help needed looking to rent long term in la florida!!!

 Well here we are again - back to the water features.
I admit I WAS a fan of the water features and was always hopeful that they would one day look well.  I am now not so sure.  
After returning from Roda they were far from clean.  On an eye level basis they are average but from 1st floor or penthouse they are disgusting.  There was heavy rain on Monday and they once again looked like watering holes.  
They are a very emotive topic once again and I for one am not happy about how they look.  I am fed up waiting for the problems to be rectified, surely we have given enough time for this to be sorted. 

We do hate to complain because overall we are absolutely delighted with our purchase at Roda. However, we have a ground floor apartment in Block 11 of Phase 1 and our lounge overlooks one of the water features. When we were there in May it looked pretty horrendous...the water was dirty and we raised our concerns from a health perspective (attracting mosquito's etc.). We were back from 28th June to 8th July and whilst the water was a little less dirty there was still algae type sediment at the bottom of the water feature. The 'fountain' ...single pipe.... appeared to be working most of the time ...but this hardly forms a feature! This is a real shame! We were also concerned because the vegetation ...mainly lavender ...was going very brown and had loads of weeds growing through it. To be quite honest it looked a real mess....we think that this is mainly attributed to a bad choice of the type of plants used around this particular water feature. The one nearer the entrance of the complex has much nicer plants around it. We are going to contact the Administrators about this because we are not very happy about the progress (or lack of it) being made with the so called water feature. It's now 19 months since we completed and the water feature remains an 'eyesore'....let's hope that it is sorted soon!

Does anyone know exactly where we are with this water feature issue?

Is it now a community problem or have they never been accepted by phase 1 administration?

Whose problem is it now?

And what is being done about it?

Does anyone know?

Cheers

  Hi All

Please look at the photos of Oct 2^nd and you will see one of our water features in all its glory. I have written to: MARISOL MORENILLA (info@housingcomunidades.com) and sent pics, but I am sure nothing will happen as it just seems to be a forgotten problem. We need a filter system and like the pools they should be cleaned regularly. Also it is a stupid design that allows dirt to be washed into the feature every time it rains. I know some people hate negative views but this is just disgusting and reflects on the whole of Roda Golf. We have people staying in our apartment with two young children and when they arrived they were horrified that such a filthy mess could be allowed in such a nice resort. That was a week ago and when I spoke to them yesterday, they could not believe something so disgusting was not cleaned up immediately. I really feel let down by our management company as this has been an eye-sore for over 18 months.
 Also some of the pools are dirty; there is black mould on the water lines that needs scrubbing off. I live in Los Montesinos and if ever there is a build up of mould or residue from sun cream in our pool, our man gets in the pool and cleans it with a brush then boosts the chlorine level and puts the pumps up a notch. It is normally done at the end of the day then is ready for use the day after..........not rocket science.   

Mike

Hi Mike,

Love to say great pics, but the water features are the worst they have ever been. I have written as well today to marisol and they just have to do somethng. It makesme so sad to see them look so terrible.

Laura

Hi All 

Got a reply from Marisol and they promised to drain the water features next week and clean them. They also said that a pump or filter could not be fitted. We were promised self cleaning water features and we do not have them. When they are cleaned, within a month or so they will look rubbish again. Or sooner if we have another down-pour

We need a long term solution, that is what I keep telling them but it’s like banging your head against a brick wall. And anyway I am sure this should be down to Roda Golf as they were handed over as self cleaning water features and they are not. The saga continues!!!!!!!!

Mike

Hi Mike

If that is the reply they have given it is TOTALLY unacceptable as far as we are concerned!!!

As you know, from when you did our floors a few weeks ago, our lounge overlooks one of these 'features'.

In the long term we are definitely NOT happy to accept that we have to overlook such an 'eyesore'. This is supposed to be a premier top rated site and the water features in the current state do not 'fit' with the image that a '5 Star' site portrays.After all we have all paid a significant and premium amount of money for our properties to be on a high class calibre development. 

The  community fees we are all paying ....we've just been notified that the Direct Debit for the 2nd half of the year for Phase 1 will be collected circa 20th October ....includes sums for the maintenance of these water features and it would appear that this money is not being directed to resolve the problem at all!!

I will be writing to the Administrator and the President again this evening to voice our very serious concerns regarding this matter. 

We certainly will not 'lay down, roll over & accept this' as I am sure the Administrators are hoping that we all will!

Jenny & Geoff Kenrick

I have deliberately not commented on this subject previously 1. Because being on Phase 2 we are not affected and 2. Like Mike said there are some that hate to read negative comments about Roda on this site.

I have often thought that like a number of things on Roda the water features should have been nice but were an absolute design disaster and would agree something should have been done a long time ago to correct this fault.

The problem now is, IF the community have accepted and adopted these features, any cost to maintain or fix comes out of your maintenance fees which as you state are not inconsiderable. You should certainly ask both the President and Administrator whether they accepted the features as they were handed over.or if there is any ongoing discussions with Calidona over their suitability.

One problem with Roda is that they are very keen to pass on responsibility to the communities as soon as possible before ensuring that whatever they have passed on is fit for purpose. We have a similar problem in Phase 2 over the community lights in and around the pools which are on and off intermittently. The administrator and others have said that there were faults with the original circuits but it now seems the community have to pay to put things right.

If you have ever wondered why there are so many communities at Roda, it has been pointed out that Calidona like most developers in Spain do not want too many owners getting together with similar complaints, they feel they can handle one community at a time.

Considering Marisol is administrator for most if not all of the current communities you would hope that she would have the power and backing of owners to ensure Calidona deliver a 5 star product. We must all suffer similiar problems that should be addressed on our behalf.

I was over at the weekend and my opinion is that the water features on phase 1(especially adj block 22) would really be best taken out and grassed over otherwise it is just going to be the same problem popping up all the time
Also the flags around the pool are starting to move all over the place and a couple where actually stiking up about 6 inches
The garage door underneath block 24 is damaged and twisted (stuck in the open position)
The fire alarm in block 40 was going off all night, we had to inform the security at the gate at 11am, surely that should have been picked up on there rounds thru the night
Does anyone know do they wait for reported problems at Roda or do they have a walk around to carry out periodic inspections
We played Golf on Friday and Saturday which was very good indeed but I have to say I was most dissapointed with the meal in the Clubhouse afterwards
My guests ordered the Lamb Chops which had so little meat on you could not find it
Apart from that I really enjoyed my break and I am back over in two weeks time

• Hi
  
  I have forgotten how many comments I have made about the water features.
  I have asked before why they were ever handed over whilst they were in poor condition.
  I am also very annoyed as lots of plants have died because the wrong plants were put in the wrong positions (i.e. too little sun, too much sun)  It now turns out that the adminstrator says the community will have to pay for replacements?
  
  I am sorry but I am not happy about this.  When I had my garden landscaped, the very professional company who did this guaranteed everything.  They said if anything died they would replace and plant it free of charge.  As I said they were a very professional company and therefore they had no cause to replant anything as the correct plants were put in the right positions. 
  
  Once again the community are having to pay for this.  Does the adminstrator actually challange these companies.
  
  I am trying to be very diplomatic on this topic as other users on this site have minconstrued what I have said in the past.  It therefore can be difficult to be absolutely frank on this forum.
•  

It would appear from the views of a number of postings on this forum that the "water features" are beyond saving at this stage. Why don't the owners on Phase 1 all contact the community administrators with their proposed solutions rather than always complaining about them? I agree that they look awful and from the pictures posted after the rain in the last fortnight they are an eyesore.  
I for one would happily support filling the water features in and putting plants in them ie making them part of the gardens which would be to everyone's benefit. The cost of maintenance would I am sure be less than constant cleaning. I know that someone posted on here that if people bought an apartment overlooking a water feature they were entitled to it but it seems that those of us who do overlook them would be happier without the water features as they are and with no improvement after a further year of going back and forward to Calidona on this it really appears to be a waste of time. There must have been an initial design fault which cannot be fixed and the sooner the features are sorted out the better. I for one will be writing to Marisol now about this and suggesting that they are filled in and would welcome similar emails to let her know any other suggestions. Hopefully this wil move this issue forward sooner rather than later.

When we bought our apartment, we liked the concept of the water feature.  We did not want to be beside a pool as we thought it would get rather noisy.  (In fact it did in August, people were using it at 2 or 3 in the morning!)

The true concept of the water feature has never been seen, however I paid for a product and I don't want to settle for anything less.  From my previous posts you will have seen I am not happy.  I have complained to the administrator but with all due respect we get the same answer, "the pools will be emptied and cleaned next week etc".  We do need a lasting solution.  I for one, do not want them planted.  We paid for the water features and a lot more when we bought at Roda and if we give in to this we will no doubt be giving in to a lot more.  I paid for a gated community with barriers and we don't even have this anymore.  I know it was a town hall decision but surely this should have been looked into further at a planning stage.

I do agree that there are people who need to contact the adminstrator as well as putting their thoughts on this forum.  We need to stand firm as a community and decide what we want - we are paying for it!  

 

I know there are lots of people that don’t like complaints on the forums, but that’s what the forums are for. Good news, bad news, complaints, leaving messages, and on the odd occasion saying when Roda have actually got something right.  Most of us do write & speak in person, to the President, the Vice President and Marisol, but also air our views on EOS. Sometimes it’s just nice to get something off your chest as dealing with Roda most of the time is like banging your head against a brick wall.

 I also think that the water features should be fixed and be made to look nice. I know the easy option would be to let them get away with it and fill them in but why should we? If they got it right they could look beautiful and add some class to the development, instead of the blue painted, naf, dirty eyesore that just brings Roda down.  

Our last renters were disgusted and could not believe that the water features had been left looking filthy for the two weeks they were at Roda.

On a final note they are being cleaned this week and next, but of course this is not the solution. They must be re-designed and made maintenance free as promised at the last AGM and that should be down to Roda as they got it wrong in the first place.

Cheers

Mike

My husband & I completely agree with you Mike. 

I sent a letter to Marisol and Moira Mcgee last night expressing our grave concerns regarding the water features. We DO NOT want them filled in .........like Kroda we did not want to overlook a pool (noise etc) and was really looking forward to overlooking one of the water features (which looked wonderful on the 'artists impression'!!). We had been told that they would be like the one outside the Sales Office ......funny heh?

We will await the response...........not holding my breath ! 

We will keep persisting though!

Cheers

Jenny & Geoff

I cannot see how the Water features can now be made maintanance free
As we all know the main problem lies with the rain washing dirty water into the features
If you put duck stones or plants etc  in they  will just end up getting buried with the dirt
On phase 2 adj block 40 there is a grassed area next to the pool that really works and looks well
If they are filled in it doesn't have to be left wide open, more trees can be planted
I just feel a lot of time and expense would be wasted on trying to make something out of a really bad design
Also Jenny whilst there last week I noticed the water feature adjacent the sales office is actually empty now so they must have problems with that too

Regards

Wangy

I have to agree with Wangy and really feel that filling the water featues in would be the best option as without digging them up and starting again how will they ever be fixed and be self maintaining as suggested by some postings. I can appreciate that people bought a lake view but cannot see what leverage we on Phase 1 have at this stage as we have mostly completed a long time ago. In the current financial climate I don't imagine that spending the amount of money required to fix the problem would be high on any business' list.
Jenny, I too have writted to Marisol and the President, Moira, and have received an informative reply which updates me on what is happening with the water features although there is no solution at this stage. Admittedly I did not write last night. Marisol is our administrator and a paid member of staff of a business but the President and Vice President are volunteers who work hard  for us with little thanks and no reward whatsoever. I wouldn't take their position for love nor money! 
So perhaps naming someone on a public forum who in my opinion does a good job for us and stating "We will await the response...........not holding my breath !" does not exactly convey the sort of support we should be giving to a volunteer who has certainly always been helpful in emailing me and keeping me informed. I am sure that you did not mean it the way it reads but in the interest of fairness it might be an idea to clarify if you have been let down in the past awaiting responses from the President as this is how it reads to me. Maybe I am just super sensitive having served as a volunteer here in the UK for many years. 

Don  



This message was last edited by fair dues on 10/8/2008.

 

Jenny’s remarks make sense to me. I assume she means there will be no quick response from the people responsible for sorting out this mess, and that is not our President or Vice President that would be Roda Golf. So maybe someone has miss read a comment

 And of course if it turned out that legally, we as a community had to pay for the water features to be re-designed (and that would be a travesty) then I would be in favour of a vote, and of course go with the majority.  

And as far as them being self maintaining. This is not something we have made up on the forum. They were handed over as self maintaining water features from Roda Golf and they got it wrong big time. 

I would like to put on record that my comment was in no way a criticism pointed at our President or Vice President. I have nothing but admiration for the work that they do. I really do appreciate that  they give up huge amounts of their own time and purely on a voluntary basis. As owners we are truly indebted to them. 

Whenever I have communicated with Moira in the past she has been extremely quick to respond in a very constructive & informative way and I have previously acknowledged my appreciation of this.

My comment at 'not holding my breadth' purely meant that I wasn't expecting anything drastic to quickly happen to the water features as a result of my letter being sent, and nothing more than that. 

I am very very sorry if it has been misinterpreted, and as a result caused offence. I can assure you that was never my intention. To knowlingly go out to upset or offend people is not in my nature, I can assure you!

Regards

Jenny

Has anyone any more information on the water features.  My last correspondence from the administrator had said they were being cleaned but I have heard nothing since.  I would be grateful for any information even though I'm sure (trying not to be negative) that there won't be much improvement.

Thanks

kroda

  

Hi Karen,

The water features are now all clean (until the next down pore) and look ok. Still think that there is a lot more that could be done to make them look nice, as they are still a shape, painted blue, boring, full of water  that gets dirty very quickly.

Take care

Mike