GrapeEater

Looked at the property on inmohogar.net - and found this... http://www.inmohogar.net/detalles.asp?idpropiedad=365 - the pictures are atrocious !!!! If I was gonna sell/rent a property I'd invest in a camera to take decent pictures - (cameras are so cheap now) - I've seen better pictures to sell a tin-of-beans !!!!

derbyflan

Blimey, what a kerfuffle buying property in Hondon has turned out to be!

Seems like the OP did the right thing in pulling out some time ago.

I hope all of your moves go through soon and smoothly.

twyntub

[QUOTE=derbyflan;5034847]Blimey, what a kerfuffle buying property in Hondon has turned out to be!
[QUOTE]

It's like another country

GrapeEater

[QUOTE=twyntub;5037716][QUOTE=derbyflan;5034847]Blimey, what a kerfuffle buying property in Hondon has turned out to be!
Anyone wishing to live in another country should open thier eyes WIDE, assess the risks fro their circumstances, expect a at least a few 'kerfuffles' and think long and hard about what they are to embark on, especially when buying new build. If you think the kerfuffle is not worth it - then don;t bother because you'll end up stressed and disappointed. Moving to Spain (or UK, or elsewhere) is bound to have up and downs - why wouldn't it ? Especially if you never bothered to learn the lingo ! Only the strong survive afterall. I like to think I'm a doer not a gonnadoer !!

twyntub

Nuestros hijos comience la escuela del segunda semana de septiembre - creo que no hablar español no es una buena idea

What amazed us is that our two year old (in England, no Spanish tuition, just listening to our five year old after her weekly lessons plus the "Fun with Spanish" CD on in the car occasionally) suddenly counted to ten in Spanish the other day... How cool is that?

Back OT - we're still hoping to be moved in by Christmas, but I don't think the world will end if it's a bit sooner or a bit later. We'll rent in or around Hondon until then, even an appartment would be OK (a bit like a 3-4 month self catering holiday!) - most of our "stuff" will remain in storage in the UK until the house is built, the paperwork is done, the electricity is in, we've chosen the furniture, etc, etc. Plus we'll be on-hand to keep a very close eye on the final fit and finish!!!!

As someone once said, life's the journey - not the destination. It's not the moving into the nice new house that matters, it's the adventure you have along the way to get there.

Twyntub

bchapl

Hi everyone!
Can anyone tell me if they know of a good Gestoria in the Hondon/Elche area? Also, we are planning to rent out our villa to tourists (we will remain resident in the UK for now). I'm assuming we need to pay tax to the Spanish authorities on any rental income received (we want to do things legally right from the start), hence the need for the Gestoria. Can anyone confirm that this is the case? We have our NIEs, of course.
Can anyone help?
Thanks and hope you're all well!
bchapl

Bigbhudda69

Hi bchapl..this was being discussed last week, not the Gestoria but renting, have a look here http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=478540 you can always try free beer as well, stacks of info in there.

Hope it helps...BB

bchapl

Thanks, BB - much appreciated!

Solarwhizz

Builders supplies and generators,
I in the course of business, come across many "Builders supplies", or "loaned generator"
There are various problems,associated with this,
1) eventually the builder just takes away the generator as he cannot afford to hire it any more
2) the cable is usually undersized and running two or three houses and therefore voltage drop is huge, this causes alls sorts of problems from blowing your sky box, to not being able to run A/C units, pool pumps etc
3) running a generator continously will be noisy and the cost will be in excess of .75c EU per hour. = 18 per day, = 500€ plus per month. ALternative options are fairly expensive. for 24 per day electric. So invariable you run without power for most part of the day!!

The "builders supply" is a notorious "temporary" hardship imposed upon the unsuspecting buyer to urge the close of sale, whatever happens if you are going to take over on a builders supply ensure that your solicitor reserves a nice big summ from the final payment as an "incentive" to maintain developer/builder integrity.

bchapl

Hi Solarwhizz,
Thank you so much for your advice. We have, in any case, refused to complete without electricity connection. We have now been informed that the electricity is up and running, all the paperwork is now in order, and that we may now complete on the property, BUT we will NOT be booking flights until the agent has checked everything to ensure that there will be no holdups to the completion. To date, we have had 5 (yes, 5!!!) completion dates - on the last one we were assured that everything was in order, only to find, when we arrived, that the electricity still had not been connected. SO, once (or 5 times) bitten, twice shy!
We are now hoping to complete at the end of September (it's a year exactly since we first viewed the property). The 'manana' attitude is still very much alive in Spain (but isn't that part of the attraction)?
Hope all's well with you and, again, thanks for your help.
All the best,
bchapl

Lionda

Check everything before you sign anything at all! We have bought a new build (but not in Hondon, though not too far away) and we also had quite a few completion dates, the first date was Sep 2005 - and the foundations had not even been started on that date! We switched properties for one already built and near completion and once again were given about 5 completions dates. We finally moved over to Spain in May this years, when our agents told us we could as it was all completed - wrong! More hassle and we had to rent for a month before we could move in. Even now we are still on builders electricity and water! The advantage though is that we are not paying any bills and no mortgage until the deeds are ready to be signed.

My advice is - tread carefully and get as much information as possible before you sign anything.

twyntub

Well, I'm pleased to say that our build is actually starting to look like a house. Quick round up: despite promises from the builder it would be ready for September, a visit in June revealed nothing more than a hole in the ground. Major rocket up builder's behind followed, and they promised they'd even work over August.

Visited the site 1st August and was met with an impressive looking shell. Went again 1st September and shock horror - there was a roof and some ground floor walls. Can't say they'd been working flat out over August, but things have at least moved on. I'm now visiting every other day and each time something has changed.

I'm hoping we'll be in for Christmas, but we have our rental until mid-2008 if required. The property will be mortgaged, which I understand takes longer as it requires paperwork to be in order before we can complete (unlike a cash buy).

Builder seems to think that will take a couple of months based on other properties - presumably to get their LFO. Am I right in assuming that you can't complete on the mortgage until the LFO is granted?

Also, all of the plots have cabinets outside which look like they hold or are ready to hold electric / water meters. Any ideas if that is likely to mean they are already wired up to the grid and just require the meter to be made 'officially live' by the water / leccy board once the LFO is granted and some official reluctantly comes out on their pushbike with a pair of pliers... or should I assume nothing and expect months of builder's supply whilst cables are laid?

bchapl

Hello everyone,
Just to let you all know that we have finally completed on our house in Hondon and everything went without any major hitches, apart from the removals company turning up a day and a half late! But we coped! The house is wonderful and the builder surprised us by planting young orange and lemon trees (amongst others - we're unsure of what they are) all the way around the house!
Just to thank everyone who told us to stick to our guns regarding the electricity - thanks for the good advice. All the waiting seems worth it now!
All the best to you all!
bchapl

twyntub

Congratulations! Down the road from our rental, there are people who've been without an official electricity supply since moving in three and a half years ago!!! They have so-called "builder's electric", but it's effectively a single supply feeding six houses. They have to wash, cook and heat the water in sequence or they all go off

Everyone around here says: "It doesn't matter what the builder says... or whatever is in the contract... no matter what the solicitor claims, or agent tells you... don't hand over your the money until you are satisfied that everything is ready."

Twyntub

Lionda

Get your "certificate of 'Habitacion' " before you sign anything. It is a legal requirement but the builders (and indeed the selling agents) will tell you it doesn't matter - it does