03 Feb 2008 12:00 AM:

Hi all HC purchasers,

Just thought we would provide a 'warts n all' update to you with the results of our snagging visit to the site last week.

We went with our solicitor (ABASOL 2000) and an Aifos rep accompanied also by the site foreman. Generally speaking the snags were minor ones and we are to be given an opportunity to check they are rectified before we sign. The Aifos rep was very helpful and took down all our snags with a promise to send copies in English.. The corridor and access areas definitely still need work and would not be fit for habitation in current state. There were utilities guys on site which was promising and some workmen were tidying up the general areas.

Interestingly, our solictors have told us that due to Aifos cash-flow problems thay are unable to complete the general work required for the licence to be granted by the council, certainly not quickly, so the Bank (not Aifos!)  has taken an unprecended step to sign guarantees to the council that this work will be completed. This should speed up the licence being granted but does not necessarily help our position as there are other amenities promised but never delivered that are not going to be guranteed by the Bank.

We have purchased a ground floor and a penthouse in Pensamiento block, both overlooking the 7th green. Have to say the views from the apartments are spectacular. We discovered an added bonus with the ground floor as it has a large basement area included which is actually bigger than any of the other rooms! My inderstanding is that not all the blocks have this so maybe worth checking your own. Parking and a small storage area is included in our purchase price but have to pay extra if we want one of the larger store rooms. Again, maybe worth checking your own terms as not sure if this is standard arrangement.

The overall quality of the apartments is average rather than luxury and I would say they are generally smaller than we imagined. The 3rd bedroom can definitely only fit in a a single bed. However, this is compensated somewhat by the magnificant views.

My husband played the golf course which he said was a fabulous course, although somewhat challenging! However, the guy at Don Julia said he was unaware of the alleged 15% discount for HC residents as promised in Aifos literature.......

Our main worry is the swimming pools which are allegedly going to be where the roundabout is at the top of the site. This is in line with the aparthotel build so when (OR IF!) this gets built who knows and the aparthotel guys will have easier access than the rest of the site to the pool. Either way, it will be pretty crowded!

Our solicitor whilst accepting our view that we purchased a full package with pools/sprting facilities/gardens etc and not just the structure, Aifos are not in breach of contract if they do not provide them. How we can rent out apartments without pools or even want to visit ourselves is beyond me so I guess the only option would be to try and long term rent rather than use for holiday rental. We could claim for compensation but with Aifos financial problems and reputation can't see this going anywhere. Guess it would be down to us to fund one or more pools ourselves as residents, which is not what we signed up for.

This last issue worries us so much that we are seriously considering moving to another site, even though these are more expensive.

Things are never easy are they!!!

Cheers,

Norm & Christine

 

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