Hi All
Just a quick report to all those interested Roda owners and especially all those for whom I acted as proxy. Thank you for putting your trust in me - there were some other people - Mel Pugh and Iain from Scotland. They were great advisers and asked some great questions which in fact did achieve a reduction overall (at the moment) of about 50,000 Euros off the annual bill. Overall the monthly fee will be approximately 140 to 170 Euros but this has to be confirmed. There was a some discussion about the community fee estimates given by Roda sales staff and agents of some 800 to 900 euros per annum. As you can see there is considerable disparity between the estimate and the probable likely cost. The Roda representative at the meeting - Antonio? Did not make any comment on this, although he did say publicly that the Beach Club would be open in the Summer (to a loud cheer and a "I don't believe it"!!!).
The meeting was hosted by the Administrator Designate - Angel Morenilla and Marisol Morenilla from the MSB Bureau at La Manga. They are Abogados but would appear to be very experienced Comunidad Administrators. They are local and well known and are, I believe Abogados for a number of purchasers and appear to be well regarded. Contact numbers for them are as follows:
Marisol Morenilla email: info@housingcomunidades.com
Administradora
Housing - Administracion de Fincas / Community Administration
Tel: +34 902 107 361
They had come very well prepared for the meeting and we followed the Agenda that was sent out to all Phase 1 Apartment owners. This Comunidad concerned only Phase 1 Apartment owners and no-one else. There was a meeting in the afternoon for the Comunidad that concerned the townhouses and villas as they are run separately but do form part of the Conjunto Inmobiliario (the whole resort) - more of this below..
The meeting was held both in Spanish and English and I have to say very well conducted in both languages. It is asserted that ownership of properties at Roda are about 50:50 Spanish to British and other nationalities. I guess there were about 50 or so people attending the meeting.
The Mr. Morenillo suggested that since the split of ownership was as above, then it would be fair that the President would be either Spanish or English, but that the Vice-President would be the other nationality. He asked for volunteers and in the end an Irish lady, Moira Therese Magee was elected as President and a Spanish Lady (whose name I did not catch) was elected as Vice President. When the official minutes of the meeting are circulated, contact details for both the President, Vice-President and the Administrators will be published.
It was explained that the Administrators will work with the President and VP and that all representations should be made through the elected officials who will in turn direct the Administrators.
The Administrators were also elected to act on behalf of the Comunidad and Mr. Morenillo explained in detail the role of the Administrators as follows:
1. They act as Secretary of the Comunidad
2. They keep the books and records of the Comunidad
3. They keep the Minutes of all meetings and call meetings when instructed
4. They raise invoices for all community fees and collect and deposit those fees at the bank
5. They maintain the bank account, including interest bearing accounts at the bank
6. They settle all invoices addressed to the Comunidad for the budgeted amounts
7. They act as legal counsel for the Comunidad and can advise on all sorts of issues that will need to be addressed. We will have access to his services for any Comunidad related matters I believe.
The Administrator fee was agreed after some explanation and discussion. The MSB fee compares similarly with the Administrator charges for Mar Menor Golf Resort and Comunidad at La Manga. The fee actually works out at approximately 10 euros per month per apartment - no difference whether you are on ground, first or penthouse. There is a fee of 5 euros per month for the 5 unallocated storerooms and parking spaces. The Comunidad fee in total (which encompasses the Administrator fee) is based on something called a "co-efficient" which is a ratio calculating tool based on the built square meterage of each property. Can I leave someone else to explain that point in more detail. It was also felt that we should observe the Administrators performance over the next 12 months when we can then make a more informed decision on whether to retain their services or look for alternative administrators. By this time we would all have had the opportunity of experiencing a 12 month period of ownership.
The Budget was discussed at great length. Mr. Morenillo explained that his team had obtained at least 3 quotes from contractors for each of the items contained on the budget and had used the cheapest quotes in the budget draft presented to all.
Queries, in no particular order were raised as follows:
A. Thanks to Roda owner Tom Bauld, I had a copy of a note from the Uk arm of the Lift manufacturers Thyssen-krupp which stated that there should not be any lift maintenance or call out charges for 12 months from the date of commission of the lifts or handover to the developer as these would be covered by warranty. This being the case, we raised the point that we could not understand why there would be lift maintenance charges 45,400 Euros of for the first 10 months included in the budget. The Administrator is going investigate further and will take the matter up with Roda Golf and the lift manufacturer. I will send him a copy of the note to Tom Bauld (hope this is OK Tom).
B. There was also great discussion about the proposed cleaning charges for both the underground garages, common zones in the Comunidad budget and also some of the element of cost for keeping the roads clean etc. It was pointed out that although Roda had completed on most of the Phase 1 properties, there was still a lot of dirt and dust generated by their vehicles because building was still continuing (the hotel area for example, etc. etc) and why should the owners be responsible for this cleaning at the present time. The Administrator and President are going to discuss this matter with Roda Golf and ask for a contribution to these costs. Some owners complained
C. Similarly, although the pools are complete and filled, they are dirty and need cleaning before the Comunidad will take over the charges. Again, this will be discussed with Roda by the Administrators and Presidents. Again, these charges will kick in once the President and Administrators have agreed them with Roda (i.e. the timetable). Similarly, Calidona Green, the landscapers who set out the gardens will be responsible for replacing dead plants under guarantee during the settling in period and these charges will not accrue to the Comunidad at this time. It was felt that it was sensible to retain the services of the original landscapers as this would avoid arguments over responsibility for the health planting in the future. Golf course charges are not part of the fee and will be carried entirely by the golf course managers - and similarly the charges for the Beach Club i.e. DeVere. See more on this point later.
D. The Comunidad has a buildings and civil liability policy. All those with mortgages are covered for buildings insurance under this policy (29m Euros buildings and 600k euros civil liability). Also covered are damage caused by fire, subsidence, reconstruction costs, damage by leaking pipes etc. Therefore you do not need separate buildings insurance for your apartment. A copy certificate of insurance and policy document can be obtained from the Administrators - details to be in the official minutes.
E. Reserve Fund of the Comunidad was calculated at 20% of the Comunidad budget some 95.3k euros. The Comunidad budget also contained an allocation of 68.8% of the Conjunto budget. However, in the Conjunto budget there was also a reserve (or sinking fund) of 54713 euros. It was questioned by Mel Pugh why we were paying 20% on 20%. This item is to be removed from the Conjunto budget. The Administrators explained it is law to have a minimum of 5% reserve (sinking) fund but that Roda had requested 20%. This cash will cover the obligation to repaint the buildings and walls etc. every 3 years (although it will possibly be 5 years before it needs to be done). It was explained by the Administrators that the salt air corrodes the paintwork and that this work will be quite expensive so a reserve fund will need to be built up to cover this cost and that 20% would be appropriate.
F. TV expenses - it was noted that the satellite TV etc. still not on site and that only Spanish and some English analogue channels are available at the moment. Roda representatives are saying that the English digital channels will be available soon at an extra 20 Euros per month, I need this point confirmed as I am not sure when Roda will simply download via the TV socket if you elect for the full package or whether in fact you have to have a decoder etc. At the moment, for example, on my apartment we have tuned the TV so that it receives BBC 1 and 2, ITV1 and 2, Channel 5, Sky news and Eurosport (Allemagne). Could someone please clarify this point for me.
G. The Water and electricity charges are for gardening and common area lighting. Gardening and swimming pool charges relate to the immediate gardens and pools for each of them
34 Phase 1 Apartment blocks.
H. There will be a separate budget and management team for the whole Development - the Conjunto Inmobiliario - this Committee comprises the Presidents and VP's of the 5 or so Comunidads (one for each Phase) but Phase 1 being the largest Phase will have a 20% share of the vote on this Committee. This Committee decides on the costs for running such items as gardening (not the Comunidad gardens) but the unallocated gardens, pest control, site security, rubbish collection, public road maintenance, resort security, and a small reserve fund for general maintenance items.
I. Comunidad Rules
Are decided by the participants via the President.
One item that was discussed as follows:
Pool opening times - it was requested that the pools be open from Easter to October (currently May to September) - I agree with this as long as there is also a rule that says the pools cannot be used before a certain time and after a certain time on a daily basis - suggest 8 am and 7.30 pm. There was also some discussion about the possible need for a lifeguard. Pool rules need to be posted in all common areas and possibly in apartments that will be let. I also suggest a complete ban on unaccompanied children using the pools under the age of 12 (say) and also a complete ban on children with nappies. If anyone else has any further suggestions on this, please advise the President or Vice President.
There may be other rules that the Comunidad wish to enforce and can I suggest your suggestions should be emailed to the President for discussion by the Committee. For example - and these are not my suggestions but only the type of items that people may or may wish to be included - for example: not be no ball games on common areas, no barbeques, do we allow lilos in the pools, do we allow loud music or TVs outside after such and such a time, etc. etc. Again - these are not my suggestions - merely examples of Comunidad rules that are in place on other developments.
For those that attended, if I have missed any important point or have got something totally wrong, please, please correct or fill in the missing information.
With kind regards
Sandra