As reported in an earlier post, we planned to begin the landscaping of the communal land and gardens in January 2012, so I’m pleased to report that we have been working hard on this for the last 6 weeks.  Our original plans for the gardens have changed as we wanted to soften the area and create more spaces for relaxation. To achieve exactly this, we have retained one of London’s leading landscape architects who has extensive experience with high-end projects around the globe.

She has designed the gardens to flow like a river between the ‘valley’s’ of villas on either side of the plateau. Pathways wind their way through copses of shady trees, a walled courtyard garden, through arbours and almond groves. A lily pond and sunken garden will provide beautiful places to sit and absorb the scenery and the terraced herb and kitchen garden will provide fresh produce for the on-site restaurant.

We have begun laying out the pathways and clearing the land for planting and our head gardener Sidi Mohammed (who was responsible for the stunning gardens at the King’s favourite local hotel, La Roseraie) is excited to meet again this month with our landscape architect to kick off the planting in earnest. Gardens obviously take time to mature, but I have no doubt that the end result will be absolutely stunning.

Spring is once again bringing a fresh verdant quality to the stunning landscape surrounding the L’Amandier resort and the exquisite plateau is alive with activity. Construction has continued at an excellent pace throughout the winter and we are delighted to report that the second phase is on schedule to be completed by June this year.

Villas 2 to 10 are now all externally complete, which allows visitors to L’Amandier a clear vision of the layout of the main resort area and the generous plot sizes for each villa. The resort has a build footprint of only 5% of the land, ensuring maximum privacy for each villa and a general feeling of space within the communal grounds. This was of the utmost importance to us during the design period, given the incredible panoramic views from all of the villas and gardens.

The majority of the villas within this penultimate phase are also finished internally to our high specifications.

The final phase of construction will begin shortly and on schedule at the end of March, bringing us to final completion of L’Amandier during the first quarter of 2013.

Buyer interest has remained high during the last quarter and we are pleased to announce that, having sold out the villas that were released last year, we will be releasing a further two villas from the final phase. These were originally to be retained by the developer, but the decision has been made to release these properties due the demand for prime plots. If you are interested in further information on the remaining villas for sale, please contact: sam@mhkinternational.com

MHK International have teamed up with leading London Mortgage Broker, Just Us Mortgages, to facilitate the financing for the remaining few villas at L’Amandier.

Since its launch, L’Amandier has bucked the recession, by maintaining a good pace of construction and continuing to attract buyers and positive media interest. During a period when banks have become increasingly cautious in terms of lending for properties, L’Amandier stands out as a safe and secure investment that lenders are comfortable to back. MHK continue to show their commitment to clients by providing helpful solutions. Just Us Mortgages is one such solution.

Based in the City of London, Managing Director Dominic Hennessy (pictured left) commented “L’Amandier is just the kind if investment we like to partner with… The development has been managed carefully, the investment product is robust and it has excellent potential for positive growth”. He and his team at Just Us specialise in mortgages for investment and second home properties. They have built a client base of lawyers, doctors, surveyors, company directors, amongst numerous other professionals, through their long-term experience, clear understanding of clients’ needs, and the effective solutions they provide. All their brokers have a minimum of five years’ experience, excellent working relationships with lenders and a superior knowledge of lending criteria.

Sourcing a mortgage for most properties right now can be a frustrating and time consuming exercise and we have recently experienced their no nonsense and highly proactive approach to finding the right solution when one of MHK’s clients came up against challenges with his financing.

Zach Dovey, a UK surgeon, is determined to purchase a property at the L’Amandier resort. He commented, “I saw L’Amandier and completely fell in love with it. I made up my mind that I had to buy, not just for such a spectacular second home, but as a sound investment.” He is building a portfolio of properties and is particularly interested in Morocco as it is one of the markets that has withstood the recession well and as he reasoned, “…this bodes well for the country as the international markets start to grow again”.

Zach was looking for a mortgage structure that consisted of 60% non-domestic mortgage and 40% UK.  “My challenge was to find the right financing to suit my situation. Just Us Mortgages and MHK have worked with me to help ensure I do exactly that. My time is limited and it has been enormously beneficial having a mortgage broker on side who is not only proactive and experienced, but who communicates effectively and works well with the developer to look at the situation from different angles. It has been a real team effort, and everything is in place now to go-ahead with purchasing my villa.”

With projected rental return starting at 6% and solid capital growth prospects as L’Amandier evolves into one of Morocco’s most desirable destinations, I would say Zach is wise to make the effort to overcome obstacles when it comes to owning one of the L’Amandier villas.

If you would like to receive an Investor Report on L’Amandier or arrange an initial consultation with one of the Just Us Mortgages brokers, please contact Mikaela Fenton-Jones at mikaela@mhkinternational.com