Amapolas VII

[haslar]

Hi

My wife,daughter and I are coming over in late May to live.
We have bought a town house on the Amapolas VII urbanization at Las Chimosis.

Is there anyone out there who has already moved into their home on that urbanization?
If so are you happy withyour new home and area?

We are eager to know how you are getting along.

Cheers
haslar

[beastess]

I live in Amapolas III. Presumably you have the same builder, SB. Our urbanisation is still suing the builder years after completion because of various faults. That being said the house I live in is pretty comfortable and was good value for money. Hope you enjoy it out here. I sometimes think all the Amapolas urbanisation presidents should get together and compare notes on SB!

[haslar]

Amapolas VII

Thank you for your reply Beastess.

Yes the builder is SB.

Can you disclose the nature of the faults etc on your urbanization or is it unethical on this forum?

I would hope that assuming there is an Amapolas III etc through to VII that the builders would have learned by their mistakes! and make sure that all is as it should be for the purchasers!

It seems the logical step for the presidents of the particular urbanizations in question, to get together and indeed compare notes if the problem is widespread.

I'm glad though that in spite of the problem you are basically happy with your home.

[beastess]

[haslar]

Amapolas VII

Thank you for the detail.

I hope indeed the builders have learned by their mistakes!

Amapolas IV

I'm Vice president of Amapolas IV. At first we had a distinctly dodgy relationship with Senor Sanchez but have gradually built on small beginnings and he has now started to provide things free for us and is taking a great interest in the Urbanisation.

I think it may be a culture thing. We also had problems with cracking and a number of people wanted to take him to court. He has a let a year go by (and more importantly a summer) and is now working through the houses carrying out repairs - he is also paying for specialists in crack repair to carry out the work. I think it helps if you have a good administrator - which we do.

A lot of people try and treat the builder in the same way as they would one in the UK. This being Spain, things are different. There are no building regulations here, as such, and a lot of stress is placed on the professional integrity of the builder. The local council do a final inspection and the development cannot be taken over until the President and committee are happy to do so. Unfortunately a lot of Brits (and other nationalities) are impatient and jump the gun somewhat. Our swimming still leaks and we have refused to take over the development until it is fixed - likewise we are not connected to water supplies until this happens (or more importantly paying for them).. Again a specialist has been called in and Senor Sanchez has agreed to fill the pool at his own expense.

We have spoken to other Presidents and perhaps this is why we have chosen to do it this way. Perhaps we've been lucky. We are also very happy with the standard of building provided and the prices we paid for them.

[haslar]

Amapolas VII

It is my understanding that properties built in Spain during the last couple of years are covered by a ten year guarantee, rather like the building guarantee here in the UK.

That being the case one would assume that the construction companies would make every effort to avoid any return to the property(to carry out repairs) which would reflect on their building skills/supervision and ultimately on the construction company name!

One reads here in the UK of disasterous developments undertaken by the "Big" well known companies.
As it was pointed out, it depends on how the remedial situation is handled, that matters.
One requires confidence in the company and that the remedial action will be concluded in a timely and professional manner.

[beastess]

Deposit

The deposit that is lodged with the Town Hall is refunded when the Certificiate of Habitation is granted. Unfortunately it is possible for Councils to issue an Interim certificate or conditional certificate which gives builders time to complete whatever is required. This doesn't stop the deposit being refunded.
It's also important to realise that the certificate only includes those areas of the Urbanisation as outlined in the Escritura as part of the urbanisation. Any deficiencies with individual homes have to be sorted out between builder and owner. Ideally this should be done before the visit to the Notary but a lot of people are so keen to get in that they accept problems and then wonder why it takes time to get them fixed (if ever).

[DW2]

If its any consolation. Amapolas I is ok!

[haslar]

Amapolas VII

DW2

Nice to hear!

[beastess]

A couple who have lived out here 17 years said they noticed that the number one and two phases of developments were largely bought by the Spanish as after that the quality deteriorates - metal ballustrades instead of stone, etc. On the other hand the later phases sometimes have better security having learned from the break-ins on earlier ones.

[coastofdreams]

Hi. My name is Kelly and I am owrking on a new ITV1 documentary about British Expats exprience's living in Spain. It will cover all stories that people have to tell and we are potentially looking at Torrevieja as a place to focus on. The name Amapolas has come up several times and I would love to speak to anyone that can tell me more about it or who would like to highlight issues that they have faced. I understand that this thread is now quite old but if anyone see's it would they please get in touch.

My number is 0044 207 534 2016 and I am able to call you straight back to save your bill. Or email coastofdreams@studiolambert.com and I will personally reply.

Many thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.

Kelly