Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

A quick Google shows several construction companies in the area with websites. Only allowing two days to sort things out is maybe a bit too rushed and any reputable builder will be busy working, so expecting them to give you a final quote that is valid sounds a bit too good to be true. It usually takes weeks, if not months to get a plumber alone and building material prices are higher than ever.
Good luck and I hope you don't take the first builder you get just because you are in a rush.

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

Thanks , my plan is to hopefully have two or better three quotes . I hoped to then correspond via email or Zoom etc to organise, if it can’t be done then it can’t . my family live in UK so they may be able to come over if needed. We were intending to come out for longer in June/July however a funeral in UK meant we had to apply for permission to leave and while in UK for the funeral I decided to come over to the house. We have to quarantine in a gov hotel for two weeks when we return next week to Aus hence our time here is very short
paul

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

Just to update and to thank people for providing advice . I managed to arrange for two builders to attend the house. They were very easy to communicate with and it was not difficult to arrange and speak with Sergio with google translate (I intend to learn competent Spanish in time ) on WhatsApp . I had to cancel both meetings however, since when my wife and I visited the property in advance to take measurements and consider finally what we wanted doing, there was a family/people living in the house ! We just walked in as the lock had not been changed and no sign of any forced entry . When we last saw the place we had everything cleared out including the old kitchen , ready for the works we wanted doing . That was in 2019 , we haven’t visited since because of COVID and not being allowed to leave Aus .
I want to give a massive shout out to Andy (one of the builders) and especially his wife Diane who came with us to the Guardia Civil to make a Denuncia . I suspect the person that has done this (put people in to rent without my permission) but I am making further enquires before formal accusation
Beware if you have empty houses in Martos or near ! They are not squatting , in my view they have one of my keys
Paul

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

Bad news. You are aware a member of this forum had great difficulty though with a squatter. There is a previous thread but the Part II is here -

https://britishexpats.com/forum/spai...rt-2-a-931274/

I presume you've left a key with someone who has now rented out your house whilst you couldn't be there.

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

No, I purchased the house and had a person associated with that agency change the locks for me - a builder he knew was to clear the house and make good the roof which had collapsed . I visited the following year 2019 to collect the keys from him and check the property was cleared and roof repaired, it was and I was happy. As I said above I arranged to see property again with builders at the first available opportunity for me (as stated this was on Thursday ) . Not only were people living there but also they had fitted a kitchen, they are connected to the electricity and water (neither of which was connected by me, when I purchased the house there was no connection of water or electricity)
I had not given a key to anyone nor had this person a power of attorney to act on my behalf nor had I ever given permission for my house to be rented while it was empty - in my view it was unfit for habitation at the time I last saw the place.
The people living there in my view were clearly not squatters in the traditional sense - they had not broken in , they must have a key that fits the lock that was replaced . I received two copy keys , one of which I used to gain entry on Thursday
my enquires thus far suggest to me that this situation is not unique in Martos . As I say before naming the person I suspect I will make further enquires.
I am simply reporting it as a warning to others who may have empty properties in the area
paul

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

Just as a thought, I bought mine from an agency. They recommended a builder, who was from the UK living in Spain, to start off my renovations. He quoted an acceptable price and we agreed for him to start. The work he did was very good - but - he soon started adding extras on and on and on for more and more money. There was also a dispute with one of his UK workers who for reasons unknown to us and can't work out why, started bad mouthing us. At the earliest point we could we stopped him doing any more. He has since left the area. We then approached the contacts I've given you. They have always quoted a price and rigidly stuck to it. Their work is also very good.
I think though but hope not, you'll not find a quick resolution to your problem and it will be some time before you are ready to do any building work.

By the way, I'd immediately change the locks when there was nobody there.

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

Thank you

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

Did they provide a quote that included IVA? Some builders do and some do not so it is always advisable to double check on that as it makes a huge difference when gaining quotes.

Rosemary

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

Yes. IVA included in the presupuestos.
Of course I'm sure builders often don't include it, but being foreigners we made it clear we abide by the rules and want no surprises.

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

The builder (neighbour and friend) who renovated my roof did not include the IVA in the quote but he did in the final bill as he always stays legal too. Some builders use this way of working to make the work appear cheaper than other quotes whereas he had been told that he had already got the job so nothing to gain by not including it initially so it seems that this is his method of quoting.

Rosemary

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

Gosh. how awful for you. What did the Guardia Civil say?

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

I would say , given my absolute incompetence with this country’s language , very well . I went straight away to them but the two officers I spoke with were in process of changing shift so I was asked to return in the afternoon (Thursday) . I did however there was then only one officer on duty and the gate was closed. He was very helpful (I prepared a summary in Spanish and showed this to him ) and explained he would visit the house when his colleagues arrived .
I visited Friday morning and unfortunately a report had not been prepared . The officer was very helpful but I needed a translator to progress . With the help of a star lady I was able to formally complain . Whether anything will happen I don’t know
Paul

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

I didnt realise there was another Irish man so north into andalucia within distance of here.

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

yer quite a few welcome to q better land

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

Hello all,

Newbie here 😁 I love this thread! There is so much info here and everyone seems to enjoy Martos. Nice! My plan is to visit Spain for a couple of months in June and view some properties in and around Martos. Hopefully, I should be able to relocate there permanently by the end of the year once I find my new home and sort out my work arrangements.

I wanted to ask folks here for their opinion on buying a house that requires lots of refurbishment work versus saving up little more and buying something that doesn't require much work. I have limited budget and just wondering if you found it easy to arrange local builders and was the work completed up to your expectations? Buying something that doesn't require much work seems like an obvious answer but it also means staying longer in cold windy Scotland 😁
I will appreciate your opinions.

Thanks

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

buy the best house you can afford do not be fooled by the cheep prices , most are dumps i would set a budget of 35k

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

Agree with wicklowjack and renovations will require licences and finding good builders is a challenge everywhere these days. I assume you are an EU citizen and don't require visa, or is that sorted out already? Better get it right from the start and you'll probably be glad to be in Scotland in June, so again no rush.

Re: Does anyone live in the Jaen / Martos area?
 

Thank you wicklowjack and Moses2013. This is very helpful. I thought that some of those houses I saw online for around 20k look too good to be true. 35k is probably more realistic. Work visa shouldn't be an issue as I'm an EU citizen. Just can't wait to make the move 😁