01 Feb 2014 11:23 AM:

Thank you so much for the help with pronounciation, Johnzx and Mariedav.  You have confirmed all that I've been told by me Spanish teacher...who is Spanish, by the way!  Perhaps I'm being pedantic, but so often I listen to others that are learning Spanish say, 'I love the Spanish language' yet they don't make the effort to pronounce it correctly.

Thread: Hola amigos!

--------------------------------------

01 Feb 2014 9:31 AM:

Whilst you're here, Johnzx, I'd like to ask you something.  You will be able to answer it, having lived in Spain for years and integrated into your local community.

How is the letter 'V' spoken?  My Spanish teacher insists we say a 'B' sound (which is what I do) but almost every British person I have heard speaking Spanish says a 'V' as a 'V'.  Does it really matter or does it depend in which part of Spain one is....or is it just too difficult for us Brits to change the way we see some letters.  Many thanks for your advice in advance. I'm guessing as long as one is understood, nobody really cares!

Thread: Hola amigos!

--------------------------------------

17 Jan 2014 4:49 PM:

Friends of ours whose case (the well-organised theft of his business and properties by corrupt officials in Spain) was being looked into by officials here, with a view to getting the case heard in the European courts, had their case passed on to the UK Police...after the case became Police business (it's a long story involving such widespread corruption that we have been put off spending our winters in Spain!).  A few weeks ago, the British Police contacted him to say they could no longer carry on looking into his case as there just wasn't enough money available! So, our friends have lost everything they worked for during the many years they lived in Spain and no-one in the UK is going to do anything to help him.  What hope is their for the thousand of cases that involve less of a loss, as far as monetry value is concerned?

Thread: Aroca Seiquer & Asociados

--------------------------------------

13 Dec 2013 2:20 PM:

A great answer, Fartharder.  There are things that I love about living in Spain and things that I dislike (enough not to want to buy a place there).  Although there are things that I love about living in the UK and there are things I dislike, I have property here because I have more trust in the legal system in the UK than I do in Spain...and not because I don't understand the legal system in Spain; we did have a property there for a few years.  

Thread: Is Spain Shit or Are we Poor Judges

--------------------------------------

29 Jun 2013 11:11 AM:

That is very kind of your son, Johnzx, and he can obviously afford not to collect a monthly rent for his apartment.  I can understand that owners are nervous about letting out their properties in case they are victims of all the problems mentioned.  However, it works both ways.  

We have been looking for a property to rent in Spain over the winter months and, although there are hundreds (thousands?) of properties available, we refuse to take on a place where the owner insists on a large deposit up front.  Why?  It's not just about finding such a large sum of money in order to secure a rental.  It's because we are worried that the deposit will not be paid back to us when we vacate the property. Also, if we can't get to view a property before we take it on (highly likely for those of us that reside in the UK), how do we know it is all the owners say it is?  

When we took on a rental property on the Costa Blanca a few years ago, two of the three agents that we visited advised us not to pay the last month's rent on the properties we were interested in as we were unlikely to get it back from the owner when we vacated the property! They must have known something we didn't at the time.  Back then, all the propeties with these two agents incurred a deposit that was equal to a month's rent and the deposits were to be paid to the owner him/herself along with the first month's rent. We eventually took a property with the third agent who used the British method of keeping deposits (again, equal to a month's rent) in a seperate account, held by this agent, and this was returned to us in cash on the day we vacated the property.  

My sister, however, wasn't as wise as we were.  The following year, she rented a property owned by a couple living in the UK, whereby she paid a month's rent in advance along with a large deposit directly to the owner. As she became friendly with others on the small community where she stayed, she was advised she was unlikely to get her deposit back as the owners were notorious for keeping the money.  It seems they were in arrears with their mortgage payments and they needed the money!  When it came to vacating the property which had been looked after so beautifully by my sister (leaving it cleaner than when she had taken it over!) the place was inspected by a friend of the owner who acknowledged it had indeed been left in a lovely condition, that she would inform the owner who would send my sister the deposit back within a week.  However, without even inspecting the property themselves, the owners 'made up' reasons why my sister wasn't entitled to get her deposit back!  ie; things were missing, the place was left in such a state that they had to pay for it to be cleaned etc etc. All lies!  My sister had no way of disproving these lies, even though she had taken photos of the property as she had left it.

This is not an isolated case, as I'm sure anyone reading this will aknowledge, and I'm sure it happens only in a small percentage of cases, but the fact that it could happen to US means we will only leave a reasonable deposit when we next rent a place in Spain and, if we have the slightest notion that we may not get our deposit back, we would consider letting the owner keep it in lieu of the last month's rent.

So what's the answer to ensure that both renters and owners are not left out of pocket.....or in an even worse position?

Thread: Killer Deposits Keep Rentals Empty

--------------------------------------