Beer and Food Prices

I know I am new to this forum and I have never posted before but I would like to get 18 months of aggravation out of my system then my future contributions if any will be kept to a short 1 or 2 paragraph contribution. So I would like to comment on one or two issues regarding the development. We were at our apartment for 18 days (block 26) from the middle of Jan to the 3rd of Feb. The number 1 issue is security. Before we arrived every apartment on the ground floor of our block with the exception of mine had either been burgled or an attempted break in had occurred, this is because before we did anything with our apartment we changed the door locks, put security bars on all windows and a security gate from our lounge to the patio. It would appear the must have for any self respecting Spanish burglar this season is the flat screen TV. I understand that many other blocks have also suffered break ins. So the question is what are we paying security for and why. The majority of the time the security man is sitting in his little cabin and occasionally takes a trip down the main drag and clocks his little device. We would all be better served if this is to be  the level of security we should maybe get rid of the security company and spend the money on making our own individual improvements to make our apartments more secure. If you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

Secondly the thorny issue of the gardens. I believed I was a lone voice peeing in the wind because I was constantly complaining to Ammex about the disgusting state of the gardens. Amazingly when I was in residence every time I complained to Javier of Ammex we would get half a day of work from 1 or 2 so called gardeners who tried to push an ordinary garden  mower over a terrain which is akin to the sea of tranquility. At our owners meeting it soon became apparent to me that every body attending all had there own gripes about the gardens. The thing is PM3 has their own full time gardener so my question is where is he? In 18 days I only caught glimpses of a gardener on 2 half days and miraculously they seemed to coincide with my calls to Javier: very strange!! I must admit the area is looking better but is nowhere near the tropical garden paradise we were sold. There are no little bedding plants or flowers like they have in the blocks at the top of the development so again if we are paying a full time gardener where is he and what is he doing with his time. What they need is an action plan clearly stating what is required of them.

There is some good news, the abandoned BMW which has been disfiguring the front of block 26 for which I have been trying to get removed for well over a year and now indeed has  been moved the bad news is that it has only been moved 10 yards so some progress there.

I am sure many people are aware that many of the underground car parks were flooded in the deluge in the early part of January. Our Storeroom was flooded up to 2 feet high and it took me half a day to get rid of the slime that was left in its wake. Obviously the drainage system was overwhelmed and I am concerned about damage to the very foundations and infrastructure of the blocks. Certainly there is rising mold in the stairwell leading down to the underground area and also serious water damage to the base of the building. Does any body know if any structural engineers have been involved through our insurance. The real question is why the drainage system was so overwhelmed.

Before I finish my long drawn out rant I would like to known if there has been any progress in getting the street lighting on for the whole complex and does anybody know why Interlaken have stopped cleaning the roads. As I understand it the developers could use the road subject to them regularly cleaning it.

Hi Paul

Here, here! Came back from CDS recently after long weekend.  I can honestly say that I saw the security guard just once and his car twice! There was a notice on his little hut saying that they will only be there certain times anyway so come on all you burglars - if you can translate then this is the time to come for your tellys without interruption. The gardens had actually been done rather well but sadly we now have just three thriving bushes in ours.  Cracks are appearing more and more up the staircases etc. (Where are Interlaken who are supposed to put these matters right - you cant even get through to them on any numbers these days. What will happen in a few more years if the places are falling down, when we can't even get hold of them now to discuss anything never mind them come back to do anything?)  

We are lucky with regard to street lighting because we're at the entrance but have to admit the rest of the site looks very scary at night without it.

Don't you feel better for getting that off your chest?

Regards

'H'

I always got to Interlaken by going to their office and grabbing hold of one of them normally Miguel-angel and not leaving go until he came to my apartment. In this way I got the oven changed immediately after it blew up, then there was the bidet I got rid of it completely and they relaid the floor, then there was the knobs on the cooker which showed the reverse of what they should be, there was also the blocked drain on the patio oh and the unstable washing machine. Then there was the air condition unit which flooded the patio until I got them to put brackets on the wall so it was above the waste drain and then piped through the patio wall to harmlessly irrigate some weeds etc etc. Last time I was there Miguel was off work with a stress related illness shame about that.

Hi again Paul. 

Yes dear Miguel did try but he was after all only an ex waiter who is related to so and so.  You know how it goes but they didn't do him any favours at all did they 'cause he's not a bad fella? He did try to help if and where he could but with no men and everyone moaning at him from all directions (the woman in the Interlaken office always gave out his mob. no. quite freely and said any problems we had Miguel was the man to speak to), it's not surprising he's had something like a nervous breakdown. He was far happier shooting wild boar (his hobby) So now there is no one to replace him and no one to drag by the scruff of the neck when you have yet another problem and no one answering the phone in the Interlaken office! Anybody else pretends that they very conveniently don't understand a word of English!

'H'

Dear All,

visited the site and was shocked at what I found in this "ghost town", see photos.

None of the paving had any edging support, the only evidence of any top soil was at tree planting positions where a little was on top, most trees appeared dead or dying which suggests there was no bed underneath. Met two gardeners with little wheel barrows, raking the scrub to remove weeds. We could not converse but they insisted on showing me the lack of any topsoil and the danger they were in, as electric cables were within 10mm of the surface.

Dampness, decay and rust seem to be prevalent everywhere. In addition some structural damage was evident. We may have disturbed a break-in as one apartment had unexplained doors open.

The little wire fences would not protect children from falling from high points, in my view it would just add to the challenge and increase the danger.

The pavements alongside the wide road had not been cleaned with some dogs muck along them.

We had a good meal in the Venta up on the Casares road and met a Spanish Project Architect, asked him why the build quality was so poor, he said that it was caused by time and cost constraints, in particular with the pressure to move onto the other site. When asked how such poor quality gained occupation certificates he lifted his eyes raised his hands uppermost and said that sometimes they have difficulty, but it was usually "resolved" and sometimes things are sold without them.

Workmen told us that work on the apart hotel had ceased again because they cannot sell the apartments though there was some minor activity on the site.

Other sites claim that their pools are private and do not need fences or lifeguards.

The site on the other side of the road had finished all of phase 1 but had not managed to sell a single apartment, even though it had the land and planning permission for all the facilities and no public road passing through it..

An agent could not recommend Casares del Sol but thought the white site above which appeared to be gated was a good site.

We were shown one block that had supposedly been bought by one investor who is refusing to pay the community charge for any of the apartments because of the condition and unsaleability.

All in all a depressing visit,  If this is the claimed improvement, I cannot imagine how anyone was persuaded to buy here.

Best regards and luck to everyone as always.

Norman