An apartment? No thanks, I'll take the whole village

If you are going to use Roda to rent your apartment I understand that you have to take the full Roda furniture package which appears to be good value and reasonably hardwearing. It includes absolutely everything from knives and forks to bedclothes to pictures on the walls. I understand that they will only be marketing their own rentals and are fully subscribed on Phase 1. I don´t know if they are taking on any more in Phase 2 or higher. 

As regards the solarium I am not sure exactly what you mean -a conservatory type construction, glassed over patio or what the Spanish call a solarium which is like a pergola on the roof -  but no matter which you refer to you will have to wait to consult the by laws for your Phase of the development as the by laws of Phase 1 certainly prohibit any additions to the properties without the approval of the community and even then you are very limited as to what you can and cannot do which is understandable if the development is to remain as planned. We are on Phase 1 and got a copy of the by laws when we signed for our apartment and they explain almost everything that is allowed and not allowed in Roda.

Like everything you will no doubt find cheaper extras than what is provided by Roda but you have to weigh up the effort of shopping around coupled with the need to be out in Spain at your property to have things delivered etc. We have used Roda for the air con etc and found their service and back up to be first class and as we could confidently leave the keys with them -without any effort on our part. Of course you also have the added benefit of an after sales team on site which is very convenient if you either rent your property or just use it yourself as the back up is always there.     

We  have an apartment on phase 1 in the Calidona rental network, 

Cleaning  and laundry is paid for by Calidona as part of the rental agreement,  the exception is when you use  the property yourself, then you pay..  be aware that laundry charges are not included in the basic cleaning package.  That leaves the owner paying all utilities  and community charges.    

Generally the furniture and package they install is good enough,  the whole process including the air conditioning has been pretty good and if there have been the odd issue, the reponse has been very good and   trouble free.          I  suppose from a purely financial point of view,  its not the best use of your hard earned cash,  but it  does for us.      

I don't have the figures to hand but from memory ,the rental department take approximatly 17 % IVA / VAT ? out of  the final settlement,  they also take an additional 4% or 5% by way of tax for the spanish government, unless you can prove your Spanish tax affairs are in order.  ( Robbers in suits )  Payments for rental income from calidona to the owner are made  every 3 months.   I'll let you know if I ever manage to get any money out of this system ?  as for profit ? buy shares in Calidona,   I'm off to buy a lottery ticket .

Paul  Beyer    

Hi Nicky

Calidona have no management fee as such,    an owner has a rate of return from Calidona for the use of the property,  they have  the usual 3 rates,   high low & mid,  the rate also varies as to the property  i.e. penthouse gets a greater return than ground floor etc....      Calidona  make money on the split between the charge they make and the monies they pay the owner.     In simple terms Calidona will pay an owner  E 500  per week and charge the tour company  760.   In fairness  they are trying to sell a complete package holiday with golf included, this varies from 2 or 3 day breaks    to more conventional week at a time holidays.        I also believe they might have a market for long term rentals,   the rates  for such rentals would be negotiable.             an owner signs the property over to  calidona for 12 months,  keeping   8 weeks aside for your own use .    you can change  owners booked dates at 8 weeks notice.          You will need to contact        Elisa Ramon  for any  further information.

You have no choice of furniture,    try and negotiate a reduction,  and dont  tell us if you succeed.

good luck

Paul

Hi everyone.

Just a comment. The reason why Roda will only use rental apartments who use their own furniture package is because they buy from one major source. If anything needs replacing because of damage or whatever reason they know that they can get a replacement immediately. This is not always possible to do if you provide your own. Maybe they will provide a better range in the future. The setees are not very nice. The material seems very cheap.

another reason we were given as to why roda use their package for rentals is that when their maids are cleaning (also a requirement) they will only need 1 itinery to check for breakages/replacements etc which will make their job more efficient.

they are also advertising with large tour operators and have to supply standard photos with minimum specs.

we decided to go with rodas package.