Hiring baby car seats etc. San Juan de los Terreros

There doesn't seem to be much happening.  I'm wondering how many have completed?  Has anyone with a mortgage managed to complete yet?  We are due to fly out at the end of next week but because of mortgage problems(It's been agreed once), I am not sure that it will happen.

The people that were most active in this forum have now completed, so its only natural there is going to be a bit of a lull, its time for the rest of us to get involved more and carry it on.

Paul & Linda
Block 15

Well, I like to still look in from time to time to see what's happening as I'm an Old Boy.

I would have thought that once someone has completed, this Board becomes even more important for exchange of information and views.

I wouldn't be relying on any Management Company to facilitate communication between yourselves.

Yes. There are still lots of things to keep in touch about. I remembered something last night I wanted to ask everyone. Only now I've forgotten what it was! We haven't completed yet, just because the mortgage offer hasn't come through. We've been told it's been approved, but are just waiting for the paperwork. Besides, I'm still waiting to hear about this blooming 3% discount. Oh!!!!! I just remembered what it was I wanted to ask! Does anyone know what would be the nearest bank to our apartments? Margo

Margo

There would be several of them - if you go to the front of the Mercado Meracado supermarket, there are a few of them all along that main street, on this side and the other side of the road.

well, i've not gone quiet.  Sorry guys but i've just returned from my second week out there.   Twice in a month i've been since i completed.  Its very addictive and horrible leaving it out there all alone whilst back in england. 

This time it was lovely arriving to a fully furnished, clean apt.  Being able to unpack and stock up and settle in for a week was lovely.  Minor things to sort out.  None of snagging been done yet and approaching our 30day deadline now but its all very laid back when you ask.  We weren't that annoyed about it as they are very small things and any problems i had were sorted straight away.  I managed to get Juan Antonio's  mobile number and a few times (HA) i rang him and he came out straight away, just asked us what time we would be in. His office is in block 7 and he is very nice but very limited english. He is in charge of all us lot trying to get our little jobs sorted

Our aircon wasn't gased either, like laurdens, but he came in the day we got there with the electrician and did it for us so we had heating up high (as it's free of course, well, that and the fact that it rained a few days we were there and was quite cold some of the time.  tut ).

Cooker wasn't working so i, once again, telephoned juan and jabbered on a bit in spanish.  He came around and sorted it for us.  The water went off one day, so i telephoned him again 'no hay aqua juan' and he sorted that straight away too.  I think Gerens have a different approach to Arenal and are much more professional in dealing with things. Things seem to be getting done.  One of the pools was being re-whitened and looked much better (until it rained mud again that is).  

The site is still far from ready though, i.e. some electric on outside gates is not on and lifts not working, but i have to say that none of those things bothered us but can understand kennylyn struggling up on the top floor.  We have had a lovely time.

Somebody asked if mortgaged people had completed?  Well, we have a mortgage on our apt and we completed so not sure what the problem there is. 

Our downstairs store room was very damp and wet since we went home in january and i had left a couple of things in there but it was smelling musty when i went down.  That will need sorting.  Seems to be a few leaks down there to say the least!

What else....?  erm..  The satellite point inside the apt is not wired up to the satellite on the roof and doesn't look to be anything we can do about that.  Either your own dish or a communal one will be required.  Tv ariel point gives you spanish channels though.  Although i had to ring Juan Antonio again to sort mine out.

On friday we had lunch on our balcony and it was lovely and sunny.  On Sunday we played tennis for hours with my 12 yr old daughter and 7 yr old son.   (Sorry to the person moving in on 3rd floor if there is a ball on their balcony but i thought i was better than i am and got a bit carried away).     

The weather dramatically changed after that and i had to get the dreaded 'Brolly' out.  We had terrible floods on  the day we came home. I have never seen rain so bad.  But you know what, we still loved it and if we still loved it then, well that says it all for us. 

I had to be dragged home and no doubt will be searching for flights within hours of getting back .

anyway, if i think of more i'll post.  Must go and get a coffee now as i only been back a couple hours and on here already!

suzanne

we got a really good account with sol bank over the road Margo.  Picked our debit cards up this visit.  They were very helpful

Suzanne, great to hear the progress and gossip !

Juan must be on speed-dial but seems his worth in gold. I would get all your stuff done before the hords arrive.

Keep filling us all in - after the years of hangin' around this is like Little House On The Prairee

Yes, Suzanne, I love hearing your news. Did you open your account while you were out there, or before you went? I bet some of you think I'm thick. It's just that I haven't let myself get too invlolved with it all until now, because I would have driven my poor husband round the bend if I had done all this before and then spent 2 years waiting....Margo

Hi Suzanne,

Nice to hear latest news from Sabby .

Is there any progress on the main road.

Is the place like a ghost town or is there a few people around the site, owners I mean not workmen.

Paul & Linda

Block 15

no wardy, it is a bit of a ghost town regarding residents at the moment.   Workmen too are very few and far between but that is because before we even got up they were working.  then in the afternoon they disappear then re-appear in late afternoon.

The road is now at the stage where the manholes are all in (raised up about four foot at the moment) so maybe first lays are imminent but you can never be sure out there.  I really hope it opens up soon because the access is perfect when both sides of the development are available. i.e. left into sabbi and right into port. .   This time of year apparently is the best for getting it done so maybe in a couple months it will be open.  My muddy shoes are hoping so too.

Margo, yes we just walked in to sol bank a few visits ago. Take your passport and stuff.  They were very good.  They did everything there and then.  Took us about an hour to sort out but we left with account up and running, internet access, account numbers etc all done and dusted.  They were very good.  They expain everything very well and we manage our account from here in the uk with no problem and have direct debit for mortgage direct with them.  we had to give them notice of arrival to pick up our cards this visit but that is only because they won't hold them for very long in branch.  We receive statements every month through post here at home in the uk.   

suzanne

Thanks Suzanne. Looks like we'll be forced to do another visit very soon then. Oh, what a hardship that isn't! My big fear was that it would be a ghost town that we were in, but, I reckon that when that road is up and running, we're going to find ourselves in a very nice little development and it'll soon sell. Margo

Following Wardy's call to arms for the rest of us to get involved..here's only my second post despite putting a deposit down in August 2006 for a ground floor  apartment in block 8 !

Suzanne it's great hearing how things are coming together and that your issues are getting sorted quickly...Now I reckon the light is at the end of the tunnel for the rest of us I'm starting to get excited!

regards

 

Steve

Hi Suzanne,
How's the commercial centre looking in front of the development? There was some concern a while ago that it was going to be big and obtrusive. Also is there any sign of the clinic they promised would be built on site?

I must challenge you on one thing! How can you come from Manchester and never seen heavy rain before!!
Alan

Hi Suzanne, always good to hear your news. 

Couple of things, you say the satellite is not wired up?  Am I right in thinking that if  a satellite engineer connects as long as you have your digi-box and card you will then receive the signal?  Is this the best route or are Gerens arranging for an engineer to wire them all up?? Good to hear that they gassed the air con, hopefully ours will be working next visit. 

The general electrical gates and lifts etc I would imagine will remain unusable until the development is not on builders services, this would be down to Health and Safety.  Builder’s electric is unreliable and they cannot allow people to use lifts and then become locked into them if the supply fails. 

Looking forward to my next visit and of course the summer ahead 

Suzanne, Tracy, Kenny and all - thanks for all the recent updates, it's good that there is so much positive news now. You all seem over the moon with the development which is great for the rest of us. I'd be interested to know when Phase 4 starts up again and any photos later on in the year would be appreciated (not demolition ones though). It will have been worth the wait to make sure everything's been done "legally" as there has been so much press (including Justin) regarding all the demolition of peoples homes up the coast.

Alan - glad you're still around - and what's this about rain in Manchester? The "clouds" were over "us" 10 days ago but it was all sunshine at the weekend!

Alan was referring to the rain we had whilst out there this week David. We do see so much rain here in manchester but not like i saw it that day.  We really couldn't see the road on way back to the airport and was a very harrowing drive.  Floods everywhere. Thunder, lighting the lot.  We were told it happens very occasionally and usually clears things (one june apparently it flooded terribly).  We watched a Guarda Civil jeep spinning on the high bridge just past marbella on the AP-7 and crashing into the barrier. Trucks behind it were trying to stop. I hope it didn't cause a big pile up on that side but we had to just carry on blinded by rain on our side.  It was awful.  I suppose we were just unlucky getting that day as a few days previous we were sitting on balcony having lunch in lovely sunshine.

I'll keep an eye on phase 4 for you and try and take photos as it progresses (hopefully not making any mistakes and you receiving photos of me or tracy sunbathing topless or something!).  Urgh.. what a site that would be.  more likely us staggering up from the port a few cocktails in.

Anyway, alan asked about the commercial centre.  It doesn't appear to be being worked on and is still a shell but the rear side facing our development has been rendered and painted and its not an unattractive building at all.  The colour is in keeping with our development. We thought it looked ok from the development side looking down.  I am not sure who is actually developing this.  I thought it was gerens but not sure now looking at the way things are fenced off. The security seems to begin from development side of the road.  Must ask about that !

The clinic , well... i cannot find any sign of it at the moment.  It is still the sales office down there and i presume they won't be doing it until the sales office either moves or is no longer required as the clinic is, or should be, directly behind that no?. The land behind the sales office around the commercial centre is still rough building land so not expecting that to progress much for months yet.

Laurden, as i understood from juan, the tv ariel point gives us spanish tv and the satellite dish installed on the roof is for spanish also.  The engineer i called out confirmed this. Therefore we cannot receive sky from the ariel  points already installed. We need to install a Sky satellite dish ourselves, either individually or communaly.   We were advised to have our own dish put in on our own terrace if we didn't want to wait for a community to establish and decide what to do.  Cost for the Sky is around 600 euros, thats for the dish and  set top box receiver and all works to install the wiring etc.  

We did purchase a 'free view' type box at carrefour that gives most regular english channels, i.e. bbc news 24, bbc1, itv, itv2, CNN, and much more but still this does not work until the dish is installed.  However, you can have the dish installed for around 350 euros and the freeview would just hook up to that and it would work then.  Depends whether you want sky and a subscription or just free channels.  They are just not built for any english tv i was told by the engineer and that this is normal practise.  

As it is going to be some time before population grows and people decide what they want and get around to doing it, we have decided to get a dish installed as watching dvds drove us mad and although i don'[t want to sit watching tv all the time, it makes such a difference to have it and most people will want or even expect it.  Other people might not even want it and then you have arguments about who in the community wants to pay and who doesn't.

Anyway, sorry for the essay again, i'll go now

suzanne

 

Suzanne

I would be careful about that dish. Where are you installing it, on the terrace, on the patio wall ?

I only say because your's wouldn't be the first one ordered down by the Community because it clashed with a Community one.

I would go through channels - who is your Presidente and can you cantact him ?

Will

 

Susanne I think your tv man has misinformed you the aerial point will give you spanish tv but the sky dish on the roof has to be posistioned to the correct sattelite to pick up the right signal for uk tv.Thats how I see it but I am no tv engineer .If everybody had to put up a sky dish it would look like the martians have landed.As Will says check it out before you go to that expense.

Ken

I found a link on the Home Forum/TV in Spain. There are some good posts there. I've also put in a question. Let you know what I get back. Margo