Has this site closed?

Hi all , there has been no activity on this site for over a week now , have you all sold up and abandoned mar y sol.

Hi pom pom

Has your apartment got a underbuild? if so is it one big room or is it split up into sections?

well its something to talk about!!!!!!!!

i dunno know if it is good news or bad that that there are fewer posts now :-) I hope all the completions are going ok. Hoping to sign for mine in Block 5 on June 1st. If anyone is over around that time let me know. Is the irish pub after opening yet? I think I heard somewhere that the spanish one has!

Hi

Yes both bars are open now,  june seems a bit tight going off the last time i was out there in march.

Hi,

We are purchasing on the ground floor of block 1 and have a semi-basement (which I guess you call an underbuild).  It's basically one space, but has 4 windows ranged along one side.  Very slightly larger than the apartment above, but where we loose out is, we don't have the 2nd bathroom, its place is taken up by stairs.

We were over about a month ago and Palaciosmar said our apartment would be finished in 6 weeks (early-May), but I take that with a hefty pinch of salt and reckon mid / end June is much more likely.  Most of the interior was finished, but the 2nd fix electrical was not started (sockets etc), the plumbing was incomplete, there were no doors and the place was a mess.  The lower terrace (yes, we have one of those too) was not tiled / rendered.  Also the basement was waiting to be screeded and plastered.  However on the plus side the kitchen units and worktop were all finished.

When we were there we visited and sampled the excellent Spanish bar, but the Irish version wasn't open.  However, so friendly were the locals running the Spanish bar that I think that will become our 'local'.

We didn't specifically look into block 5 whilst we were there, but assume that it's about as advanced as block 1, may be a little behind?  Still, it all depends where the builder committs his labour.  Also we are insisting on an official certificate of occupation before we complete.

Keeping our fingers crossed,

Mike & Gloria.

My apartment in block 2 (attico D) has completed today and my solicitor has the keys so i will go out on the 5 May and finish furnishing the apartment. I tried to get compensation for the delay but as i bought through an agent Palacious Mar would not accomodate but i know that some people in block 2 bought direct from the builders and have been given grills in compensation so if you brought direct from builders you may be entitled to compensation. (speak to Patricia at Palacious)

The free furniture pack is very basic and i will need to get an electrician to fit lights in hall and outside but i have an english electrician that has been reccomended so if you would like his number please e-mail me.

Regards Sue

Hi Sue

Your contract is with the builder not the agent. No this is wrong where does it stop ,so when you have a repair needing atention they tell you the same ?, There must be more people buying through agents than buying direct from the developer.

Alan

Alan,

 I was told that my agents had to apply for compensation and they told me Patricia said no as i had not bought directly through the builder, although through my experience with Patricia it is impossible to get a word in edgeways!!!

James from Palacious told me they will keep a copy of my keys for a month so if i have a snagging list they have access to get in and fix the problems. I spoke with a couple of people who have completed in block 4 and they told me the builders are really helpful and if you have any snagging they come out really quick, but from what i saw of my apartment the finishing looked really good but i will go over it with a fine tooth comb when i go out in 2 weeks time.

Sue

Sue

Hi Alan,

You are perfectly right to say that our contract is with the builder, the agent is simply a means of introduction and it is the builder / developer who pays the agent money for the intro.  However, I don't think that contract law means a lot in Spain and because we are 1000 miles away, they think they can get away with any old bull.

We were on site on 26th March and were told by Palaciosmar that our apartment would be ready in 6 weeks from that date (about 7th May).  We haven't heard a word since, neither have I seen any flying pigs!  Seeing the lack of workmen on the site, my own estimate is at least 12 weeks plus whatever it takes to get the Certificate of Occupation (I don't intend to pay a penny more without it).

The problem is of course that there are cultural differences.  When we renage on a promise, we expect someone to get upset.  In Spain, a promise seems to be a "maybe if I can be bothered to get around to it" and we are the fools for expecting them to follow our standards.  Time and again promises have been made and immediately broken with impunity, it's just the way they are and up to us to decide whather the sunshine is worth it. 

We have considered backing out on a number of occasions, but seriously doubt whether we would get our money back this side of the 22nd century, so better to keep our mouths shut until we move in and then decide whether we can stand the Spanish "creative truth" on a daily basis.  If not ,we always have the option to sell up and get back home with all that means in the hell hole that the UK has become in the last 10 years..

Mike

Hi Mike & Sue

Yes Mike i agree with what you are saying, the thing is we are not buying a two weeks holiday here,  people are investing a lot of hard earned money into this developement and all the buyers should be treated the same,  the only way is not to complete until you are 110% happy that you have got everything you have been promised and entitled to,  from both builder and agent.

Alan

Hi everyone

As you know, we already took ownership of our apartment in Block 3, but without the certificate of habitation. Our solicitor told us that he is actually living in an apartment without one and all it means is that the builders have to provide water and electricity at their expense. He's been in his apartment for 6 months without paying any utilities. Doesn't sound bad to me.

Furniture: if you have the ARCA pack of furniture, then they will fit all the lights as part of the deal, so you don't have to employ an electrician. Please also remember what I said about the second bedroom and the fact that two single beds don't fit in, unless you want to climb over one to get to the other! We bought two single beds but when we go out again on May 15th-20th we will be buying bunk beds for that second room, so if anyone wants a couple of brand new single bases we'll sell them to you for half the ARCA price which was € 93.02. When ARCA come they will fit the headboards to the walls and put together any furniture that needs putting together.

Bye. Irene

Hi Irene

Has your block got a hab certificate now?

Alan

Hi Alan

No. Still on free electricity & water.

I'm assured that it's very normal on large developments, so I'm really not concerned.

Irene

Hi Michael

It is the furniture package that is included in the price. We asked and were given the option to change what was on offer and spend up to the value of the package, but to do this you have to go over to ARCA and have a look around. We ended up with less furniture, but chose something that suited our tastes more.

Smaller beds: well I know someone who swopped for Spanish beds which are shorter, but it is still a squeeze - really the second bedroom is a single room, sold as a double, but unless you are going to live in it permanently with a family, it's not a show-stopper because it is only a bedroom!

Talk to the agents and if you are going over to sign your paperwork you could, as we did, combine it with a trip to ARCA for the furniture swop.

Regards - Irene & Alan

thanks for the info guys.

I'm thinking that the beds in the second bedroom of the show apartment are either the smaller spanish ones or that the room was a little larger than some of the ones in the development itself!! I understand that the furniture pack is basic but it will do me for a few years anyway. I might just see will they exchange the larger single beds for the smaller ones. Anyone with their toes hanging over the edge can submit a complaint in writting!!

Mike

Mike

There is only one bed in the second bedroom in the show apartment, it is on the layout drawing that it shows two beds in that room,  you could always put your five star sun lounger in there?

Alan

Alan

you got me doubting myself for a while but I was adament there was two beds in it when I saw it in September last.

I checked some pictures and indeed there was two beds in it. Looking at them they do indeed look quite small and for the not so vertically challanged of us (not like myself) it it may be a bit of an adverture. I uploaded the picture for anyone who wants to look at a spanish size bed!!

The sun lounger is safe for another day

Mike

Wow, just looked at the photo's and that bedroom looks positively spacious compared to when we put the two beds in our second bedroom! We tried them every whichway, but still had to climb over one to get into the other. We're going over on 15th-20th May and I'll let you know what we end up with in that room.

Regards

Irene