HI
 

We are in the process of buying a flat in La Colina . If all goes well we should sign within 2 weeks. We live in Cordoba. We've followed the trials and tribulations in C. Esuri for the last 6 yrs. and now the prices are unbeatable though the future there is uncertain. At any rate we're open for any advice -especially concerning security, appliances, furniture and utilities.
Thanks for any help-------------A.R.M.:fingerscrossed:

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A very warm welcome to the Ayamonte thread and hope you have a long and happy stay with us. Not sure which bit is La Colina can you guide us.

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Hi again,
I believe La Colina is the urbanization on the HILL to the North of the complex. It's at the end of calle Lopez de Rueda. Again, any contacts or advice will be appreciated. ARM

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The one overlooking the river probably ???

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Some of the buildings overlook the river. YOU CAN'T MISS THE URBANIZATION--IT'S THE ONE WITH THE MASSIVE RETAINING WALL.

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We have a very good friend who has just moved up there to live did not know the parcela name sorry. What fantastic views up river you will have!

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With regard to Electric appliances, you will not go far wrong using the the shops in Ayamonte. As a comparison look at Carrefour in Cartaya

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Thanks for the info. Keep it coming! ARM

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I would recommend that you have a look at the shops in Ayamonte and don't forget to go into the Ayamonte Industrial estate which is the left on the first roundabout as you go into Ayamonte.
Have to agree with you on the prices, I never thought I would see them that low but the good side is that loads of people are buying the properties and that means they will be occupied and the communal areas, lifts etc will all be up and running in no time.
On security, I would recommend that you change the barrel in your front door lock, it only takes 5 mins and you can pick up a good one in Camilo in Ayamonte town for about €30

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We have noticed that already at weekend La Colina comes alive and the car No plates indicate a lot of people come down fron Sevilla, Cordoba and Madrid.

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Wonderful info. Thanks so much. A month ago we were a license plate from Cordoba checking out Las Colinas! Can anyone let us know who supplies the electricity and water utilities? Your help and support are greatly appreciated.:thumbsup:

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Endesa is the usual electricity providor but of course the market has been free'd up up so you could choose anyone. We have Endesa and have had some problems with estimated bills and no charges for the power then all coming at once but settled down now. They have a shop just of Laguna square down town.. Don't know if one of the other suppliers would cost less but OK for now. Ghisa supplies the water and have an office just outside Huelva.

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Thanks again. Next question would be who does motion detector lights and security bars/gates for terrace doors... and we hear we should change the water heater to elec to avoid Gas Natural gouging...your thoughts?

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be carefull they will all come out of the woodwork.belive me you will be paying a coupe of hundred euro for a 20 euro job.

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Pros & Cons, with the gas you will have instant hot water, the boiler is already there and its a simple connection fee.Yes you will have a standing fee each month and if you are like me always think if it is switched on or off.
Electric takes longer to heat up and once you hvae used up all the water it takes a couple of hours to get back to where you want it, not a problem in the summer but as you are from Cordoba you are sure to hit Ayamonte in low season and winter.
There is a palce in town called NorteSur(hanibal) which can do grills for you, recommended especially if you have a ground floor.
Air-con is the most efficent way of heating and the ducting is already in, good machines and installation approx €2000.

Hope that's of some help to you

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Can't thank you all enough for all the great advice. Since we won't be permanent residents there we fear paying Gas Natural's monthly rates (we even got rid of them here in Cordoba). I'm sure the locals soak C. Esuri for all they can get. Keep the advice, news and comments coming. Ciao

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gas botle.

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Like you we decided against gas even though the main passes the gate because of the standing charge cost. So we are all electric for heat and light except solar water heating. We had many January days that gave lashings of hot water without the need for immersion back up and in July and August we could run off hot water all day at no cost if the water was free!

Get in touch with Sam and Bennie who have come up with a
neat security system sytem for the Fadesa fitted wooden doors.

Contary to your thoughts on "the locals" we have found some really reliable Spanish and one English tradesmen who give us really good prices over a range of our needs and do a super job.

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yeh just like your oak floor.:rofl::rofl::rofl:

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Didn't mean to put all locals in the same basket, was just hoping to get some reliable ones. All help is welcome. I heard that to use butane gas the water heaters have to be refitted, anyone know if it's true? Hope to thank some of you personally by summer!

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That was the other English joiner not joined us since!!!

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Can only be the burner and they usually come with a set for either but the fitter probably binned the ones you want. Not to difficult to change but you will need to certain that the bottle can be placed outside in a well ventilated space.

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O.K. Have a good night and thanks...

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sorry but no no no

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left out due to vino.no dont try and do it yourself.get pro to do it and cirtify it

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bennie is a good joiner.and does other building things aswell

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jk
with some of the deals in esuri at the moment i wouldnt be suprised if a lot of them out of town number plates havent come to buy.

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They already have.

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I'll second and third that.

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I'm not suggesting that the unskilled should do it themselves but that it is not a difficult and should not be an expensive conversion but the bottles should be outside.

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I've just noticed that BBVA-ANIDA has lowered their prices again for Rago-1, that may explain all the movement there these days. Has anyone put up motion detector lights on their terraces to deter robberies, and if so, any installer-supplier around there. Thanks.

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Yes put one up myself last December and found it bust after a bad storm so put another one up last month works fine easy to do if you have put up an interior light fitting bought the last one at Lidl. Bigger selection at Le Roy Merlin. I am sure the increased interest has been provoked by the price reductions. One nice result has been the rebalance of nationalities. Instead of being a N European enclave CE has a more realistic Spanish national presence and is much more cosmopolitan lots of Swedish No plates this winter.

One additional factor to the reduction in price by the banks may be the granting of mortgages by those banks and these are easier post crisis for Spaniards than others.

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fitting should be 10/15 euro.ive known idiots who have gladly handed over 100/120euro

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the bottles only need a ground level vent.as the gas is heavyer than air

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I'll just give my daily thanks to all who gave advice. See you tom.

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Just a quick question: Can you connect a kitchen gas hob, normally meant for mains gas supply, to a cylinder? Or do you have to modify eg the burners/pressure etc.

Are all ' cylinders' the same, i.e camping gas? From the small ones you put on a camping gas stove, to the cylinders we can use instead of mains gas pressure. Ive noticed in caravan sites people are using the cylinders and inside the caravans the kitchen stuff looks the same as a home one.

We had the option of a cylinder or a direct connection to the gas supply and went for the connection, but I am interested in this for another reason

THanks
Jon

Thanks

Jon

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As you know so much better than me there are two types of gas from oil fields propane and butane I think the mains gas for Spain is brought from N Africa in an undersea pipeline and is propane. If you want to use either of them from a bottle they will need the correct type burner in the appliance. So for a start you would need to know what type of gas the appliance is set up for and what type of bottled gas is available near you at reasonable cost. Then set up the appliance to match the available gas (should not cost much to change the burners). Then you need a bottle and a regulator.

In Ayamonte there are many places that sell gas but not all are able to set you up with contract and regulator. For our barbie Jag told us to go to the Kitchen shop opposite the Market hall and sure enough they set us up with a contract a new full bottle and a regulator to match. The regulators seem to be all different and match suppliers bottles ie. Repsol, BP and others so you would have to change to suit but that is easy just undo the stanley clip and pull the hose off.

There is a big range of bottle sizes but for sensible use you would want one that has the adapter for a regulator the very small ones are do not have this. The bigger ones are sized by weight I think the "normal" one is 25kg small probably 10kgand the tall big ones perhaps 50kg.

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Thanks John You know far more about it than I do.

I was hoping that I could get a normal (cheap) kitchen hob and just plug in different gas than the mains gas... changing the burners would add cost and complexity. And would need to be easily available for the hob.

We had a look at a mobile home in a park recently and noticed that the cooker seemed totally normal, yet was running off bottled gas. So they bought a 'special' hob, or found a way to modify/change the burners.

Thanks again

Jon

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No you just buy the hob for the gas you have got if you went along to a Caravan retailer they would have hobs for the bottle that you buy. Somewhere on the Algarve there is a large caravan retailer that also does repairs so they would have them. Saw a van with the info painted on the side at Pria Faro but did not absorb the detail.

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Thanks John

I actually want to go the 'other way' - use a bottle gas on a hob meant for mains gas. Rather than have the gas 'choose' the hob. Sorry for the confusion

Thanks for the feedback

Jon