Hello to my fellow SP'ers,
I know how hard it is to deal with faceless people online, so having read the above I thought I would share my experiences.
I have invested in two properties via Darren, one in France and one in Spain, plus the Portugal development being discussed above. Anyone who is less of a scammer I have never met.
Darren has taken the time to answer every point in my not inconsiderable emails since I have been dealing with him, and to speak on the phone. In my honest opinion he genuinely cares, not only that the client is getting a good deal, but that they understand the deal in detail before getting involved. I was around very early on when the Spain deal came to light, and although I was interested from the offset, Darren made sure that he did his own due diligence on the deal first before passing it on to his clients. I have just been out viewing the property and sorting out the legals and I am very pleased with my investment.
I don't believe either that what looks to good too be true must be, there are some deals around that the moment that I would not have seen last year and which really are excellent, it's a buyer's market. There are also some pretty awful deals wrapped up nicely to look good. As so many people on here have said, always always do your own due diligence and don't sign anything till you are happy. However, dealing with trustworthy and competent people will certainly make your life easier. There are only three people that I deal with on a regular basis, and Darren is one of them.