18 Mar 2026 6:52 PM:
My father used to have a professional managment agency look after his property when he was absent, but was very dissatsified, as several times they failed to spot an issue even when it was obvious (once a storm took off several roof tiles, we had no idea how they could not have noticed as there were broken tiles all over the front garden, another time my dad came back to find the back door was unlocked, fortunately nothing was missing), the agency simply provided excuses rather than owning the problem.
I don't have any agency at my place. One neighbour has the key and keeps an eye on things and another friend takes a look here and there, and I never had a problem. So depending on your particular risk awareness and maybe location, probably an agency is not necessary.
Thread: Managing a property on Costa del Sol while living abroad – how do you handle it?
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19 Jan 2026 4:39 PM:
Normally in flats, aircon units would drain into a water container on your balcony or near the unit. You would have to empty the container when it fills up. Or, if you can do so, link it to your water drainage pipes in your flat, if it's convenient
Be very careful when doing this as very unpleasant smells can emanate from your water drain. As a minimum you would need an S-trap, but this would be at danger of drying out in the hot climate so you would need to refill it from time to time. Just manually emptying a container here and there might be less hassle in the long run.
Thread: Aircon drain pipe
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19 Jan 2026 11:22 AM:
Review the contract: Carefully review the contract you had with the builder to determine the scope of work that was agreed upon and the payment terms. If the additional items were not included in the original contract or invoice, it may be easier to dispute them.
I absolutely agree. Construction / technical Spanish can be quite different from spoken Spanish, so it is woirth sitting down and reading the contract slowly and in detail. If anything doesn't make sense, ask to have it explained. If anything seems excessively vague or ambiguous, ask to have it put more precisely. The builder is asking you to spend a big sum of money, so you have every right to ask and re-ask questions. I think the vast majority of builders are honest and not trying to trick you (but honest mistakes can and do happen, and misunderstandings and miscommunication happens as well). But the small number of cowboys are spoiling it for the rest of the trade.
This message was last edited by amogles on 1/19/2026.
Thread: Builder changed quote and over charging. Threatening court if I don’t pay the extra
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19 Jan 2026 11:14 AM:
Some works require immediate decisions on site. This can sometimes lead to delays if you wait for formal quotations, or it might result in agreeing to additional building work without having the full facts or costs in advance.
There is a saying that goes something like, as long as emergency situations provide an excuse to bypass due process, people who stand to benefit when due process is bypassed will try to create emergency situations.
Thread: Builder changed quote and over charging. Threatening court if I don’t pay the extra
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07 Jan 2026 11:35 AM:
I think there is an imbalance in the market right now. There appear to be lots of high end properties that are difficult to sell because they are over-priced and there are many sellers who can afford to wait it out rather than drop the price. I am seeing lots of tired, boring and mediocre properties on the market for 500K+, and I really don't see who is going for the bait as you can get really nice places in nicer locatons for just a smithering more. Then on the other hand there is a crying shortage of entry level properties, say small appartments in the sub 100K range. I talked to a local agent just a few days ago who said people were typically contacting him within minutes of the ad going live, and he had one property where more than 20 people had expressed interest in the first week.
With there being a shortage of housing, especially at the entry end of the market, and lots of young families unable to get onto the property ladder, this is the sector that I would expect government policy to be favouring.
This message was last edited by amogles on 1/7/2026.
Thread: Buying bigger property
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