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Spanish Eyes, English Words

A blended blog - Spanish life and culture meets English author, editor and freelancer who often gets mistaken for Spanish senora. It's the eyes that do it! Anything can and probably will happen here.

Living on a community in Spain - don't do it unless you have to!
Friday, May 16, 2014 @ 5:11 PM

Before we moved to Spain in 2008, we spent several years researching stuff and reading books. We decided to buy on a community, because there was all the furore about the Land Grab Laws and illegal builds, and obviously we didn't want to see our hard earned cash being bulldozed a few years down the line. Our estate agent suggested we buy on a community on an urbanisation, so that's what we did.

At first, it was pretty good.The community was fairly new, and as nobody really wanted to be President and set things up, they were more than happy to agree with everything the people who put their heads above the parapet and volunteered as President and Vice President proposed. The first two or three Annual General Meetings were, if not oases of tranquility, at least fairly civilised.

However, when everything was running smoothly, and the fees were coming in and the jobs getting done, a few people decided they weren't happy about not allowing lilos in the community pool, and not being able to have huge satellite dishes on their property so they could get the TV channels they wanted. This despite the fact they'd agreed unanimously at the inaugural meeting that the pool was too small for inflatables, and that individual satellite dishes were an eyesore the community didn't want or need. And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Now, all of a sudden, those people who only ever spent two or three weeks a year in their property found they couldn't manage without a lilo in the pool or their favourite TV channel. Going to the beach with their inflatables, or missing out on a couple of episodes of their favourite programme was not an option - the rules they'd helped to formulate and agreed to would just have to be changed, and if they couldn't be changed, then they'd be broken. After all, that's what rules are for, isn't it?

Basically, the vociferous minority have managed to get their own way on everything, because the majority of residents are either too apathetic to be bothered to stand up for what they really want, or too scared of inviting the approbium of the people on a mission by saying what they really think and really want. And it all came to a head this year when around a quarter of the community managed to push through a vote for an inferior contractor because the people who could have made a difference didn't think it was worth bothering to turn up at the AGM, since the vociferous minority always get what they want, regardless of the views of the majority.

I wish I could say this is an isolated experience, but from reading the local English language press I know only too well that it's not. In fact on many communities, there is open warfare, or at least a declaration of hostilities and a divided community. Why can't people live and let live, and do what's best for themselves and the wider community? I think the basic problem is that when people get to realise they can have an impact on the community by voting in a certain way, they become a teensy bit power crazed. Either that or they've had too much sun or sangria.

The concept of 'An Englishman's home is his castle' doesn't really apply on Spanish communities, and there seems to be a certain pattern at work. The initial reaction is, 'It's my property, and I can do what I like,' but when people realise that by going against the community they may attract a denuncia and be unable to sell their property when they wish to, they spin the opposite way. Then they become community minded, but only inasmuch as they want the community rules changed to suit themselves and their own little clique.

I'm not a regretting type of person. You make a decision, and you take responsibility and live with that decision and adapt to it, rather than wasting time on thinking of what might have been if you'd done things differently. However, one thing I do regret is our decision to buy on a community on an urbanisation. You see, it's not about community at all - it's about politics and personalities. We love our home and garden, and we do have some great neighbours, but  if somebody came and offered us a reasonable price for our place, we'd sell up and move into the village tomorow. At least in Algorfa there is a true sense of community.



Like 1




11 Comments


calamitykay said:
Friday, May 16, 2014 @ 4:54 PM

I had wondered if this sort of thing happened a lot :(
We are looking for a long-term rental somewhere by September this year and it is difficult enough to pick somewhere as it is without factoring in any 'community' protocol. Food for thought though.


Mickyfinn said:
Saturday, May 17, 2014 @ 7:53 AM

Sadly the comments in that blog are true of almost all foreign owned urbanised communities.
They become divided factions with competing camps fighting against each other.
Partly the problem is boredom among they who live there. Lets face it there is very little stimulation for retired expats.
The second cause is what the writer alluded to. A taste of power for retirees probably after a lifetime of being told what to do. This combination being suddenly left with nothing to do and all day to do it in goes to their heads.
Urbanisations in Spain don't ever go there.


eggcup said:
Saturday, May 17, 2014 @ 9:54 AM

Hi Sandra. I hate all that political stuff and it can happen in all kinds of situations in life - I had it just being a treasurer in a nursery; it was the worst job I'd ever had, and it was voluntary. It's like you say - some people love a bit of power and like to lord it over the rest. And they like conflict, which frankly, I consider to be abnormal.
BUT, remember the grass isn't always greener and you could have had problems of a different type in a village, small town, whatever. We've had a combination of good and bad neighbours next to all of the properties and land we've bought in Spain - and dealing with the bad ones is always tricky and stressful. We perfected a 'blanking technique' in Spain towards all those we'd had problems with - you convince yourself that you don't even know them... and it works great!


SandrainAlgorfa said:
Saturday, May 17, 2014 @ 10:20 AM

@eggie Yes, I've got the 'blanking technique' down to a fine art for at least two people! We really don't want to leave, but Tony is 80 now, and he can't take a lot of stress. I think we'll probably just leave them all to it, and wait for the problems to arise - because they will, as sure as eggcups are eggcups!


DaveClark said:
Wednesday, May 21, 2014 @ 2:05 PM

Isn't it a small world? Hi Sandra - just found your blog by accident. Can't believe that you're in Algorfa now - my mother in law lives in San Isidro, just outside Catral! I've visited the area a lot in the last few years, and love it.

Sad about all this poltical stuff. One of the reasons my in-laws moved into the village from the community in which they were living at El Realengo was just such a thing. Mind you, I do think that they were on an illegal build as well, despite the assurances they'd had that they were safe - I think they're well out of the place now.


maggiepat said:
Monday, August 4, 2014 @ 11:45 AM

this is familiar we are only 4 yrs old and the builder has yet to sell all the properties we have managed to get an embargo for the money but now we have been told we have to pay higher fees while this makes sense the fact that the president spent 200 euros on a gazebo and left us no money for bills what can we do to stop this and is it legal.if we only pay our bills and
emrgency repairs when the houses are sold we will be solvent again



SandrainAlgorfa said:
Monday, August 4, 2014 @ 2:55 PM

Maggiepat A lot of communities are in debt, and until the houses are sold, the builders are the owners and should therefore be paying ther share of the community fees. You cannot be 'told' what fees you have to pay - it is decided by the community at a general meeting. It sounds like the people running your community are not au fait with the Horizontal Law, but your administator should be, and should be making sure that all community decisions are made in line with the law. Sounds like you need some legal advice on this.


maggiepat said:
Monday, August 4, 2014 @ 5:41 PM

unfotunately our administrator when i quote horizotal lae says
good luck getting that through a Spanish court .when he came to tell us we had not enough money for bills he made the decision that the AGM would be in his office which is 20 mins away .i will keep on quoting if it kills me i know we need legal advice but where from we have 200 euro extra to pay


SandrainAlgorfa said:
Monday, August 4, 2014 @ 5:57 PM

You can get some free legal advice from Costa Luz Lawyers, who blog here on EOS.

http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/costaluz.aspx

http://www.costaluzlawyers.es/

Good luck - sounds like your administrator is a wrong 'un.



maggiepat said:
Tuesday, August 5, 2014 @ 7:49 AM

thank you i will contact them then we can live happily ever after
watch this space


christinejoyce said:
Saturday, November 22, 2014 @ 7:10 AM

I totally agree with this article. We bought 3 years ago in Firmentera Del Segura. We even had people who voted at an AGM who were in debt on paying their community charges, which our management didn't pick up on! We visit our property around 6 times a year, as we still both have to work here in the UK. We will sell next year and buy in a village, but hell no, not on a community. We are sick of people coming to their apartments who have not paid their community charges for the last 4 years. Put up mega sized dishes, even though we organised a freeview system that can be connected to any of the apartments. When they are told that their dish is not allowed, they say, so who is going to make me take it down? Best of luck taking me to court! We have stopped going in August as the tribe that turn up, non who pay their charges, fill the pool with inflatables, drink and smoke in the pool, and have the most unruly children I have ever encountered. They gather as a group of about 20 outside the apartment at night for drinking parties toll 2-3 in the morning. The rest of the time, when we go it is delightful there and the few apartments that have permanent residents get along just fine. This tribe we have are just totally ignorant and made us decide to sell next year, as we can no longer go to our place in the summer months, and as we had planned to stay for extended periods would not want to ever be there at the time they are. Also only about 40 percent of the properties have been sold and the banks are now off loading them, so we expect these to be snapped up by developers who will rent them out to long term renters. Oh and the community charges are only paid by about 20 of the owners. The tribe pay nothing! Who is the mug, the small minority's who pay their suma and community charges!


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