Red Frog Blog! For owners at Red Frog Beach Club, Panama!

Good News from Bocas!

2009-04-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a letter the RFB Owner's group received from owner, Cherri Briggs about the family's recent trip to Bocas and Red Frog Beach. We have gotten permission to reprint it here:

Dear Robin,Rob, and RF owners,

We are fractional owners of two villas in RF and own a 50’ boat slip.We were just down in Bocas. The progress being made is incredible. You would all do handsprings to see the place being reborn! RF has involved the Smithsonian as an advisor on the project to ensure that the new down-scaled plans are of the highest eco standard.

Construction is up and running, employing only mostly local labor and with greatly improved community relations, and all the houses are starting to look great again as they clean up the project.

The marina is almost finished and is top quality…will be beautiful. So what Mr. Barker is barking about I am uncertain? Yes there has been a lot of negative PR but to continue to pass it along can't be helpful. What we need to pass along are the facts on how the project has changed!

We live in Africa and the delays and gov't. hurdles are no different in Panama than in any underdeveloped country. It seems clear to me, having worked in eco-tourism for 20 years and won many awards in that field, that RF is well on the way to rectifying the mistakes of the past and hopefully will address the assaults of ill informed media or media that is out of date in the near future.

The negative repercussions of emails like this only hurt all of us and make it harder for the RF guys to move forward. So I would like to encourage Mr. Barker to play a more positive role in the RF community and put out some positive info on the ‘new and improved Red Frog’ rather than circulating the old story.

Why RF was targeted from the beginning is unclear, but the malicious PR attacks on Pilar and co have not been answered publicly and that is not a good thing! Negative press like below (below meaning a letter which has not been posted because we do not have permission. - Ed) must be addressed and I understand that Dan Cranney is putting together a bullet point presentation on what RF is doing to conserve environment and adhere to eco guidelines which will be reviewed by the Smithsonian and put on the web. Then all this drivel will stop.

- Cherri Briggs

Home on Lot 11 For Sale PLUS Goodies!

2009-03-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon from Red Frog 11.

We are being asked to quantify our price of $650,000 for Lot 11 with Marina Slip #27 .

PROPERTY: We found no comparable properties on Bastimentos so assembled the equivalent of a 'Comp' list (original attached) from the RFB web site on March 15th, 2009. The $650,000 Lot 11 Package (Titled Lot, House, Slip, Boat, Cart, Off Grid Plant, Furnishings etc.) is shown as a yellow circle. The Lot 11 Tortuga, by itself, is comparable at $439,000 on the blue line. Comparable Red Frog Listings are on the 'Special Re Launch Price' blue line. The assumed actual values, together with a WAG for Lot 11, are shown on the red line.

MARINA: The 'Marina' is presently under construction by 2 dozen workers. It appears to have top priority in terms of resources being consumed. The following graphics (original attached) were downloaded from the RFB web site on March 15th, 2009. They describe the present sales price of Red Frog Marina Slips and what will be delivered for that price. Although Slip Prices start at $104,359 we value Slip #27 (which is shown as a yellow circle) at $60,000.

Question: What are the associated costs of owning and maintaining a slip?

Answer: The Association dues (MOA) will start at approximately $100/month. The ultimate cost of this will largely depend on what Owners vote for.

Question: What is the type of ownership for a Marina slip?
Answer: We are currently working through the concession regulations in Panama to apportion the slips in some type of recorded title. However, if this is ultimately not possible, the developers will then organize an appropriate legal structure (i.e. Yacht Club) whereby each owner will become a member and will include their official rights to the boat slip being reserved in this agreement. The ownership will be for the slip and dock improvement. The water concession will be shared by all owners and Red Frog.

Question: When will the Marina be completed?

Answer: The projections are for Q2 2009.

Question: What amenities will the Marina include?

Answer: Electric services, Internet access, ice/vending machines, storage units, Harbor Master and staff, 24-hour full time security personnel, fueling and pumping facilities, free water use, restroom and shower facilities, maintenance services, fully stocked ship store with boating and sailing essentials, deli, bakery, smoothies and coffee shops.

Red Frog Marina News

2009-03-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

In an effort to create a positive cash flow, Red Frog management team has started the marina project.
Here is the main walkout plank at the beginnings of the project. This is looking from Isla Bastimentos out toward the mainland... South.

Also here is another angle from the end of the walkout plank looking back toward the island... North.

News Article on Red Frog Beach

2009-02-16T11:07:00.000-08:00

Pillar Panama Pushes Red Frog Beach Development Back into Action(BOCAS DEL TORO, PANAMA) -- After being stymied for nearly two years from a labor strike and consequent financial stress, one of Panama's most ambitious luxury resort-style communities is back to life and moving full speed ahead on completing the first phase of its development.

Wild Cane Island Reverse View

The Red Frog Beach project, located off the northwest coast of Panama in the Bocas del Toro archipelago, overcame its paralyzing 20-month strike last October when Pillar Panama chairman/president Joe Haley announced a settlement between Pillar Construction and the local workforce. Meanwhile, caught between the strike and a tightening global economy, Haley was forced to restructure his original partnership to save the project.The end result was a better capitalized group of investors and an invigorated Pillar Panama team as committed as ever in completing the development that calls for a 100-slip marina and marina village, luxury residence club and boutique hotel and spa.

Red Frog aerial view

According to Haley, 80 percent of the development is now controlled by many of the original clients who invested in the idyllic Red Frog Beach property located on Isla Bastimentos."Now we have a new beginning and we're stronger and healthier," adds Haley, who hails from Minnesota. "The last couple years were a huge learning experience for our partnership. What really resonates, though, is the power of many. We had over 400 clients and vendors come together and say, 'We won't let this project die.'"After revising 450-plus contracts, and making a lot of concessions and sacrifices, it's a new beginning for Red Frog Beach. Not only are we going to continue to develop in a responsible and sustainable manner, but we're galvanized by this huge new collective effort."

Phase I Construction - Red Frog Beach

For many of the early investors, this newfound energy is a welcome sight so their compelling eco-conscious lifestyle can finally come to fruition."Red Frog Beach is everything I envisioned as being paradise," says Chris Hahn, one of the early real estate investors-turned partners. "It's a really special, beautiful place on these islands. ... Panama's like Costa Rica 10-12 years, or Hawaii in the '50s."Red Frog Beach is a pristine stretch of property contiguous to a natural marine park with three miles of shoreline. Thus, Pillar Panama will leave approximately 70 percent of the 1,524-acre environmentally sensitive property untouched.Overall residential density is approved for an estimated 900 villas, condos and a luxury residence club being managed by industry leader Jim Whitteron of Spring Creek Partners. Ten of the villas are completed, priced on average at $575,000, with another 42 in construction. The fractional ownership properties are being sold in 1/10 shares.Most of Red Frog's infrastructure is completed and Haley projects the marina will be finished by early summer.

- Dan Cranney

They're Back!

2009-02-16T10:59:00.001-08:00

Red Frog is slowing moving forward. The last conference call reinforced the feeling that the project is moving forward with investor money from current owners. Right now the marina village is being built as well as a scaled down version of the amenities.

The first resident who move in several years ago just turned 70 and has decided that, although he feels the project will reach completion, it will not be soon enough for he and his family to enjoy it. Too bad. It's a nice lot, #11 with great views, a great Tortuga model, and includes his cart, boat and slip along with the Panama corporation(s) used to hold these in. Contact Ron at jubillado@gmail.com for more information. His asking price is $745,000. If we had the money we would consider the opportunity!

I am also told that there are limited opportunities to buy into the first phase at prices well below what they will be once the project really gears back up. Contact Dan Cranney at dcranney@redfrogbeach.com and tell him Mick and Janis sent you.

- Mick @ Lot 11

Red Frog Strike Resolved!

2008-10-14T15:59:00.001-07:00

We are very pleased to report that we have finally come to a complete agreement with the Labor Union and the labor strike was officially settled today!!!

Now that we have been able to make this huge step forward, please understand that there are several processes that we need to work through before we can actually get back to work. These processes will take some time as we continue to work with the Labor Ministry and all past Pillar Construction employees. During that process, we will also start to slowly mobilize our operations team as well as work to complete the conversion process for those few remaining clients.

Again, we wish to express our great appreciation to you all once again for your tremendous patience! We will be able to provide more details on our next Conference Call on Tuesday October 28 at 3:00 pm CST. We will be sure to send another reminder for that call the week before with all of the call in numbers. So thanks again and we look forward to getting back to work and making this beautiful project a long term success!

Note: This was hinted at in the September conference call since it would have to be settled before new money would come into the project. This is a great step forward, and good news for Red Frog investors!

Safety Tips About Rip Currents

2008-08-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

Apparently someone from Tahoe, California got caught in a rip current in March, 2008 on Red Frog Beach and died! This is good information for everyone going into the ocean.

Bocas declared Special Tourist Zone

2008-06-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

Notice came today from the Red Frog team:

We just received notice today from our legal team that the latest Panama Government Official Gazette that was published yesterday included the great news that the long-awaited Declaration of the Special Development Zone for Bocas Del Toro was finalized!

In the words from one of our team, "The declaration is for the Bocas Del Toro Province. Isla Bastimentos and the National Park are definitely included. Yes, it is a light in the tunnel. We still have a lot of work to do. Tomorrow I will go to Catastro to check on the next steps since they were waiting for this declaration too. Then I will go to Pronat to get the copy of map of the declared area. I know that Red Frog is included, but it is good to have a graphic view of the declared area."

So while this is just one step in the process, we are very happy to finally see it completed. Maybe all of those meetings with government officials have finally paid off. But as our attorney mentions above, we still have a long way to go in this process as there is definitely going to be a lot of internal government debate on all of the precise rules and regulations. Especially important to us all will be how they decide to value our various parcels of land. And from what we have heard, no one in the government is anxious to stick out their neck and make policy which will be criticized no matter what is decided. Some outside attorneys have speculated that the titling process could be pushed into the next administration (which starts September 2009). Let's hope not.

-Red Frog Team

Minneapolis owners' meeting a success

2008-05-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

I received a note from Chris Hahn regarding the owners' meeting that took place last week. He was kind enough to allow me to post it here. As many as 90 owners attended, and I'm told most of them came away with a pretty good feeling that construction will start up again soon.

Here is Mr. Hahn's e-mail message:

Hello Neighbors,

I wanted to take this opportunity to send a heart felt thanks to everyone again for not only taking time out of your busy schedules to attend the owners meeting, but for all your great input and participation at the meeting, which I think was the main reason for the meeting's success. I also wanted to make sure you all knew how much I appreciate all of your kind words and support that you have extended me over the last several weeks, because frankly I did not know if I made that clear enough at the meeting, because as you know I was very sleep deprived and exhausted.

The other main purpose of writing to you all is up until now I have basically been the face of the owners meeting if you will, and now that things are beginning to evolve into something much larger, I strongly feel that the new face going forward should be our designated owners group and newly formed committees, because it’s a team effort and it has grown well beyond my capacity to successfully manage and attend to all of the many moving parts and details that are required. For instance, I had over 30 emails and phone messages waiting for me when I got home Saturday from the meeting ranging from wanting my advice and/or information on a wide-range of topics from Residence Club to the owners meeting , which I am very happy to see and humbled by, because its important that everyone is well informed and is brought up to date on the events of the meeting, but frankly there is not enough time in the day for me to respond in a timely fashion and effectively communicate to you in a way that you all deserve. So with that said, going forward everything will be transitioned and channeled through the 6 and probably soon to be 7 member owners group, which will be primarily responsible for representing our fellow owners best interests, and to be a liaison between Pillar and the owners at large. Also, our newly formed committees will also be a valuable resource for all the clients/owners to utilize and assist as well. More details on the owners group and committees will be sent out shortly. Please keep in mind that I’m not suggesting that you can’t pick up the phone and call or email me or any of the other group members for that matter, we certainly all welcome that of course, but I think its vital going forward that we all have a system in place that eliminates any breakdown in communication that leads to misinformation or misunderstandings that unfortunately has been the case in the past, and also provides accurate information in a timely and efficient basis.

At this time, I would please ask everyone to be patient as far as receiving information on the meeting, the owners group is currently working very hard to dissect and organize the large amount of information that came out of the meeting. We will be sending out a very detailed email this week that will discuss the highlights and salient points from the meeting, and will be followed-up very soon with a breakdown of all the agenda questions that you all sent in, including Pillars responses. In the meantime, I would kindly ask that those owners that did attend the meeting to please reach out to those owners that could not make it and share with them your thoughts and feelings about the meeting if of course you feel compelled to do so.

In closing, I would like to say that all future correspondence and perspectives relating to RF business will be coming from a diverse group of your fellow owners, the owners group. This is obviously a very good thing, because it means that my original idea is developing into what I had envisioned, and that is, all of us owners/neighbors are starting to unite together in order to be part of the solution to not only protect our investments, but to find productive and constructive ways to realize and fulfill our dreams. What is even more exciting to me is that I think we have only scratched the surface, and that we are at the threshold of doing something very extraordinary and revolutionary, because what I personally took away from the meeting was that Pillar is now completely committed and willing to work with us owners in good faith, with transparency and accountability to do what it takes to make sure that Red Frog succeeds, and us in the process. Actions always speak louder that words, but I truly believe we have a real partnership with Pillar now.

Again, my many thanks to all of you that participated in the meeting, and making it possible for us to change our reality for the better, for not only ourselves, but for all of us collectively.

Your friend and neighbor,

Chris
Lot #46

What about my prescriptions?

2008-05-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

I had a thought the other day as I went to the pharmacy to refill my prescriptions. What am I going to do if we end up spending extended periods of time in Panama? Who do I turn to? Of course, I e-mailed my friend, Sam Taliaferro, of PrimaPanama and developer of Valle Escondido in Boquete. Here was his response:

You can have prescriptions sent down through mail forwarders. I have suppliments sent regularly. The pharmacy's are fairly well equiped and will probably have what you need. You just need to check the costs out when you get down here.

I had hoped that the laws for getting the medicines we need were a little more relaxed as I am told they are in Mexico. Sam says many drugs may be purchased over the counter that require a prescription in the US. In my research, I found a website from Panama Law that talks about this in more detail.

- Mick @ Lot 83

We've decided to stay...

2008-04-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

My post from the http://www.redfrogbeachforum.com today:

Thanks to many of the owners who have contacted us recently after seeing my posts at http://redfrogblog.blogspot.com. Your input has made all the difference. Before we heard from you, we felt we were all alone out there; torn between sticking with it and wanting to see Red Frog succeed or getting our money out and moving on. We have decided to do the former.

Joe and Dan have been exceptional at explaining their position and our options; they have worked exceedingly hard at helping us find a solution to our unique situation. They were very good at making lemonade out of lemons!

At first we were not thrilled at having our dreams of a beach front villa wiped out. And fractional ownership was the furthest thing from our mind. We wanted to have our own place, decorate it like we wanted and rent it or not rent it out. That may still happen, but not until Phase I is completed. So our next question was, what do we really want?

We are now convinced that fractional is a good alternative for the short term. We will be able to visit to see if we even like living on Bastimentos, or if we really want to build that dream home on the Caribbean! Plus the host home could be done as early as the end of the year if the project starts back up. That certainly is a lot better than waiting possibly 2-3 more years for titling on our rights of possession lot so we can finance our villa (or worse, having to come up with 100% to build it!). If we don't like it, there is a good chance we can sell the fractional and get our money out that way.

For those of you naysayers, you probably think I have drunk the Kool-Aid. Those of you who are already onboard, you have probably come to the same conclusions we have and have made or are contemplating making a deal to get this project back on track. We believe this is the best solution for all of us; to get the project built. Good luck to everyone at the owners' meeting next month in Minneapolis. We will not be there. We are told the room is FULL! Most of the attendees I have communicated with are very positive about finding solutions. I think it will be a most enjoyable event!

If you have questions or concerns, e-mail me mick@sfresidence.com!

Mick & Janis Lot 83

Question about weather in Bocas

2008-04-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

Because of the way Red Frog is restructuring some of the owner's positions, we have given up (temporarily) our dream of having our own villa on the beach and decided to choose a fractional ownership. Although it is not our original vision, we feel it is better to have something now rather than nothing later.

So my question is this, now that we have decided on a fractional ownership, which "permanent" 2 weeks should we choose? We told Joe we wanted a time when it is not raining... He laughed and asked us if we saw how green it is in Bocas, and if we ever considered how it got that way???

Seriously, we know it rains in Bocas. But some months are generally better than others, and we would like input on which weeks to choose. For now we have made a choice on our permanent 2 weeks and are happy with those (provided we get them) but wondered if others had considered this?

Here's what we've heard:

The rainy season is technically June-August and December—January; However, based on our data, there is a consistent amount of rainfall month to month (most of the rain in Bocas occurs at night). The daytime showers are typically “hard and fast.”

Here is a note from Ryan Bullock who has lived in Bocas for sometime:

May is a pretty good month. September/October/November are usually pretty dry months – although I think one of the biggest storms we had last year was in September.

Remember, during the “rainy season”, Bocas typically gets short “showers” that usually only last an hour or two. Many times, the clouds clear in the afternoon and create good beach weather. I think June/July is nesting season for some sea-turtle species, too…

Mick @ Lot 83

Red Frog is making positive steps to get back to work

2008-04-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to say thank you to Joe and Dan for working with us to come up with a compromise that will help both parties, and will hopefully get the project started back up soon!

If you have any doubts about the intentions of these guys, take my word for it, they have been very helpful in getting us repositioned with equity ownership instead of our promise to purchase contract.

Their expectation is that by restructuring the debt into equity, Red Frog can get funded and building can begin again. We are eager to see them get back to work!

Mick @ Lot 83

Rights of Possession Explained

2008-04-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

Here is an article sent to me by Don King, a Realtor in Bocas, who has 3 acres (front one is on the beach) for sale down at the end of Red Frog Beach for $299,000 (no improvements). He was kind enough to send me a link to an article that explains the very confusing rights of possession laws in Panama.

The article is about 1/3 of the way down the page AFTER the vegan article!

Here is an excerpt:

If you contemplate buying land in Panama, you should know about a unique feature of land ownership here know as “Rights of Possession”. There are in fact three types of “ownership”. There is titled land which is registered in the Public Registry. There is land owned by the Government and there is land for which, by virtue of having occupied it, a person has earned the “right to posses” it.

The history of this goes back to land reform which was instituted by Gen Omar Torrijos whose military dictatorship from 1968 to 1981 brought a number of social reforms. He introduced an agrarian land reform program which in essence stipulated “if you live on the land and work the land you have the right to possess it.

Rights of Possession are duly recorded and can be transferred to a third party including foreigners but it is the Ministry of Agriculture Agrarian Reform Offices, not the Public Registry, which records Rights of Possession on agricultural lands. The Directorate General of the Surveyor of the Ministry of Economy and Finance records island, beachfront and marine properties. The rest of the ROP's are not recorded.

There are two kinds of Rights of Possession:Those located in national lands subject to the jurisdiction of the Directorate General of the Surveyor of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. This type of ROP segregates into those subject to titled and those subject to an administrative concession (lease). The Rights of Possession subject to an administrative concession are beachfront, marine bottom and islands. Concessions are explained below.

Those located in agricultural land which have been allocated and transferred to the Department of the Agrarian Reform of the Ministry of Agriculture for the specific purposes to grant titles for agricultural use.

When it comes to trying to find out who possesses what the process can be tedious. An administrative system exists for the documentation and certification of ROP land. Employees of the regional offices of the Agrarian Reform, local Mayor's office, property tax office (Catastro), and justices of the peace (Corregidor) oversee and manage this system of documentation.

Mick @ Lot 83

Owners Meeting

2008-04-12T17:24:00.000-07:00

Red Frog owners are gathering in Minneapolis on May 16th to have a meeting. I'm told they meet first, then Joe and Scott (essentially what's left of Red Frog management) will be brought in to address the owners' issues. Here is the e-mail I received:

Let me start off by thanking everybody for your strong interest and support of the owners meeting on May 16th in Minneapolis. To date, we already have 32 owners confirmed to attend the meeting, with another 7 pending. Also, many of you offered to help with the meeting, which I appreciate very much, because we could really use your help and assistance in making this a successful meeting for all us owners.

First of all, we need two or three owners to put together the agenda for the meeting. I will be sending out an email shortly requesting that all owner’s summit questions and topics they would like answered and discussed. Those questions and topics will be sent directly to the owners responsible for compiling and organizing the agenda, and once completed, will be distributed to the owners and RFB prior to the meeting. We are also looking for a moderator/facilitator to help run and control the meeting. We would like to ask that owners either recommend someone you think would be a good candidate or yourself if you are interested in the job. After consulting a few other owners we determined that the ideal candidate should be an owner that is fine with not actively participating in the discussions. We feel it’s very important that this individual be neutral and impartial when moderating the meeting. Obviously the meeting will be comprised of many owners that have a wide-range of varying viewpoints, and we want every owner to have an opportunity to participate and feel completely comfortable in expressing their thoughts and opinions.

Lastly, there are many owners that would like to be at this meeting, but will not have an opportunity to join the rest of us, but it’s clear from their comments to me that they are very interested in knowing what is said and discussed at the meeting. We would like to hear from the owners what you feel would be the best method in providing them a summary of what takes place at the meeting, keeping in mind this is an 8 hour meeting. We are looking for ideas that are relatively simple, effective, efficient, and ideally does not cost money. There have already been some good suggestions tossed around. For instance, having RFB answer in writing all the agenda questions prior to the meeting and then distribute to all the owners after the meeting. Have a few people take notes … are there any stenographers or owners that know short-hand among us? Or maybe we do a combination of things to document the meeting? Please let us know your thoughts?

So please everyone give some thought and consideration to what I stated above, and please respond as soon as you can, because there are so many things that still need to come together and happen, and we don’t have a lot of time before the meeting is upon us. Also, would you please email your replies and suggestions to John Cloutier at johnjcloutier@comcast.net and please copy me on the email as well at christopherahahn@bellsouth.net. John has been assisting me for some time now and was kind enough to volunteer and field the requests above. I would also like to acknowledge David Gramling’s efforts in taking care of the meeting location and hotel accommodations, which we will be sending information about real soon.

Thank you all very much in advance for helping out and assisting in putting together what I hope will be a productive and positive meeting for everyone.

I hope I am not out of line posting this message, but I think it deserves publication. All along, I have strongly supported the Red Frog project, but now we are not sure. We are interested in staying in touch with anyone who wants to discuss this.

Mick & Janis @ lot 83

Contradictions everywhere

2008-04-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

To be fair, the person that told me about the Union and Red Frog having to pay them for being out on strike is the attorney who used to work with them and has an axe to grind because they owe him money.

I spoke with Sam Taliaferro and Paul McBride who have never heard of such a thing. Neither have other people who do business down there, so I am not sure this is fact.

I do know that the owners are having a meeting in Minneapolis in a month or so, and the Red Frog "Team" (now consisting of Scott and Joe) will also be attending.

- Mick @ lot 83

Panama labor laws

2008-03-31T17:50:00.000-07:00

Recently we had a conversation with an attorney who told us that every day the labor strike goes on, Red Frog is responsible for a day's wages for each and every employee that is on strike per the labor law in Panama.

This would put to rest any ideas I had about why they haven't ended strike. My theory was that, while waiting for the second round of funding, Red Frog was smart in not settling the strike as they would have all these workers sittin around getting paid for doing nothing. Now it seems that this might be the case anyway.

Does anyone have any more information on this issue? I sure would be curious. If this is true, they are getting deeper into debt the longer the strike goes on.

Mick @ Lot 83

Conference call concerns

2008-03-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

The comments published to my Monday article about pending lawsuits are starting to sound reasonable. While I have hung in there with Red Frog management, the time has come to start talking specifics. And several concerns were raised after yesterday's conference call.

1) ROP LAND: It was a brief mention, but concerns some of us with Rights of Possession land. What I heard was, if titling doesn't happen by the time construction is completed on these lots, the owner will be forced to come up with the entire balance of the purchase price. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. We were promised from the start that the "sweeping" title would be in place before any building would be done on ROP land so that we could get financing. But it did not sound like that after yesterday's call. Not having title would also hurt resale value as well. Red Frog better figure out a way to finance this small portion of their property, otherwise they are going to lose those of us who have been supporting the project!!!

2) FINANCING: Did I hear right? They are going to qualify all buyers AFTER THE FACT? This is a lawsuit waiting to happen. They made these contracts in good faith that buyers would go through with the purchase. Now they are going to make everyone go back and qualify? And what happens... after 4 years... that circumstances change and people won't qualify now? Seems to me they should have done this BEFORE they went into any contract with buyers.

Don't get me wrong, I want this project to succeed, but I also want them to do what they promised us from the beginning. I'm sorry that the government is so slow at the titling process. But they should then give us the option to back out and get our money back, NOT offer us a fractional ownership.

If anyone is contemplating a lawsuit, please contact me by e-mail at mick@SFResidence.com. I am eager to see what people are thinking. Seems to me it might be a tactic to get out of the agreements since a lawsuit or lawsuits would only hurt the possibility of Red Frog getting more funding. It might be easier to pay everyone off who wants out and be done with it.

Mick @ Lot 83

Conference call Tuesday, 3/18/08

2008-03-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

Please be informed that we will be conducting our next Client Conference Call on March 18th at 5:00 pm EST (4:00 pm CST, 3:00 pm MST, 2:00 pm PST).

If you are an owner, e-mail Scott Harris for the call in number and conference ID.

Hints of lawsuits permeate the air

2008-03-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

I heard through the grapevine that some investors in the US were banding together to draw up a lawsuit. I wrote Scott Harris an e-mail asking him if he could shed some light, and he admitted that he heard something about it. There are several points:

1) Any lawsuit in the US would be moot since there are no assets being held there. All assets are in Panama so the lawsuit would have to start there. And apparently they take longer there than they do in the States.

2) A lawsuit in Panama would turn off any potential investors that might be interested in the project (the only hope we have of getting construction started back up). And then what would happen? Sell off the land? Given the current big project situation in Panama, there is nobody doing them right now, especially with the titling issues we have at Red Frog.

Tomorrow's conference call may or may not talk about this new development, but I thought it should be addressed here.

Mick @ Lot 83

Question about the February 2008 conference call

2008-03-03T08:18:00.001-08:00

There was a question about what happened in the February 2008 conference call and the answer is... nothing new to report. Strike is still on, no work is being done and the second round of funding has not happened although they may have found someone who will fund without the entire project being titled... possible bad news for those of us with Rights Of Possession properties.

- Mick @Lot 83

Red Frog conference call scheduled for tomorrow

2008-02-18T14:52:00.000-08:00

Well, the strike is not over yet and the principals have said that February's conference call will have little or no new news. So there is not going to be much to say.

January's conference call did have some significant changes to the business structure and ownership of the partners but until the Rights of Possession land becomes titled, there will probably be no forward movement. They just can't get funding until they do.

So although I will attend the call, I expect it to be a snoozer!

Mick @ Lot 83

ROP Land under assault

2007-12-21T11:57:00.000-08:00

I was forwarded an article about the original land dispute we were all aware of and how it has expanded to more land. The writer points out how the claim has to be bogus given certain facts surrounding the case.

One point was well made in that the company (6 Diamonds) claims to have paid $4M for property that Red Frog has the rights to (and has won 2 court cases regarding this property already). However, no taxes were paid to Panama's government on that sale... 10% or $400,000. If they did buy it, then they are guilty of tax evasion. If they didn't really buy it, then this would explain why the taxes have never been paid.

The fact that this claim has expanded from the original land that was in dispute concerns me, as our beach front lot is still ROP land and could conceivably be drawn into this or some other lawsuit. If the ROP situation is not resolved by this summer, we may have a decision to make.

Mick @ Lot 83

Red Frog's December conference call fails to impress

2007-12-15T13:59:00.000-08:00

In my opinion, there has never been any doubt as to the honesty and integrity of the "boys" of Red Frog. I have always gotten the feeling that they want this project to succeed, and that message was surely communicated in the latest conference call.

However, will combined problems of the strike, the mortgage "crisis" in the US and government corruption be too much to overcome? It certainly sounded like the timing of each affected the outcome of the others... that the financial partners were not coming to the table because of the strike delay... and the issue of ROP land turning out to be a bigger deal than originally thought.

Being an optimist about this project (and not really financially hurt by the strike delay, though our money is just sitting there earning nothing) I think perseverence will win out. But Joe's voice sounded tired and I am wondering how much more he can take.

The gist of the conference call was essentially what was said in the newsletter. The only really new thing was the fractional ownership option being introduced. It sounds like a good option for some of those people from whom I've heard that are having money problems and wonder if they should stay in. I don't think it will affect property values that much, if at all.

One thing I did notice was that Chris was not in attendance. At first I thought they were going to announce that he'd left the company. Happily, only his position has changed. I can only speculate that he was traveling, and this could have been the reason he did not participate in the call.

We will see if patience will win out!

The new 30 day visa regulations

2007-12-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

This month's Bocas Breeze has an excellent explanation of the latest visa regulations, how it got passed and why nobody, even in Panama, knew about it before it was law!

It also explains in great detail what is required of tourists with regard to paperwork... which seems cumbersome, to say the least.

Immigration began enforcing this new law with a bang by sending out undercover patrols stopping tourists and demanding proof of legal immigration status. Most tourists do not know that Panama requires everyone over 18 years of age to possess positive identification and all foreigners must carry a passport, tourist card, immigration visa, residency carnet, or cedula (national ID card). Immigration arrested some tourists while allowing others to retrieve their papers and gave others strict warnings to always carry their ìpapersî. Other tourists denied re-entry to Panama because immigration border guards felt they had left and returned too many times...

Another excerpt says:

...It is against the law to overstay your tourist visa in every country. You can be subject to arrest and deported back to your country of origin. (Oh yeah? Not in the US. We offer them amnesty!) If you do over stay your visa and are not caught all is forgiven if you go to Immigration before leaving Panama and pay a fine of $275 for overstaying by 12 months or $300 for more than 12 months. Immigration gives you a document to show Immigration officers at the airport or border so you are legally free to go and return after 72 hours...

Read the entire article here.

Mick @ Lot 83

Red Frog Blog now open to anyone!

2007-11-14T12:40:00.000-08:00

Since we weren't getting much participation, I decided to open the blog back up to the public and see where it takes us.

As Red Frog gears up for a January 1, 2008 resuming of work, several of the Northern California Red Frog owners have scheduled a get together in Marin County early in December. I'll post an update of what we discuss, if appropriate.

In the meantime, we are off to Hawaii for Thanksgiving (an expensive alternative to our Caribbean paradise!) where we are meeting friends and family at our Waikoloa Beach Resort luxury condominium! Gotta brush up on my surfing so I am ready for Panama when our villa is completed.

Mick @ Lot 83

Once again... misreporting gets owners anxious and upset!

2007-10-29T08:41:00.001-07:00

You may have read the recent posts on Ron's blog about the family that was evicted from their property by Suntracs. While some of the facts are correct, the issue has been taken totally out of context. Here is the note I got from Scott this morning:

I just responded to this same question from Bob Chirone and you can read my response to him below (which he asked if he could post to some blog and I consented).

But regarding your questions, Lot 13 is only framed up, no one is even close to living there. They were using this as an observation post. It was lot 34 that caused the problem and the owner was not living there – just a friend of his that was supervising the construction efforts of their own hired hands. The owner of 34 has been renting lot 48 which is where his family has been staying so no family has been evicted contrary to Ron’s overstated comments. Now, my comments to Bob…

Thank you for asking for clarification. Last week on a routine Suntracs inspection tour with the regional labor minister, the union was extremely upset to find that construction work was being done on a unit –specifically lot 34 – that we had already closed on (the owner was previously warned this construction would likely cause problems). Our feeling is that a current owner should be allowed to work on their home (since they had closed and had been issued a certificate of occupancy), but the labor union has the opposite view and was claiming that our construction company – Pillar Construction – was doing the work and that no construction work should be done, period.

Needless to say, our team of lawyers have been working on this case to get the illegal Suntracs workers off the project. I personally spent over an hour meeting with the Minister of Labor in Panama City, Minister Edwin Salamin, yesterday to get his support. He and his team of lawyers have been helpful in getting Suntracs out of the residential area (they were camped at 13 for one day – this home is only framed) and now off the entire property. By the way, my understanding is that only a friend of the owners was at the property when they were forced to shut down construction efforts. A family was not living there as Ron has reported. The police were there to make sure that this didn’t escalate into any violence like what has happened at Isla Viveros in the Pearl Islands.

But you can rest assured that we are working together to get this issue resolved and the bigger issue of getting the labor strike resolved once and for all. But as you can see from this example, they are not very reasonable people…

Mick @ Lot 83

October Newsletter

2007-10-21T08:06:00.001-07:00

Well, it's out. Does anyone have any thoughts? For myself, I thought it was more of the same. "Thanks for hanging in there... the strike's almost over..." When?????

Mick

Red Frog Update

2007-09-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

Did everyone see the latest update from Scott?

If you did and didn't report it here then help us out, will you?

Red Frog makes Sam's Blog!

2007-09-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Sam posted a short article and some pictures from his trip to Red Frog. As you will see from the photos, the jungle has not overtaken the homes that have been started as was reported elsewhere.

Here's a link to the article and also a link to the photos.

It was suggested by Scott Harris's source in Panama that we owners post comments to Sam's story on his blog. Let me be the first!

Mick@ Lot 83

ANAM and Red Frog make the front page of La Prensa

2007-09-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine has a nephew who lives in Panama wrote me a brief note this morning which said:

...front page of the newspaper yesterday announces that ANAM (the environmental protection agency) has fined Red Frog Beach Project $130,000 for their behavior with regards to the environment and ANAM rules and regulations. They are also laying out some guidelines for the future development, calling for a section of the project to be used for
reforestation, and up to 25 hectares to be devoted to green or undeveloped areas.

This apparently is OLD news from last year and one can only imagine why this showed up in Wednesday's paper. Once again I went to the source and asked Scott to respond:

The report on the meeting held on September 29 of 2006 analyzes and features a chart containing the project’s mitigation and control measures in order to verify compliance and the submittal of evidence from the data obtained from the inspection and follow-up report presented by the company, and documents the following possible non-performances:

Verification of the 25-ha-conservation zone contemplated as a measure for compensating the felling that would result from the construction of the new infrastructure
Domestic waste management: waste from workers’ food lied all over the soil of the project, and certain findings (animals’ tracks) lead to think that wild animals may be getting used to eating processed food
The temporary solid waste dumping site was not adequate
Collapsed sediment meshes
The complex’s artificial lighting poses a risk to turtle nesting activities typical of the region

The Regional Environmental Administration of Bocas del Toro conducted another inspection on January 25 of 2007 at the request of the company through a proposal of evidence.

The Technical Report resulting from such inspection states that the non-performances are not generating findings and so there are no damages to the environment. Likewise, such report points out that the measures related to by-pass channels and temporary mounds of earth have been replaced by other more effective measures intended to contain sedimentation, as is the case of geotextile mesh barriers, which invalidate the deshredding force of rain impact on removed soil, covering them with plastics. The report also indicates that stake-supported barriers composed of hay bales and meshes were placed in construction areas, intended to control flow of sediments to the natural drain lines existing in the project area. The report concludes that the developer has been able to reduce sediment contamination of sea.

So clearly we are doing our best to protect the environment. While our guys aren’t perfect by any means, they really do a pretty good job. ANAM has just been trying to find other issues. In fact, instead of saying do this or do that to protect the environment, they basically are asking for Plans, reports, and monitoring programs, that’s it!

And I don't know if saw it but there was another article in the newspaper where Mr. Milciades Concepción, Chairman in the assembly for Environmental Matters, made some comments regarding ANAM being irresponsible and unprofessional in most of the cases. Obviously Ligia Castro (head of Catastro) came out to defend ANAM. Milciades is without a doubt referring to the Red Frog issue.

So there you have it, we will appeal the fine and keep on protecting the environment which is what we want to do.

- Scott Harris

Want rumors? Here are some GREAT ones!

2007-09-10T13:32:00.000-07:00

Rumor 1: All the rumors about Red Frog being financially unsound are being started by several people who already own property on the island and have villas built. They want to be sure they have the island to themselves, so they are spreading rumors so the project will fail. I know of one person who has made contingency plans to become self sufficient for about $50K, so that's why I know this is what's going on. Once Red Frog files bankruptcy and moves out, the property can be picked up for a song and the current residents can have their own sprawling estates at our expense!

Rumor 2: Wait! No, that 's not the story. Red Frog is spreading the rumors themselves so we all bail out, and then when the strike is over, they will be able to sell the lots and villas back at much higher market rates thus making even more money!

Those are pretty good, but how about this? NONE OF THEM ARE TRUE!

Scott is getting tired (as am I) of going over the same issues again and again. Here are his responses below one last time. Questions are from Jake's Red Frog Beach Forum. His responses are in CAPS below:

"...reports that there were 3 investor-types on the grounds with some of the RFB principals the other day. So they're working on it!" TRUE BUT NO MYSTERY HERE, JUST AS EXPLAINED IN THE NEWSLETTER, WE HAVE MANY VERY INTERESTED PARTIES AND WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM ALL TO DECIDE WHO WE ULTIMATELY WANT TO USE...

"...one of the posters says they have significant debt, unlike what we've been told. He used the term "severe cash crisis." WE HAVE LESS THAN 10% DEBT TO EQUITY SO THIS INFORMATION IS FALSE...

"Scott says they're not out of money; maybe he's just answering the question literally. I've also heard stories that they're not maintaining the villas that are under construction and vines are growing all over them and the mold is a real problem and isn't being taken care of because of the cost cutting." NOT TRUE ONCE AGAIN, WE HAVE PEOPLE ON THE GROUND WHO ARE IN CHARGE OF MAINTAINING THE VILLAS. ANY MOLD ISSUES THAT COME UP WILL BE REPLACED AS EVERYONE HAS A WARRANTY...

So what does this tell you? Either Red Frog is lying... If so, then why even ask them what's going on? If Red Frog isn't lying, then others are. And if anyone wants to believe either of the other 2 rumors I posted above, feel free to use them as your own. As for me, I want them to get back to work and finish my villa so I can spend some quality time on the Caribbean!

Closing down the blog

2007-09-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

Everyone,

It's been a good ride, but it seems that Jake's Red Frog Beach Forum is the preferred place to speculate and spread rumors, so I am going back to my day job!

I only started this forum because there were so many stories going around after Ron closed his blog that I wanted to get the information out. But it seems people like to live in high drama around the Red Frog Project on the other blog; I'm just not one of them.

Either I am in or I am out. Right now I am in and supporting the project! We all have a lot to lose if the project fails, and I am not going to help it do so by spreading rumors, speculations or lies.

So for that reason, I'm closing up shop effective tomorrow evening. Thanks for all of you who participated.

Mick @ Lot 83

September 2007 Newsletter

2007-09-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

Well, folks, what do you think? My personal assessment was that it could have been more detailed and given an estimate of when the strike will be over, but it was more informative than the last conference call! Here are my thoughts:

Alliances:

GOOD! They need a construction partner, and I see the fact that a US based company wanting to get in the mix is a good sign. I am going to do more investigation on the Gates construction company, but I take this as a positive step.

Of course, if you read the blog regularly, you know how I feel about the alliance with Sam Taliaferro and Paul McBride of Prima Panama. I think this is a wise step and may have had something to do with the decision to bring in another construction parter.

After my last post about my Paul McBride call, but they were scheduled to have another conference call later in that week with Red Frog. I have not heard how that went, though I did get a voice mail from Sam. We have yet to connect.

I was told after their trip to Red Frog that something would be posted about it on their Prima Panama Blog. I have seen nothing yet.

Rumors:

Rumors... we have tried to dispel some of them here, but the latest ones on Red Frog Beach Forum are just malicious. Packing up hard drives and shipping them back to the US? They moved offices in Bocas, and Scott shipped home a hard drive with contracts on it to avoid shipping the whole computer!

I suggest anyone with concerns e-mail Scott Harris first. If you don't want to submit your question directly for some reason, send it to me and I will pose it as my own.

Bocas Notes:

I have a nephew of a good friend whose parents own a resort on the Pacific side of Panama called Mangofish Resort and is now for sale with a price tag of $10M. He visited Red Frog before construction began and was offered some of the land before Joe and the boys purchased. He has some strong ideas about what is going on and will be in Bocas for the festival. Perhaps I can get him to share his thoughts when he gets back.

Client Corner:

As hint at, only a certain amount of work can be done to maintain the structures before it is considered contruction. Paul McBride said they have a crew that is busy "beating back the rain forest" which, as you know if you have seen the sprouting fence posts, can be pervasive.

Legal and Financial:

Sounds like the strike is nearing an end, but they always try and make it sound like that. At least this time the ROP issue was addressed. What they said here is exactly what they reported to me in an e-mail, so I believe it is the government that is holding up this process.

The land dispute becomes clearer now. It was my belief from the beginning that Red Frog being sued in the US seemed odd. I'm glad they took the time to explain this incident a little better. Hopefully we will prevail, but with the current judicial system, who knows? And it means more money that can not be spent on construction.

I spoke in an earlier post about the Florida bank who has visited Red Frog to hopefully provide more traditional financing as we find here in the US. That would put some of the current home owners at ease as they go into the final phases of construction.

I am looking forward to my next trip to Panama and intend on making EJ show me the new "secret spot" next time I'm there. As soon as Janis gets her passport, I want to book a trip so we can see the project first hand and stay in a Tortuga... the model we "reserved" for our beach front lot.

Your comments?

Mick @ Lot 83

More rumors put to rest

2007-09-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

I have been in contact with a Bocas Realtor whose name I will keep confidential for now. He made some assertions about the Red Frog project that seemed like they needed to be responded to. Charges were made that there would not be enough water for our project and that this lack of resource had caused problems during contruction. So again I went to Red Frog and asked them to respond to the assertions. Here's the gist of it:

I don't want to bad mouth your investment, but there were problems from the onset. I met the first manager in Bocas for the project named Neil Sanders, when he first arrived in Bocas and we had a casual conversation. I had already been working here on a smaller project of mine for over a year and have lived and worked in the tropics before. I knew what difficulties they were facing in developing in a rain forest area with little or no infrastructure. Scott's reply: Neil turned out NOT to be the expert that he sold himself as.

One of the first things that caught my attention was the true lack of understanding in the original groundwork. For example, he said that each of the houses would have a pool. I asked what type of rain catchment system they were going to use? The answer was none! To build several hundred homes with a typical water consumption of 50 gallons per person per day (not including the pool) and to depend on the ground water in that area to supply this was probably not reasonable. If we had cachment system – we would have needed over 400,000 gallons of storage which would have required a massive investment in tanks and still we would have had poor water quality vs. 30,000 gallon storage tank with high quality ground water that we have obtained through ground well systems.

You probably don't know this, but I had walked that property a year before there was a sale to Red Frog and I had a pretty good idea what water supplies were there. One of the major limited forces of the Mayan Empire was water. The major water source for the project is to be the large spring on the property. I don't know if a hydrologist had ever been called in to give a true capacity reading on that spring. Scott's reply: He is right when he says that spring wouldn’t be enough. Hydrologists have determined the number of wells we will need as the project grows. And most of that water is coming through aquafurs from the mainland and under the water out to these islands.

The ownership of the spring was also in a dispute with the adjoining land owner, Teddy Bendiberg (who had some documents, not conclusive ones, but enough to not make Red Frog the owner either). He also had previous use rights to the springs and those I have for my Red Frog lots as well. Those rights may be enough to give him continued use of the springs (like an easement). This means Red Frog does not control the primary water source for the project. Scott's reply: Teddy claimed he bought these rights from the former owner who has always contested this claim - [as I explained above] we have total control of the water sources.

I also heard a water shortage shut the project down or at least curtailed many water dependent activities (concrete production) for a while this year. Scott's reply: Totally false.

I'm a biologist by trade and worked for the government in the Federated States of Micronesia. There I conducted Environmental Impact Studies and I have a good understanding of what puts the breaks on a studies approval (it seems to be similar in Panama). I remember this project being started without the EIS being completed (I don't know if that has anything to do with the withdrawal of the promised golf course from the project at this time). Every promise not met erodes the buyers' confidence in the project as you are well aware. Scott's reply: His project and ours started at the same time, yet he does not have a good enough understanding to get his approval after 3 years! Our first phases we started with temporary approvals, and we haven’t done anything in the EIS phase II area except securtity roads.

Also, I was at a meeting with the ministers Economy and Finance for Panama (who were in control of the Rights of Possession lands) when Red Frog came to them. I was in the meeting scheduled just before Red Frog. We were asking for the same thing they should have asked for from the beginning (a year before)..."can we definitively Title this land or not and what will the cost be?" We got no real answer except to go for a concession to be prepared if and when Titling occurs. The Solarte Project got themselves into trouble because of many things, but one of the biggies was to promise what they could not deliver. Today, you are aware they [SOLARTE] are in a class action lawsuit with the owners [of Red Frog], who may eventually take over the project from the developer (who knows). I believe Red Frog promised so much in its marketing campaign that they were NOT sure they could deliver and that has come back to bite them in some areas. Scott's reply: We never promised this only have said that we will work hard at obtaining all of our amenities and we have already been successful in step one of the titling process which was to lobby for law 2 – which we now have - and now can get it titled, just takes time. We ACT not talk.

I was also in the Red Frog project with other local realtor's once and one of the marketing team. They showed us a new Villa being completed (the first one) and the marketing guy said, "we had a little problem with this one. It was over engineered...too much steel in it, but we now have that under control for the next one". A project with this much capital had its architects "over engineer" the first house? That doesn't instill much confidence in the overall project. Scott's reply: When you start first few houses of a massive project there are variations that you can’t plan for until you begin including supply chain issues, soil, transport, etc. that you have to learn your way into the right design protocol.

So when I say we use them as an example I don't mean on every point. But I told the project I'm now working with that I could only sell their project if they got all of their permits, EIS, concessions done first so we know we can deliver what we promise. They have taken two years to get to the point where they can start to sell by doing this, but everyone I talk to about the project is very happy to hear that this will be done before they buy. As I said earlier, the EIS may be approved this week and the master plan is only waiting for that to occur to also be approved, I understand from the developers.

Red Frog was a huge under taking and its progress is not to be over looked, but I feel an equal amount of pre-planning (by experienced developers in the tropics...you may have had some and I may be talking out of my hat here) and marketing would have been a better. It has a great marketing organization! Scott's reply: His only correct statement.

Taking a vote to open up the blog

2007-09-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

I wanted to put it to a vote as to whether or not we open up the blog to outsiders. I am still on the fence about this due the negative posts by "users" such as 507 and the idiot environmentalist I had a run in with early on. But I wanted to run it by the rest of you. As it stands, if people find us, the page just says you have to log on to view, but does not tell people who to contact or how to get an account. So I want to hear from you whether or not we open it back up. You can e-mail me at micko@sfresidence.com or just post a comment on the blog. Thanks.

Mick @ Lot 83

Trying to stay positive...

2007-09-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

It's getting hard, the longer this goes on. I decided because some people weren't playing by the rules, they had to go. I will not tolerate anyone posting anything that is negative when it is unsubstantiated and rumor, and especially when they do so anonymously. It puts all of us at risk.

Recently there have been some posts by a person who has decided to identify themselves as 507. They were allowed in by Ron along with some other users, so I removed all of them from the contributors' list. If they wish to get back on, they should first e-mail me and identify themselves and their property (interest in Red Frog). It is for the good of the group.

Regarding the latest post, comment to "Lots for Sale", I have asked Scott to send a response that I can post regarding these (as far as we know) rumors. As I noted on Friday, I had a conversation with Paul McBride who told me some corporate changes were in the works, but it was to get past the strike, correct the errors RFB made due to their ignorance of the "Panama way" of doing business, and get back to work. NOT because they were out of money. So until I hear otherwise, I believe this is totally untrue. And people who post this type of gossip anonymously are probably out to hurt the project. Therefore, I removed them from being able to contribute any more.

This is a caution to everyone to please send all requests through me, even though you can add users yourselves. So far everyone has played by the rules except for Ron and the users he set up. Thanks for letting me vent, but it has been a long several months of real estate headaches, not just in Panama, but with some of our other investments!

Be of good cheer, and let's hope the next newsletter and/or conference call yield some great news!

Mick @ Lot 83

My converstation with Paul McBride this morning

2007-08-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

I got a call from Paul McBride, the CEO of Prima Panama, this morning because I have been having problems downloading the 2 hour audio of their Panama real estate investing symposium from their website. During the call he mentioned that he and Sam Talliaferro visited Red Frog along with some banking officials from Florida (who have been providing financing for Panamanians buying real estate in Florida) who are considering offering mortgages for property in Panama. This would only apply to US citizens (at least at this time) and would be more traditional loans to what we have in this country.

There were other positive news items which might signal we are close to the end of the strike and some insight as to why it has lasted so long in the first place.

I don't think I am revealing anything that he wouldn't want me to in saying that our developers have been naïve in how that have approached doing business in Panama (like we didn't know this?!!) . Now that RFB has teamed up with this developers group, I think they are making some great progress and help them to not fall into mistakes they have made in the past; like taking the US construction model and trying to implement it in another country!

One of my main questions, "Why has the strike lasted 8 months?" was explained that, in Panama, the model is the general contractor hires sub-contractors (which Red Frog did not do) and then when the union causes problems, the general fires the sub and hires a new one.

All in all, the conversation was a positive one, and our patience will be rewarded shortly.

Mick @ Lot 83

Lots for Sale

2007-08-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

I noticed on the Red Frog website that in addition to Lot 13, Lots 35 46 and 69 are also for sale. Does anyone know anything about the compensation for the original owners?

I had offered Red Frog to sell my lot for what basically was a double commission with me getting my deposit back when a new deposit was put down and the rest at closing. I thought this was a win-win situation. If I closed, Red Frog would get no commission or at most a single commission if I chose to sell. I wouldn't have to go through the closing process and had a chance of getting my deposit back sooner. Red Frog's response was that we could give you back your deposit when we got a new deposit. Nothing more.

I had thought it would have been a great sales gimmick. If all of us knew we could sell our places at some profit, we would all feel safer about our investments. Selling lots does not seem to be one of Red Frog's weaknesses. The few of us that decided to sell would give Red Frog some extra money. New buyers would see how much money the original buyers were making, feeding new buyers greed that they could do it too.

My dream would be for the strike to end, villas to get completed and closed, and Red Frog decides to do something similar to my proposal. Perhaps if the strike ends, a group of us, a pre-home owners group, could convince Red Frog. It would be hard for there to be any unhappy campers. If so, they could just sell and make a good profit. Any comments?

An environmentalist raises the Red Frog issue!

2007-08-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

This month's Bocas Breeze features a lead article about the disappearance of the red frogs. While not directly attacking the project itself for their demise, the author, an admitted enviromentalist, did make the assertion that man and nature can not live together.

"While at the time the cause of the declines was a mystery, we now know that many of these disappearances can be attributed to a fungal disease called chytridiomycosis, which has been spreading eastward across Panama from Costa Rica since the late 1980s. While the disease has been directly responsible for the rapid die-offs of many species, new scientific studies have shown that the disease preys more intensely on frogs that are already undergoing some form of environmental stress. For example, frogs in poor-quality habitat or highly fragmented areas show signs of stress long before the disease takes hold. And when these stressed-out frogs do become infected, they seldom recover," says the author.

Not to let her assertions go unchallenged, I responded with a letter to the editor and stated, "It seems like there is always some nature lover or environmentalist who sees humans apart from nature and not a part of it. I think you will find that the red frogs will be on Bastimentos long after most of us are gone… for one reason… Nature finds a way.

"Let me tell you a story about the water fowl we have in our area of Northern California. Environmentalists were so concerned about over development of this area that they feared the water birds would be wiped out. So in order to have man and nature co-exist peacefully, they set aside thousands of acres of wetlands as “open space” that could never be touched. What happened? These birds can often be seen feeding in the tall grass and shrubs alongside our highways and over passes. Perhaps they never got the memo which said we had preserved the wetlands for them!

"Near our house in Mill Valley there are coyotes running wild down the street along with deer, raccoons and the occasional silver fox. Of course, when our house was built, it was feared it would wipe out all the wildlife. Apparently not."

I alerted Scott Harris to the article to which he responded, "Our PR person in Bocas, Michelle Slough, will be writing a retraction but my initial response is this:

"Our whole property only accounts for 9% of the island and when done, our build out will only be on 3% of the island – not 8% as they falsely claim. Our principal build out so far has been on CATTLE FARMS where Red Frogs weren’t living anyway.

"Of course, there will still be some small areas affected, [but] they will be moved before any construction takes place. And next build out area is in the teak areas, not the jungle. In our EIS, we have been required to have many “thoroughfares” or passages for ALL the fauna.

"I wish this person would really do her research on the EIS provisions before making bad assumptions about our intentions and the project. And the study of Red Frogs was made by senior scientists over the course of several months. No telling how long or how scientific her study was or what her credentials really are besides being a frog lover. We are frog lovers too."

So are we. I guess we're just stressing them out!

More on the 30 day visa issue

2007-08-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

I heard from Sam Taliaferro on Friday that September 3rd is the next time the 30 day visa issue will be on the table. Apparently he is working hard to get this law changed back. Here is what he said:

"I received a call this morning from a legislator who informed me that the 30 day visa issue will be on the agenda on September 3rd when they come back to session. He is head of the opposition party and is bringing it to the floor. We have the ruling party leader in the legislature stating they will not oppose returning it to the way it was. If they keep their word and we continue to apply pressure I believe we will achieve success." - Sam Taliaferro

Blades gets it wrong... again!

2007-08-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

This guy is dangerous to the tourism industry in Panama. Recently he published an article called, "The real estate business is not tourism by Rubén Blades" which proves he does not understand the phenomenon going on in his country.

To boost tourism in Panama, they are going to need resorts for people to stay. And who is going to build these resorts? People like us who have invested in contruction projects. So, in essence, real estate business and tourism are tied together.

For this reason, it is imperative that we make our voices heard. If you are so inclined, please drop by http://www.visitpanama.com/eng/page.php?page=contact_us and leave a note.

Clarification on Downsizing Security at RFBC

2007-08-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

For Your Information

I asked Scott about their property and our villa's having reduced or no security.

He responded: Our people on the ground determine the level of security needed at any given time and as the threat level from the labor union is all but gone, they have recently made a reduction in security force. Thanks… Scott Harris Executive Vice President

I followed up asking him to please amplify for better clarity having read lot 11's input.

He responded: Ron has already addressed his concerns with Ana regarding security. If he doesn’t trust our security people, he is more than welcomed to hire his own as he is paying nothing for it right now. You and the rest of our clients should recognize that we have always relied on the expertise of our security people and have really never had a security problem other than that first skirmish with Suntracs earlier this year. So there is no need to be alarmed as our security force has everything under control. No property has been destroyed and no one has had any personal harm come to them. We have never published any specific reports on security levels in the last four years and I don’t see that changing until the HOCA starts paying for some of it. Scott Harris Executive Vice President

I appreciate Scott answering my inquiry. And I hope his assessment "No property has been destroyed and no one has had any personal harm come to them." continues, for I doubt anybody would desire to rent a villa if such did happen.

Note to contributors

2007-08-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

I need your help. Recently several people have placed posts and comments as users different than they are logging on with, thus making them "anonymous". While this is permitted by blogger, "lurking" is not in the spirit of this blog.

I am not trying to be heavy handed here, but in fairness to everyone, I am requesting that you use your ID to leave comments and posts. If not, they will be removed. And please keep them constructive. Snide comments, are not necessary nor welcome.

Should you be borrowing someone's account, please send an e-mail to micko@sfresidence.com and I will gladly add you to the user's list and send you an invititaion.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Construction questions answered

2007-08-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

Julie at lot 29 was kind enough to send questions about construction issues. The responses from the construction team are below:

Q: I think in the last owners' conference call there was reference to new window company and new roofing company. Why is there a new window company?

A: Because we have found a new company that has the screens built in and because we believe they will be more responsive to our delivery and service needs.

Q: Is there anything wrong with the windows already installed on some of the villas?

A: No, they are a high quality insulated window with the exception of not being made to support a built in screen as well as some handle issues that have needed replacing. Again, the old vendor has not been very quick with the replacement parts.

Q: What if their villa is only in the framing stages - no roof or windows or drywall installed yet, but probably ordered?

A: If already ordered, the former window supplier will be used, if not ordered the new supplier. But all of Phase 2 and beyond (including all condos) will have the new windows.

Q: If there is a new roofing company, will ALL of the villas and condos get the benefit of the improvements to materials and installation methods?

A: The roofing material is still the same excellent product, we are just improving the company doing the installation, delivery and service. Everything is under warranty at this point and so all will be properly repaired.

Q: What about the coral stone upgrade that has currently been installed? We hear there is a tremendous problem with mold. The solution has been to spread bleach crystals periodically (weekly or every other week?) as a treatment to kill the mold by people who are already living there.

A: The mold problem with the Niwalla Yellow is being addressed and we are looking at an epoxy based grout sealant to fill the decking which will eliminate or minimize aggressive cleaning methods For now floors are being cleaned with bleach and depending on the weather they can stay clean between 1 1/2 - 2 months (according to RM) this all will be avoided once the sealant is applied.

Q: If the environmentalists get wind of this bleach treatment could this be a major problem? Will bleach run off into the coral rich coastline killing the coral?

A: Very unlikely from hundreds of meters away and natural cleaning of run off.

Q: Is there a chance that owners can replace their pool/patio material from coral stone?

A: If they want to do this instead of using the sealant, they can do it at a cost of the new material.

Q: Does RFB expect the HOA to be financially responsible for any of the 70% of the protected areas or only our directly adjacent common areas? I'm not sure how this works.

A: Each of the individual HOA’s will belong to a Master HOA and this issue has not been decided on yet.

Q: Is the HOA financially responsible for any potential future litigation for claims of title by outside parties against our common areas whether they be "rights of possession" or "titled" land?

A: No. (My understanding is that this is what the title insurance is for.)

Good news update on rights of possession

2007-08-10T13:53:00.001-07:00

Got a note from Scott Harris this morning regarding the rights of possession question I put to him yesterday. What he said was very encouraging:
===================================
I actually had a long conference call with both Paul and Sam yesterday as well and they did tell me that they had spoken to you. Yes, we are joining with them and we will be part of their steering committee.

They asked some questions to me about our ROP and they really weren’t up to speed on the Law 2 that passed in Jan. 2006. But the bottom line is that we have ALWAYS been well aware and talked very openly that banks will not lend on ROP property. That is why we clearly understand that we need to get the property titled BEFORE we complete any units in the ROP sections, Phase 2-3 mostly.

You may or may not know but we were working with Pardini and Associates on this action and we contributed to the lobbying for this bill to pass – to allow island property to be titled. The other developers in the Pearl Islands also lobbied for this as well. But if you remember, President Torrijos even came to Bocas to officially sign the bill as a show of support for Bocas. For the last year or so, this was the chief inititive we required of Pardini, to get the other roughly 20% our lands titled (the rest already are).

After very little action, we finally have taken this back... and given this job to some other attorneys, and they submitted our package in the middle of May. There has been some progress made but not much in the last couple of months. But our people are constantly there hounding them.

So our plan right now, is to not build any units on ROP until we are sure that we will get them titled in time. Our newest attorneys thought they could get it done this year and we hope that it happens. We are not quite ready to build in Phase 2 or 3 anyway so this hasn’t hurt us yet. We are optimistic that we will get our lands titled as this has already been done in the Pearl Islands since this bill has been passed.
===================================
That sounds very positive to me, especially that there is a precedent with the Pearl Islands.

Mick @ Lot 83

Contacting the government about the 20 year tax exemption

2007-08-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

In an effort to head off the disasterous (to investors and the country of Panama) end of the 20 year tax exemption, I contacted Sam Taliaferro about it and asked to whom in the government we might plead our case.

He suggested e-mailing the vice minister of international trade, Carmen Gesela Vergara, who is sympathetic to our cause and understands it. She may be e-mailed at cgvergara@mici.gob.pa.

Mick @ Lot 83
===================================
Updated 8/9/07

My letter to Ms. Vergara:

Dear Vice Minister,

I am writing as an investor in the Red Frog Beach Club development on Bastimentos and want you to know that I support your efforts to change the government’s course regarding the end of the 20 year tax exemption. To those of us who chose to invest in Panama so as to eventually retire there, this is a huge issue and could affect many of us financially should the tax go back into effect. It could also affect other people’s decision to buy property in Panama at all.

As a student of economics, what many governments fail to realize (US is probably the worst with its onerous taxation) is that the harm which comes by taxation, meant to do good, is not seen for several years. By the time it is seen, it is too late to reverse. The favorable tax laws have a profound impact on the sudden growth and popularity of Panama. To make that go away at the end of the year will hurt the economy more than I can describe, maybe not immediately, but in the long term.

Please stress to your peers that by continuing the exemption, it will attract investors to Panama who will dump loads of money into the economy by way of purchasing homes, boats, cars, etc. which will result in higher standards of living in areas such as Bocas.

I am pleading with you to make our case, and I hope to be able to meet you one day as we sit on the beach at Red Frog. Thank you for your time.

===================================

Her reply:

Thanks so much for your mail. The Government of Panama is reviewing all of its policies to better attract foreign direct investment.

I am sure that with the help and encouragement of investors such as yourself, we will realize our goal to make Panama a preferred destination for tourist and for retirees alike.

When you come to Panama, please let me know, as I will be very happy to meet you personally and share with you some of our plans for the economic development of our country.

Best regards,

Carmen Gisela Vergara
Viceministra de Comercio Exterior
Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias
Tel: 560-0655 / 560-0656 (fax)
e-mail: cgvergara@mici.gob.pa
web: www.mici.gob.pa

Truth in advertising

2007-08-09T06:41:00.000-07:00

Just noticed a new addition to the RF web site: "All the words, graphics, and numbers herein are for purposes of illustration only. Developer is describing its current intentions and not promising that any of the properties or amenities listed will be built"

Getting financing in Panama

2007-08-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

Sam's latest edition of Industry News has an article about securing a mortgage for an offshore home. In it is a link to an article in the Wall Street Journal's Real Estate Journal about this topic.

The short version is to either buy in a development that offers owner financing, or pay cash. Wish we'd known that when we got started. However, the link to IMI Group looks like they could work for owners who want to finance. I will check into it and report back.

Mick @ Lot 83

Conference call with Paul McBride, CEO of Prima Panama, SA

2007-08-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

The converstation with Paul lasted over an hour. He was very gracious with his time, considering he just got back to California from Panama and will only be here a week. So I thank him for that.

The first 15 minutes was spent with him giving us a run down (Janis was in on the conference call with me) of his accomplishments as a developer in Panama, establishing his credentials. Then he described some fo the problems that they have run into while doing their project; problems which foreign investors also had to deal with when doing business in the country.

Since he made it clear he really has no first hand knowledge of the day to day operations at the Red Frog project, we kept the discussion at a very high level. Though he did hint that he may be becoming more involved in some of our issues. To help solve them would be for the good of the Panama economy as well as for other developers. For this reason, I was not able to get answers to specific questions about material choices or other questions or complaints specific to the Red Frog Beach development.

However, what I did get was a promise that he would go back to Joe and discuss with him ways to go about giving the owners more information than we have been getting. He agreed that the Red Frog policy of not sharing openly about what's going on with the project only lets peoples' imaginations run wild.

As you may know, he and Sam Taliaferro (developers of Valle Escondido) have formed a lobbying group of foreign developers (of which Red Frog is one) who are all dealing with the same sorts of issues; everything from government (or sometimes lack of it), the courts, the unions and so on.

One of the things we asked was, what can we, as owners do to help get the government on track and he suggested we could contact our senators and congresspeople and get them to pass the Panama Free Trade Act. The state department had this article on file from 2005 so it makes ne wonder why it has not passed yet. Guess who's going to e-mail his representatives tonight about this?

He touched on the SUNTRACS problems and what the unions are trying to do basically is have the developers pay them so they can get their 2% off the top before they pay the union members (Sound like the IRS?). Of course, the union workers are completely against this, but it's the union that is holding up the process to get this concession (or so I'm told), even in some development projects where the workers have not even voted a union in! Isla Viveros is one of those developments.

As for the question of developer liability, it is different in Panama and limited to one year... however, as Paul said, no developer wants a project as big as Red Frog to start falling apart before they finish building the last of the units. And as we know, the developers don't make their money back until the end of the project anyway, so it is in their best interests to keep everyone happy and produce a quality product.

We asked about financing options and he said he would check with Joe and get back to us. I would suggest if you are in the situation where you need some financing now, you might check with Sam@PrimaPanama.com. He has been very responsive to my questions. I tried to ask my realtor contact in Bocas about tinancing, but he is out of the country for a family medical emergency.

Another topic that came up was the rights of possession land, and Paul said he thought that land without title could not be financed. For that reason we are extremely concerned since our beach front lot is rights of possession which we were told would eventually become titled land. (Perhaps the lawsuit concerning the Pelican Bay-Cayman Beach area will have some effect on that issue.) But as it stands now, we were expecting to finance a portion of our villa purchase. As the time draws closer to the beginning of construction, this will be a big problem that will need to be fixed.

By the time we got to this last topic we had talked for a little over an hour and didn't want to monopolize any more of Paul's time, so we signed off and promised to keep in touch. Sorry I couldn't get to more of the specifics about how Valle Escondido handles their business end and it didn't seem appropriate for the high level of the conversation. However, you might shoot an e-mail to PanamaTravel@mindspring.com and see if he can answer the questions for you.

Mick @ Lot 83

Topic: Red Frog Rentals - Updated 8/9/07!

2007-08-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

Updated 8/9/07

Anna responded to my request to clarify: "To answer your questions. The exploration tours is now a 1 night stay here at Red Frog and we have it once a month so it is only a minimal of the rentals that we are currently getting. The commission for the resort management is %30."

Previous response:
===================================
Hello Mick, I hope you are doing well.

As you know it is very hard to give you any accurate numbers since the rental program started 1 month before the strike started so we have been affected by it.

We are preparing a strong marketing strategy which we will launch as soon as we have more villas and amenities. In the meanwhile we have a lot of returning owners, exploration tour clients, a lot of prospect buyers that want to experience Red Frog before buying and also some people that find us through the website.

In average you can put in your blog that the villas are renting an average of 8 days a month( at a daily rate of $380) but again, remember that this number are greatly influenced by our current situation…

We have steady reservations throughout the rest of the year and already many of them for Christmas and New Year.

Well, I hope this information helps you but for any additional questions please let me know.
===================================
Does anyone know owners who are in the rental program and how much the Resort is taking? I forgot to ask. Thanks.

Mick @ Lot 83

New Topic

2007-08-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

...continued by request from "More on the Construction Issues"

We know from this and prior blogs, which lots are closed unfinished and rentable. We also know that Lots 19, 48 and 65 have been rented in the past. There would not seem to be a case for you friend in this scenario? Can you add his number? There have been no tour groups using the Red Frog Boat to the island for a couple of months.

04 Red Frog Sales Office
48 Complete and Rentable
11 Not Rentable
12 Not Rentable
65 Complete and Rentable
34 Unfinished
27 Red Frog Property Management
19 Complete and Rentable
26 Unfinished
30 Unfinished
33 Unfinished

20 year tax & SUNTRACS update

2007-08-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

http://primapanama.blogs.com/_panama_residential_devel/2007/07/good-bye-to-the.html

http://primapanama.blogs.com/_panama_residential_devel/2007/07/isla-viveros-un.html

Red Frog Bloggers, I need your help!

2007-08-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of my conference call tomorrow with Paul McBride, CEO of Prima Panama, I would like your help to put together a list of questions pertaining to the Red Frog Beach development. I will do what I can to address your questions and concerns. First on my list are:

The strike - what caused it and when do they expect it will be resolved?
Is there is any knowledge of financial difficulties with Pillar Panama?
Are the choices of building materials used in the construction of villas (and eventually condos) appropriate?
Should the quality of work (or lack of it) be a concern or will that get fixed?
Is there a 10 year developer liability in Panama like there is in the US?
Ask about tourist visa issues
Ask about property tax exemptions

E-mail micko@sfresidence.com (or post here) any questions which are different than those I have on my list. I will do my best to get them asnwered.

Mick @ Lot 83

Bocas del Toro makes the news July 19, 2007

2007-08-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

And it's not good news, either, as it relates to the effect on the Bocas economy by the shut down of our Red Frog project. Here is the link from Panama Investor Blog.

Mick @ Lot 83

More on the construction issues

2007-08-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

I was encouraged by Solarte12 to contact some local builders and find out the real story about the problems at Red Frog. So I e-mailed two of the developers and got a nice note back from one of them, Sam Taliaferro whose project is www.valleescondido.biz. Here's what I wrote:
===================================
Sam,

I am an investor in the Red Frog Beach Club project on Bastimentos and was sent to you to get your opinion on the progress (or lack of it) of the project.

I would appreciate any insight you might give about what’s going on over there. Thanks in advance.
===================================
His reply is as follows:
===================================
HI Mick,

I have not been over to the project in a few months, but I am fully aware of some of the challenges they have faced. I have also been in touch with the developer and some of the people who are currently in Bocas and on the property itself.

I believe the issues they have been dealing with will be resolved in the next few months and they will be back on track. They have joined our group of foreign developers and we are earnestly lobbying the government on their behalf. I don’t believe there has been any intentional misdealing by those involved with the organization. They are dealing in a difficult area to do a project to say the least. Give them a few months and things should turn around.

Do you subscribe to my weblog? http://primapanama.blogs.com/
===================================
I do now.

Mick @ Lot 83

Changes to the blog

2007-08-05T14:03:00.001-07:00

I added a new e-mail account for myself so that we can implement something new. You will need to identify yourself and your property location somewhere in your user name.

Most of you already have, but I was using our SFResidence account to post, which I will no longer do. So from here on out I can be identified as Mick @ Lot 83 and I encourage the rest of you to do the same. If you are in a condo, please specify your unit number (for example, 206 West).

Thanks for your cooperation.

Mick

Letter to the Red Frog Construction Team

2007-08-03T21:15:00.000-07:00

Folks,

There has been a lot of discussion about the contruction materials that are being used at the Red Frog site, so I thought I would go to the source and see if I can get some clarification. Here is the letter I wrote to Scott this morning.

Please note that another site offering luxury villas found by another one of our owners does not list construction materials either. I believe this is intentional as, "your results may vary!" Their site may be seen here.
===================================
Scott,

Is there a place on the Red Frog website that has a list of materials that are being used in the construction? If not, I think it would be helpful for owners and prospective buyers to know what kinds of products are being chosen to build the villas. Of course, I would expect to see a disclaimer saying that “materials may vary due to price and availability”, especially with some of the challenges you have with building on an island in Panama. And I expect there might be some sort of statement saying the Red Frog team would make substitutions with equal or better quality choices. What do you think of this idea?

One of the two biggest questions has been what material is being used on the underside of the eaves where the Densglass walls meet the overhang? In the construction photos it looks like different material. The other question is about the brand of roof we are getting. Can you clarify what roofing material is being used? A list of materials would be helpful so that these types of questions could be easily answered. Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,

Mick Orton
===================================
Bloggers are up and about today! It's still early here in California. As I look out over Mill Valley, I see the fog is heavy in San Francisco. On the whole, I'd rather be in Panama!

Mick @ Lot 83

Updated 8/5/07

Scott responded to my e-mail yesterday, but it was hardly a satisfactory answer. Basically he pointed me to the following pages on the website:

Villas - http://www.redfrogbeach.com/villaspec.html
Condos - http://www.redfrogbeach.com/condospec.html

These are hardly informational! He further explained, "More specifics are in each contract..." but I have no list of building materials in my villa contract. Does anyone else?

To his credit, he said he would pass along my question to the team and would get back to me. More to come.

Mick @ Lot 83

Building materials used for Red Frog construction

2007-08-02T12:07:00.001-07:00

In a previous post about the finished units at Red Frog, the discussion turned to drywall materials and whether or not it was appropriate to use drywall in a tropical climate. Here's the quote from Tasboy's earlier post on the blog:

"...Along the theme of construction, I pointed out to Scott Harris, that after viewing photo's of our villa dated from Feb.07, that drywall material was defective on over hang areas of our Tortuga model. I have checked with several builders here in the US, and drywall is not a product that should be installed in a humid/wet climate, such as RFB..."

On this topic I posed the question to Scott in an e-mail on August 1 about the drywall material. My concern was if the above statement is true, were they any plans to change the choice of material when construction resumed? Here is a portion of his reply:

"...have been using Densglass Gold which is a super high quality mold resistant drywall..."

After the exchange I went to the Internet to find more information about this material and found it was made by Georgia-Pacific. So I shot off the following e-mail:

"I have a project we are considering building in Panama. It is an island locale, and someone suggested we use Densglass Gold drywall under the stucco. Does that sound like a reasonable plan? Thanks in advance. - Mick Orton"

To which I received the following reply:

"Yes for the exterior wall application (see attached brochure). For the interior surfaces I would suggest the use of Denser Plus Paperless Drywall (see attached brochure & product bulletins)."

Here are the 4 document attachments, Technical Product Guide, 2007 DAP Sweets, DAP Finishing Tips and AT Multi-purpose Primer, all very interesting reading... if you want to take a nap!

Bottom line is, I can see no reason why they would not tell me the truth. If another product would have been better for this purpose, I think they would have offered it. Questions?

Mick @ Lot 83

Finished units at Red Frog

2007-07-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

Does anyone know how many villas are finished at Red Frog? And where are they putting the guests who go down on the exploration tours?

Mick O.

Utility charges at Red Frog

2007-07-28T20:44:00.001-07:00

Does anyone know how much we should expect to pay monthly for electiricty, cable and Internet. I know how much it is here in the US, but no idea what the charge would be in Panama. Also, when do the HOA dues become effective?

Mick @ Lot 83

Updated 7/29/07
===================================
Utility charges and MUCH more! Reposted from Red Frog Beach Forum (Thanks, Jake and Bob). Having owned vacation rentals, I would expect such charges. However, what surprised me is that they are about same as we pay in California or Hawaii! (Have to pay for all that brand new infrastructure?)

One of the contributors alludes to costs in Costa Rica being better, but does anyone have hard facts? I know that beach front properties are going for much more than we paid for a villa on the Caribbean. There are also considerable building restrictions. Without doing any research at all, I know Trump is investing in building a high rise in Panama City as he is doing in Honolulu. Though that doesn't help us at Red Frog, it does show that the investment climate may be better in Panama than Costa Rica.
===================================
PROJECTED COST AT RED FROG

Monthly Yearly Property Management Cost:

Trash (monthly) 30.00 360.00
Water(est/monthly) 35.00 420.00
Sewer (monthly) 26.00 312.00
Power (est) 225.00 2700.00
Direct TV (monthly) 49.00 588.00
Internet (monthly) 60.00 720.00
Lawn Care (twice month) 80.00 960.00
Pool Cleaning (Non Rental/Large Pool) 35.00 420.00
HOA fee: 350.00 4200.00
Property Tax: Land ($498,205.00) (1% assess) 4982.05
Improvements ($265,875.25) None
Insurance Cost: Homeowners (monthly) 195.00 2330.00
Liability (monthly) 66.00 792.00
Contents (monthly) 55.00 670.00

TOTAL $19,994.05

Other Costs:

Mortgage ????
Yearly Corporation Fee 650
Boat & Marina Fees ????
One Time, Up Front Cost ????
Elect Cart Insurance ????
Red Frog Fee Inflation ????
Supporting Amenities on Site ????

*** References all found at "Living At Red Frog Beach Club" (http://redfrogians.blogspot.com/)

The Strike

2007-07-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

The strike has been going on for 6 months now (just a few days short of). I have a few questions for the members: Is 6 months an unusual length of time for a strike in Panama? Are unionized workers in Panama allowed to find temporary jobs while on strike? My guess is that they are technically not allowed to do so, but that they do it anyway because it must be hard to support a family on just the union benefits during a strike. And yet the Red Frog Beach Club management is NOT allowed to hire any temporary workers - right?

Does Suntracs do more harm than good? Is it a relevant organization?

Nice blog, Mick!

Welcome to all our new members!

2007-07-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

Everyday we are building our list of owners by website and blog referrals as well as other owners getting the word out. Thanks to everyone... now we just need some information.

As far as I know, the only person who actually lives at Red Frog has left the building. Ron @ 11 took his name off the registry. I hope he comes back.

In the meantime, I will continue to solicit information and post topics that might be of interest to the rest of you in the hopes that eventually people will feel confortable enough to post. Certainly some of you have a lot to say, considering the many e-mails I've received in the last several days.

But it is not my place to post things that other people say to me unless they give me permission. So while I appreciate hearing about others' experiences, I am hoping that eventually some of you may contribute your experiences to the blog.

Currently Janis and I are in the process of putting IRA money into our boat slip at the Marina. It has been a learning experience since I am new to the concept. After many mistakes, I think I am closing in on how to invest retirement funds into a Panama corporation. I've added to my earlier post which I will continue to update until I have successfully transferred the money!

Wish me luck!

Mick O.

Using retirement funds to purchase property at Red Frog

2007-07-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

Has anyone out there used retirement funds to purchase all or part of your property? We have, but at the time, Legacy Benefits was the buffer between us and Pillar Panama so I have no idea how they handled the documents.

To date, I am still trying to get IRA money out of our Entrust account to pay for a percentage ownership of the slip we bought. My problem is trying to fill out the Buy Direction letter, particularly with regard to the percentage of ownership. I think I know, but I want to be sure!

If anyone else has gone through a similar experience I would love to get some feedback. A small percentage of personal funds were put up for the reservation fee, and now the balance is coming from the IRA. Sure could use some help!

Mick @ Lot 83

Updated 7/25/07
===================================
When we purchased the boat slip, we put up cash from our personal funds for the reservation fee.

Total slip price 100% - Introductory price of $79,900 (of which 50% due for down payment)
Initial cash for down payment was about 15% of total slip price - $12,550
Balance due 35% of total slip price - $39,950 which will come from the IRA

I'm really good at math, but what confuses me is this; when we create the minutes of the meeting designating percentages of ownership in the company is it based on the percentage as it appears in the downpayment or of the purchase as a whole.

Initial cash down is about 15% of the total slip price, but over 30% of the down payment!

See my confusion? I am working with JJ at Pardini to get the new subscription documents. I'll let you know what we find out.

Mick O.

Improved Master Bathroom for Palmera Condo

2007-07-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

The Palmera condo owners might be interested to know that the master bath/closet configuration has been redesigned. Some owners, including myself, had asked for a larger bathroom with 2 sinks instead of one, and to change the traffic flow. Well, they came through! You can see that they bumped out the exterior wall by a couple of feet to add to the bathroom space. Also, they changed the arrangement of the toilet and sink in the powder room. They're looking at adding a small wall cabinet or linen closet too. Thanks to the Red Frog team!

Tranquilo Bay has a new website

2007-07-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

On a lighter note, you may have seen the latest e-mail notice from Renee at Tranquilo Bay. If you didn't see it, here's what she says:

We have been listening to the suggestions regarding our website. It has taken a bit of time, but now we have a new look and feel. Please take a look at the revised website and let us know what you think. We continue to look for ways to improve so we will listen to anything you have to say.

We appreciate your business and hope you will come stay with us again!

I like it. We are currently looking at a redesign of our website too.

Mick @ Lot 83

Panama on the Rush Limbaugh Show

2007-07-22T16:59:00.000-07:00

Roger Hedgecock was filling in for Rush on Friday, and, at the end of the first hour he was pointing out how we have spread democracy all over the world, and went on and on about Panama. He certainly did not talk about Red Frog or the union thugs, but he did say that because of the small government and low taxes it has become a haven for foreign investors.

Mick @Lot 83

Rights of Possession and Titled Property transfers

2007-07-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

Today I sent a note to Scott Harris regarding an issue that was not discussed in the conference call; that is the conversion of rights of possession property to titled and wondered if the lawsuit they alluded to involved that issue.

His brief reply came in an e-mail he wrote as he was waiting in the airport for a flight home. (I wonder how much of the budget involves the principals traveling to the states and back - oh, that's mean!) He said the following:

Regarding the conversion to Title, I guess I didn’t think to include it [in our conference call] as our application is still pending in the offices of the Land Use Ministry and though our attorneys keep putting pressure on the authorities to get it resolved, it is a slow process and so I really don’t have any new news. But rest assured that it is a very key initiative for us and so we are doing all we can including calling in favors to get this done.

In closing he did say that the lawsuit was with regard to a small piece of land was in an ROP territory between Pelican Bay and Cayman Beach.

Mick O.

Getting to know each other - Mick @ Lot 83

2007-07-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be nice to find out a little bit about my neighbors, so I am asking if anyone else is interested in doing a short autobiography. I'll start and see where it goes from there.

I was born in December, 1949 and raised in Davenport, IA, and graduated from West High School in 1968. Shortly after that I left for Colorado with my first real rock and roll band (I play electric bass) where I spent about 5 years around the Boulder/Denver area in places like Westminster, Broomfield, Louisville and finally owning a little place in Pinewood Springs (near Estes Park) with my first wife, 2 dogs and a cat.

I was finally lured back to the road by one of my high school friends and was asked to join his group to tour the midwest and Canada. This ended my first marriage. The band cut 2 albums before we broke finally up. I moved west with one another band member and a woman I had met in the Quad Cities. All 3 of us settled in Marin County, CA (north of San Francisco).

When she got pregnant with our only child, Angela, in 1981, we married and began moving around Marin practically every year (renting) until we eventually split up about 3 years later. I wandered around from place to place and job to job until I got into computers in 1989.

By 1996 I had survived another marriage (and divorce) and finally pulled enough money together in 1998 to buy a little 2 bedroom, 1-1/2 bath condo near the Marin County Civic Center. About a year later, I met Janis and my life changed forever! I can't begin to tell you how great it's been since then, but I'll try.

We decided to wait a year before moving in together. Almost a year to the day we went looking for a place (both of our places were too small), and by that evening we'd made our first offer on the place we are living now. We had 3 chances to buy it, and finally got it on the third try! We've never been happier.

Since then, we've bought and sold several places in Hawaii on the Big Island, still have condo at Kolea (if anyone's interested!) in a beach front community, a condo in Honolulu where my daughter lives and goes to school, and have owned other rental properties. So far, our biggest adventure has been buying in Panama.

At the time I heard about the project, I had been to Central America only once, visiting Belize, Costa Rica and Panama. I loved the warm Caribbean waters, so when I saw the Red Frog presentation at a Wright Thurston seminar in South San Francisco, I jumped at the chance to invest there. My experience of what I had seen in Costa Rica several years earlier led me to believe this would be something special if we got in on the ground floor. I still believe that today.

I know I wrote about my trip to Bastimentos in my first blog post, so I won't bore you with telling the story again, but after several trips and lots of phone conversations with the Red Frog Team, I am still bullish on the project. I am certain their intentions are honorable, though I'm sure they never expected many of the challenges they've (we've) come up against.

Others may see it differently, and in the end, they may be proven right. But in my mind, there is no up side to being negative. I'm in (for better or for worse) and will wait to see what happens. I hope to continue posting to this blog and sharing information on the project. Hopefully the strike will end soon and work will begin again. Let's make the best of it and get to know each other.

Thanks for listening.

Mick @ Lot 83

Comments on the conference call today?

2007-07-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

We recorded the call, though the quality is not great.

I would love to hear anyone's thoughts about the conference call we had today. It was unfortunate that they could not announce the strike over; that is why I thought the call had been postponed, and may have been.

Overall, it was pretty much what I expected, other than the announcement that the deposits would be put into escrow in order to enable Red Frog to secure construction loans. I think this makes sense from a business perspective.

Mick @ Lot 83

Updated 7/23/07
===================================
Since everyone is posting comments I thought it might be appropriate to post the outline/highlights as they appear on the Red Frog website here so as to give readers one place to look and evaluate comments.
===================================

July 20th 2007 Conference Call

Here is the outline/highlights of the Conference Call where we shared a progress update on Red Frog Beach and a few issues we thought we should bring everyone up-to-speed on.
We included a few topics that clients have asked us to address and also included some additional information that you should find useful. As always, it is best to send questions about Red Frog Resort Management/HOA to Chris and any other questions to Scott.

ANAM

After over two years of working on the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) required by the government of Panama, building phases 4-12 are approved to proceed. The Red Frog team is now ready to move forward with what the Panamanian government will allow. This is great news and we will be focused on moving these portions forward.
Another important milestone that resulted from the ANAM approval was the approval last week of the Anti-Proyecto/Master Plan for building phases 4-12. This also entailed over two years of planning, engineering, and designing to be in full compliance with legal development requirements. This is a major milestone for the project because it secures the density plans for the additional units including a boutique hotel, grand marine village, grand marina, activity center, the canopy tour, walking trails, a 2nd logistics center, and total supporting infrastructure. Now with this approval and our environmental approval, we are nearly set to begin pre-construction activities in this area.
Unfortunately, the Panamanian government did not approve plans for the golf course and the aquarium. This is disappointing to some of you and we understand that, but given the cards we have been dealt, we’re currently working on developing partnerships with other area developers to find a solution for our golf enthusiasts. This will take some time and we will keep you updated on these endeavors.
We are considering other amenities in the original golf site that will add value and reflect our commitment to the environment, such as botanical gardens and nature trails.
In this effort, we have narrowed our bids to 3 groups, all internationally recognized. The new vision is to be able to integrate the environment into the development, creating both a destination for tranquility and health, as well as education as we hope to integrate many of Panama’s indigenous flora into the garden plan. As soon as we have reached a decision, we will be sure to announce the chosen group to you all.
Just as we have always planned, we are preserving more than 70 percent of the natural areas at Red Frog Beach. Looking at the island as a whole, the Red Frog footprint will remain relatively small (only 3%) in comparison with the island. This 70 percent natural area footprint (about 6%) meets both the government’s vision and the Red Frog Beach vision of what this special place should be.

FINANCES

We have taken the opportunity during the last few months to bring in financial architects to look for ways to improve our financial structure. As the project continues to grow and mature and as our property appreciates, we need to meet the needs of our new buyers and the major recommendation was to start taking future deposits into escrow and use large institution financing to fund the project. So we have been perusing that initiative and we are down the road several months on this 6-12 month process with many interested financial institutions. We are pleased with the interest the financial community has in our project, especially since we do have completed homes and an impressive infrastructure as well as all of the important ANAM and Master Plan approvals,
Along with that we have developed a relationship with a new international bank and just yesterday signed papers to close on a new deal with them to finance our construction. They bring us a higher line of credit and fewer restrictions than our previous Panamanian bank which will allow us to work faster.
While the labor issues are important, keeping Red Frog’s finances stable and flexible is the most important.
We, of course, want to return to regular construction schedule as quickly as possible and this financial restructing will help this to occur.

STRIKE

As of now, we have not been able to reach a final agreement with the union. This continued delay is disappointing as we had hoped to announce the end of the strike on this call but rest assured that we are forging ahead as best we can with what we can do, and are still hard at work in these final moments at the bargaining table.
Obviously, this strike has an impact on progress. We’d all like to see this development done, and we’re all impatient for our full workforce to be back on the job. But we want to protect your investment and the quality of work you expect. Our local legal and labor counsel is doing a great job protecting the interests of Red Frog Beach as a whole.
Also, our teams of engineers and architects continue to remain hard at work preparing for Startup. We have recently completed many designs including the Beach Club.

RESORT MANAGEMENT

We have had several hospitality companies approach us to express interest in providing resort management services to Red Frog Beach. One major hotel group has even gone so far as to deliver a Letter of Intent which we are presently considering. We understand the power of a brand but also want to make the rental process as profitable to you as possible. Suffice it to say, although we can’t tell you the names of the groups interested in managing the property, they are strong brands you would recognize and they have great track records. They are enthusiastic about what we have done so far and about our recent approvals and are interested in moving forward. We will let you know more about our findings as they happen.
We have also been in talks with an International Marina management company who would manage our both of our marinas. They are excited about working with Red Frog because of the location, the deep water, the protected cove, minimal tidal change, the countless islands to explore and most of all -- no hurricanes.
We have set in place an efficient reservation system to follow up and help prospect renters through the reservation process.
We have improved communication with villa owners through monthly recaps with details on reservations, income and services performed on their villa.
We keep implementing new services available for full time residents. Grocery delivery, maid service etc. We are also developing a wide range of services and activities for renters staying at the villas.
The team keeps growing to attend the different needs such as maid services, client concierge, maintenance, boat drivers, pool cleaning, gardening, beach cleaning.
We have invested in land and water transportation to improve service for both returning owners and villa renters.
We have worked to protect unfinished villas and pools from the environment.
We have started and are moving ahead with the condo selection process. We also continue to move strong with the villa options as well. Finalizing this information will help us move ahead faster once construction starts and client cooperation during this stage is greatly appreciated.
The common areas for the condos are being developed; areas will include Bohio, Pools, Jacuzzi, Seating / Sun bathing Area, bathrooms, landscaping etc.
We continue our quest of improving and focusing on the quality of our products: new window manufacturer for upcoming villas /condos, new materials for pool areas etc.
We are also keenly focused on the quality of construction. We have hired new inspectors and new villa managers that will make sure the designs are being built in accordance to what was determined with you during the options process.

LAND DISPUTE AND LAWSUIT

As you have probably heard by now, we filed suit in the U.S. District Court system in Houston to protect the legal rights of a small piece of land at Red Frog Beach. This legal action is in addition to the legal proceedings on file in Panama.
We believe this course of action is prudent and necessary. As these cases wind their way through the legal channels we will keep you appraised of them as best we can.
We feel confident that we will prevail and we will win this in the high courts.

PROPERTY TAXES

We have had many, many questions about the laws of Panama and the property tax situation. First and foremost, our best advice is for you to have your own Panamanian legal counsel provide this information. Since we are not attorneys, we are not in a position to give legal advice.
But we can explain the current process at Red Frog. As a large developer with a large project that is well known to government officials, we are essentially required to bring in a qualified appraiser (we are using the highly esteemed Panamericana de Avalous) who assigns a value to the land based on a simple formula of square meters times a specified rate. This is then given to Catastro (land use ministry) for their approval and then that becomes the assessed value of the land.
To think that the government would overlook our project and the value that putting in all of the utilities as well as the forthcoming amenities is not reality based thinking. So while we do know the process, it is ultimately up to the government officials to assign the value. And at this point, we are told that we have been getting some of the lowest evaluations for beach property with our infrastructure and amenities in the entire country. But that can always change and that is why we ask you to seek your legal advice from qualified professionals.

CONCLUSION

We are excited to see all of our plans coming together and it was exciting for me to recently see one of the newest amenity that is coming to Red Frog Beach. We have acquired in trade a beautiful and practically brand new 35 foot Silverton Motor Yacht that is on its way from Costa Rica as we make this announcement. This yacht will be available for paid charters so for those of you who have always dreamed of island hopping in a yacht, here is a great opportunity for you to do that.
Once it is renamed and registered in Panama, we will be bringing it up to Bocas and it will be the first of many fine vessels to grace the marina at Red Frog which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
As we have continuing news regarding the project, we will be sure to keep you updated by email and on the website. Thank you to all of you great clients and as always, please feel free to contact us with any questions.

===================================

Quiet converstation with Joe's mom!

2007-07-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

Hello Red Frogians,

Janis got got a call today from Janice Bartone made some headway in talks that could increase our choices of furniture. Joe's mom is really nice. I think she got sucked into the business of when she asked Mr. Haley what he planned for furniture and he said, "Furniture?"

It really makes sense with what I know about the Red Frog Team. They have been very kind and considerate when dealing with us right from the beginning. I'm sure there are a lot of things they never considered about building on an island in a foreign country.

And trying to get all the owners to decide on furniture choices seems arduous at best. I think if we are patient, things will open up. For those of us who have to make our selections sooner rather than later, that may be a little harder.

But at this point, not having any furniture is not an option. We want to put our villa in the rental pool as soon as possible, and getting furniture to Bastimentos seems like it could turn into a project we are just not willing to take on.

I know there is a lot of talent in our group; a lot of designers and others in the trades. For that we are grateful.

Mick @ Lot 83

Internet Access at Red Frog Beach Club

2007-07-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

Owner Ivan Ho, one of our neighbors on Turtle Beach, wrote the following to the blog:

I agree we did not have enough time to make our choices. My question is: why are they charging me $1,000 for internet allowance. In the original contract it says we would have internet access. Ryan can not tell me the difference between the two. All he says is that RFB had to pay for all the equipment for the internet. I understand that but the villa is to have internet access at no additional charge. Does anyone know anything about this?

Mick @ Lot 83 had this response:

As for the Internet, we don't remember this agreement specifically. I do know that Ryan said the cloud was over the whole project and of course, we would need a router in each villa (which we bought in our villa selections). I would expect there to be a monthly access charge since RFB is paying for Internet access through their ISP. We will check and see if we can get this clarified for you. We may also hire an attorney to look over the contact again and give us his interpretation of what we should and should not get.

Ryan Bullock's response to my e-mail request to clarify the Internet Allowance was this:

Yes, you purchased the internet allowance for your villa, and that allowance includes a router that will distribute the wireless signal throughout your Villa. I will try to clarify what exactly is meant by the “Internet Allowance”.

Basically, we have invested in the infrastructure in order to make internet access available to all of the villas on the project. There was no internet access on this part of Bastimentos island before Red Frog Beach, but we “created” that access for our clients when we made the necessary arrangements with Cable and Wireless and when we invested in the installation of a communications tower that would distribute the signal throughout the Property and to all of the villas, condos, etc. In order to take advantage of that access clients must have an antenna and a router installed for their unit, and this is what is included in the Internet Allowance.

There will be a monthly access fee for internet service, but I do not know exactly what that fee will be. We may ultimately be able to offer different connection speeds at different rates. I anticipate that the fee will probably be something around $60 per month.

I hope that I have been able to answer your questions. Please let me know if there is anything else that I can explain.

I still find the definition of Internet Allowance a little confusing since he does not specify if this charge includes any monthy service and, if not, when will the monthly service charge start? (Maybe Ron @ 11 knows since he is living there.) I have asked for a clarification and will post it when I hear back.

It was not my understanding that all Internet service would be free and would expect to pay for monthy access as with any of our vacation properties, but I can't speak to what RFB agreed to with Ivan's family.

Mick @ lot 83

I know, I know...

2007-07-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

I decided to limit the use of this site for registered authors only. Please pass my e-mail mick@sfresidence.com to the other owners and let them know they are invited to participate. In this way we can keep our exposure to a minimum; to only people who WANT to participate, not those who are spying or whatever...

I would love to hear any feedback or suggestions on whether or not this is a good way to go. I can always change it back.

The exchange of ideas and information is critical, and I resent that anyone would attempt to shut down free speech. A blog is the place for this type of exchange.

Mick @Lot 83

Incredible opportunity for a beach front lot on Red Frog Beach!

2007-07-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

Not sure if anyone knows about this yet, but in my research for information about our project in the Bocas Breeze, I saw the following ad:

My first thought was, which one of our neighbors is selling? But then I saw "non-club" which got me curious. So I shot off an e-mail and got a pretty quick response from Don at Bocas del Toro Realty who is originally from Florida and lives in Bocas; very nice gentleman. We traded several e-mails around 11:00 out time so he was up really late! And again early this morning.

I don't want to get into too much detail, but if you know someone who is looking for property right on the beach and are balking at the prices for a Red Frog beach front lot, this 3-lot parcel is available for $395,000 unimproved (no water, sewer, electricity, etc.) and is on the west end of Bastimentos Island near the Red Frog Beach Club with only one lot (non-RFB) in between.

Now the disclaimer: If I have any of this information wrong, I apologize. I have not been there or seen it, but it looks lovely.

This picture is a peek-a-boo out to the Caribbean which hasn't been cleared better (I'm told) because it might encourage campers to pitch a tent!

I felt it was something I should share in case one of our friends or relatives might be interested in it. If so, please contact Don at Bocas del Toro Realty Services, Inc. E-mail him liveyourdream@bocasparadise.com. office 011-507-757-9401, cell 011-507-6-633-8050, fax 011-507-757-9397. Tell him Mick sent you...

This is not a paid commercial!

Mick @ Lot 83

Furniture continues to be the topic today

2007-07-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hello again. After numerous e-mails between interested owners, there has begun a discussion about the selections from Interior Jam and that being the only choice offered to us.

Ron @ Lot 11 says there is a fine distributor in Bocas who has imports from Indonesia, but getting them to Bastimentos is the hardest part. So close, yet so far away... unless you pay thousands of dollars for Red Frog to accept the container at their facility. This may not be a big issue, particularly if the quantity is there from owners who wish to enlarge their world of choices. Our combined purchasing power could fill up a container pretty fast!

My experience with the Red Frog has been their openness to making changes for the better. Perhaps this will be the same. But I think we need to make our objections known. Unfortunately for us, we are so close to having to make the decision that we may decide to have the villa delivered to us unfurnished.

Mick & Janis @ Lot 83

Anonymous posts will not be posted

2007-07-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

Because of the positive nature of what we're doing, only comments from people who can be identified as either owners, or by e-mail address will be published.

Mick @ Lot 83

Open letter to Scott Doggett - Article in Oct. 2006 issue of The Bocas Breeze

2007-07-17T14:58:00.001-07:00

Today I stumbled across a publication I had picked up at the airport on my way home from my visit to Red Frog Beach. I noticed on the back a website for the magazine's online version at www.TheBocasBreeze.com.

Of course, I didn't have to look very hard for something negative about our project. It was written by Scott Doggett in the Oct. 2006 issue entitled, "Don’t let it happen here". Like most of the people who write negatively about the project, they know NOTHING about the environmental hurdles our guys are going through to make sure that what they do is in line with the environmental agency.

As I've stated, I have a few criticisms about the project and some of its organization, but their committment to environmental friendly solutions is NOT one of them! Mr. Doggett claims to know the RFB team though he admits he's never met them. Well then, I know Mr. Doggett, though I have never met him.

And in my opinion, he is another bleeding heart who seems to think that if we went away, Panama would be a lot better off. Well, let me tell you what's going on at the other end of the country.

On the San Blas Islands at the other end of Panama, the lifestyle is very rustic. I stayed there in a bed and breakfast which should really have been called a "bug in breakfast". The bottom floors were sand and sleeping in a hammock was recommended because sleeping bags attacted critters in the night.

And my experience with the bathrooms went like this. Every morning the maintenance people would fill up the water barrel in our second floor room to use for our shower and toilet. Once you were done going to the bathroom, you'd flush and the waste would drop through a pipe right into the reef below. NO SEWAGE SYSTEM! It has been this way for years!

One of my biggest beefs with environmentalists is that they seem to think nature can't survive without us. Tell that to the coyotes now hunting humans in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco! True, man has created some messes and caused some animal species to go extinct, but nature has been doing that for years without our help! Remember dinosaurs and sabre tooth tigers?

Anyway, more to the point is this. Only 9% of Bastimentos is actually scheduled for construction, and of that the home sites are mostly land. As we've seen in Panama, the land is fertile and with the amount of rain they get, even the fence posts sprout leaves! Included in the development is one of the most sophisticated water and sewer treatment plants you will see anywhere. Dennis Stears has proudly seen to that.

And what of those houses on the beach? Does Mr. Doggett think we are going to be out there hunting for turtles or their eggs? If someone is stealing eggs, it won't be us! I guarantee it! And we are not capturing dolphins or monkeys or birds or red frogs (though we might grab an orchid or two!) or any of the other creatures among which we want to live.

Bastimentos is an enchanting place; a thing of beauty and wonderment. We will keep it that way!

Mick @ Lot 83

Upgrade Specifications form letter

2007-07-17T14:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a copy of the upgrade specifications form letter we received. Of course, this may change over time, but it might be helpful to know what's coming!

Dear ___,

My name is Ryan, and I will be working with you to decide whether on the options selections and upgrade specifications for your Red Frog Villa. Lot 83 has now come up on our schedule, and I am writing you today so that we can go ahead and begin the process of really making your Villa very special as your Tortuga is to be built on a beautiful beachfront lot. I feel like this process will be enjoyable, and I believe that we will be able to move through the Villa Specifications Process smoothly and without any real complications.

The Villa Specifications Process is divided into two parts. First, we will need to define and finalize any options selections that you may choose for your Villa and the interior. These selections include appliance upgrades, exterior color combination options, additional TV outlets, etc. This part of the process is relatively simple and straight forward, and we should initiate this part of the Villa Specifications Process right away. Then, in the coming weeks, we will initiate the second part of the Villa Specifications process: finalizing the designs for the Pool & Patio areas of your Villa.

As the machinery gets rolling again at Red Frog Beach within the next few weeks, maintaining and keeping up with our construction schedule is obviously a very high priority. The date that I have been given for finalizing and submitting the options selections for your Villa’s interior to our Construction Operations Department is Monday, July 9th, 2007. This gives us two weeks to discuss and finalize any selections that you may choose for your villa, and I really do appreciate your investing the time to move through this part of the Villa Specifications Process within this time frame. To facilitate this part of the Process, I have already prepared an initial quote for the various upgrades and options that we have available for your Villa’s interior. I am sending the quote as an attachment to this email so that you may review it, and I will also have a hard copy of this email and the attached document sent to you via UPS so that you will have it for your records. Finally, I’ll go ahead and have some exterior color paint chips sent to you by mail so that you can begin considering which of our five color combinations you will want to choose for your Villa. We should go ahead and plan a time very soon that we can speak by phone and discuss in greater detail the various options that appear in the attached quote document. The sooner we can begin discussing these options the better, and I’ll have Erika from our office call you tomorrow so that we can schedule a time to speak by phone sometime this week.

This is all I have for now. Please take a few minutes to review the attached document, and please take a look at your schedules to see when might be a convenient time for us to speak by phone. I really look forward to talking with you very soon, and I hope that you will not hesitate to contact me should you have any immediate questions regarding the attached document or the Villa Specifications Process in general. I am traveling this week, but I will be checking and responding to my emails regularly. If you write to me directly, I will certainly get back with you but it may be later in the afternoon or early the next morning. I appreciate your cooperation, and please work with Erika to schedule a time for this week that we might speak by phone.

I am in no way criticizing this letter. I am posting it so that others may see what they can expect in anticipation of their villa and/or condo construction. (I would have loved to see this some months ago so I would know what I was to expect. The only complaint I had was the timing which may have been exaggerated because of the holiday week.)

Ryan has been great. All of our questions by e-mail were answered promptly, either the same day or early the next morning.

Mick @ Lot 83

Naturally we're eager to get going, but...

2007-07-17T13:56:00.001-07:00

A short post about the construction call we had. On June 25th of this year (2007), Ryan Bullock contaced us by e-mail saying that he wanted to have a conference call to get our Villa Specifications because our villa had been put on the construction schedule.

That basically gave us the following week to make our choices because the week after that was the 4th of July week where we (and practically every other Californian) would be out of town. His report was due the following Monday, July 9th.

The paint selections didn't arrive in the mail until the end of the week that we were out of town (and it may have even been as late as the Monday that Ryan's report was due - another Interior Jam issue) so we could not make an informed decision.

My only point is this... the lack of flexibility. We have been on hold since 2004 when we first made our purchase and then given "10 minutes" (I'm exaggerating, of course) to make all of our choices. Certainly owners should have a little more time to make these very important decisions. It's frustrating.

So to possibly help alleviate other people's frustration, we are willing to share our experience with anyone who may need help figuring this whole thing out. If you have any questions about the process that occurs BEFORE the furniture selection call, let us know and we'll be happy to shed some light on what we know!

Mick & Janis @ Lot 83

Not too sure about Interior Jam

2007-07-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

We recently have had dealings with Interior Jam, and are wondering if they are the right choice for Red Frog. Here's my concern:

For one thing, Jan Bartone has a hard time getting names right, even when corrected. I am Michael and I go by Mick. So far I am still "Mike" though she has been told otherwise. Okay, so I'm willing to overlook that. But only one or two of my e-mails has been responded to and that concerns me. She does, however, respond to Janis in a timely manner, so perhaps it's me! :-)

Just as Legacy is history with regard to the retirement plan management for Red Frog because of their poor (and slow) customer response, could this end up being the fate of Interior Jam? Just wondering because here's our biggest concern.

We have dealt with a furniture company in Hawaii called Island Collections. They make their furniture on the mainland and in other countries and are very good at supplying their stuff to island locations using containers... which I would think is key to getting stuff delivered to Panama. When we spoke with Isaac, the owner, he told us he has a factory close to us and would be happy to speak with Interior Jam about being a furniture supplier.

This company has GREAT prices and GREAT furniture, which is essential for Janis who has back concerns. Island Collections has a great recliner that is the only one we've found that suits our purposes... and it was relatively CHEAP! Another point is that they are a huge furniture supplier for lots of large resorts all over the place, so I know they are aware of the challenges of customs.

In short, we asked Jan Bartone at Interior Jam to just TALK to Isaac and see if Island Collections might be a possible furniture supplier. Judging by the prices on the furniture options we've received, her suppliers NEED some competition (plus let's not forget Janis's back issue!). Here was her response:

"...I did not call Issac as; at this time I really don’t have the where for all to set in motion a new vendor..."

You don't have the where for all? I thought it was about service and giving the clients the best deal, not what's convenient for Interior Jam. Now when all is said and done, maybe the vendor choices Janice Bartone has made ARE the best ones. But how does she know??? All we are asking for is one phone call just to see. So here's our dilemma. Does Red Frog know about this lack of flexibility and are we the only ones who think this? I'd love to hear some feedback.

Mick @ Lot 83

Beach front lot 83

2007-07-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

When we purchased the deal was 50% up front because the land was not titled while others enjoyed only having to put up 30%. As we move toward the start of construction, we understand this may change for us, but we'll see.

Our first call was the options call where we chose a rough set of things we wanted to upgrade, such as the maid's quarters, the bigger pool and some other things to get a budget. At that time we were encourage to purchase a furniture allowance to add to the total so that we could finance it along with the villa.

So we had our lot premium, our villa cost, our options cost and our furniture cost. Of that amount we had to put up 50% of the total. We used some of our retirement money, but most of it came from personal holdings. (The condo downpayment was 100% IRA money! More on that in another post.)

Right now we have just had our first pre-construction conference call and made some of our choices. Next comes the furniture choices, then the pool and patio conference call. I'll keep you updated.

Mick @ Lot 83

Early Days

2007-07-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

I posted a similar story on Ron at 11's blog before it went kaput about our early dealings with Red Frog. I think it is insightful as to how the business practices have developed.

In the beginning, I went on the exploratory tour that Red Frog offered very early in the process. We were not in the first phase, but we were close. I heard about the project at a Wright Thurston real estate investing seminar and decided I wanted in.

At that time we were told no investors were allowed in until they had made the trip. I made it clear that, although we could not make the journey for a couple of months, we wanted a beach front villa.

When I finally arrived (Janis could not make that trip... and I'm glad she didn't!) I was told that all the beach front lots had been sold. Of course, I was livid, since I was very specific about what we wanted or I would not have made the trip. Dennis Stears assured me there were going to be plenty of beach front lots. After talking to several of the principals (Chris, Scott, Darrell, etc.) and making my objections clear, they were very accommodating in offering an option on one of the lots which had not been surveyed yet. As a result we ended up with our lot 83. So right off the bat, they got my vote as being very honorable guys. I was promised a beach front lot before I went on the tour, and I left with one!

The reason I was glad Janis hadn't gone was that there was nothing to see! This is very common when one wants to get in on the ground floor. The risk is higher, so the prices were lower. Anyway I spent several days hiking up hills to look at lots and got spattered with mud from the rain soaked dirt tracks that were "graded" for the ATVs.

I remember getting stuck and the tractor shooting up mud into the trailer where some of us sat and thought, "Boy, am I glad the Queen is not here!"

Shortly after that, the first condos were offered and we immediately invested in a penthouse in building 200. And when the boat slips were initially offered, we jumped on one of those too. Eventually Janis did take the trip and enjoyed her time there. The roads were wider, much of the power plant had been built and some of the homes had been started. We plan to go again before the end of the year... as soon as Janis gets her new passport!!!!

We'd love to hear your stories, both funny or sad.

Mick @ Lot 83

Hello, everyone!

2007-07-17T10:16:00.001-07:00

This is Mick (and Janis) at lot 83. We are sad that Ron at lot 11has shut down his blog, so we decided to start one up.

Our first task will be to contact all we know who are owners at Red Frog and ask them to contribute. In order to add you to our list, please e-mail mick@SFResidence.com and ask to be added as a contributor using your e-mail address.

We hope this proves to be a well read blog loaded with ideas, tips and articles helpful to the community at large! Welcome!

Mick Orton
Lot 83