Football fans on the Costa Blanca

there have been many posts over the last 6 months about problems with the development - damp, floods, gym/sauna hygine, no hot water, sky dishes etc i so is anyone happy to have bought here? has any1 rented out their flat and what can we expect on a 2 bed 2 bath is it better to cancel the contract? thanks craig

Hi,

This is the first time I have posted anything on this site although have been reading with interest for the past year or so as I think it is a really useful forum to share information.  The latest set of post has, however, filled me with doom and gloom so I just wanted to add a bit about our experiences. 

We completed last August having originally reserved our apartment in May 2005 and YES despite some teething problems (damp in bathrooms - one dripping from the ceiling! others more trivial) we are pleased with Thalassa!!  I suspect there are many others like me out there - but naturally those that have worries are most inclined to write on the forum (it is worrying when you place is far away).

However - it will be a great development once established - if we all give it a chance!  Let's face it - while we have all made a significant investment, what could you get in the UK for the same price we have paid (including furniture, white goods, amentities etc.) not to mention the sunshine, views, restaurants, beaches, markets etc.?!

Unfortunately, while people feel they want to delay completion this will cause difficulties in getting the community up.  It also is bound to cause a log-jam of snags which is precisely what KM were trying to avoid with the phased completion programme.  I know there have been some unacceptable delays on KM's part recently (we were lucky -  we expected March 2007 and got August 2007 - not bad by comparison to other overseas developments).  We have, however, had to take a leap of faith and holiday on a building site in the meantime!  If people can complete I would urge them to do so to enable us to have the power of the community to get the identified issues sorted.  Not sure its it's my imagination but after a year or so, I believe the community can vote to change the management company if they want to (there are a few in the area) for those who are worried about Seasun.

We visited 6 times in all last year and our experience is that you have to be there in person to get things done.  By doing this we have had pretty good service - they have visited same day to sort problems and the damp problem was rectified, repainted etc.  Emails do not, however, have the same degree of success!  This being said, a family member recently moved into an apartment in the UK and had the same experience!  Most snags were ignored, not covered or reported too late.  The only way he has been able to get things done is by hijacking the site foreman!!  That development is nowhere near as big, does not have the amenities as Thalassa (and yet is considerably more expensive) and there was no language barrier!

I appreciate that everyone has different reasons for buying on the development and hence will have different concerns and may not be willing to wait as we have but I hope this has put a slighlty more positive spin on things!  (Fingers crossed when we are next out in a couple of weeks!!)

 

Chappym

Absolutely agree with you that the development is progressing & that in time it will be absolutely wonderful.

Although we have issues with our snags, damp & non response to emails, I do not regret my purchase & thoroughly enjoyed my 10 days there over Christmas.

It is good to be aware of the Seasun connection with Keymare but we do have to give them a chance & once the community is set up, if Seasun do not work for us & the majority are not satisfied then we do have the option to change. I do think they have to be given a decent amount of time to do this & snap decisions should be avoided.

Key Mare need to realise that those who are unhappy do "shout" the loudest & that they need to be consistent in the way that they deal with issues/emails etc. The fact that KM have told Craig that there are no issues with damp is just ridiculous & does nothing for their credibility.

We do need the community meeting as soon as possible but not at the expense of rules being put in place by KM because too few have completed their purchase. I can understand those who have major issues not completing & waiting for them to be sorted out & perhaps some compromise is needed where the more serious issues are dealt with & the minor ones sorted out after completion. Again it would help if KM were more open in their communications & actually gave some idea of what the  timescales are for completion of snags, because at the moment there does not appear to be any logical order to them being done.

I know it is early days for the development but having visited with some of our neighbours over Christmas & waved at a few more in the distance, I am sure it will become the place that we are all striving for it to be.

Noreen

 

This message was last edited by nfm2862 on 1/9/2008.

Welcome to the Forum Chappym!

Thank you for putting such a positive spin on Thalassa.

I, like you, am VERY happy with my purchase. I too completed in August despite being told that the development would be finished in March 2006!

I agree that there have been times when I've wondered if it was worth the wait, but when the sun greets you in the morning, you soon forget about the "teething" troubles, and if you can't,  just look at the weather report in the UK!!!

Thalassa will take time to establish itself. Rome WASN'T built in a day (despite DB overseeing the job!!!)

I live here full-time, so can see "first-hand" what jobs are being attended to, or not, as the case may be! I have to agree that being here in person may have gone some way into getting my "snagging" jobs done, or are jobs just being done in order of  your completion date?

Whatever happens in the long term, I still think that we must give KeyMare the opportunity to redeem themselves. Surely it is not in their interest to have disgruntled clients voicing their negative opinions on a VERY public forum?

Pop up and see us some time in the future.

Regards to you and yours,

Lorraine & Peter Braid. 12-3-07.

Thalassa will take time to establish itself. Rome WASN'T built in a day (despite DB overseeing the job!!!)

I have seen you mention DB before in this way, what is your problem with him?

We & many others have no issues with DB & find him extremely helpful & willing to assist with anything asked of him.

Noreen

I agree with Noreen.  DB has been extremely helpful to us and obviously alot more Thalassians !          Why the continual comments ?

We are also happy ,the development has exceeded our expectations ,and Keymare has responded to our requests for snag rectification.

They are still on site and still assisting,what more can we expect,answer emails Yes ,and that is down to individuals employed by Keymare,I am sure that the principle share-holders would not be happy,when they become aware that those employed for after-sales and customer services are frustrating owners.Long term that is not a good strategy,they are a company with an excellent reputation ,that is why most of us bought with them .

The basic organisational standards are in place ,perhaps those who are not reponding to emails need a job change.

Maybe a conflict of interests (DN/L)?


This message was last edited by DMBRIDGE on 1/10/2008.

Hi All,

We are Very Happy with the way the complex has turned out.Everything is very close to those first images we were given by K.M.

Having visited the sight on 4 or 5 occasions while the building took place, we have always gone home excited and have a full photo album to look back on.

Like many, having parted with the deposit in March 2005 then expecting completion  March 2007 Finally completing Aug 3rd. We have now been twice and whilst work was still going on, we still sat on our balcony pinching ourselves and can't wait to get back on the 7th Feb.

I know we seem to have been lucky with regard to snags but what we did have.K.M. came straight round and sorted. Yes i think the answer was that we were there and saw them in person.

I think 12 months down the line we will have a superb complex and we sure as hell wouldn't have got what we have for the money back in Blighty!!!!

Looking forward to meeting many more of you as time goes on.

One final message to Craig. Don't know your original idea behind you're purchase but to come so far and then think of walking away?

Cheers for now

Brian

Firstly,

Can I say what attentive people you are, not to mention, supportive.

The "comments" which I have made regarding DB are not in anyway, to be taken as malicious or spiteful. On the contrary, they are in the form of "light-hearted banter", something some of you clearly didn't get in your Christmas stockings!!

I admire the mans tenacity and sheer determination to rid Thalassa of all its blights (whilst installing a shower screen and light fittings!) Excuse me!!! My sense of humour has gone into overdrive!!!

Regards,

Lorraine Braid.

we completed on Tuesday this week.  We are very happy with our apartment and the complex as a whole.  There are obviously a few issues to be ironed out, most of which have been listed by others for the first community meeting.

DB done a wonderful job with our snagging, and has been a great source of help with many other things.  As he lives on a KM development he has first hand experience of how things work/get done etc with KM.  That in itself helped us no end.

Craig, you wont be disappointed once you complete, armed with the knowledge you have learned from this site, you should hopefully complete without any major worries.

Totally agree with what others have said.

AAT is great and we're glad we bought back in 2005. Clearly someone needs a rocket somewhere to sort out the snags but, come on we're blooming lucky to be in a position to buy a place in Spain so let's not go too over the top.

Who's for a beer during Feb half term (16th to 23rd)?

Jane and Gareth.

 

Jane & Gareth - Further to the email the other day, you already know we are!!

James - I have sent you the information you required in a PM

Noreen

This message was last edited by nfm2862 on 1/10/2008.

This message was last edited by nfm2862 on 1/10/2008.

am out there with joanne and my son matthew (5) 17 feb to 22 feb and would definetly be up for a beer or two

let me know where and when ?

cheers

andy

 

 

 

We were out ther from 28th Dec to 13th Jan very pleased with the development especially now the sauna and steam room are up and running, not wuite sure about the gravel foot wash or whatever it is as there was quite a lot of the gravel spread around. We do have a problem with the heat converter on the air con which was not able to be fixed whilst we were out there but have been assured that this will be fixed when the part arrives.  Hopefully everthing is in order with our licences on Thalassa !

We were out ther from 28th Dec to 13th Jan very pleased with the development especially now the sauna and steam room are up and running, not wuite sure about the gravel foot wash or whatever it is as there was quite a lot of the gravel spread around. We do have a problem with the heat converter on the air con which was not able to be fixed whilst we were out there but have been assured that this will be fixed when the part arrives.  Hopefully everthing is in order with our licences on Thalassa !

Hi All,

I am totally new to every thing what is going on in Al Andalus Thalasa. However I am ging to be there from 27th to 30th. I will be doing a courtesy visit on 29th January  arranged by Keymare. Are there any tips available as to what to look out for while I do my property inspection visit. I will of course be reading more on this website to familiarise myself with current developments.

Look forward to hearing from you andmay be meeting some of you there.

Shahid

 

Hi Shahid

Welcome to the Thalassa forum & good luck with your completion.

I think your first port of call should be to read through as much of this forum as possible, as many of the issues, hints & tips are fully covered. Once you have done that, ask any questions you might have & I am sure that you will get some answers.

You may not be aware that we have an "email list" of somewhere in the region of 90 owners, which is also a good way of sharing experiences & discussing hot topics. If you would like to PM me your email address & your apartment number, I can ask Andrew Rampton to add your details.

Also, if you are interested, I have a list of items that is a good starting point for identifying all the extras you will need to buy, which I am happy to share with you. I have also put together a list of local restaurants in Mojacar, Garrucha, Turre & Villaricos. Finally, I have also put together a list of the local shops where you can buy all the stuff you need. Again, if you want any of this, just send me a PM with your email address.

If you need keyholding/general handy man work done, I can let you have details of a number of people who offer these services.

There has also in the last few days been a letter from Seasun, who are the administrators of the development, which gives quite a lot of information about issues affecting the development, I can email you a copy of that too if you wish.

That's it really for now. Happy reading & let us know if you have any specific questions. Many of us have now completed & will be able to share our experiences with you. Just a word of caution, some of the threads can get a little heated & you need to keep things in perspective, so don't panic when you read some of the posts!

Which block are you in?

Regards

Noreen

it feels strange that you have not been on the site before for pointers as someone came on this site as us thinking they were a buyer and actually worked for one of the companies re these apartments my advice is to look at any pointers people have already done

 

good luck so what apt block is yours?

** EDITED ** Commercial post

This message was last edited by EOS Team on 1/21/2008.