Has anyone signed up for this one ?
Do we sign the agreement with Mercan or another company ?
May I ask if you used their appointed law firm or your own ?
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I used a separate law firm, because I originally was going to go a different investment route.
I used theirs.
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How are their lawyers ? Did you already get the approval ?
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Everything has gone pretty smoothly with them thus far. I started the process in september, got together the funds, made the investment etc etc and submitted&paid for my application 17 Nov. Currently awaiting preapproval. They keep me updated even when there is nothing to update. I’ll check back in as the process continues!
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Hi Kay,
I went with Edge-IL rather than Mercan’s in-house attorneys. If you have any concerns about potential conflict of interests, remember that Mercan’s in-house attorneys’ first loyalty is to Mercan. Also, they may not be as responsive if you run into any complications.
Edge’s fees are a bit higher than Mercan’s, but I’ve been happy with them. I went for biometrics last month and will take the family later this year (covid permitting). If you’re not anxiety-prone like me, you’d probably be fine with Mercan’s in-house attorneys. I have read that Mercan can finagle SEF biometrics appointments fairly quickly, but I don’t know if this is always the case, or if the backlog problems will even be an issue in a few more months.
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Hi Brian !
Thanks for your response . Was your lawyer able to change any of the terms and conditions in the investor agreement ?
I am very anxiety prone 
.
Thanks
Kay
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Hi Hutch
Does this project has any income during investment period?
How much you can hold this investment, as I know this project has guaranteed buyback?
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Hi Andrew,
This and all of the €280K Mercan investments so far generate no income.
Your second question is a bit unclear, but if you are asking about the timing of the buyback there are several situations listed. You can oblige Mercan to repurchase under the following scenarios 1) If the ARI is rejected for reasons related to the investment, 2) once you are approved for permanent residency, 3) acquisition of Portuguese nationality, or 4) six years after purchase.
I hope this helps.
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Have you heard or try Holborn assets ?
I’ve talked to them. It seems legit enough but I only went about so far. Note Holburn is an agency and they’re marketing Excellium’s projects (IIRC). I did verify that the project I was looking at actually existed (e.g. there was a building at that address being marketed as rental apartments).
Did you look at their project Ourasol apartment hotel?
I like their scheme with upfront return and buyback guarantee
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No, the projects change as they get completed and it’s been a while.
It’s just another mercan, somewhat different economics since they aren’t mercan and have to provide better terms to get customers. You’ll need to do your own due diligence - hire an independent property evaluator (Prime Yield seems ok), check out the story, maybe go visit, or just risk the cash. You can at least look up the basics of Excellium in the UK Company House since it is registered as a UK company.
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Hi Kay,
I didnt feel a need to go down the road of changing any terms and conditions, neither did Edge-IL. Mercan updated the contracts to reflect my independent legal representation and separate legal fees without any headaches or delay.
Other than that, you’d have to talk with a lawyer for specifics.
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Hi, Brian.
This is exactly the path we’re considering: Mercan Lagos, using Edge as our attorneys. We’re just getting started now, though, and are wondering if the process is still going smoothly for you. Mercan is encouraging potential investors to use their contracted attorneys, but I’m concerned about divided loyalties. Thanks!
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Mercan and La Vida are total scams. Run, don’t walk away from these agencies. Packaging visas with hotel investments, conflict of interest, hard selling tactics, lack of transparency.
It’s an absolute joke and a scam industry.
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