Managing a home abroad might seem like a daunting responsibility, but it need not be.  We are here specifically to remove that concern and make the ownership of a home, here in the Almanzora, the really stress free pleasure that it is intended to be.  We realise that there is nothing more important than ensuring that you do not have to worry and we can provide you with the services and reassurance that you need.

The Objectives

The Home Owner Services department of Playas del Almanzora SL exists and aims to provide:-

• The services that our clients require.
• In a friendly and helpful manner
• As quickly as is consistent with getting it right
• At a price that is value for money

We are ready therefore to give you our full attention.  Do not be afraid to ask; nothing is too small, nor too much trouble.

All the above are carried out under full insurance cover and legal protection.  You should bear in mind that property management if done on a cash basis never comes with these protections.  This can lead, especially for example with pool maintenance, to serious unexpected risks for the property owner.

More Information?

Your Home Buyer Services Co-ordinator will introduce and explain our services to you after you have signed your contract and arrange for you to meet us personally on or around the day of Handover of your property. 

But for more information, concerning Services available to Home Owners, including Property Management, Insurance, Pool and Garden Maintenance, Letting and Community Administration, please see the information below or:-

• Call in at The Sales and Information Centre between 9.00am and 2.00pm or
• Telephone Leticia on +34 950 091 537 or + 34 607 617 430 between 9.00am and 2.00pm or
• E-mail Leticia: lpm@almanzora.com at any time.

Home and Contents Insurance

Home Owner Services is able to organise insurance on your behalf, from the moment of handover, for both your Home and its Contents. We work with MAPFRE, a leading insurance company, who are one of the largest in Spain. We have found that their Homes Policy, which they provide in English and Spanish, is very comprehensive and their response to claims is prompt and professional.

Approximately two months before the handover of your property is due, the person dealing with insurances in this department will contact you and e-mail the appropriate forms for you to complete. You need only provide an estimate of the value of contents, including white goods, as the insurance company are familiar with the building costs applicable to your home. We will then obtain a no obligation quote.

Factors that affect the premium are the area of the property, amount of contents insurance, permanent residence or holiday home, letting of the property, Multi-risk or All-risks option and amount of third party cover.  Here are two examples at each extreme.

Banks in Spain frequently offer apparently cheaper quotes, but our investigations have shown that a number of covers are often lacking, so please check the extent of that cover first. You should bear in mind that the premiums may be more expensive because you are letting your home. However, it is very important that you advise the insurance company of this and that you do not forget to do so, if you start to let at some time in the future.

The insurance policy can be pre-set to commence automatically from the day you sign your property deeds at the Notary. Policies are automatically renewed annually including inflation indexation. Payment of premiums is by direct debit from your Spanish bank account to MAPFRE.

Property Management

This is the team that looks after you and your property, once you have taken over the ownership of your property.   We provide a full range of Property Management Services under the terms of a Standard Form of Agreement, which also includes a Letting Option.

The Services we provide include: 

• Cleaning & Laundry
• Property Maintenance
• 24 hour Emergency Assistance
• Pool Cleaning and Control
• Gardening Services
• A myriad of other services

All available and designed to make ownership of a property, whether as a resident or as a second home, a pleasant hassle free experience; just as it is supposed to be!

Your Home Buyer Services Co-ordinator will be pleased to explain more about our Property Management Services.

Swimming Pool Maintenance Services

A standard pool clean consists of:-

• Regulating the chlorine levels
• Vacuuming the floor of the pool
• Cleaning the skimmers
• Cleaning the filters
• Checking for any missing or loose tiles
• Turning the pool heater on and off as required by the owner

Pools are cleaned twice a week in high summer and once a week in the remainder of the year, this involves a standard 68 visits per year.   Bear in mind that pools with winter heating require extra visits to adjust chlorine levels that are not included in the standard service.

Rates for pool cleaning range from 100€ to 132€, excluding VAT, per month, depending on the size of the pool and whether or not there is a Jacuzzi. The rates include all chemicals, materials, insurances etc. There is a 10% discount for clients who are in the Property Management Scheme.

Remember, we are:

• Immediately available with the necessary resources
• Have the right skills and experience
• Employ legal traceable labour and carry the appropriate insurances
• Have understandable terms of business, on which you can rely

Garden Maintenance Services

We offer different levels of garden maintenance services, covering different aspects of the care for your garden.

Minimum Clean and Weed

This covers the removal or killing of weeds, collection of wind blown litter and removing dead leaves and debris that has fallen from the plants, but not pruning.  You can then take care of the pruning, fertilising and fumigation against pests, when you are here.

Full Service

This of course leaves you completely free of any such hassles, when you are here in Spain to relax and enjoy yourself. The service includes pruning, fertilising and spraying against pests.

Remedial Care

Occasionally damaging winds or very infrequent frosts, which can occur up on the plateau, if not down by the sea in Villaricos or Playa Marques, can cause damage and sometimes plants can die.  Such problems occur rarely and certainly not every year, so they are not dealt with in the standard care packages.  Nevertheless, from time to time, some redial attention is required.   This may occur prior to pruning, in which case the cost of remedial work is reduced and the service is therefore subject to a quote according to circumstances.

Remember, we are:

• Based on the resort and here for the long term.
• Immediately available with the necessary resources.
• Have the right skills and experience.
• Employ legal traceable labour and carry the appropriate insurances.
• Have understandable terms of business, which we positively exceed.

Letting Option

The Playas del Almanzora’s Property Management contract includes a Letting Option, which can be taken up by Property Management clients, if desired.  

“The Lodge @ Desert Springs” is the brand under which Playas promotes the letting of the individual properties in its scheme to Tour Operators, Corporate Clients, Golf Clubs, at Travel Markets, Exhibitions etc., making use of the central facilities of the Croc Club and the Golf Club to provide comprehensive packages, including discounted golf.

Please remember the better equipped, fitted out and decorated, the more successful the property will be in obtaining lets.  Acceptable standards change over time and warm and cool air conditioning is now very much a standard requirement for letting at certain times of year.

There are two schemes: 

• P for Playas, whereby Playas del Almanzora is responsible for letting and for administering lettings direct by Owners.
• O for Owners, whereby both the Owner and Playas del Almanzora let the property on a first come first served basis, in accordance with the reservations schedule, maintained by Playas.

Playas del Almanzora will use its best reasonable endeavours to let the property for holiday use on behalf of the owners, but with priority for letting always being given to Category “P” properties.  The service in both cases includes provision of the related marketing, advertising, enquiries, bookings, holiday representation, administration and accounting services.

Playas also provides: 

• A Meeting and Greeting Service, including provision of a contact point for collection and leaving of keys, initial assistance on arrival for the Owner’s guests and/or the Owners themselves, with or without a Welcome Pack on arrival.
• A Turn Round Service, which includes cleaning and preparation of the property before and after occupation by the Owners or their guests; including the turning on and off of services and the provision of clean linen and towels, except beach towels.
• A Helping Hand Service to give assistance in the event of need or difficulty, whilst the property is occupied by the Owners or their guests, within normal office hours.
• A 24 hour Emergency call service, to help with urgent matters, out of hours.

Community Administration Services

Introduction 

Playas del Almanzora S.L. has acted as an Administrator of Communities for over 15 years, gaining a great breadth of experience in their operation. In Spain, there can be a number of different types of Community body, depending on the complexity of the project or development, where you have your home. The examples given below all have their place in the running of a very complex project such as Desert Springs. 

The Individual Communities of Property Owners

Each building complex or group of properties with a common element has an individual (sub) Community formed under the Law of Horizontal Property. These Communities are responsible, amongst other matters, for the common elements of buildings, the grounds and the facilities used by the owners jointly. The Communities objectives include maintenance of the properties, and their value, and the promotion of good relations between owners. Each owner will have a share in his Community. At Desert Springs, the Communities themselves will be managed by the Association, see below, acting as Administrator.

The ‘Mancomunidad’

At Desert Springs there is also a Mancomunidad, an Overall Community of the Common Lands and Boundaries. Within the Resort there are a growing number of areas of land, water features, private roads, facilities and services, such as the security service for the community and private areas, that are for the private benefit of all the owners and communities at Desert Springs, rather than for the public at large. These include notional strips of land between the golf and most groups of property, provided for the purpose of common control of boundaries and visual appearance and/or for service accesses, etc. Such land and services are held and controlled by the Mancomunidad. Owners are represented on this body by the Presidents of their individual Communities. The Mancomunidad is also administered by the Association.

The Urban Conservation Entity

At Desert Springs, the main drainage, the security of public areas, a small length of road, the public open spaces, and other ‘public’ services at Desert Springs, are looked after by the Conservation Entity, a formal administrative body acting on behalf of the local council. Formed by a General Assembly of all property owners, each has a proportional share. It is directed by a Board, including a representative of the Town Hall, and is to be administered by the Association, see below.

The Association for the Common Administration, Well Being and Harmony of Desert Springs.

This Association at Desert Springs aims to rationalise the administration and reduce the costs of the very many individual sub-Communities, the overall Community, the Urban Conservation Entity, and other such organisations in Desert Springs. It does so by providing common administration for all of them; thus enabling consistency of treatment and co-ordination and the avoidance of the multiplication of costs and conflicting decisions. All these bodies, including any owners, not being a member of a Sub-community, participate in the Association, either directly or via their Communities and the Entity, the Presidents of which will manage the Association.

The Association will therefore be appointed and will act as the Administrator of the sub-Communities, the Mancomunidad and the Entity. It will also provide a forum for debate and initiation of action concerning matters that are not properly “Community business”. Its objectives therefore include regulating and supporting the life of Desert Springs and safeguarding its collective interests.

The Desert Springs Resort Owners Referral Scheme

We offer the opportunity to all existing and “about to be” Owners to benefit from an exclusive Property Owners Referral Scheme, the simple details of which are below and in which we hope you will participate.  It is also intended as a special thank you of real value to you for your confidence in Desert Springs Resort.  This scheme is “privileged and exclusive”, as it is only for Owners of properties at Desert Springs Resort.

Being the first to introduce a friend, relative or colleague, who goes on to purchase a new property, will provide very substantial rewards, not only for you, but also for the new purchasers. Not only are you helping yourself by introducing friends, you are giving them a unique chance to benefit equally.

Our idea is to rely less on external third-party agencies for sales and to divert part of the net savings in sales commissions into the hands of our own existing owners.  The Owners Privilege Scheme is a permanent opportunity for Owners, so there is no limit to the number of friends, colleagues or relatives that you can introduce and benefit.  The scheme therefore provides a real opportunity for you to earn good money from your ownership of property at Desert Springs Resort.

You alone decide exactly how you wish to use these rewards, which, based on present prices, can be anything from 11,700 to 99,000 Euros, every time you make a successful introduction.

There is a wide choice in types and prices of properties at Desert Springs.  There are not only properties available to sell Off Plan for those who are looking for a long-deferred purchase, but there are also Plot only sales available as well as some Fast Track properties for almost immediate occupation. Remember Fast Track properties produce faster rewards and don’t forget that every sale, successfully concluded, supports the development of further facilities and underpins existing values on the resort.  What’s more, it is a further step on the road to the next overall value increase.

Finally, whilst the Scheme is open to all Property Owners at Desert Springs, in order to take part in the Scheme, you must confirm your participation by completing your details within the form below.

Don’t hold back on taking up this exciting and rewarding opportunity!

Conditions and Registration for the Desert Springs Resort Property Owners Referral Scheme

In the event that a Present Property Owner is the first to introduce to the Promoters, via The Almanzora Group, a Potential Future Property Owner, who goes on to purchase a property, a reward will be paid to the Present Property Owner, who may decide to receive the whole reward or share it with the Future Property Owner by means of a reduction in the price of the new property.

• The reward will be 6% of the purchase price paid for the property, (excluding VAT & Extras)
• The reward shall be due and payable to the Present Property Owners, upon signing of the contract and payment of the deposit for the new property and/or as the Present Property Owners direct to the Future Property Owners by offset against their costs on completion.

e.g. - A MONTANA AT THE CURRENT EXCLUSIVE SALES PRICE €849,000 EUROS, MEANS A REWARD OF €50,940

This Privilege Scheme is open to Present Property Owners only, being those who have purchased a property built by the Promoters Desert Springs SL. and who have registered their participation in the Scheme.

To be eligible for the reward, Present Property Owners must first specifically introduce an eligible Potential Future Property Owner to The Almanzora Group Ltd, either by e-mail, or by some other written and dated form; this is the vital proof of your introduction and its time of receipt by The Almanzora Group, which shall be the effective time.

Eligible Potential Future Property Owners are those, whose potential interest has not previously been registered by the Promoters, Playas del Almanzora SL, The Almanzora Group Ltd. or their contracted sales agencies or another Present Property Owner.

This scheme is promoted by The Almanzora Group Ltd, whose decision concerning any and all matters relating to this scheme shall be final and binding and whose employees, consultants, sales agents, as well as those of the developers and their associated companies, are not eligible to participate.

TO REGISTER NOW, COMPLETE THE FORM BELOW:

Almanzora Property Owners Points of Contact

Sometimes uncertainty arises as to whom you should contact concerning a particular issue, in part, because of our rapid development, involving new services, responsibilities and changing staff. Thus, where there were only Sales, Production and the Golf Club, we now also have Homebuyer Services (incorporating Sales, Options and Extras, Furnishings and Landscaping Services), Home Owner Services (incorporating Property Management, Letting, Insurance, Gardening and Pool Maintenance Services), as well as Resort Management and Community Administration departments. The roles of individuals and departments overlap in time and function, creating a fuzzy image of who is responsible for what.

To clear this up, we have decided that issues should be handled by one department and one person in that department at each stage, thus providing a single point of contact for the client at each stage. That person will then determine what other department may be involved, but shall remain responsible for co-ordination with the Client. We also wish thereby to provide a clear route for the expression of any dissatisfaction, so as to enable us to deal as rapidly as possible with anything that seems to have got fouled up.

These points of contact are identified on the Client Point of Contact Schedule. A copy of this Schedule should be left in laminated form in your property on Handover, so that you have it as a handy reference at all times.  

Please, always be aware that any problem, query or doubt is best expressed in an e-mail or written note to the designated point of contact. Our planned procedures can then go into effect, so the issue is logged, copied in to all those directly responsible for action and to those in charge of them, so it can be monitored and chased up.

It is intentional that Production staff do not appear as a Point of Contact for the Client, although they may well be called in to resolve an issue subsequently. Issues mentioned verbally to different members of staff on site, without specific responsibility for the matter concerned, are quite often forgotten in the daily rush and become the source of much frustration and disappointment. The overall priority of Production Management is to use their best efforts to produce defect-free homes on time. We need to give them the opportunity, without distractions, to achieve this objective. By their being free to do so, handover and subsequent problems should be reduced to an absolute minimum.

I hope that you find that this guidance provides the key to getting the best out of the services available to you, as an Almanzora Bay client.

My Best Regards,  

Peter J. Goodhall, Managing Director