Ryanair £0 Edinburgh to Alicante

Hi

We are hoping to complete very shortly !! How are the apartments left - can we just move in or do  they need a good clean first ?

Sue

Sue,

We were very pleased with the way our apartment was on completion. It was very dusty (but even after a clean it was again cos of the building works) but did not need a builders clean. Hope yours is as good as ours was.

Noreen

Hi

Ours was clean enough to stay in the day we completed but you really need to do a serious clean yourself to get it perfect (they didn't clean dust where it couldn't be seen in places such as the top of the aircon units.

As Noreen said though, it makes no difference becuase the dust will be back straight away as long as there are builders on site.

Cheers

Don't presume that everything will be in working order, you may be surprised!

Switch your boiler on immediately as it takes ages to warm up, switch air-con on both heat and cool, and let it run for at least one hour. Watch for leaks from both units and listen to compressor outside on patio....it should be operating quietly, if not....ring straight away to report it direct to the engineer, the number will be in your "welcome" pack, oh, and check that both the remote controls are working!

Ensure that the taps have been connected and that they have running water (both hot and cold), a word of advice.......never assume!

Check oven has a least one solid shelf.....the builders don't nick everyone's! Confirm you have the "FULL" furniture pack (some have had pieces missing i.e, coffee tables, cushions from sofa,bedside chests etc.,) also, you should have "coveralls" for all of your beds as well as pillows and curtains, pretty standard really, but it's surprising what you can first miss!

Double check the front door closes and locks on all locks..........mine didn't lock for over two months! Plug something in to all of the sockets in every room (don't overlook the ones in the bathrooms that are high up on the wall) to test they all work. Put washing machine on a short cycle to make certain its connected (if it doesn't come on pull out to see if it is plugged in), and check the dishwasher too, its surprising what corners they cut! Look out for missing bath and sink plugs, not to mention shower hoses and heads!!!(really!!)

Sorry to sound like I'm preaching.......but you can save yourself a helluva lot of stress. Don't forget a hose pipe as the terraces are normally filfthy.

Put several bottles of Cava in fridge, (just to ascertain its working), and when you've ckecked everything, cleaned every nook and cranny, made the beds up, unloaded your car for the umpteenth time, pop the cork on your cava, and then ask yourself "WHERE'S THE GLASSES!!!!"

Most importantly, enjoy Thalassa, it's why you bought it!!!

Regards to you and yours,

Lorraine Braid.12-3-07.

I agree Lorraine, that it is easy to overlook even the most obvious things like checking that all the sockets are connected to the electricity supply.

Also check under your sink after running your dishwasher as we had a lovely puddle of water as the pipes were not tightened properly.

Also check the grouting of the wall tiles behind the toilet & along the bottom of the bath - really bad!!

Check that the sprinklers in the garden are not spraying water onto your walls as this will result in mould.

Also check for any slightly peeling paint as this could indicate damp. Also check around the edge of the suspended ceiling in the lounge for any damage to the plaster.

Check that windows & doors close smoothly & that the locks work properly.

Ours were all fairly minor issues but with a little more care, there could have been none at all

Noreen

Hi All

We are looking to buy a re sale via on your development. Can I please ask a very basic straight forward question.

Are all legal licenses in place and are you getting your habitational license on completion.?

Thought I would go to the 'man on the street' as they say to get a true answer.

Thank you.

Hi,

Due to change of circumstances I will not be able to proceed with my purchase. It is a 3bedroom 2 bathroom duplex.

It is on phase one at Al Andalus, Thalassa. I have been told that phase 1 has more space than phase 2, not so close to each other. As you obviously know the site, is this correct?

I know it is finished but as of yet I have not seen inside since it has been built.

 I am very upset about having to sell before I even completed on it, but, like I said, my circumstances have changed. I was going to sort my habitation license out when I had completed, so, in a way, it is not a resale as I have never even spent a night at my duplex,(didn't get that far.)

The reason for my sale is finance, here in the U.K I cannot sell my bungalow, state of our economy, nothing is selling round me at the moment.

I was going to use my U.K. money to pay Spain to be mortgage free. As i do not work now, retired, I cannot get the mortgage for my Spanish duplex (my dream.)

If you are interested please P.M. me.

Best regards

I was informed the reason for delaying our mortgage was the habitation licence was not in place by the developer...he was to organise this. I am under the impression this is co-ordinated by the developer.

if otherwise let me know

thanks

We have just had confirmation from our solicitor that we completed on our apartment today.

Look forward to meeting everybody when i come over in a few weeks (without hubby) for shopping spree and of course a good clean.  Thank you Lorraine Braid and Noreen for your post regarding checks that i should make, i will find that very useful. 

Is there anybody else out there completing yet in this block?

I am sooo excited.  Off now to find a cheap flight!

Deb and Richard 36.0.05

We completed on 9th Nov - went through apartment with fine toothcomb re: snagging - main things were patio doors and windows not closing properly, scratched or chipped glass - so they are replacing these - also check air con works on heater - ours didn't and they are replacing the whole unit outside.

Taps - hot / cold indicators on the wrong way round - they rectified this

Doors of wardrobes didn't slide properly because slide bent or screws not flush - therefore catching - they rectified this

Tiles outside front door not filled properly - they rectified this

Our roof tiles were a mess, so they cleaned these and refilled some of the gaps !

Some of the bathroom fittings were rusty - behind toilet etc - they are going to change these

Blind in 2nd bedroom - fell off

Door to 2nd bedroom - when closed from inside, wouldn't open again !

Various other things that are on list they will put right - it was a long list but if you don't mention it and something goes wrong this would be our fault and not theirs.

During the week we were there, they came round nearly everyday to put something right.

Good luck and we hope it all goes well.

Sharon

Congrats, Deb & Richard, on completion.

Good luck looking for the flights. We are out at  Xmas and Feb half term so may see you then. If not I am sure we'll see you around sometime.

Noreen

Hi

There are some excellent useful points in the thread, however, you need to be prepared that you may not have such a good experience and don't want you to have too high an expectation to be disappointed.

We completed on 29 August and the apartment was filthy - it took me several bottles of bleach and hours of cleaning.  Neighbours who completed the same week also had the same experience, however, cleaners were working  hard in other apartments (ones which are still not completed).

Shazza has done well, we are still waiting for our snagging to be done.  They started last week because we were at the office very day and threatened them with a complaints form.  However, two of the snagging jobs that were done have left problems ie used grey grout around a tile in the lounge which stands out like a sore thumb and moving the door frame so damaged the wall and left gaps between the frame and wall.

Now we're back in the UK we're trying to engage KeyMare in doing more of the jobs and getting them right.

As the previous messages say, make sure you have identified all your snagging items, we were finding faults even after a couple of days so waited before submitting the form to KeyMare.

For all the stress and the problems, we too like the development, the area and the Spanish culture, and have met some wonderful new neighbours.

Hi

Thanks to you all for replying.  We have just returned having completed and like you said the apartments are clean, but the dust soon returns.  Our biggest problem was the air con or central heating (very necessary now!!) was not working, but I think quite a few have the same problem.   Before we went out we noted that Dave Baxter (0034664269440) had been recommended by several people to fit shower screens, pictures, etc.   Dave had done a brilliant job for us and his knowledge of the area, shops, discounts made our job of fitting out the apartment so much easier.

Sue

Hi Sue

Congratulations on completing & pleased to hear not too many major problems.

The aircon does seem to be a common theme but also the solutions seem to be simple & Key Mare seem to be getting them sorted out quite quickly.

Noreen

Hi,

I think it would be a good idea to remove your email adderess from view A.S.A.P fo security reasons.