We had an email from Lyndsay at Atlantia to ask for our NIEs in December. She said they were looking at handover at end of Feb. I then emailed our agents, Mercers, as the last photo we had was in April 2007, and it showed concrete stilts and not much else. We assumed that because we'd had no updates, there had been no progress. We had an email back confirming that Atlantia are saying end Feb/March but that she would not hold her breath.
Stefann, you ask about AirCon. We have decided to go for aircon, not for the cooling but for the heating. It can get very chilly in winter and we thought that rather than having to buy heaters for each room, then possibly aircon if we need it, we will choose the modern heat/cooling unit. I haven't yet asked for a quote though.
The design of the houses, with the high stairwell, is, I think, designed to catch the breeze so that the air blows through from the terrace and out the stairwell window, creating a chimney effect and drawing hot air up and out. If that works then maybe aircon will not be necessary.
There are a number of companies offering furniture/white goods packs. Personally, I have experience of PuertoMobel, http://www.puertomobel.com in Puerto de Mazarron. We had excellent service, helpful, excellent installation service spot on the time they promised. The price was very reasonable, not much more than supermarket prices but with the advantage of 'small company' service. The TV broke down almost a year after we bought it and they were very helpful, replaced it straight away, even though I had lost the receipt. Also, the lady on the Reception desk speaks good English but was very patient with my efforts to explain in Spanish, I even got a mini-lesson on correct grammar one day. (Pity I've forgotten it now).
We will probably use IKEA for furniture. We like their design and will be counting the pennies after paying out all the taxes etc - especially given the fall in the euro exchange rate.
regards,
Mary