La Perla info

[fatboyharley]

From another forum about la Perla project
Greg P, regarding your 9/21 comment about La Perla, yes that is true. My contract required that the project be finished by the end of January 2009 and EXPLICITLY STATED that all monies were to be refunded if the project was not completed.

I sent them a registered letter demanding my deposit, since the contract would clearly be violated and not be done by this time. Their response was a BS letter that essentially stated that “poor economic conditions” constituted an unforeseen circumstance, and Mexican Law allowed them to ignore the completion/refund date in the contract.

THE “DEVELOPERS” OF THE LA PERLA PROJECT (AKA PATRICK CLIFTON / CLIFTON MERIDIAN COMPANIES IN SCOTTSDALE, AZ) HAVE NO INTENTION OF RETURNING A DIME OF ANY INVESTOR’S HARD-EARNED MONEY. DO NOT DO ANY BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE IN THE U.S. OR MEXICO, OR ANYWHERE ELSE. YOU CAN SEE THEIR COMPANY INFORMATION ON www.CLIFTONMERIDIAN.COM. PASS THE WORD, DO NOT DO BUSINESS, PROTEST - DO WHATEVER YOU CAN.

 

[InkaRoads]

You could see that coming a mile away, after what they (clifton meridian) did to CEDO and the land that was given to Cedo by his parents, the older Cliftons, a lot nicer people than the jerk, that now is ripping off everybody else.
Some where some one, I believe in the old forum, mention since they are a USA based company that you can have a better chance to prosecute and get something back, good luck!!!!
Now you see why a cheap ass trailer makes more sense and you do not have to take no elevator to the 13th floor!!!!

 

[azbeachboy]

Perla the joka del mar...

 

[Jeff]

Now you see why a cheap ass trailer makes more sense and you do not have to take no elevator to the 13th floor!!!!

AMEN! :lol:

 

[BigKahuna36]

It's not just La Perla. Check out this link for update on other projects that haven't performed and ripped people off: http://rockypointexposed.com/blog/

 

[jerry]

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show ... 6919.shtml

you can't keep a real estate scammer down. It's like Friday the 13th...he just keeps coming

 

[El Semental]

Mr. Clifton Sr. is a well known immoral thief. I had a conversation yesterday with a gent who used to work with him in the Real Estate business. He reported that he viewed court records showing that Mr. Roger Clifton embezzled some $56,000,000 from Arizona investors. Why he is still free is a good question. Maybe some creative net crawler can come up with some supporting documentation. The street talk here in Penasco is that in the early days of development this thief came to town to hide from Arizona authorities and spread money around, but his star does not shine so bright now. Write down the name of his real estate company and avoid them at all cost. Tell your friends. The dollars that Cliftom Meridian bring to developments are stolen dollars. His sons may be honest people, but they are dealing with stolen money and they must know that.

 

[InkaRoads]

Semental, I guess you are right, talking to an older friend of the family yesterday, he mention that Clifton Sr. left in a hurry about 30 years ago after some real estate deals he had in AZ that he basically took the money and run, I was basing my opinion in what he had done in PP for the town and people and as you say probably just to be accepted and to be hiding from USA law enforcement, I guess it is the old "de tal palo, tal hastilla"

 

[futuramma]

Call me naive, but I am hopeful that La Perla will be finished - just a matter of time. There is no better Mexico real-estate investment than Peurto Penasco - Rocky Point Mexico. It is driving distance to Arizona and California, new/twined highway, Intl Airport, and new terminal for cruise ships (Tucson Arizona Daily Star Oct 22nd). The Mexican Gov't has not stalled in the spending of money on infrastructure in this area - what more can one ask?

Another positive thing about this project is that at this point it is debt-free i.e. has no carrying costs and is worth more than what is into it (because of the land value and improvements to it).
If anything is to sell in Mexico in the coming years, it will be this area - this project!
Can't speak of refunds, but I am definitley interested in knowing the stance of the individual investors and of Clifton Meridian on this one.

I am hearing that construction loans could be in place within 30 days so that building can resume.

 

[ernesto]

I don't know about La Perla ,but there is no doubt Penasco will take off again Where else can you afford to buy a retirement condoon the water within driving distance of major US cities for under $500K? When the boomers retire it will rock. I smell oportunity not doom and gloom.Someone always finds a way to make $ when everyone else is running scared.

 

[InkaRoads]

futurama you are right, construction continues in PP the only ones that have stopped completely are those developments with fraud related cases, most other developments are building slowly but surely they will get finished and if you drive around PP not only in Sandy Beach you will see that there is a few places that have been building and still continue building, the economy has slow down most constructions but that does not mean they will not finish or continue with it.

 

[futuramma]

eek, I sure hope I am right. Most places started out just like Peurto Penasco. Do you think there was anything appealing where LA, SanDiego, Pheonix, or Vegas now stand. Once Developed, Rockypoint will be every bit as nice and better than Playa!

The thing that attracted me to La Perla and Los Patios is the qualified team working on these projects as-well-as all the top-notch companies that are partnered with Clifton on these projects. they all have excellent reputations for finishing projects on-time and under-budget. I believe that this will differentiate Clifton Meridian from other projects in the area.

The economic times are extremely unfortunate, but I don't have too many other investments that are doing a lot better at the moment. You can make a lot of money investing in the stock market as you can investing in Mexico, but the stock market is just as risky - always has been

 

[stevied]

futurrama, you are naive. These people are crooks. I am the investor referenced in the information about LA Perla on rockypointexposed.com. They have screwed me out of tens of thousands of dollars. Anyone who invests in this project gets what they deserve - an empty wallet and empty promises. You have been warned.....

 

[futuramma]

Can you point me in the direction of the fraudulent activities associated with La Perla development. I too am an investor in this project. I know that this project is delayed but I have not heard of the fraudulent activities to which you are referring. Is there some reason to think that this project will never be completed and that we will never see anything for our investment $.

 

[El Semental]

Maybe not on this project, but I have in my possession copies of Court Judgements in Az courts against Clifton, there are maybe 20 or so judgements in the documents I have. This was not a one time 'slip up', there are far too many to have been accrued by an honest person. Total is in the millions of dollars. On some the plaintiff is the RTC for fraudulent real estate activity, others are for failure to disclose, falsifying documents, etc. He lost his real estate brokers license in Arizona as a result of all the fraud he was involved in. I have a newspaper article written about that time also. It seems that although Clifton has all these judgements, he ran to Penasco so he could not be served. He also shifted assets into his son's names. He was finally 'served' by publication in the newspaper. They are all probably civil matters, not criminal, so while they are valid judgements against Clifton it is up to the plaintiff to collect the judgement and no one has been successful because he hid all of his assets or took them out of the country. See his sickening photo on the front page of Nov. Join Us newspaper in Penasco.

The rumor mill has it that he went to a Mexican Court and got his obligations under the contracts for La Perla vacated due to "unforseen circumstances". Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

I can send you case info if you e mail me privately.

 

[futuramma]

I don't understand why this project is getting such a bad rap so early in the development. There has been progress - maybe not too much for a while now, but once construction loans are in place it'll start going verticle. I'd love to e-mail you directly, but I do not have your e-mail mine is [email protected].

 

[El Semental]

You can send a private e-mail by clicking on the PM button. I'm not taking any chances. He has mounted vicious attacks on uncooperative folk in the past, bribing officials to cause others incredible problems that cost thousands to clear up. His influence is waning now but he still has a lot of cash to use. He is one of those interesting people who appear muy amigable on the surface but is brutal and completely unscrupulous when he wants something.

It's not the project. It's the developer. You know some of the sayings like "If you sleep with snakes, you'll get bitten" etc. Surely the reputation of someone who you must trust in a business arrangement is of importance. It's difficult to see someone with multiple judgements against them as honest. He has the deserved reputation of looking out for himself at any cost and he is apparently very good at it. When you buy into any of these developments early, all you really have is the word of the developer to deliver what you pay for. Financing is extremely difficult to obtain in Mexico and very expensive if you find it. The condo builders have no or insufficient funding to complete and depend on the next sale to continue development. You are in effect providing an unsecured loan, assuming some of the risk of the enterprise, with little recompense. Look around. You will see resale prices, for something completed with a Bank Trust in place offered at less than the promised but undelivered. What did you get from the developer, a signed contract, (promise) to deliver something? Was it in Spanish and English? Contracts in Mexico are not legal unless in both languages. Has the developer posted a performance bond?

I am not suggesting that he started out to take advantage of people, but if there is a problem he will do everything possible to protect himself with no thought to his customers. If he can take advantage of you to benefit himself, he will. He seems to think that's the way business should be.

I have no axe to grind with this person.

 

[Kenny]

"I have no axe to grind with this person."

Hey HAPPY, is this a great thread or what? Could you imagine if he did. :lol:

Kenny

 

[PitiquitoRosy]

Wow! This is a great forum and this thread is of much interest to me. Close family of mine have invested in this project. When someone says that they deserve what they got...please remember that not everyone had been warned and they certainly didn't deserve this uncertainty.

I agree with the optimists on this topic. I happen to know the Cliftons and I also know the rumors...although I didn't back when I took my own sister to the open house at La Perla. None of the rumors have dissuaded me from believing that the project will be finished and delivered.

I'm not naive to the relationships that have existed here between former city officials...aw hell, I'll say it...former mayor Ramon Martinez (and his cronies) and certain moneyed Americans who wound up acquiring a lot of land during his term in office. I happen to know him and his wimpy little brother quite well too, but thats another story.

That said, I believe in the future of Penasco and that includes politically. The tide has turned. New days are coming (let's see how many catch-phases I can use in one sentence :lol: )

There are maneuver...manueve....man...oh hell, movements afoot that will bring put an end to the old-school ways here. Actually that is one side-benefit to this economic situation. Mexican (read Sonoran) authorities have put all their eggs into the tourism basket and now everyone is realizing that you can't depend on people without taking their interests seriously, or they will leave you...taking the basket and the eggs with them.

The way Hispanics have, over the years, become more important politically in the States (by numbers and economy) is exactly the way American visitors/investors/expats/property owners will become impossible to ignore here.

I grew up in both countries, speak both languages, and hold dual citizenship. I know whereof I speak when I say: We are in exciting times and the show is going to get interesting, folks!

 

[jerry]

Wikipedia on living in exciting times:


"May you live in interesting times, often referred to euphemistically as the Chinese curse, is reputed to be the English translation of an ancient Chinese proverb and curse. It is reported[who?] that it was the first of three curses of increasing severity, the other two being:

* May you come to the attention of those in authority
* May you find what you are looking for''