Farewell to 'Raising The Roof'

It is with a great deal of sadness that we have learned of the demise of the 'Raising the Roof' 'blog.

We received the following message from the blog's writer, Kevin Brass:

"I regret to announce the New York Times, as part of its latest round of cutbacks, has decided to drop “Raising the Roof,” the international property blog. In recent weeks The Times, which owns the International Herald Tribune, has absorbed the Web activities of the Herald Tribune, downsized the weekly international-focused “Escapes” section and slashed the contractor budget. The last “Raising the Roof” post will go up Friday, May 29.

I will continue to write about property markets for the print edition of the International Herald Tribune, as well as occasional stories for the NYT. I will also be pursing other opportunities in the property industry.

For all those who read the blog and helped develop stories over the last couple of years, I thank you for your attention and support."

What can we say Kevin? We really enjoyed the blog and are very sorry to see it go. You'll be badly missed in the overseas property blogosphere and best of luck with your ventures in the future, we're sure they'll be very successful. 

OverseasCafe features in International Herald Tribune Blog

More good news. The OverseasCafe featured on the internationally renowned International Herald Tribune (IHT) blog, Raising the Roof, written by Kevin Brass. If you're looking for a blog to give you a flavour of what's going on around the world you won't find much better.

The story which grabbed Kevin's attention was the interview with Jerome Andree (you'll find it here if you've not seen it before), formerly of Fortuna Estates.

It's always good to get feedback which confirms that there are high profile people in the industry engaging with the website. Just makes it all feel a little more worthwhile.

The full blog is below, but the original can be found here:

A Spanish land company accused of defrauding thousands of investors was originally operated “loud and proud” and established as a legitimate investment scheme, Jerome Andree, one of the co-founders of Fortuna Estates, told Overseas Café.

Spanish authorities raided Fortuna’s offices in December. The company reportedly offered investors shares in land in rural Andalucia, which they said would be reclassified for commercial development. Fortuna tempted investors with the prospect of up to 800 percent returns on their money, the London Times reports. More than 2,000 buyers were allegedly scammed, many from the U.K. and Ireland, according to authorities.

In an e-mail exchange with Overseas Café, Andree offers his version of events, including what he calls the “soap opera” that led to his “removal” from Fortuna in 2007. Andree, who is apparently living in Sri Lanka now, said Fortuna was established “in a buoyant Spanish market to achieve beneficial returns for investors,” not as the swindle described by prosecutors.

“Under my watch all the land was bought and paid for in full,” Andree wrote. “This was good land and the clients were correctly given their title deeds.”

Asked if Fortuna was a “boiler room operation,” Andree denied it.

“While I was involved Fortuna Land was operated loud and proud with clients encouraged to visit, meet the principals and staff face to face,” Andree replied.

When asked what advice he would give Fortuna’s clients, he wrote, “I think all investors prior to May 2007 should hang on to the land they own.”

The full exchange can be found here.

Register now to receive our informative newsletter, save searches and tailor your OverseasCafe.com experience to your own needs.

__________________________________

For a selection of property from around the world click here.

For a listing of agents selling overseas property click here.

For independent articles on overseas property click here.

For advice on purchasing property overseas click here.

For news on the world of overseas property click here.

For new releases and product updates from agents around the world click here.

For a list of upcoming overseas property exhibitions around the country click here.