay the power supply bills, the electricity of the whole compound was cut off. We also had to pay 7,500 L.E. on the spot to have it back on the same day; and another 7,500 L.E. during the following month. The same thing happened with the water supply. These people stole our money, as every month we were paying Lamia our personal consumption of water and electricity." - says Mrs. Cristina. "And while we were struggling to solve the problems, Mrs. Lamia was doing her best to make our lives miserable. My new-born child and I had to live through the summer of 2007 with no water and electricity, as Lamia cut my water and power supply after having a fight with my Egyptian husband Fares" - Mrs. Lynne Barry told 'The Sinai Weekly' - "plus if anything went out of order in the compound due to her recklessness, she would refuse to take any responsibility giving us the fix-it-yourself attitude" - continues the owner of one of the flats. And they did, paying for pumps and pipes, burning power lines, garbage collection and 'maintenance' from their own pockets. The estimated expenses have already reached 30,000 L.E. with other inevitable portion of payments on its way. But if the material damage can be estimated, the emotional and psychological damage caused to all those living under the compound's roof remains unevaluated: "who will refund us for all our efforts, for all the sleepless nights and the nerves, for all the tears and the threats, for all the horrible nights when you come back home in an anticipation of the worst to happen?" - asked Mrs. Claire Lipp, another victim of Sami-Lamia cooperation. And, unfortunately, these questions are still hovering unresolved in the air.

"Any Light at the End of the Tunnel?": "We were trying to fight back Lamia filing a report to the Governor of the region, but having already sold the land to Mr. Sami he was no longer in power to do anything on the matter, so we decided to hire an attorney," - says Mrs. Florence Zabe, another resident of the compound. "With her help we raised two core cases: one- against the owner, the other dealing with water and power supply. But these actions infuriated Mrs. Lamia even more, as threats, personal insults and constant shouting became our everyday reality." "We are blackmailed as well, as Mrs. Lamia refuses paying the water and the power bills for the whole compound in an attempt to force us to drop the charges. This is why we pay water and power bills not only for our own flats but also for the six rented out," - says Mr. Robert Wilce, a resident of 'Sharmcliff' since 2006 - " every month we pay far too much, specially now during the hot summer. Our expenses have already reached ridiculous levels and we are struggling to make the both ends meet!" - He added. And there is more, as insanity doesn't know any borders: "You can expect anything from a woman carrying a knife," - Mrs. Stefanie Rukes told the paper - "her actions are totally unpredictable: once she steals a water tank from a roof of the resident, another time she blames us for things we haven't done, and yet another time she blocks the entrance to the compound with bricks not allowing us to park our cars on its territory. With zero security in this area and with the growing crime rates, I will not leave my car behind the gates of the compound." - Continued the resident. Fortunately, the brick wall was soon eliminated with the help of General Haroun as well as other public officials, who came for residents' rescue. "This is only the first step in the long process of problem solving. I hope political figures will hear our plea for help," - commented Mr. Alessandro Greggio, a local resident - "we met with different foreign investors offering Lamia to sell the project for big amounts of money. But it seems that she'd decided to torture us, as she refused to sell it at any cost." - He added. Why? We will all find out pretty soon.

"Panacea from Fraud": "naturally, there is not such a thing as 'panacea from investors' fraud', but there is such a thing as 'your own investigation'" - says Mrs. Margaret Wilce, another member of the "deceived residents circle", - "before you buy anything in any part of the world check the reliability of the developers, their background and other projects carried out by them. Talk to people, register on forums, visit useful websites and ask for recommendations. I would also recommend to hire a reliable lawyer who would make the 'investigation process' a lot easier. A power contract is also a must, because this document will be able to prove your rights on the property if need be." - She continued. Due to the bad experience these residents had, "none of us recommends investing in off-plan developments," - said Mrs. Cristina Gheza, - "but again we were unlucky." Sharm has many positive examples where developers kept their promises and delivered services to the highest standards. So if you consider buying a property, please do it intelligently, treat the issue with an extreme shrewdness, and care and remember to learn from other people's mistakes.

Article by Eugenia Ugrinovich The Sinaiweekly