Stranded Passengers! Anyone Making a Killing?

The next meeting of owners is meant to be between August 11 and 15. The current president wishes to stand down. The gardens and communal areas are beginning to look great and there is a really hard-working guy on site. A few of the "owned" houses have tenants so that's making things look a bit better too. If you are a tenant please check with your landlord whether you pay the community fee in your rent and so have a vote at the meeting. Apparently the community still needs to chase Catala Mar through law for the unpaid community fees.

Hi Liz,
We have our appartment rented but the tenants do not pay community fees.

The community meeting happened...the new president is the Ramon Pantoja, who is good. The meeting agreed he must chase the developer through the courts for the unpaid community charges as they amount to well over €18,000. The development is starting to look nice but only by doing without proper security and a few other things.  Ideas for further improvements were invited (eg plants in the stone calles). The monthly fees can only come down a bit when the developer coughs up.

There was general agreement that we should have the same rejas and exterior blind fabric and so on, but the Spanish position is that people's individual gardens were up to them (if they want a patch of earth and weeds there's nothing the community can do). Thought it might be worth encouraging owners with "special offers" for Galera Park customers.

It seems there cannot be a communal satellite dish that will get English stations because the administrator has been convinced by the satellite man that not all the houses are wired up for it and it would cost nearly €19,000 for dish and univeral wiring. Only belatedly I wondered how come it is that the houses are wired to get communal Spanish satellite. Different wires for different types of dish? Anyone technological who can advise me? So far from original promises of international TV, we each have to have our own 1.3m dish to get English programmes.  Meeting agreed there should be no wires visible outside the buildings.

Bridge to the beach. Really think that all the community presidents of Jardines de Galera, Costa Galera and Galera Park, even Buenos Noches northside, need to get together to pitch to the town all and the Malaga junta. Or even a petition. (A development in Manilva has got budget allocated by having a demonstration at the roadside.)

No progress on the on-site "shop".  Thare are massive new roadworks off the roundabout beyond the golf club that completely dwarf the new (next-to-open) Mercadona building that's shot up there

Thanks for the update Liz.
At least the complex is looking well. we are obviously in for a long haul but see what happens. A bridge to the beach would be ace and if you need signatures or anything to forward to the new guy count us in there are four or us and we have two tenants who would all be keen. Anyway see what happens maybe in 5 years time we will all wonder what the problems were!!

Thanks. Will do. Forgot to say that community wants to finish the fence between it and the new unoccupied flats (which will be a separate community). There are posts but no net.

Hi Liz - Dogs 

Just back from a week at Costa Galera, super hot 33'C...  landed back in Uk to heavy rain :-( 

Still no luck on renting out apt...a family on site have started up a rental company so hopefully get someone soon enough... 

Thanks for update Liz,  i will also be happy to sign a petition for bridge and im sure all of CG will too...road is getting dangerous... 

GP looks much better, just shame the shops don't look any better,  be nice if they painted the red bricks,  also it looks like the local council are not collecting
any rubbush from the bins there,  there were about 30 black bags of rubbish and fromnt area is a mess of over grown weeds, what is that all about... 

The English supermarket has not moved on,  did not see anyone there all week... just to crates of stella in side... 

Liz did you know the apts on your complex have security,  no sign of anyone clearing up the mess left and no sign of anyone moving in either,  there pool is a full of dirty water...Regarding those posts they have been up for 2 months now... 

Galera on the hill by our country club has not had any work done in last 6 months,  a new contruction company has taken over,  so maybe see some work now builders holiday ios over... 

I went for a drive up past new developments just after the esso garage roundabout before next one,  there are huge developments up the top of hill,  Done Jula Golf is one, 100's of apt but hardly anyone living there,  i thought it was just apts near road side,  mad, our area has gone crazy with builds... 

The new roads by the new mecodona will lead up to the new Golf complexes,  if you drive up to Valle Romero Golf you will see where the roads lead, also will be new way to get to Estepona golf...  

Cheers

Rob    

 

I forgot to ask... 

Did you get a BILL for local taxes... IBI - ?????????

I had a mail from my laywer asking for over 2500 Euros for 4 years charges...  to be paid by Sept 9th...

2005 - 587 
2006 - 587
2007 - 587
2008 - 799 

She recons they would have come round knocking on door for payments over the last 4 years,   hence the huge bill... 

Rob, not yet !!
I`m looking forward to that one. Another bill. The more you look the worse it gets.
I feel like you Rob i would just love to lift the keys and throw them as far as i can.
Ah well what can we do but sit it out. It would be hard to get out at the moment re prices etc even on a forced sale. You can`t even send the keys back to the bank over there unless you are not in negative equity or they will follow us home to the uk for the rest. I think it`s time for an identity change.


This message was last edited by dogs on 9/8/2008.

Hi Rob,

just read your comment about all of the new building going on in the area. Are they actually still starting new developments? I thought that at least one good thing to come out of the current climate is that the building would stop. Its complete madness if they are still starting new developments - who is going to buy them.

rgds
Alex

Re taxes. Our lawyer said they didn't have to be paid until the end of the year, so will double check. Apparently, I don't want to depress anyone even more, but as well as local taxes there's also "wealth" (ha) tax based on what you paid for the property. That's mad, as two identical properties but bought at different stages of completion have totally different taxes!

hi my name is samra i own a townhouse  in la galera park i have also been advised about wealth taxes and property taxes by my solicitors  can anybody tell me how they have  worked this out.

i also need to furnish my townhouse can anybody help me.

does anyone  know of any potential tennants who would be interested in renting  3bed .

can someone tell me who  the gardner is and how much

and also i have lost my keys to my house does someone know how to get new set made.

thanks everyone.


samra. 

Hi Samra, good to be in touch with a fellow residenty. Re the keys. If you have one to copy you can get it cut at the locksmith opposite the post office in Sabinillas. I've sent you a private message about who might have a spare. Re tax. This is what I've been told A person who is not a fiscal resident in Spain and who owns any urban property in this country is subject to Non-resident Income Tax and Wealth Tax. If the property belongs to more than one person, each one is an independent taxpayer, and must file an individual tax return. The tax year runs January to December. Wealth and Income Taxes (Impuesto de Patrimonio y Presunta Renta) corresponding to 2007: Wealth Tax: 0.3% on the value of the property registered in your name (ie the price you paid for it) Income Tax: 0.275 % on the value of built properties (so the original off-plan €170,000-€190,000 price that some lucky so and sos paid) On top of that there's the solicitor's expenses and fees for the declaration and payment of the Wealth and Income Taxes if you don't do it yourself. I don't know what happens to Wealth Tax in view of falling prices. Presumably one can get a surveyor to revalue it but that would cost more than the tax!

HI Liz - Callal - Dogs

Callal  - I guess that most of the builds i have seen are ones that were given planning permisson 2-4 years ago but was a bit shocked at how many have gone up
from Duquesa - Estepona, i would say at least 30 different builds in our small area,  crazy or what,  i spoke to someone whop has lived in EStepona for last 
15 + years and that said it use to be just all land but over lats 6-7 years building has gone mad....

Wealth tax, i have been paying this for last 4 years, averaging around 300 euros a year + 200 for lawyer fee's,  i'd have happily paid the local fee's yearly but to 
get 4 years in one go is a joke,  im past deadline to pay so i guess i will get fined, anyway the way things are going i will be giving keys back to Halifax banco soon,
my mortgage has risen 500 euros per month,  bl**dy ECB bank, they even put rates up again in June,  more money from may next year... 

Im hoping to get it rented but no luck so far...  

Samra -  there is a furniture company just up the road from complex,  across the road from Elba Hotel,  i used Imperials, they wewre great,  there packages were about 15,000 euros but i picked mine individually from there and only spent 7500 euros...that was for a 3 bed duplex...today you will save a fortune as they are all desperate for business,  Imperials are at the LA CANADA shopping complex in Marbella, along the costal road... 

Rob

 

Hi all, Rob's furniture place sounds good. If you want to compare/get quotes from two, we got all of ours from Furniture World in the poligrono. They were excellent with us. Turned up on time, put in shower screens, built in furniture etc. Got everything, down to the tea towels. Hope you find tenants Rob. We've got new next door neighbours who rented long-term from the UK. Do you want me to ask who the agent was? It's very trickyw with rents not covering mortgage repayments these days. Some people are forming their own informal time shares, where one person owns the property but a number of others buy "months" from them and share a proportion of the upkeep. I heard an feature on the radio about somone doing this with boats too

Hi Liz

Yes please, find who there agent is... 

Not sure about the time share bit,  sounds good but who actually owns property ??

Cheers

Rob

Hey Liz 

I googled your complex and found this.... 

La Galera Park is a residential complex situated within five minutes walking distance of the beach, near to the town of Estepona.

The development consists of;

Phase 1, 77 town houses with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, as well as a downstairs toilet.

Phase 2, a commercial centre which offers 27 offices and commercial premises offering all necessary amenities.

Phase 3, 48 exclusive apartments consisting of, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom and 2 bedroom , 1 bathroom, situated over ground, first floor and penthouse. All apartments have the benefit of individual parking and all of the ground floor apartments have the additional benefit of a private garden, with the penthouses offering large terraces. This phase is surrounded by tropical gardens and a large pool, with the second floor and penthouses having sea views.

Phase 1 town houses are now complete and sold out.

Phase 2, commercial centre, is now complete and sold out.

Phase 3, apartments, are due to complete in September 2007 and is currently 44% sold with remaining prices starting from 257,950 Euros (approx. £174,655)

I had to laugh,  Phase 2 sold out,  Phase 3 - 44% sold...  

Rob ;-)

Hi Rob That is just so funny! And tragic. Where are Spanish laws on misrepresentation? I do feel a mug buying into it all, sometimes, I could afford to get get my windows in England fixed, for example, but when we're there I love it. Hope you are OK and find tenants to tide you over (the Halifax you mentioned below seems to have been in worse shape than you).