can anyone help me????

Hi Everyone,

I have an apartment in block 3 and have just returned from a short break and I am concerned regarding the standard of finishes to the external areas and whether or not they will be attended too. My main concerns are: 

There is still subsidence around the small pool and also between blocks 2&3. The grass in the crazy paving is dying because of the chemicals in the pool. The crazy paving is so uneven it is a hazard to young children who could easily trip over and I would consider this the wrong design.

The printed concrete pathways to most areas are damaged where fence posts have sunken into the finish before it has set.

Manholes are covered in mortar and concrete and need cleaning.

External render is becomoing hollow and also should be replaced, plus there are areas that are supposedly finished but have no coloured render top coat.

Does anyone know what the finish will be around the main pool and when it will be ready for use.

The security fence around the project is so low anyone could easily access the development so it is not secure. The access gate for cars to block 2 has a large gap to one side which young children could get through onto the main road.

You might think I am unhappy with the development but I am not as I think it is realy good but the few issues above do niggle. Has anyone got any comments as I propose to write to Fincal.  

Alf P

This ones been going on for some time. I sent pictures of the pool area to Fincal last year complaining about the condition but got nowhere. When you stand back and think about it we employ Fincal to operate and run the community so that is probably why not a lot happened.

I feel this is something that has to be taken up with the developer & P&D. If anybody is going to be present at the general meeting on 4th April here are a few question that might be worth asking, as P&D and the builder were present last year.

1. Have the communial areas in phase 1 been accepted and signed over to their owners, us?
2. If not, when will the inspection be prior to hand over to us?
3. Who is going to be appointed by the community to inspect and produce a snagging list for us. I would suggest the community instruct Fincal to employ a qualified structural/building engineer to do this on our behalf. 
4. If the communial areas are not handed over to us why are we paying for their upkeep, "The community fees"?
5. If they have been handed over to us who was the person that inspected them, accepted them for use and on who's authority?
6. If they are handed over where is the snagging list and what is the developers rectification program?
7. Again if they have been handed over to us the developer must have a warranty period. What period of time is between inspections and rectification works?

I could go on for ages here,and this could be a minefield!!! It may be as simple as the developer is not going to snag and ask the community to accept the areas until the complex is complete and deal with any problems/faults in one lump.

Still leaves the question, why are we paying for the upkeep?

As far as we have been informed phase 1 has been handed over, any rectification works have already been carriedout by the developers,so it appears that we the owners via the community / fincal will be facing bills. the fincal do not appear to like to reply to letters or emails from the owners (the British anyway) we are still awaiting replies to our emails a month ago.

The Spanish do get things done however.it was the Spanish mainly that got elected to the community council as they were the first ones to take on their apartments as they are to live there full time or for 4 months each summer, they appear to have made the rules regarding dogs being allowed to live on site, as most of the Spanish have dogs,

They are not supposed to allow the dogs off the leads but they do they also do not clean up the poop.

the childrens play area floods when the grass is watered or after heavy rain there appears to be little or no drainage.

the crazy paving around the small pool is terrible,

we have complained directly to the Fincal administrators office situated in the square at the far end of the port of many problems with the way the site is being maintained (or lack of proper maintenance)as is the case.we are paying for all of this.

Also the Fincal administrators do not only act for Laguna Beach development they act for many different sites.they also love to go to court, their only course of action is to issue a letter threatening court action before they even attempt to sort any problems out, we were informed that alot of the companies acting for the administrators are, er very friendly with them!! possibly related!!

are you aware that the developers are still attempting to sell off the outside parking spaces, they should not be allowed to as they are part of the communial areas part bought by each one of the owners. please make your views known to the Fincal Admin.

I had a long discussion with the agent at Fincal on Wednesday of last week about:

1. The fact that I had never recieved any Community Rules. Result: I now have a full copy in Spanish and another EOS member is going to translate these.

2. That I had not recieved all of the Community Meeting minutes. He promised to send me all the copies. Result: So far I have recieved nothing from him so I am going to    e-mail him today.

3. That many non-Spanish owners felt that they were not able to contribute to any meetings and that decisions were being made by Phase 1 owners that eefected the whole community.

So far I have not paid any fees and I do not intend to until I start to receive all the minutes.