HELP NEEDED URGENTLY PLEASE

That sounds promising Karen...............let's just hope you can come to the UK and enjoy your holiday.

Isn't Roberto referring to his job as in Doctor?

Or am I being thick and that's some other EOS member retiring???

If it is the Presidente's job Roberto, don't tell her how you are going to do it!

We need her hubby to continue, he is the only one for the job and serves us well!!

Karen, sleep well tonight, my friend, you've earned it. What a couple of days for you. I hope it is finally resolved & you get what's due to you & your community. Give us a ring from the UK as you did last time & go enjoy that holiday. See you very soon. (Put 29th March down in your diary. You're taking me out for my birthday. )

Safe journey, both of you x

Goodness me, haven't I just stirred up a hornet's nest?!

Firstly, Gillespie, I'm not sure what you thought I was saying in my last post, so I can't say whether or not I meant it. All I can tell you is that I sympathise and empathise enormously with Karen over this, since as president of our community, I have been struggling with a similar garage related issue with our own dear builders and the council. If you thought I was suggesting it's not even worth fighting it, that is because that's exactly how I have started to feel, after two years of time wasting, excuses and let-downs.

Karen, I hope you know that I did not intend in any way to upset you further with my comments. About the garage entrance, not knowing the building or even the area where you are, i was only trying to establish how serious this alteration would be. I know of many, many equally large underground garages in buildings in Torremolinos which are all but empty, because, as you must know, Spaniards will never prefer the option of safe, secure private parking while there is still room on the nearest bus stop / zebra crossing / pavement to their intended destination. Even the newly completed (at great tax-payers expense) public car park in the centre of town, with discount incentives available in conjunction with all the retailers in town, can't pull the blighters away from stopping on roundabouts and double or triple parking on every corner. I just have never yet come across a garage entrance with such heavy traffic, that a one-way system would be inconvenient. Our own garage (obviously much smaller) has only one entrance/exit, onto a one-way street, which is almost always temporarily blocked by some lazy b*st*rd who's popped into the supermarket on our ground floor (which is conveniently open until 2 am), sometimes in such a way that the only way to get out is by driving the wrong way down our street! Do I need to tell you precisely how much a damn the police or council give? But I am perfectly happy to accept that you know your own situation best.

Another thing which I'm clearly not understanding, is this business of the garage not having been "handed over", although it is included on your deed. I know I've asked you about this before, and I'm sorry to mention it again, but I'm afraid I just don't understand it.

As for electing a president, if nobody volunteers, it goes to the short straw method. All owners must by law take a turn, and I personally don't care if it has to be someone who doesn't even live here - I've had enough! rest assured all, I don't intend committing Hari-Kari though.

By the way, Fibby, you're thinking of Bobaol. Doctor, indeed! I'm only a humble president and part-time property dabbler.

Hey Roberto!! no need for ANY explainations.

I don't fully understand why, although paid for 5 years ago and on our deeds, the bloody garage has not been handed over.

I suspect that it's cos the builder would have had to pay garage Com Fees for all the unsold ones! The garages were not included in the sale price of the apartments and therefore were sold ( or  not ) as a separate entity.

Anyway, as I have been told they are not 'our' but the builders..............................so please can I have my 6,600€ back plus 5 years interest???................of course NOT............the space is mine but obviously nothing else!!

Will post again if there are anymore happenings....................last time, just before we went to UK, our car was vandalised............................do you think someone is trying to tell me something???????

Oh Roberto, not a Doctor?

What a shame, your little chimp face would brighten any visitor to the surgery!

Of course it's Bobaol, see? me being thick again, but I like it!

Tarra!

Latest from the builder.........................they are not going to block off the garage exit.....................they have been told by the town hall that they CANNOT do this because of safety. The builder is now chatting with the town hall with a view to putting in a bigger drain ASAP. Then they are going to redo a bit of our ramp to make sure that no car has a problem on exit.......BECAUSE they are putting in the mechanics for electronic entrance and exit TODAY and turning it all on after we return on 4th Feb. Also we now have lights.

Apparently the builder is hoping to sell the remaining garages to a company in Torrevieja and they in turn will sell them on I suppose, don't really know. But I¡m sure we will find out.

THANK YOU ALL for all your comments and advice. Thankyou EOS ( Justin ) for the opportunity to use the forum, for me, during the last few days, it has been a Godsend.

Very pleased to hear the situation has been cleared up, and hope it will all come to a satisfactory conclusion. In fact, after all is said and done, you've got a far better result than we have managed in 4 years. We cannot get anywhere with either the builder or the council over our flooding problem.

Never one to say I told you so, but I told you so! They did need planning consent from the council, and obviously the council agreed with you that two exits are necessary - regardless of any clause saying the builder can do whatever he wants.

I have re-read all of these latest posts in an attempt to get my head round this "handing over" business. Actually, I read it all out loud to the First Lady, who as usual got it first time. I (We) think what you are saying is that since so relatively few spaces had been sold, the builder refrained from forming the community for the garage (as required under the Horizontal Property Division Law). Hence he not only retained 150 or so spaces, but also still effectively "owned" the communal areas. Presumably you have not been paying any community fee for the maintenance of the garage then? That of course will change, with the introduction of electrical installations (electric charges and maintenance). I believe there must also by law be an exhaust extraction system and fire extinguishers and sprinklers etc., all of which cost. Also, do you never have the garage cleaned? Remember also that these costs cannot simply be included in the budget for the general community, because presumably there are apartment owners who do not have garage spaces, and therefore will not expect to contribute to the costs of maintaining it.

Not wanting to put a downer on your good spirits, but one other warning. In my experience, automated doors, like so much modern technology intended to make life simpler, can cause their own problems and in fact make life more complicated. I strongly recommend that you (or Mr.Sun) check your building insurance to see what, if any, cover you have for damage caused to vehicles by communal installations, and then post the relevant disclaimers all over the place (use this garage at your own risk etc.), and send letters to all garage owners, just to cover yourselves. I'm talking, as you no doubt realise, from bitter experience. You'd be amazed at how stupid some drivers can be. Only a couple of weeks ago someone reversed in to our garage door (inside the garage), knocking the whole thing off it's rails and breaking the motor. Fortunately this time the driver didn't actually try to claim the door leapt out at him from behind a column and he never saw it coming, but, well, you get the picture......

Just an update on our garage situation.

The builder swept the area and polluted the whole apartment block ( as you would expect ) cos someone opened ALL the doors and the windows on the corridors and that circulated the dust like mad!!

A chappie has installed the electrics for the automated entrance, but not given us any fob thingies....................apparently my Hubby ( Presidente ) has to go to the builders on Monday to pick up the fob if they are ready and the list of garage owners and dole out the fobs ( WAIT A MINUTE............................the garages don't belong to the Community?????....yes Roberto, the First Lady got it in one.......the builder has refrained from forming a Community of the garage..........I told you ..........it hasn't been handed over !!!).

They are not putting the electronics on the exit door untill the Town Hall put in a bigger drain ( when??...don't know !! ) and they are going to make our ramp a bit more 'user friendly'.......( when ?? don't know ) and they have not sold the garages off as yet.

They are coming back sometime ( ? ) to wash the garage floor.

Forgot to mention .....the entrance door can't be used till we get the fob cos the original lock has been removed, so everyone will have to enter and exit by the exit doorway which goes up our ramp..................which the builder says is too steep and shouldn't be used !!

Does anyone remember that song ' The Gas Man Cometh??

I think this is my 901 post too.............................

Well the only thing to celebrate then is your 901st post!

Well done Karensun, you have given so much useful community info to people on EOS, keep it coming!

(Hope that blinkin' dust didn't creep under my front door, I am coming to relax in March not do cleaning!!!!)

Spose' I could always send San Antonio the cleaning bill?!

Tarra fluffy CU in March yeah!!!!!

900 posts +1 ... More congratulated you too in the bucket, Karen.

Just for you.

Karen, you've finally answered my question about what do you mean "not handed over". All you meant was, the developer has not formed a community for the garage. Karen, check your Bible (Ley Horizontal). If there are more than 4 owners jointly owning a property (which in the case of your garage there are - you have your title deeds to prove you are a joint owner of the whole) the law states you must have a community. (It's 2.30 am and I can't be bothered to check the wording right now). Of course, it should be the responsibility of the developer, but I don't think there's anything stopping the other owners organising it themselves is there? Ask your administrator. I'm sure legally the developer could have been forced to contribute his quota towards any communal maintenance costs. But, this way, at least finally it sounds like it will all be sorted out without any additional expense to you. I only hope the mandos (remote control fobs) work better than ours, otherwise your next problem is going to be people knocking at your door all hours complaining that they can't open the garage door. Our automated door also has a nasty habit of leaping out from nowhere at cars, necessitating me putting written instructions all over the place on how to navigate your way in and out without incident. (Plus all the usual disclaimers etc.)

As for flooding, don't even get me started. (It's been raining a lot this week). I feel like the ball in a game of ping-pong between the developer and the water board. My only hope is that by the time we figure out who we should be taking to court (probably both) I will be long since retired from the Presidency.