Developer bankruptcy hitting property owners, tourists

ANXIETES and concerns  over  the  bankruptcy of  developer RG Hotels  has spread from the financial community to owners of apartments in the Las Perlas condo/hotel project in Coclé.

The bankruptcy has also affected hundreds of people who purchased vacation packages through the company Blue Vacations to stay at Las Perlas, because the hotel is now closed.

While apartment owners preferred not to comment on the record,  La Prensa reports that the bankruptcy has generated anxiety, because they fear that their properties will be included in a liquidation process.

Those who purchased units as an investment have expressed concern that promised rental income has never materialized. Those who purchased units to live in have expressed concern that public areas in the project, such as swimming pools and parking lots, were separated from the project and used as collateral for loans.

They are also concerned that the bankruptcy will mean that utilities may be turned off and routine maintenance may not be performed.

There are also investors in a planned tower at the site, called Aqua, who are concerned that it may never be built.

The project was originally called Nikki Beach, but that brand backed out of the deal with R.G. Hotels over issues during the initial development of the project. Later the hotel was associated with the Royalton and Wyndham brands before being renamed Las Perlas.

The developer has become embroiled in disputes with property owners in two other projects, Ibiza Corona and Coronado, over the decision to mortgage social areas of those projects, a practice that was repeated at Las Perlas and is apparently a violation of the law, saya La Prensa.