BUYER BE AWARE WHEN LOOKING FOR PROPERTY FROM PUNTE DUARTE BECAUSE THE OWNERS, PETER AND GABY HUSS, WILL TELL YOU WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR AND FAIL TO FOLLOW UP ON WHAT THEY TELL YOU. I TRUSTED THEM AND PURCHASED A ONE ACRE LOT. THEY TOLD ME THAT PUNTE DUARTE PROPERTY WAS A GATED COMMUNITY AND THAT NO COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS WOULD BE BUILT ON PUNTE DUARTE AND PETER HUSS FAILED TO TELL ME THAT THERE WAS AN OUTSTANDING LAW SUIT AGAINST HIM TO MAKE THE ENTRANCE ROAD A PUBLIC ROAD WHICH I BELIEVE IS AGAINST THE LAW TO FAIL TO DISCLOSE A PENDING LAW SUIT WHEN PEOPLE ARE PURCHASING PROPERTY.
HE, PETER, FAILED TO DISCLOSE THIS PRIOR TO US PURCHASING PROPERTY. THE COURT CASE IS NOW AT THE HIGHEST COURT LEVEL SINCE THE LOWER COURTS WOULD NOT ACCEPT IT AND THE CURRENT HOME OWNERS ARE ALL WAITING TO FIND OUT IF THE HIGH COURT WILL DESIGNATE THE ROAD AS PUBLIC AND ONE OF THE REASONS THE PERSON WHO IS SEWING HIM WANTS IT PUBLIC IS BECAUSE HE HAS ADJOINING PROPERTY AND PETER HUSS BUILT THE ROAD ON HIS PROPERTY AND PETER HUSS WILL NOT ALLOW HIM TO USE THE ROAD TO ACESS HIS PROPERTY EVEN THOUGH THE ROAD IS ON HIS (NOT PETERS) PROPERTY. THE ROAD FROM MORRILLO BEACH HAS BECOME PUBLIC AND IS NOT LOCKED SO SURFERS CAN DRIVE UP TO GABY’S HOME TO RENT ROOMS WHICH IS NOW CONSIDERED A HOTEL. SURFERS FOLLOW THE ROOM FOR RENT SIGNS ALL ON THE ROAD FROM THE BEACH LEADING TO GABY’S HOTEL. THE SURFERS PASS OUR PROPERTY ALMOST EVERY TIME OF DAY AND NIGHT TO GET TO GABY’S H0TEL. PETER AND GABY MINIMALLY MAINTAIN THE ROADS THAT ARE WITHIN PUNTA DUARTE PROPERTY AND THE POT HOLES CREATED BY THE RAIN ARE IGNORED. HE HAS SOLD PROPERTY TO OWNERS WHO PLANNED TO BUILD SMALL HOTELS AND ONE PIECE OF PROPERTY WAS SOLD FOR A RESTAURANT AND HOTEL
SO AGAIN, PETER HUSS, MADE FALSE STATEMENTS TO BUYERS.
PETER FEELS THAT ABOVE GROUND WATER LINES ARE SATISFACTORY FOR EVERYONE AND HAS BUILT A WATER TANK WHICH LEAKS AND THE PUMP WAS RUNNING 24 HOURS A DAY FOR WHICH THE HOMEOWNERS CURRENTLY LIVING ON THE PROPERTY HAVE TO PAY FOR IN ADDITION TO THEIR OWN WATER METER AND ELECTRIC METER. HE HAS SAID THE ABOVE WATER LINES ARE TEMPORARY BUT THEY HAVE BEEN TEMPORARY FOR OVER 3 YEARS AND HE REFUSES TO DO THE RIGHT THINK AND PUT THE WATER LINES UNDERGROUND. BECAUSE ALGIE GETS IN THE WATER LINES, IT IS UNSAFE TO DRINK. HE REFUSES TO PAY THE ELECTRICAL BILL AND FORCES THE CURRENT HOME OWNERS TO PAY FOR “HIS” WATER PUMP MISTAKES WHICH USES ELECTRICITY TO PUMP WATER TO HIS CONCRETE TANK WHICH HAS BEEN LEAKING WATER AND REFUSES TO TAKE CARE OF THIS PROBLEM THAT HE CREATED AND CONTINUES TO FORCE THE EXISTING PROPERTY OWNERS TO PAY FOR HIS MISTAKES. EACH HOME CURRENTLY HAS ELECTRIC METERS AND THE PUNTE DUARTE ELECTRICITY BILL, WHICH IS IN PETER’S NAME EXCEEDS THE TOTAL READINGS OF THESE METERS AND PETER HUSS REFUSES TO PAY THE DIFFERENCE BUT WILL DO NOTHING TO FIND OUT WHY THE METERS ARE SHOWING MORE ELECTRICITY THAN WHAT WAS USED. HE HAS PURCHASED TRANSFORMERS SECOND HAND AND HE DOES NOT BUY ANYTHING NEW AND USES THE CHEAPEST METHOD TO FIX A PROBLEM. I BELIEVE THEY HAVE TAKEN THE MONEY FROM THE SALE OF THE PROPERTY AND HAVE A HIDDEN BANK ACCOUNT THAT THEY USE TO LIVE ON AND DOESN’T PUT ANY MONEY BACK INTO THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE PROPERTY AS HE PROMISED THE OWNERS. HE AND GABY ARE GREEDY AND DO AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE TO IMPROVE THE ROADS, WATER, OR ELECTRICITY ISSUES. OTHER HOME OWERS MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT OPINION THAN I HAVE EXPRESSED BUT THESE THINGS ARE WHAT WE HAVE EXPERIENCED WHITH THESE TWO GERMANS. HAVING LIVED IN GERMANY FOR 24 YEARS, WE NEVER CAME ACROSS SUCH DISGRACEFUL GERMANS AS THEY ARE AND I HAVE KNOWN AND I AM FRIENDS WITH MANY OUTSTANDING GERMANS AND THESE TWO ARE IN MY OPINION A DISGRACE TO THEIR GERMAN HERITAGE. I CANNOT AND WILL NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY FROM PETER HUSS OR ANYTHING HE IS SELLING FOR THE REASONS ABOVE THAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED MYSELF IN DEALING WITH HIM AND GABY HUSS.

Peter Huss on his youtube site boasts proudly that “You should not expect a master plan”.

Punta Duarte Gardens – A place to live in Panama

What buyers have to understand are the consequences of buying a property from Peter Huss and what that means.

First of all, it allows Peter to build right next to your lot and then he can say to you, would you like to buy the terrace he has prepared or he will sell it to some one else. Of course this is almost a sort of blackmail. And this has happened to several people. And of course he has the right to do so as there is no master plan and there is no commitment from him to not build or sell right in front of your wonderful view.

Secondly, as there is no master plan, the roads are not fixed and because of this the electrical and water connections are all temporary. Temporary being roughly to be meaning “FOREVER”.

This means that you are always living in a constantly shifting environment where roads can appear and move based on what Peter can sell and the next buyer wants.

Thirdly, it is in human nature to not want to live closeby his neighbour and so people can buy what they want and this means that the roads can become extremely long. Un like a master plan where a road is made and lots are provided off this until all are sold and then a new part is commercialised. Here in Punta Duarte the road network is extensive for a light density of people which means costs are much higher to develop and maintian.

There are pluses to living with out a master plan, but only if the developer is honest and doesn’t try to screw you.

Of course Peter will say “You knew you were buying without a master plan when you bought!”. The problem is that you do not expect the developer to so openly and directly use it as a tool to get more money from you, and do shody work under the pretence that it Is temporary. All the roads and water connections are more or less temporary and will be redone bit by bit as new people come and people build. Which leads to your well earnt retirement spent chasing when you need to be reconnected to electricity or water.

Before buying a piece of land it is of course a good idea to know if your private gated community has a private road.

Snce 7 years there is an on going court case between Tropical living and a neighbour Bob Young about if Bob could use the road for access to his property. Due to one reason or another, Bob has a court case to gain access to the entrance and the result of his winning is that the road becomes a public one. Who ever is right or wrong is not the issue in this post. the point I try to make is that people have a right to know what the status of any actions on such issues that affect  what they are buying. The lots are sold under the disguise of a gated community with a private access.

Of course, Peter hasn’t informed anyone buying that there is a problem with the status of access to the domain. I assume to not have negative sales.

I find this sort of behaviour unethical. As he sells a gated community whilst fully knowing that there is a problem with the concept he sells.

If Peter had negotiated properly in the first place with Bob then the situation would not have degenerated to what it is today and a gated community would have been safely assured. As it is residents are now unsure if the road is private or public.

Of course, if it is made public then this will be an extra cost to residents to police the entrance (i.e. In order to allow public access albeit surveyed by guard).

Waste disposal in our times is a real problem. However the owner of Tropical Living (i.e Peter Huss) when I asked about waste disposal, recommended that I should “burn our bury it!”.

Without any clear direction or facilities, residents implemented themselves the residential solution of a open wire cage on the road.

My personal opinion on this is that Trpoical Living should have provided facilities for waste disposal befitting the type of project they market. Which is a gated mixed residential and commercial project. I, as owner of my restaurant, am now faced with an open cage at the entrance to my restaurant, which is, unsightly, an open invitation for clients and passing traffic to throw their rubbish, and a health hazard as it will likely attract rats, snakes and buzzards.

Discussions with Gaby Huss, show they have no solution and more or less wash their hands of the problem as burning rubbish seems to be illegal here or at least not recommended.

If we do burn the we can sit back and observe the cherished the wonderful sights of the local fire brigade putting out the bush fires caused by our burning rubish disposal strategy. And our burying rubbish strategy will hopefully foster the arrival of rats, snakes and buzzards, which albeit, could be seen as encouraging wild life to inhabit the area may not be very welcomed by all.

All in all, I would recommend to any prospective buyer to not buy here as waste disposal will be a major problema nd the domain is very isolated that the local municipal trucks wil have problems accessing each home.

I will of course for commercial reasons oppose any attempt to place. Rubbish on the entrance to the restaurant and domain, although I understand fully the problem that residents have due to the lack of vision from both Peter and Gaby.

I came to Panama and specifically Punta Duarte to have a relaxing pre-retirement business. I find myself unfortuantely, at logger heads with my neighbours and the developer because they (Peter and Gaby) haven’t provided the correct facilities necessary to allow people to install themselves and enjoy their retirement in peace. Of course for Peter and Gaby they have provided a pit in which they can dispose of their waste which we are excluded from using.

It is a question of “I am all right Jack!!!.. Sort the problem out yourself!!”.

Of course, I think if each resident takes a unilateral action to rubbish disposal, we will have a proliferation of different waste disposal methods and this will eventually be a problem for everyone. There is, plenty of space, to dump it without it being noticed, right?!

How can we hope to live in harmony if a basic waste disposal facility is not provided?

A Swiss couple feel blackmailed since after buying their lot, Peter told them that if they would not buy an additional small piece of land (approx. 1 000 sq. meters) just beside their property, he would sell it to a third party. They agreed to buy it and then Peter started preparing a construction site adjacent to them but on the other side of their property.

When he sells, he claims that the minimum lot size should be 1 acre in order to keep neighbors at a distance.

They are also annoyed since the water is costing them more than twice as much as in Switzerland.

Michael and Lyne Heim are building a house on the beach property they bought 7 years ago.

Had my friends Michael and Lyne known then what they know now about Peter Huss, they would not have bought the property.

Over the years Peter Huss told Michael many times that the title process was on the last steps. In 2011 Peter promised to transfer the title of their property within a few weeks but required the final payment to be made to pay for the land taxes so he could finalize the transfer. The final payment was to be made when the title is transferred into their name but they trusted Peter. They paid Peter but the title was put in his name instead.
They still do not have a title.

Peter had 5 years to install the water and electrical lines and to this date they only have a provisional water & electrical connection.
Peter promised temporary electrical line for construction. A kind neighbor had to connect them to his transformer so they could start building.

Peter told Michael that he did not need to install a meter on the temporary line because he would cover the small electricity cost until the house was ready. After 3 months he demanded payment for electricity at 4 times what it would have cost had it been metered.

They have an agreement stating that they pay a minimum 10$ for 10 cubic meters of water plus 1$ for each additional cubic meter. The well and tank installed by Peter have been made according to “Panamanian Standards”. The tank leaked approx. 15 cub. meter of water per day. As a result, the cost per cub. meter was 2.70 $ (for comparison IDAAN, the public water supplier charges 25 cents). Although they have this water cost agreement, Peter and Tropical Living wants them to pay the higher amount.

Michael and Lyne have experienced that most of what Peter has committed to them have not been fulfilled:
– that the community was a private one with its own private road with locked accesses 24 hours per day
– they had building guidelines that were to be followed
– they would not sell lots under 4000 M2
And there are more….

Michael and Lyne felt obligated to seek their councils help to assist in getting closure on some of these items starting with the titling process which under their contract was to be paid by Peter using his lawyer.

Their experience is that Peter will tell his potential clients everything they want to hear. Be aware, once he has your money, his commitment to fulfilling his obligations is no longer there.

Peter Huss promised me a water connection. We had already discussed by email about the water connection and as far as I was concerned I would have a gravity fed connection albeit, without much pressure. My expectation was I needed to build a small surge tank, plus a small pressure pump to ensure showers, toilets and the resturant could work.

When I arrived in 2013 to build my hotel/restaurant/spa, I found out that I was connected directly to the well pump which meant that during periods of electrical outage I got no water!!

Further more, as everyone was connected to the surge tank, the well pump would fill the surge tank with water used during the outage before I recieved water. All in all, any electrical outage meant I was the first to loose water and the last to get water back. Electrical outages here are in the region of 2-3 hrs on average. So I would be with out water for 4+ hours. During prolonged electrical outages I would be without water for 12 hrs or more.

Of course I can never ask my clients to go away or close my spa or restaurant when there is no electricity which is a common event here. So I had to study what to do. Due to land size restriction I didn’t go for 8000 gallons of hidden buried reinforced concrete water storage as the cost would have been equivalent to a well cost. So after appropriate investigation, I dug a well at a cost of $15,000 plus ANAM licensing. All in all, a significant outlay when all Peter had to do was to put in a generator backed up pump at the surge to ensure I had water which would have cost a lot less.

Further more, due to the electrical outages in the area I had to put in an electrical back-up but now the generator had to be sized to operate the well pump with is 3kw working power plus a 13kw start-up current. All in all, an additional cost of an extra $5,000 for generator requirements (10kw -> 20 kw) due to the lack of a proper water connection.

So, all in all, an additional cost of somewhere in the region of $20,000 plus ANAM certification (estimated at $3,000) and the monthly water license you have to pay to ANAM for operating the well.

Here are links to videos of the access and the hole to hell:

My road access near the mainroad

My road access viewed from the side at he entrance

Viewed from the other end

The lot for the hotel was sold with a private access road (8000 m2 at $26/m2) which was to be parallel to the entry road for Punta Duarte Gardens development. See segregation picture.

The estate agent is a Witness to the fact that Peter would provide a way to build a road with access to the road at the bottom and we would share the entrance.

Peter had promised that it would cost only $6,000 to surface the road.

So far the access road is unbuildable due to a rather large hole bang in the middle. Estimations to build the road are in the order of $60,000. Peter has shown willingness to fill the hole in and take measures to stabilize the slope, but I have the impression that all these measures are just to stop me from complaining as the hole we are discussing about is some where in the region of 80m deep on a slope approaching 45°.

I estimate the time to fill the hole is in the order of 5-6 years or more using the push dirty over the side strategy as the earth is washed away by the rain during Oct and Nov months.

As for the access, Peter sold me an access where there is a drop of approximately 5 m to the road. And in the middle of the road entrance is the Union Finosa electrical pole.

However, I have to assume that the money I paid for the land was used to build the Punta Duarte road. That is, all I suspect, that Peter cares about.

http://www.panamaforum.com/real-estate/37991-panama-scammers-4.html

Re: Panama Scammers

http://www.thepanamareport.com/real-estate/investment/panama-real-estate-warning-blood-on-the-streets.html

BUYER BEWARE OF PUNTE DUARTE DEVELOPER PETER HUSS written by Donna Gauman , August 20, 2009