15 Nov 2013 7:58 PM:

Aifos are now clutching at straws. It all hinges on its ability to sell properties between the start of the agreement and ten years later. I don't know if Cortijo is typical of Aifos's portfolio but if it is they can forget about selling anything there. IMO it will be knocked down and buried. I went a few weeks ago and it is utterly depressing, about its only use would be to serve as the set for an end of the world zombie horror movie. Most properties have a shadow cast over them by that massive S shaped building to the south. I just cannot see anyone wanting to live in a huge hole in the ground. When Aifos first started to show signs of failing I enquired about any other properties it had anywhere in Spain as I would have exchanged. Aifois did not have one property completed and legal. Anywhere. Personally, I would like to after the banks as many people have had success with that but it's in the lap of the lawyers.

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Community thread: Have we all given up?

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28 May 2013 7:26 AM:

Hello Faz,

I mentioned to our lawyers about going after the bank but that suggestion was not received with any enthusiasm and I'm not sure why. These are our second lawyers given that the first had taken incompetence to a level previously unattained! I am reluctant to change again but since we won our case in December 2008 I have had almost no contact from the solicitors. I have faith in them but I would like to go after the bank because it was duty bound to ensure that the guarantee was provided; I believe that is mandatory under Spanish law for off-plan properties. Perhaps I will contact María and ask her opinion. The truth is I don't want to throw yet more money away as in some respects I am reconciled to getting zilch. The truth is I cannot understand how the Law in Spain allows a whole raft of people to virtually walk away from their responsibilities with hardly a word said. It is depressing.

 

I have no idea about Keith's success but congrats to him.

Community thread: AIFOS/CajaSur partnership

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27 May 2013 10:45 AM:

I went down to Cortijo de Torreblanca two weeks with a friend who is a surveyor. It is a dump, with almost twice as many properties as originally intended. On the completed blocks, D1 and D2, the roofs are collapsing. That large S shaped building to the south casts its shadow over the whole development almost all day long in the winter. It is a depressing hovel which would not be improved by completing it. I believe it will be demolished and covered over because nobody with an ounce of sense will choose to live there. We lost £75k in that development and we sued Aifos in 2008, winning a substantial settlement. We'll never see it of course but almost any amount in recompense would be better than living in that hole in the ground.

Community thread: AIFOS/CajaSur partnership

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27 May 2013 10:25 AM:

For a family holiday, the Costas in Spain can be prohitively expensive and hotel prices in Barcelona are eye-watering! Many Barcelona hotels charge double for two people in a double room! Some of the restaurants on Las Ramblas are nothing better than fast food rip-offs charging top dollar for junk food. Of course, Barcelona doesn't need nor want long term visitors, it wants business people during the week and hen parties and suchlike at weekends.

However, get off the beaten track and Spain is beautiful with extremely cheap food and accommodation available. A few years ago it cost me less for four nights in three different 3Star+ Spanish hotels than it did for one night in the Plymouth Holiday Inn. Spain falls over when it comes to keeping the youngsters entertained with the theme parks charging stupid prices. The last that we went to was in Benidorm and there were no queues as very few Spanish people will pay those prices. Spain depends on a tourist trade that little effort is being made to cultivate. It is not enough to have sunshine anymore as other resorts are offering much more for cheaper.

However, it would be very difficult to persuade the average Spaniard that building theme parks is the way to invigorate the economy when there is an unemployment rate of 25%+ with more than 50% of those below 25 years of age unable to find a job. I have professional Spanish friends desperate to find a job but there is absolutely nothing available. Spain will probably take many many years to recover from a poorly regulated building industry induced economic collapse. The country was just unfortunate that its crisis happened at the same time as the European banking crisis.

 

Forum thread: Has Spain "lost its way" in Tourism ?

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27 May 2013 9:58 AM:

 I have driven down through France quite a few times. However, the cost of the toll roads to travel from Calais down to Perpignan is now over €100. Once you add on the cost of fuel and two overnight stops it becomes quite expensive. We now take the Portsmouth to Santander ferry which for two people and a car with the cheapest cabin will work out around £300. The ferry is spotless, the food is excellent and it allows you to relax for 24 hours. The drive from Santander to Málaga is 630 miles which is easily covered in 10 hours with a stop for a doze at the Services if required. For someone who is coming from London the total mileage to Málaga would be 700 miles. If you go through France the mileage would be 1400 miles.

Forum thread: Hola! Driving from London to Malaga

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