Madeleine McCann holiday flat is up for rent after spooked

Madeleine McCann holiday flat is up for rent after spooked
Madeleine McCann holiday flat is up for rent after spooked potential buyers refuse to buy it




Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/05/15/madeleine-mccann-holiday-flat-is-up-for-rent-after-spooked-potential-buyers-refuse-to-buy-it-115875-23130434/#ixzz1MNieStCL


The Ocean Club apartments where Madeleine McCann went missing


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The flat Madeleine McCann was snatched from is being rented out for the first time since the crime – because the owner cannot find a buyer.


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Apartment 5a of the Ocean Complex in Praia da Luz, Portugal, has been empty since Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry flew home in September 2007 after months searching for her.
Its British owner Ruth McCann, who is not related to the couple, has been trying to sell it ever since with an asking price of £255,000 – £50,000 less than compar­able properties around it.
But she has now given up and taken it off the market after finding that potential buyers – especially women – are put off by the holiday flat’s tragic ­history

She said: “The property has had ­several viewings. But as soon as women buyers are told it was the apartment that Madeleine was taken from they immed­iately pull out. A lot of couples have shown an ­interest. The man usually makes the first approach and a meeting with the estate agent is arranged.
“But before agents show people round a property in Portugal, they are required to tell them about previous owners.



As soon as the female member of the viewing couple learns about the link with the McCann family, she says ‘no’ to the deal. Women are concerned that the flat will continuously remind them of Maddie’s tragic disappearance.
“Sometimes the man has rowed with his female partner, saying the association with the ­McCanns does not matter – but the woman has been adamant in refusing it.”
Retired teacher Mrs ­McCann, 57, from Liverpool , ­began letting out the apartment after her husband died but was ­planning to sell it once legal ­details had been sorted out. She has now asked rental firm the Ocean Club to let it to holiday­makers. It was last rented to Madeleine’s parents for £1,500 a week.



Mrs McCann said: “This summer, for the first time since Madeleine’s ­disappearance, it is going to be let out to ­holidaymakers. But the income still won’t cover my out­goings. I still have to pay the Portuguese equivalent of council tax.”



Madeleine, who would have celebrated her eighth birthday this week, was snatched from her bed in the apartment on May 3, 2007.
Her parents were having dinner with friends in a restaurant close to the flat, regularly checking on their sleeping ­children. But the last time Kate went to check she discovered that Madeleine was gone.
Flat-owner Mrs McCann – who says Portuguese ­detectives did not even open one of the ­cupboards – said: “I ­reacted with absolute horror and I felt ­immediate ­sympathy with her parents. Even now I think about Maddy frequently and wonder whether she will ever be found.”
Portuguese police have been ­accused of rushing to make Kate and Gerry suspects after a half-­hearted ­investigation.

Why doesn'r the couple buy it? After all they did not nothing wrong and have money to spare.

I see they have repaired those shutters !!!

I still wonder what the odds of the owner having the same surname are. millions to one I bet.

PeterMac wrote:I see they have repaired those shutters !!!

What is that saying again about barn, door and horse?

Holiday flat Madeleine McCann was snatched from will be rented out again, four years after she vanished




By Rob Cooper

Last updated at 6:29 PM on 15th May 2011



The apartment that Madeleine McCann was kidnapped from will be rented out again for the first time this summer - because no one wants to buy it.

The owner put the property up for sale for £255,000 - around £50,000 less than the asking price - but no one has been interested because of its history.
Flat 5a at the Ocean Complex in Praia da Luz, Portugal, has remained empty since the snatching in May 2007.


For rent: The ground floor holiday apartment the McCanns stayed n. Pictured, centre, is the front door of the property


Still missing: Madeleine McCann

Owner Ruth McCann - who is not related to Madeleine's family - said that quite a few people have come to view the property but they've all been put off when they found out about its past.
Under Portuguese law, estate agents have to tell prospective purchasers about the previous owners.
The McCann family paid £1,500 to hire the ground floor apartment for a week within the large resort.
Owner Mrs McCann, from Liverpool, decided to start renting the property out after her husband died.
She said that she reacted with 'absolute horror' when she first heard about the snatching four years ago.
And she added that Portuguese detectives didn't even open any of the cupboards when they cordoned off the flats in the hunt for the missing girl.
The retired teacher said that men have shown interest in the flat - but their wives or partners tell them they can't pursue it because of the grim history.

She told the Sunday Mirror: 'Women are concerned that the flat will continuously remind them of Maddie's tragic disappearance.


Look inside: The £1,500-per-week holiday apartment in Praia de Luz. This image, with the McCann's possessions still inside, was a Portuguese police image they released



Book launch: Kate and Gerry McCann at a press conference this week as a new title about their daughter's disappearance goes on sale

'Sometimes the man has rowed with his female partner saying the association with the McCanns does not matter - but the woman has been adamant in refusing it.'
The police investigation at the resort ended in September 2007 - and the property has been empty for the last three-and-a-half years.
This week Madeleine's mother Kate released her book, named after her daughter, to raise funds for the ongoing privately-funded search for the missing girl.

More...

• Police authority: Maddie inquiry is a ‘ludicrous' waste of money
  
• Prime Minister is accused of politicising police by meddling in Maddie investigation
  
• I truly believe Madeleine is out there and one day we will find her and bring her home
  
• Kate McCann: I believe kidnapper drugged my twins on the night Madeleine was taken
  

It was the youngster's eighth birthday this week. Despite a huge international police search, there has been no evidence to show that Madeleine died.
After the McCann's wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron he ordered the Metropolitan Police to carry out a review.






Her grief: Kate McCann, right, has written a new book called 'Madeleine' about the disappearance of her daughter, left. She hopes it will raise £1m to help search for her daughter
Jenny Jones, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority and the London Assembly, branded Scotland Yard's review a 'ludicrous' waste of money.

She said: 'The police should not take this case up in this way.

'It is ludicrous. This could take years and will cost millions. It is very unusual for police to step in like this and it is not an appropriate use of police resources.'
Kate and Gerry McCann said Prime Minister David Cameron gave assurances that all funds for the case review would come from central Government and would not eat into the force's budget.
The official inquiry was formally shelved in July 2008. Since then no police force has been actively looking for the missing child.



Luxury: The Ocean Club resort. Ruth McCann, the owner of the apartment Madeleine stayed in, put it on sale for £255,000, which is £50,000 below the asking price


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1387281/Madeleine-McCann-flat-rented-4-years-vanished.html#ixzz1MSZhQbaC

Hi Rosa,

I have merged this thread with the other one you posted as they are about the same subject.

Why is this story being pushed? Call me an old cynic but why is this in the papers? Do they expect it to be empty forever, or does it suit someones' purpose to broadcast the fact that it is being re-let.

Bizzare - I remember reading (perhaps on T3A's) that it was sold, at a knockdown price of 70K, three years ago!