twyntub

Quite right too. Our agent has already told us that it will be required before we can complete.

Unfortunately for the brits at the end of our road, the whole area here is 'Rustico' land and their houses aren't legal... i.e. no planning permission was ever sought let alone granted. They'll be without proper water / electric for another 4.5 years when they can claim they are entitled for the house to be there, unless some official sends in a bulldozer...

An awful situation, I don't know these people sleep at night (the owners that is, not the builders - they probably don't have any trouble sleeping at night. )

Joe King

This is more common than people imagine. I'm always amazed by how Brits will put up with living conditions in Spain - no phone line, no mains electricity, no mains water, etc., - but wouldn't back home.

The phone line is a real killer these days because of the internet. Without one it can make life a misery. So before agreeing to buy anywhere make sure it has a phone line. Not phone sockets or even a phone (yes I have seen a house for sale complete with phone in hall that had no phone line!). A real landline phone line!

bchapl

Hi everyone,
Thanks for the good wishes, twyntub, (and others), you've been a great help all the way through. Yes, Lionda, I agree, you do need a Certificate of Habitacion, which our lawyer (who was brilliant, by the way) made sure was in place before the sale. But how awful for your neighbours, tywntub, to have to live in a place which could be bulldozed - how do you live with that hanging over your head? And, yes, of course the builders will be sitting pretty and sleeping soundly! In the event, our builder was very good indeed, but I think we were very lucky. The builder came with us (this the day after we signed) to sort out the gas contract, and sent round his plumber to bleed the radiators and ensure that the gas supply was in good working order, so we have a lovely warm house for the winter. We are absolutely thrilled with the house! Unfortunately, we can't live in it permanently as yet - need to make a bit more money in the UK before we come over to Spain to live, so for the moment it's a bolt hole for us to retreat to when we get tired of working all the time. But, as said, we are thrilled to bits.
As for the removals company, well, they weren't terribly good, to be honest, but we have heard worse stories from our neighbours, with one couple waiting six weeks for their furniture to turn up, and having to fork out for a camp bed and kitchen utensils just so they could live in the house they had just completed on. However, most people we have spoken to have tended to cope admirably with hassles such as this and don't regret their move for a minute (which doesn't, however, make the antics of certain removals companies OK, it's just that if they let you down you have no option but to be patient - all your stuff is on their lorry!) We still have loads of bits and pieces to bring over, but I think that next time we'll hire a van and do the move ourselves. That way if we're late we only have ourselves to blame. The whole process was jeopardised by our removals company's lateness, especially as we were working to a tight schedule (having to go back to work the day after arriving back in the UK - still recovering, to be honest). So, removals companies, take note - you're contracted and paid to do a job and turn up at a particular time on a particular day, and that's exactly what you should do!!! Anyone had particularly bad experiences with removals men?
Hope all's well with everyone,
bchapl

GrapeEater

Great it is working out for people. We mainly seem to hear the bad bits on forums. (why do we like bad bits?). On the whole the teething problems get ironed out and the pros usually outweigh the cons (and there are a few of them !).

We've only had minor probs since all the paperword / moving in headaches are sorted. Most recently the builder tried to charge many residents a small fortune for "builders' water" and the water kept 'running out' - some say deliberately. Of course we were all united in not paying and clubbed together to get a legal 'burofax' sent to the builder threatening with court action. It seems to have done the trick so far! So keep an eye on these bu**ers as they'll try it on and if you think it isn;t 'right' then GO TO THE TOWNHALL and find out - DO NOT hide behind ignorance or trust - or you'll be a victim.

Enjoy you time in Spain, relax, have a G&T on the terrace, make friends - it's what you really came here for.

jdr

Have you got a habitation licence for your house ?

GILBEY

Hi everyone

I have just found this thread having googled Hondon as, having just paid our deposit on a villa on Oasis VI. I am trying to find out as much local information about the area. We fell in love with the valley but it is always really quiet when we visit. As we will be bringing our 4 children over for holidays as much as poss it would be nice to know there are going to be other children there too.

We will certainly take care having read some of the stories that everything is ok before we hand over the full amount. Although ours was already completed when we reserved it, it seems we could still have problems.

Are there any walks/cycle tracks from the urbanisation without having to use the main entrance and main road to the village?

twyntub

Hi, and welcome to the forum! There are plenty of children that come from all over the valley to the local school - not sure how many on Oasis, but the best place to meet up with parents and children is at the swings / climbing frame near the square, and of course in the square itself - in Hondón de las Nieves.

The main things to watch seem to be - (1) get a habitation licence, otherwise you're not legally allowed to live there, (2) get your mains services (water and electric) connected - THEN hand over the money. Estate agents and builders will swear blind you don't need either. To put this in perspective, we're currently renting ten kms from Hondón, near us there are six British families who have all completed on houses where the Habitation licences / Water / Electric were "not required on completion" or "just a formality". That was three and a half years ago - still no electricity or water, all properties turn out to be illegal in some way (planning permission not granted or even applied for), at least one faces the bulldozer (if not all) - and in one case (wait for it...) the original landowner conspired with the architect and builder to forge documents and move boundary markers, such that the guy's kitchen ISN'T EVEN ON HIS LAND!!!

Finally, there is a camino that runs part of the way - from just near the security hut - towards Hondón - but as I say it only goes part of the way. The whole valley is crossed by minor roads, so you may find a safe route, but it'll probably be quite hilly!

Hope that helps!

GILBEY

Hi

Thanks for the advice. We did spend a very pleasant hour in the village square last month. I think children and teenagers are on radar so I'm sure they will be fine!

We are from Last of the Summer Wine country and keen runners so used to hills but I must admit there looks to be some challenging routes to explore!

We are supposed to be completing in November but have run out of holiday at work (at least my husband has) so may have to push it on till the new year. I suppose it depends how quickly the builder wants his money.

We can't wait to get out there and explore though and it may be I come out with a friend and give her power of attorney for my husband.

GrapeEater

Hi there,
Nice of you to join. Well it's a very pleasant 23 dg today with lovely sunshine and blue skies in Hondon area.

There is basic information about Hondon here. As Oasis seems to be mainly for retirement, there are very few younger families / resident children on Oasis Urb' actually and very little for them to do as it's still not finished. The commercial area (shops, bars, etc) not even started yet - (poss' 2 years away). But during the summer many children, grand children come to the area. Mainly they go biking through the rural roads, vineyards, almond groves... quite flat on the whole. A swimming poolis a good idea - kids love 'em !! The local restaurant 'The Finca' is children friendly and has a communal swimming pool. I heard the big Oasis Communal Pool will not be open until all Contrimar Houses are finished and the residents pay some kind of upkeep charge.

If you like rambling , hill-climbing... there's plenty. The views are great and I have taken up children as young as 8 (need sturdy footwear though). So peaceful up there and the smell of wild thyme, rosemary is lovely !!!

On one of the back roads there is a picnic/BBQ area which the Spanish use a lot at the weekends - but sometimes 'youths' hang around there - graffiti is the giveaway but these roads are patrolled by the local police.

The best time to come for things to do is July/August when there are so many Fiestas to choose from and they are really good for such small villages. Highly recommended. The council print a timetable in both Nieves and Frailes about June time.

Of course there are plenty of bars/restaurants to visit.. but depends on your tastes. Lunchtime menus are very cheap 'look for 'Menu Del Dia'.

Nearby, 20min a drive away is Elche Aljub centre - which has a cinema, arcades, food hall and a bowling alley. Elche itself has a lovely park - with a million palm trees.

The beach is about 30 mins away. And Alicante may be worth a visit, marina, old town is very nice. And further a field towards and in Benidorm (about an hours drive) there are loads of Themes parks, rides, water parks for children to get stuck into.

.. if it's raining you'll need a few DVDs to watch !!!

twyntub

Don't forget the fantastic sunset tonight... talk about red sky at night!

Most of the retired Brits in Hondón seem to be in their 30's with young children!

The Finca is run by a nice Dutch family - their children go to the same school as ours. What we only found out recently is that it's a hotel as well - so ideal for guests outstaying their welcome... either they move into the hotel or we do.

I saw yesterday that the pool on Oasis VI is at least in. With all the rain we've had recently, it's already got some water in it...

...or do what everyone seems to do around here and get one of those 2.4 metre satellite dishes so you don't miss Crossroads

Relampago

Forgive me...people without electricity, without phone, without water...and in Spain. Concretely where?

GrapeEater

- Well ain't seen many on Oasis ... yet and who can afford to retire at thirty and have kids to support !!!

Yes there is a pool but has been built for at 18 months already. The present residents have enquired about it's opening, but will be ages yet apparently!!

And a word of warning to anyone moving onto Hondon Oasis / Valley of the Vines / Mi Casa there are communication problems, not very reliable. There are NO landlines in yet for phones, every one is on a satellite/wireless system for phone and Internet that breaks virtually everyday (off last night for 4 hours). The Finca restaurant cannot take credit card because of this !!.

And as for British TV, the nearer you are to the mountain the less chance of a decent signal, you can't get some channels some of the time... so you may have to miss the odd Coronation Street !!! (shame). Don't bother with a tele anyway... do something more interesting ... like make friends!

oh and some mobiles don't work very well here either. So before you buy a Spanish mobile check with a neighbour to get a provider that has a decent signal.

twyntub

Sounds like a backhaul problem if you ask me. The trouble with going with 'Joe Bloggs cheap internet all you can eat for ten euros a month' or whatever is that they're also buying the cheapest internet connection they can afford.

'Proper' satellite connections are reliable but not cheap - the equipment is 3000+ euro plus line rental starts at 150 euro per month for a 512k connection that will support Skype et al. I've seen loads of local providers offering satellite for much less than this - but these are highly contended high latency services which, as you say, aren't reliable.

Maybe I should set up an ISP when we move in. I could call it Oasis-net. Or Vine Valley Veb. Telefonica would be laying cables by the end of the week if I ordered a 100Mb fibre off them

We haven't seen British TV for two months. Mind you, with school, kids, shopping, life, etc I don't think we've got the time any more! Cuarenta playing through a newly restored 1950's valve radio provides all the entertainment we need.

Ah, but... on Oasis VI which is up the hill, you'll find that you get a great signal with at least Amena (Orange) and Movistar (haven't tried Voda, but I guess it's also fine).

You can buy a digital trac phone that works on the Orange network that offers cheaper calls to the UK (< 6.9 cents/min) as part of the package. It's basically a mobile front end for a 'normal' Spanish telephone.

Alternatively, you can buy an Orange PAYG phone for 30 euros or whatever, and then buy those 5 euro international calling cards (100 minutes back to the UK). But as GrapeEater points out... it won't work in the 'valley'.

Relampago

Do you distrust of the spanish professionals? Is that I am spanish, and I have never had problems with bricklayers, electricians or plumbers of my country. Never. Nor me, nor nobody of my family. Just the opposite, people that has made very good works. For that reason I ask you this question, because it is also that I read in a thread of this forum the answer of a british woman, and she said that she prefers to have spanish workers before to have english workers because here in Spain they deceived her or they made her a bad work in its house

Mitzyboy

I too prefer to have Spanish workers ... they are cheaper and know the correct way to do things here ... and I'm contributing to the local economy.

BUT ... Some Spanish professionals leave a lot to be desired ..... abogados, constructors ... even mayors and town halls! Why do you think there are urbanisations with lots of illegal buildings on them? How did it happen? How did the Spanish officials let it happen? Theres no excuse, its just people making money out of other peoples misery.