19 Jan 2026 4:39 PM:

Normally in flats, aircon units would drain into a water container on your balcony or near the unit. You would have to empty the container when it fills up. Or, if you can do so, link it to your water drainage pipes in your flat, if it's convenient

Be very careful when doing this as very unpleasant smells can emanate from your water drain. As a minimum you would need an S-trap, but this would be at danger of drying out in the hot climate so you would need to refill it from time to time. Just manually emptying a container here and there might be less hassle in the long run.  

 

Thread: Aircon drain pipe

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19 Jan 2026 11:22 AM:

 

Review the contract: Carefully review the contract you had with the builder to determine the scope of work that was agreed upon and the payment terms. If the additional items were not included in the original contract or invoice, it may be easier to dispute them.

I absolutely agree. Construction / technical Spanish can be quite different from spoken Spanish, so it is woirth sitting down and reading the contract slowly and in detail. If anything doesn't make sense, ask to have it explained. If anything seems excessively vague or ambiguous, ask to have it put more precisely. The builder is asking you to spend a big sum of money, so you have every right to ask and re-ask questions. I think the vast majority of builders are honest and not trying to trick you (but honest mistakes can and do happen, and misunderstandings and miscommunication happens as well). But the small number of cowboys are spoiling it for the rest of the trade. 

 

This message was last edited by amogles on 1/19/2026.
Thread: Builder changed quote and over charging. Threatening court if I don’t pay the extra

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19 Jan 2026 11:14 AM:

Some works require immediate decisions on site. This can sometimes lead to delays if you wait for formal quotations, or it might result in agreeing to additional building work without having the full facts or costs in advance.

There is a saying that goes something like, as long as emergency situations provide an excuse to bypass due process, people who stand to benefit when due process is bypassed will try to create emergency situations. 

 

Thread: Builder changed quote and over charging. Threatening court if I don’t pay the extra

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07 Jan 2026 11:35 AM:

I think there is an imbalance in the market right now. There appear to be lots of high end properties that are difficult to sell because they are over-priced and there are many sellers who can afford to wait it out rather than drop the price. I am seeing lots of tired, boring and mediocre properties on the market for 500K+, and I really don't see who is going for the bait as you can get really nice places in nicer locatons for just a smithering more. Then on the other hand there is a crying shortage of entry level properties, say small appartments in the sub 100K range. I talked to a local agent just a few days ago who said people were typically contacting him within minutes of the ad going live, and he had one property where more than 20 people had expressed interest in the first week.

With there being a shortage of housing, especially at the entry end of the market, and lots of young families unable to get onto the property ladder, this is the sector that I would expect government policy to be favouring.  

 

This message was last edited by amogles on 1/7/2026.
Thread: Buying bigger property

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17 Dec 2025 12:25 PM:

If you are unsure about the roof of a property you want to buy, best get a surveyor to look at it. I used Mark Paddon (who I believe is on this forum) for my house. He produced a very detailed yet easily readable report at a reasonable price. I was very satisfied.

I think the rule of thumb is that flat roofs tend to have shorter lives than tiled roofs, but your mileage may vary. Flat roofs may last 20 to 30 years while tiled roofs can last a lifetime or more. I think you will find that a Spanish tiled roof when professionally built is pretty much superior to USA-style asphalt shingles, and will outlast them by decades.

 

This message was last edited by amogles on 12/17/2025.
Thread: Advice for buying property with good roof

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