Quantum Villas - Anyone heard of them ?

On a previous posting I said I was dissapointed with the state of the gardens,paintwork and fences. But I said I was very hopeful of the technician Jale had employed to sort out the problems. .Apparantly he came with a good reputation for getting things done.

After visiting the site and meeting ( with other owners ) the technician I have to admit I was wrong to be hopeful of this technician. It was quite clear he is a smug, arragant liar. He was saying to our faces they have done lots of work in the previous two months but couldnt actually show us anything. Despite speaking perfect English he insisted on everything being translated--- obviously to give himself more time to avoid giving a straight answer.

Despite his smiles and handshakes there is still no work being carried out.How long do we carry on going over to Spain to meet him, shake hands, get smiled at get lied to and no work being done. I looked at the paintwork and its nearly all the low walls which need repainting. I honestly think 3 painters could have it sorted in just 10 days.

The lady from Ammex said painters charge 50 euros per day therefore total labour approx 1500 euros plus paint approx 500 euros The whole paint job would be approx 2000 euros or just 10 euros for each apartment. I dont know if its possible but IF it is could we pay for it out of our community :kitty:. As I say I dont know if its possible but if it is its surely worth paying approx 10 euros extra each. If it can be done we could also look at getting the gardens finished as well.

We could do the gardend brilliantly and the cost split between 210 apartments will be only a tiny fraction of what we have paid for the apartments and at least we can start enjoying the grounds this year. I know its annoying to have to pay to finish off Jales poor work but despite there smiles and promises we may still be in this position next year. 5 years 10 years etc

Very disappointed to read your remarks, I really thought we were getting somewhere this time.  Was any decision taken regarding taking legal action that was suggested at the AGM in February.  Though if you weigh up the cost of legal fees etc it might be cheaper in the long round and quicker to do as you suggest and finish off the gardens and painting through the community, though I hate to let Jale get away without doing the job they were paid to do.  All the major cracks etc will have to be repaired by Jale.

There is a notice on the Ammex site regarding boletins for Electricity and water to be collected from the sales office, I wouldn't have thought these were available until the Licence was issued.  Any one any news on it.

Thanks for your replies sunnyside and hopeful.

If anybody who is either on or understands the workings of the comittee can let us know if this proposal is possible----and if the majority of people agree, then maybe we could get Ammex to get some workers on site as soon as possible.

Sunnyside I  100% agree with you about Jale getting away with the job they were paid to do but unfortunatly Jale WILL NOT commit  themselves to any timescale for the gardens and paintwork.

It took Ammex 2 YEARS to get Jale to put a tap in the garage for the cleaners. Maybe its because Jale are so big but they just dont seem bothered at having unsold apartments and therefore they are not in any hurry to spend money on the grounds.

We visited the site with a Jale representative earlier this week and gained access to our apartment. Minor snagging required but generally satisfactory internally, only the external areas still being cause for concern. The answers to our questions met with the following responses:

1. The Habitation Licence is expected by the end of next week. The issuing Town Hall is in Estepona, not Manilva or Seville, as suggested. After issue, clients' lawyers would receive a faxed copy within 21 days.,

2. Landscaping and painting work was due to start this week. Can anyone on site confirm?

3. The "Club" is for sale!!!! This is probably the biggest eyesore, looking like a derelict building at present and certainly dangerous for any children around.

We fully agree with the concept of paying for landscaping and painting ourselves but any decision would surely have to wait until we have all completed since at the moment, according to the attendance records of previous meetings with Ammex, Jale currently own the vast majority of the properties. A Jale representative is the President (Chairman?) of the Community and will be until the majority of apartments are sold. and the No. 2 (a permanent resident) takes over this role.

Hi Al-Lin,

I agree in part to your idea of using the fees to finish some of the areas, even though it annoys me to let Jale of the hook, which is probably what they are waiting for, but, there are some serious cracks (please see latest photos) which i feel Jale must put right first on the walls as they will only cover them in cement and we are then back to square 1.

Yes, i know jale have no plans to carry out this work, thats why i have previously suggested to withold 5% back upon completion and a stipulation that Jale have say £ months to complete outstanding works( lets say till the end of July ish) if not done by then the 5% withheld monies can then be spent on these works. Fairl common practice in UK and Fairly common for the builder to not finish thus losing the money.

Least then its their money not ours. Occupied premises if in agreement could then pay a percentage.

What do you think?   

Hi DT and Blanco

DT, I agree with what you say about Jale owning the majority of apartments but I thought as the habitational licences are due anytime the prospective owners will complete, and therefore Jale will not be the majority any more and we could then  have more say as to what to do with the site. My better half will be at our apartment later on this week and I will let you know then if any work has been started.

Blanco I think your idea of witholding 5% until the site is completed is very reasonable and as you say it is common practice. Unfortunately for me I am not in a position to do that as I bought the apartment as a resale and so the option of holding back money wasnt there, but I would be happy to pay a percentage.

For me one very positive thing to come out of this thread is the amount of private e-mails sent to me and 100% of which are in favour (although reluctantly)  to pay to see the site finished. I think this is a good sign for the future that the community does care and will take any necessary action to get things done.

Dear Duquessa Fairways

I am from Vista Bahia - a site built and formerly presided over by Jale and Ammex was their chosen administrators. Can I please say, if you have Jale there, do not offer to pay for it yourself now, because evertually, you will do anyway. Jale were supposed to be paying for our community landscaping, but the gardeners employed and paid for by the residents of Vista Bahia, were also employed by Jale and it would appear that Jale's private gardens were done and some landscaping, but to be honest we paid almost double quoted by our gardeners for the year 2006 without explanation - hmmm, smell a rat? As for Ammex, all I can say is be very careful - ask to see the books! They will not like it or show them to you, and when you do finally get control of your community, you will have no funds and lots of bills left to pay! We have no finally got rid of them and their corruption!

Good luck with it all...and if anyone can provide me with the contact details for Jale's Head Office I'd be most grateful.

Regards

CostaK

Just got back from a short break to view our flat. We had arranged to meet the architect who had agreed to tell us what is happening with the cracks, grounds and repainting. First of all he didn't show, but sent the "technical architect" in his place who spoke no English, but there is in the sales office an estate agent from a Malaga company who have now taken on the remaining unsold flats who translated for us. He told us that  Jale are pursuing an insurance claim for the cracks due to the extra works on the "gap" and this is why there are so many delays. I told the technical architect that we were collectively planning to sue Jale and that it would be in their interest to finish the site, or they would incur their own legal costs to engage solictors to reply to us.

Then we went to view our flat and the key wouldn't work! At this stage my wife and I lost it completely and told him that we wanted our flights and hotel refunded as we had arranged with Jale the previous week to go across and do the snagging. The estate agent told us that this is happening all the time as the keys have been mixed up. Anyhow, later that day we had a phone call from Jale and they had replaced the lock. The flat is ok with no major problems- cleanliness, plasterwork and paint finishes being our gripes. We had some consolation that Jale had paid 200 euros to replace the lock!

We also bumped into Rosario from Jale Head Office who was on site for another reason, and she got both barrels as well but adopted the manana attitude.

We impressed on the estate agent that they have no chance of selling while the site remains as it does, and suggested that they have a go at Jale also. We also broached the subject of AMMEX, and he asked why we don't change to a new management company-are we contracted to AMMEX for a period of time?. He also said that when and if we all complete we will be in the majority and can then make the decisions that are needed to finish the site.

Not a good visit-I think Jale are being devious, and need the shock of a solicitors letter to realise that we will not lie down and wait for things to happen. Count us in!

Ian and Maureen Ferguson.

The main delay in the construction programme was the time taken to resolve the issue of responsibility relating to the ground investigation report and then developing and implementing a solution. Overall it probably took about two years and you may recall no work was carried out in the 'gap' while this was going on. So if Jale are now involved in an insurance claim it could take years to resolve and the lack of a license could be an elaborate smoke screen to keep us all in the dark. Remember at one stage it was going to be phased, then it was cranes in the street, then it was the townhall in Manilva, then we moved to Seville and the latest is Estapona-all very convenient if you are fighting an insurance claim.

Our lawyer is unable to get any firm news from Jale's lawyers.Even in Spain there must be some basic consumer rights regarding a seller's obligations to keep customers informed of delays. It is hard to imagine this happening anywhere else in Europe. It's worse than dealing with some banana republic in the Third World. We have considered making representation to the local Euro MP but he/she will only be  concerned with protecting the region's reputation and big businesses.In the UK we have the Freedom of Information Act which is probably enshrined in EU legistlation. Therefore, it seems to us time to bypass the lot and start legal proceedings using a law firm perhaps from Madrid or Barcelona but certainly not Malaga to see if we can get to the bottom of this.

We will keep you posted.

I suspect a lot of people including local lawyers, estate agents, architects know or have a very good idea what is actually going on and a discreet veil of silence is easier than to report to their expat clients.

D T

Just letting you know , I have spoken to my wife who is at the apartment at the moment  and surprise surprise there has been no wofk started