Investment Inspiration – Richard Lee-Smith Falls for Morocco

Richard Lee-Smith (35) and partner Gemma Mugica Zufiaur (33) certainly took a circuitous route to arrive at a property purchase in Le Jardin de Fleur on Morocco’s Mediterranean coastline. The couple who live together in Edinburgh originally had designs for Gemma, a native Spaniard from the city of Vitoria on the northern coastline, to swap her Basque country apartment for a sunnier alternative on the southern Costas. Richard picks up the story.

“Starting with the ubiquitous Google we set about searching for suitable southern Spanish property but quickly discovered that many agents had diversified into other countries and others had set up as specialist emerging market agencies such as GEM Estates. I sidetracked myself from the matter in hand and started to research countries such as Cape Verde, Dubai and Brazil and compare them to Spain. When Morocco popped up on my radar I found the Plan Azur projects backed by the King of Morocco himself very appealing and the investment potential was clear. And, for somewhere just 14km from the tip of Spain, the prices were equally alluring. What started as Gemma’s project became my adventure and I set up a meeting with GEM Estates, based in Spain, to talk it through further.”

After a long face-to-face chat, Richard, a self-employed IT consultant, took the plunge and reserved a two bedroom apartment in Les Jardins du Maroc, a beach and golf resort within the macro-project of Mediterrania Saïdia. At the time, he took the last available unit and paid in the region of £123,000. Whilst Richard looked at other Moroccan resorts for comparison, with a background in architecture, aesthetics were just as important as investment potential and he felt the distribution, size, specification and facilities of Les Jardins du Maroc were particularly good. It seems that the experts agree as the project has just picked up two gongs in the prestigious 2007 CNBC Arabian Property Awards.

Richard continues, “A whole raft of elements helped to sway my decision to purchase, yes the developer had an excellent track record for design and quality and of course the prices like-for-like with near-neighbour Spain bode well for capital appreciation, but we also looked at the bigger picture. Transportation is vital for a resort’s continued success and nearby Oujda Airport is gearing up for the full effects of Open Skies, and therefore low cost carriers, by building a new terminal and two new runways. In addition the link road from Oujda to Mediterrania Saïdia slashing transfer times to 25 minutes is also in its final stages. The King’s support is in clear evidence.”

Richard and Gemma plan to use their new apartment for holidays and also to rent it out as part of the optional rental programme, tax free for the first five years. Richard, having been brought up in Carnoustie, an Open Championship venue, will undoubtedly be drawn to the three 18-hole golf courses whilst Gemma has the three swimming pools, clubhouse and bar of Les Jardins du Maroc on the doorstep.

When asked to offer advice for would-be purchasers Richard comments, “We genuinely have found the process to be completely hassle-free thus far. Good communication is a must for me when embarking on a commitment of this scale and GEM Estates has been exemplary in this department. My advice is that the internet is a great place to start information gathering but only by speaking to the agent will you detect the confidence that they have in their product. It’s clear that GEM Estates cherry picks their portfolio and does not sell any old development across the board, something which many of their competitors are guilty of. Do ask lots of questions, read read read and Google everything!”

To allay any concerns, Gemma did get her apartment in southern Spain. She opted for an apartment in Marbella, similar size and specification to the one in Morocco, but a much higher price!

GEM Estates has ten properties in the previously sold out Les Jardins du Maroc as a result of minor changes to the masterplan allowing additional units. We expect these to sell fast and are priced from £152,000 Please contact us now to make your reservation.