| As advertised since 2006 |
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| Rocky Point Exposed |
Be Careful, Be Very Careful!
| Status in 2010 |
| The information herein has been obtained from various sources and is not guaranteed by rockypointexposed.com. Prospective investors are advised to conduct their own investigation of the information contained herein before proceeding with any real estate investment in Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco). The information contained on this site is not legal advice. While the highest standards were used in compiling this information it should not be considered legal advice and all legal questions should be handled by appropriate representation. Copyright rockypointexposed.com. All rights reserved. Web Hosting by Yahoo! |
THE HISTORY OF VILLA CORTEZ
Located on Encanto Beach, west of La Jolla, this project in early 2000 was originally called the Villages II Project. The builder
of the development is a Scottsdale, Arizona based company called Manchester Homes. The developer, Mr. David
Letourneau allegedly took money from buyers of the development but the Villages II project never materialized. It is assumed
that several buyers were switched to Villa Cortez. The developer has since taken many deposits from new buyers beginning
in 2006, and claims that the first unit (Andalusia) is 90% reserved.
Investors were told that the first completed units would be delivered in late 2007.
In June of 2007, investors were then told that delivery of their completed units
would begin in eighteen months (December 2008).
As of January, 2009, other than the model, no infrastructure has been put in place to support a project of this size, (water,
sewer, desalinization plant, electricity, etc.), nor has ground been broken on any buildings, as a result, no units have been
delivered. The general consensus is that this project will never happen!
It has been determined that the developer is having financial difficulties and is trying to secure new financing. Some investors
have requested refunds and are seeking legal recourse for recovery of deposit monies.
As of 2008, the project was still being advertised in the Rocky Point Times and billboards were in place throughout the city.
The model was open and sales activity continued.
| Visit www.rockypointexposed.com/blog to post a comment |
| 2009 billboards |
| OVER 90% RESERVED |
"I Invested in Villa Cortez in 2006 on a unit to be delivered in December. 2008. As of 2009, nothing! Just a model and lots of empty sand." Villa Cortez investor |
| "This development will never happen" Playa Encanto residents |
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This property to be auctioned, June 4, 2009 |
Villa Cortez Beachfront Development Site - The unspoiled,
pristine beach of Puerto Peñasco, Mexico provides the serene
backdrop for Villa Cortez, a stunning and alluring resort
development originally designed to perfect the art of “getting
away from it all”. The Villa Cortez site is 34± acres with 670± feet
of beachfront that has already been authorized for up to 1,086
condos and permitted and approved for 318 condos. This
magnificent 34± acre site is cradled between the warm waters of
the Sea of Cortez and the Morua Estuary, an area well known for
its extraordinary tranquility and diverse wildlife. Yet, it will be
only a short 15 minute drive from the new airport. The site
boasts 869± feet of shoreline on this spectacular estuary.
Development plans are available and the entitlements could be
is transferable. For more information and Villa Cortez
promotional materials and/or entitlement documents, contact
United Country/The Redfield Group at 1-866-673-9270.
Directions: From the intersection of Benito Juarez and Fremont
Boulevard, go east on Fremont Boulevard for approximately 8
miles and turn right. Go 4 miles and you will come to a Y. Stay
right and go another 8/10 mile to the intersection. Turn right and
stay right at the next Y, going 2.7 miles to the Bella Vita
entrance. Go through the entrance and continue 4/10 mile to the
property. The road goes through the Villa Cortez property.
pristine beach of Puerto Peñasco, Mexico provides the serene
backdrop for Villa Cortez, a stunning and alluring resort
development originally designed to perfect the art of “getting
away from it all”. The Villa Cortez site is 34± acres with 670± feet
of beachfront that has already been authorized for up to 1,086
condos and permitted and approved for 318 condos. This
magnificent 34± acre site is cradled between the warm waters of
the Sea of Cortez and the Morua Estuary, an area well known for
its extraordinary tranquility and diverse wildlife. Yet, it will be
only a short 15 minute drive from the new airport. The site
boasts 869± feet of shoreline on this spectacular estuary.
Development plans are available and the entitlements could be
is transferable. For more information and Villa Cortez
promotional materials and/or entitlement documents, contact
United Country/The Redfield Group at 1-866-673-9270.
Directions: From the intersection of Benito Juarez and Fremont
Boulevard, go east on Fremont Boulevard for approximately 8
miles and turn right. Go 4 miles and you will come to a Y. Stay
right and go another 8/10 mile to the intersection. Turn right and
stay right at the next Y, going 2.7 miles to the Bella Vita
entrance. Go through the entrance and continue 4/10 mile to the
property. The road goes through the Villa Cortez property.
| Lien position clarification per letter from David Letorneau, developer of Villa Cortez. "Liens totalling $11,158,469.00" |
| Breaking News: No bidders! |
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The following letter was recently sent to Villa Cortez buyers and stakeholders from David Letourneau, developer of Villa Cortez. Bolded and underlined portions of the letter were originated by Mr. Letourneau. It would appear that those emphasized portions seem to imply threats to individuals who might consider taking legal action to recoup their investment. |
To All Buyers and Stakeholders;
(Items in bold as per original document)
It has been brought to our attention that there may be a group of you that are going to attempt to file an additional lien on the Villa Cortez
property. This is a lengthy message, but I urge everyone to read it completely, because the consequences of such an action could have
an extremely negative impact on the entire group, including those considering this action.
Lien Position Clarification
A few of you have asked for additional clarification about the lien that has been placed in your favor on the property.
There are now a total of three liens on this property as follows:
1) Lien with a face value of $170,265 (not including accrued interest and points) that was originally backing a hard money loan and has been in
place for a number of years. The release is within our control.
2) Lien with a face value of $1,050,000 that was recently placed by one of the first investors in the property. Several years ago, this investor
advanced additional funds when they were needed to keep the property free and clear from legal problems. As part of the negotiation to have these
funds advanced, he obtained the right to lien the property in the event that construction and development became stalled.
3) Lien with a face value of $9,938,204 which is the total of the stakeholders’ deposits and accounts as of August, 2008.This lien does not include
the partners’ cash advances contributed to the project.
Upon sale of the property, the sale proceeds would go to escrow and the liens would be paid directly from escrow.
If any of you would like a copy of the lien certificate, just reply to this message and I will send it to you.
If you have a concern that any of the funds that were deposited with Vil Cor went to any other use than for the pre-construction, construction, marketing
and development of Villa Cortez, then you will be pleased to know that one of the stakeholders is an accountant and he has generously volunteered his
time on behalf of the entire group to review and put together a listing of all of the expenditures of Vil Cor on this project and make them available to all
of you. He is in the middle of tax season right now, but should be able to start on this after April.
At the present time, we have verbal confirmation that those individuals controlling the first two liens would agree to an equal and pro-rata
division of funds regardless of their legal lien position, in the event that the sale of the property was for an amount that would fall short of
paying everyone 100% of their funds. However, that verbal agreement could change in the event that the current spirit of harmony and
good faith turns to an adversarial relationship through legal action by even a small group.
Legal Action
A number of you have approached us to get further information regarding your rights as it relates to commencing legal action. We appreciate the
forthright way in which you have addressed this and after a thorough review by our legal team, here is the position as it has been related to the partners:
The attorneys in Hermosillo and Tucson have been attempting to convince people that you would be well served by retaining them. If you were to do
that, it is only logical that they will report back that they can take various actions to enhance your position. This is always the case with legal work as it is
an endless quagmire of gray areas. Just as our legal team is extremely confident that they could defeat any action that might be brought forward, any
well qualified attorney acting for the other side will have an equivalent level of confidence that they can make a great fight of it and possibly win. We
understand that the legal argument presented to you is that a lien in Mexico must have a name attached to it and that if it doesn’t, it could be invalidated.
We believe that is correct, which is why the name attached to your lien is a Mexican corporation called Advision Administradora S.A. de C.V. with a
contract to protect all of you as listed on a schedule within the agreement between Vil Cor and Advision. It seems unlikely that a court would award an
additional lien to anyone that is already protected by a lien currently in place. The reason that the list of creditors and amounts was not made public was
to preserve the privacy of all of you. You each have a letter from the attorney that put all of this together informing you of the amount of your position
within the lien. The important question relates to what could be gained by legal action and then to analyze that, while also considering
what could be lost. While it is extremely difficult to identify any upside to legal action, other than to provide work for attorneys, the downside is easily
identifiable.
The partners of Villa Cortez are currently working diligently on your behalf to find a buyer for the property through the real estate auction process. This
process is very time intensive, with all of the realtors and their support people that require information and support regarding the marketing material,
legal and property information for them to firstly identify potential bidders and secondly to work with them through the due diligence process including
site tours and complete disclosure. If our relationship with you, the stakeholders turns from the positive support that we have today to adversarial with
lawyers in the middle, then the substantial energy that is currently being invested in the project will quickly drain away and the result is that there will be
no advocate left with the knowledge, time and motivation to work for a positive result for all of us. All we will have is a great piece of property and a host
of lawyers looking for ways to run up their bill. We have seen many cases in Mexico where the lawyers ended up with the entire property.
Auction Update
We are at a critical time for some final decisions regarding the auction, which is currently scheduled for May 14th. The marketing costs for this process
are approximately $250,000, and the entire amount is our responsibility. The realtors are already committing their time and resources including their
whole team and do not bear any of the marketing costs. Now comes the problem. Vil Cor ran out of cash well over a year ago, so in order to arrange for
this marketing money, all 4 partners will have to personally guarantee a hard money loan, which we have been fortunate enough to find. We were
prepared to do that before we heard that some of you might be working against the common interest of the group. If you launch a legal challenge to the
lien, it could derail the auction and we would have to cancel it, but all or most of the marketing money would probably have been committed or
spent. I’m sure that you can see our dilemma here. We believe that the only way we can proceed with the auction is to get a signed assurance from
both of the above mentioned lawyers that no legal action will be undertaken until the results of the auction are known, and if a Purchase and Sale
agreement is signed, no action will be taken before the closing of the transaction. We ask those of you that are paying these lawyers, to contact them
and obtain these agreements. This will have to take place within the next few days or the auction will have to be delayed or cancelled.
Summary
For the immediate future, the partners of Villa Cortez continue to be committed to working positively on behalf of the entire group to identify a solution to
the current problem. That will change quickly if any individual or group decides that they would rather work against the best interests of the rest of the
group. For one individual or group of individuals to attempt to get a lien that would position themselves in priority to the rest of the group is so offensive
that we would fight to the end to protect those that have not broken the faith of the larger group. If such is the case, we will turn this project over to our
lawyers and let them take it where it leads, without any positive results for many years into the future. Please ask your lawyers how long will it take until
all levels of the legal proceedings are finally adjudicated. Our experience is that the minimum time would be 2 years but as long as 5 to 7 years if the
cases are vigorously defended, as we intend to do. And then, how many more years will it take until the property is sold so that the liens can be paid
off? During this entire time, who would be leading these efforts and at what cost?
We are all facing financial challenges in these difficult times and it is to be expected that emotions would run high. The current situation is difficult and
maddening and yet the only solution with a chance of a happy ending is to work together and put every good idea into action until the job is done. With
that in mind, please reply to this email with any additional ideas you may have or if you have unanswered questions or concerns. It is our every intention
to see this through to the most favorable conclusion possible. To the majority of you that continue to positively support the efforts of the group, we thank
you again and you can rest assured that we will do everything within our power to protect your interests. I can’t possibly do an adequate job of
expressing my appreciation to those of you that have offered your support through email, phone calls, thoughts and prayers during this stressful period.
Thank you!
David Letourneau
Villa Cortez a project by Vil Cor Development S.A. de C.V.
Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The auction of the Villa Cortez property was held today at the Airport Marriott in Phoenix. There were over 50 people in attendance but
only one person registered to bid and their interest was in one of the parcels being offered by Grupo Majestic. Unfortunately, there were
no bids or offers received on the Villa Cortez parcel or any of the other properties available. The advertising for this event was
worldwide with circulation and exposure to millions of people. United Country Realty and Colliers received more than 180 requests for
information as a result of the promotion and they will follow up with all of them to see if they can get an offer after the fact.
As discussed in a previous update, the company is committed to finding a workable solution to the current situation as quickly as
possible. To that end, alternative plans are already being considered. You will receive more details as these concepts are refined but for
now, please provide your feedback on a couple of ideas that are currently being explored.
One such idea is to do a subdivision of the property into single and multi-family home lots in a master planned setting. A developer has
approached us and is prepared to refine the plan with input from the stakeholders. Each stakeholder would be given the opportunity to
choose a lot (or lots) and then could either build on them or sell them. The advantages of this concept revolve around the flexibility
afforded to each stakeholder and the fact that each of you would be able to make your decisions independently. For those that don’t
want to deal with any of this, they could be part of a pool of lots that would be listed and sold as quickly as possible with a pro-rata
share distributed with each lot sold.
The second idea came with an approach from another Puerto Penasco developer
who would like to buy the property by giving a credit to each of you for your
deposit to be applied to the purchase of a condo in another development.
Another meeting has been scheduled with this group for next week to start
refining and clarifying the details of their proposal.
Please respond to this email with your feedback, insight or any other ideas that you might have for resolution of this situation. It is too
early to attempt to respond to your questions, but if you have specific concerns, they will be included in our feedback to the two
developers in these discussions. Please be assured that no action will be taken without the opportunity for you to provide your input.
Thank you again for your continued support and patience. It is greatly appreciated during these challenging times.
Warmest regards,
David Letourneau
President
Villa Cortez, A project by Vil Cor Development S. A. de C. V.
The auction of the Villa Cortez property was held today at the Airport Marriott in Phoenix. There were over 50 people in attendance but
only one person registered to bid and their interest was in one of the parcels being offered by Grupo Majestic. Unfortunately, there were
no bids or offers received on the Villa Cortez parcel or any of the other properties available. The advertising for this event was
worldwide with circulation and exposure to millions of people. United Country Realty and Colliers received more than 180 requests for
information as a result of the promotion and they will follow up with all of them to see if they can get an offer after the fact.
As discussed in a previous update, the company is committed to finding a workable solution to the current situation as quickly as
possible. To that end, alternative plans are already being considered. You will receive more details as these concepts are refined but for
now, please provide your feedback on a couple of ideas that are currently being explored.
One such idea is to do a subdivision of the property into single and multi-family home lots in a master planned setting. A developer has
approached us and is prepared to refine the plan with input from the stakeholders. Each stakeholder would be given the opportunity to
choose a lot (or lots) and then could either build on them or sell them. The advantages of this concept revolve around the flexibility
afforded to each stakeholder and the fact that each of you would be able to make your decisions independently. For those that don’t
want to deal with any of this, they could be part of a pool of lots that would be listed and sold as quickly as possible with a pro-rata
share distributed with each lot sold.
The second idea came with an approach from another Puerto Penasco developer
who would like to buy the property by giving a credit to each of you for your
deposit to be applied to the purchase of a condo in another development.
Another meeting has been scheduled with this group for next week to start
refining and clarifying the details of their proposal.
Please respond to this email with your feedback, insight or any other ideas that you might have for resolution of this situation. It is too
early to attempt to respond to your questions, but if you have specific concerns, they will be included in our feedback to the two
developers in these discussions. Please be assured that no action will be taken without the opportunity for you to provide your input.
Thank you again for your continued support and patience. It is greatly appreciated during these challenging times.
Warmest regards,
David Letourneau
President
Villa Cortez, A project by Vil Cor Development S. A. de C. V.
This is exactly the same ploy presented to North Beach investors in June, 2008 by representatives of the Mexican government. The condominium development they mentioned had no knowledge of the governments proposition and North Beach investors are still waiting for details. |