Do not trust your keyholder

Just a note of caution that on rare occasions we decided to let our apartment on Arenal Golf out.  Recently my wife attended the property to find clear evidence that people had been staying there without our permission or knowledge.  Kind of supports the large'ish utility bills when nobody was present.

We'd previously disposed of the services of our keyholder/cleaner, somebody who is probably well-known on Arenal Golf, for one reason or another and she was supposed to return our keys but never did.  It seems likely that this person has been letting people stay in our absence, possibly taking rental money.  Talk about s**m of the earth.

So, just a word of caution to anybody considering using the services of these people.  The technician that we called out to replace the locks told us some horror stories.  I guess we've been lucky.

Fir what it costs ans whenever we take over the management of a property from another we always change the lock and share the cost with the owners as it can save us both money

If your new company offer regular visits as part of their services I am surprised that they didn´t see anybody in the property

But that's the point.  The previous 'company' were the people who put the renters there without our knowing!

I'm afraid this wasn't a reputable company, just some deceitful no-hoper masquerading as a service provider.  Seems like the only service she was providing was for herself!  Aside from the deceit, the cleaning services she provided were sub-standard to say the least, hence our reasons for 'letting her go'.

There was no big plan on renting the place out but we thought we'd give it a try after several years of sole usage.  It's been a 'learning experience' to say the least.  Kind of spoils it for the reputable companies out there though.

Best regards

The main thing to do id check with their other customers and ideally if there is soembosy that lives locally to the property to also them keep a eye open

On urbanisations the word normally spreads quite quickly who are the good and bad guys

You should ask them to produce paperwork that they can prove that they are a legally registered with the required insurances

Thde other big problem is price for services, if you are not paying tax and NI it´s easy to offer what would appear to be a well priced service so if you are unsure ask to pay for 3 months first

Obviously putting somebody into a property without the owners permission could actually be seen as a criminal offence, if of course you could prove it

I would hope that you have now changed the locks 

The main thing to do id check with their other customers and ideally if there is soembosy that lives locally to the property to also them keep a eye open

On urbanisations the word normally spreads quite quickly who are the good and bad guys

You should ask them to produce paperwork that they can prove that they are a legally registered with the required insurances

Thde other big problem is price for services, if you are not paying tax and NI it´s easy to offer what would appear to be a well priced service so if you are unsure ask to pay for 3 months first

Obviously putting somebody into a property without the owners permission could actually be seen as a criminal offence, if of course you could prove it

I would hope that you have now changed the locks 

Oliverson,

Sorry to hear of your bad experience when letting your property out. Reading between the lines, you have handed your apartment keys out to someone who has no official business, no office address, no land line telephone number and is working from the back of a car. I guess that you wouldn't do this  with a second home in England, where it is much easier to manage, so why take the chance in Spain. When you enlist the services of a registered agency you have some protection in law and they are obliged in law to carry a complaints book where you can make an official complaint.

There is always risk when you rent your property out, be it holiday or long term, but if you use a registered agency, who have an established office, they can never run away from their obligations and should always be there to assist you when things go wrong and usually work closely with lawyers.