Habitation License

Originally told ready Jan. now uncertain. Our apartment is ready to move into but we are uncertain as to pay the last installment. What have other people been told? Also what are the problems with not having it.

Hi

The last we heard from the Builder the licence will be due in February, although we were told that in December.  We have emailed our agents this weekend for an update - will let you know if we get a response.

We have also learnt that purchasers on antoher development in the area should have completed over six months ago, and they are still waiting for their Certificates to materialise.

Without the licence the Builder is responsible for supplying all the utilities to the complex which is on a temporary connection at the moment.  This connection, we beleive, can be withdrawn at any time.  Also, whilst you are able to complete your property purchase without the certificate, you will be unable to sell the property without the certificate.

Our solicitor has advised us to give it until March, and if the certificate is not in hand by then, to withdraw from the purchase and request full refund of monies.  We will not be completing until such time that all paperwork and certificates on in place.

Regards

Hi

We will also wait until 1st March before informing them we will not be completing, then will apply to get the deposit back.

Has anyone else been out since Xmas to see if they have actually repainted the outside of the development as

promised.

Bye for now

Jill

Just come back from a v warm and sunny Spain - 24c but cold wind in evenings!   A v hangdog builder just handed us over the keys and left us to go and look ourselves at our lovely apartment.  Only 2 snags left for them to fix.  The underground carpark is being used for builders storage.  The pool was crystal clear and the whole community area looked v clean apart from the thick electric cables snaking around.

Questioning revealed that only 12 properties have signed and all the rest are waiting for habitation.  He has NO idea when it will come and seemed almost in tears about it.  We were so concerned that we went round to his bank (Cajamar in Palomares) who offered us a free overdraft of E600  as soon as they knew who we were. 

Things are moving again in Andalucia thou since the building cease last October.  The new Centro Hispania/Consum building near Vera Playa was retrospectively granted its habitation last week.  A hotel in Carboneras that had all buidling work ceased exactly a year ago is back in action again so maybe the backlog will be lifted.

We have a fab apartment just up the road so at least we are lucky enough to have somewhere to stay.  If anyone else has planned visits, you are welcome to use it at a 10% discount.  PM for details.  W

Does anyone know if the problem with the Habitation Licence relates to all new builds in Palomares or just to Jardines.

We were due to sign in October and did fly out but the solicitors we were using only told us of the problem when we arrived and as they could not answer any of the many queries we had to our satisfaction we decided not to sign.

We are wondering if the problem is anything to do with the proximity of the next door apartments, ( those on the left hand side when looking at the site from the front entrance.) and would be grateful for any thoughts on this.

Regards

BCK

Dear BCK

The problem with the certificate of habitation licence is a disagreement between the Junta of Andalucia and the notary office - apparently all builders in the area are experiencing similar problems - we have been informed by our solicitors that this is entirely out of the builders hands and nothing can be done until this has been resolved.

Our solicitor however has advised us not to complete until such a time that the habitation certificate is in place.

Aiden

Hi

Still no certificate, so we have written to our solicitor to confirm that due to the developer not complying with the date of completion ( 5 months late) by law we have the right to back out and claim all of our deposit back ( especially after reading the information in the article "Licence of first occupation") which we are now doing!

With the tatty exterior & no certificate we can wait no longer as we need a property now to live in Spain

Will let you know when we get a response

Bye for now

Jill

It is true that Hacienda Marquise I and II were built by the same builder.

We stayed in one of the duplexes on Hacienda I about eighteen months and it appeared that nearly all apartments and duplexes were occupied, so it would seem that they do have the habition certificates.

I also have to say that the people we spoke to on the complex were very happy with the builder at that time.

I have been trying to contact our solicitor but have had no reply .

Is anyone else usng AESORES2, if so I would be grateful for your opinion on them.

Kind Regards

BCK

Hi

We are flying out this Thursday and hopefully will try and meet with our agents and the Builder to get an update. 

We will certainly let you know how we get on on our return early next week.

Sharon

 We too have had problems contacting AESORES2, we have rang many times and they say they will ring back or e mail us, but they never have. However sucess today my brother rang this morning and they said they would ring back after contacting the builder and they did . The builder said it would be approx two months but the solicitor said it could be longer. My brother asked what could happen if we signed with out the habitacion licence and the answer was as you know we could not sell. We have waited that long there is no way we want to sell. The other problem would be if the builder withdrew the water and electricty. We are thinking if we could get a written guarantee from the builder we might sign when we are out in May.

Kind regards Mave

We, too, are looking into pulling out.  Our solicitor (MY Asesores in Aguilas) elicited a response from the builder that he would offer us a contract whereby if we completed now without the habitacion, he would guarantee to buy the property back from us if it is not issued within a year.  Our thoughts are that if he has to wait that long, he will probably be out of business!  We planned to take his mortgage over from CajaMar, so if he has E352 per month mortgages on all the outstanding 60 properties, that is heck of a lot of dosh he needs to find every month!  What guarantee have we if he goes out of business - one property without any mains water or electric which would effectively be useless.

Any recent visitors had any more info? 

I'm on Hacienda II, i'd like to be out of the place, so if anyone wants a cheap duplex (with habitation) give me a shout.

If you are buying to live there then great, if you have any ideas of renting or selling for a profit (short to medium term) then forget it. It will take years to claw back agents commision and inflated developer prices.

good luck, twig

Hi everyone

We have just returned from Spain yesterday.  We made a couple of visits to the Jardines and met with Jose (Builder).

To date about five people have completed without licences, 26 properties are still to be sold (find buyers) and the remainer, like us are waiting for the certificates of habitation prior to completing.  We met with the only couple who are living on the complex, they have been there for 3 weeks and are not too happy with the 'end product'.  Repairs to the complex are being hashed and, if anything, are making it more unsightly. At the moment, the builders are repairing the walls etc of the complex and apartments and Jose said once this is all completed he will then repaint the whole complex.  The lovely paved areas around the complex now have great splodges of white wash paint over them, white metal strips are being put over cracks in walls and strangely some apartments have now had number plaques put up - even though they have said they are going to repaint - they are making the job difficult by now having to either paint round the number squares or remove them to paint and then put up again!

With regard to the licence, Jose said that once the polling is over (local elections) then hopefully the licences will start to come through.  He stated he is not happy has he is losing money - I reminded him to think how we must feel when our life savings is in his bank account.  He also suggested to us that if we complete he will give us a written guarantee that if  the certificate does not come though he will give us our money back - we personally would rather keep the remainer of our money in our account rather than his. 

Our solicitor has mentioned that the problem with the certificates is out of the builders hands and that there is nothing that we can do, however, we do have a bank guarantee that states if completion is 6 months overdue, we do have the option to have our money returned.  Although I am sure this will not be an easy exercise.

Perhaps we should think about starting our 'community' prior to completing, to ensure the build quality/finish is to the high standard we were all led to beiieve it would be.  We should not be rushed into completing on properties and the complex that is below our expectations - we certainly wouldn't dream of doing this at home. 

Sorry to sound all doom and gloom - let's not forget the reasons for purchasing in the first place, the complex is a really nice one, fantastic views, great pool area and good apartments - for us it will be a lot easier sorting out problems prior to purchase rather than completing and expecting them to sort out the problems after. 

Fingers crossed Jose will be right and certificates will start to flood through once polling is over...

Take care, Sharon

Can anyone tell me / us what their intentions are? Are you waiting or getting your money back? As an aside do the people who are now resident realise that they can be fined due to taking posession without the licence?