# Just bought a house



## John&Sandra P (Jun 10, 2015)

Hi We have just bought a house in the Arboleas area and are very excited about it. All going well we plan to take possession in early August.

We plan to use as a holiday home for us and family then transition to finally move in a few years. 

I don't want to rent it out when we are not there but I am concerned about a couple of points.

1. Can we get someone to tend to the garden and pool when we are not there for a reasonable cost
2. If its empty for long periods what are the risks of break ins etc, especially if we have to employ gardeners etc
3. Are there any other simple things we need to think about

Any advice welcome

John & Sandra P


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

John&Sandra P said:


> Hi We have just bought a house in the Arboleas area and are very excited about it. All going well we plan to take possession in early August.
> 
> We plan to use as a holiday home for us and family then transition to finally move in a few years.
> 
> ...


1. Yes. There are plenty of gardeners.
2. Mid to high
3. A good security system. Get a camera installed that you can view remotely from the UK.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Here's a link to the camera I use:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005496WPY

You'll know if anybody enters your house, so it would be good to see who you can call in the event somebody does.


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## John&Sandra P (Jun 10, 2015)

Thanks a remote access camera is a good idea.


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## John&Sandra P (Jun 10, 2015)

Is there anything else we should consider if the house is empty for long periods?


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

John&Sandra P said:


> Is there anything else we should consider if the house is empty for long periods?


Well, the temptation might be to find a cheap gardener.

Would it be better to get a property services company involved, one that can periodically check that things are ok as well as keeping the gardens.

I'm thinking out loud because I don't know if this service is available or what it would cost.

You could invest in a high quality monitored alarm system. Necessary or not, they give peace of mind.

And you'll want someone to get the post for you.


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## John&Sandra P (Jun 10, 2015)

cheers we have plenty to think about


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## xolo (May 25, 2014)

Congratulations, that seems very exciting.


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## tonymar (Jan 29, 2015)

John&Sandra P said:


> Hi We have just bought a house in the Arboleas area and are very excited about it. All going well we plan to take possession in early August.
> 
> We plan to use as a holiday home for us and family then transition to finally move in a few years.
> 
> ...





Congratulations enjoy your new house !!

Remember to shut your water down while you are away , dont want any Plumbing problems !!! 

Water is so expensive here ! and good plumbers are hard to find 


Cheers Tony


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## el romeral (May 8, 2012)

I work abroad, so am away quite a lot. The house is alarmed and connected to the alarm central. This costs 42E a month which is not too bad and great for peace of mind. I also have a camera. 
If you can find a good gardener, he will be a huge benefit to you. Over the (16) years I have evolved our gardener into more of a kind of caretaker roll. He deals with chlorine etc in the pool, checks that the well comes on enough to fill the water tanks and that the sprinklers and multitude of timers are all working properly. He even fills up the food in the cat feeder. In between all this he deals with the garden. All this for 10E an hour.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

*?*



tonymar said:


> Congratulations enjoy your new house !!
> 
> Remember to shut your water down while you are away , dont want any Plumbing problems !!!
> 
> ...


Do you really think a good plumber is hard to find out here ? Plenty of good Spanish plumbers round here!
If they have a pool, and a plant watering system they can't turn the water off, unless someone is looking after the house, and turns it off when they have watered the plants and topped up the pool, and in the summer that would be very frequent.
el romeral- i think 42 euros a month is a bit steep! What service do t you get for that? Someone monitoring your house?
If it is just checking should the alarm go off , it's too much.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

I've used ADT in the UK for years and 42 E a month is slightly less than the UK price for a monitoring service. Still expensive, but not overpriced in comparison to a UK service.

I am not sure what the Spanish companies do if they detect an alarm. In the UK they call the police.


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## alborino (Dec 13, 2014)

Very exciting to have your own place. Pity you have to wait till August but I guess time flies 

Our property in Spain is well looked after by our spanish neighbours. Being part of a strong community is the best solution. But appreciate if you only visit occasionally and maybe communication is an issue then that may take a while. And it assumes you have neighbours who are resident full time.

Beyond that deterrent - make your house look poor, very poor  If you do get robbed just take it on the chin is my mentality. All the alarms, calling the police, seeing it happen on camera, being paid out by insurance, and even watching the robbers go to jail will do nothing for the damage to and invasion of your special place.

Easily said I know but that's life. 

Although my biggest concern is not robbers but squatters who make themselves look like valid tenants. So never leave documents or personal details of any kind while you're away.

That said in 10 years of spanish property ownership never had a break in. :fingerscrossed:


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

alborino said:


> .....So never leave documents or personal details of any kind while you're away.


That's a great tip. It hadn't occurred to me!


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## el romeral (May 8, 2012)

extranjero said:


> el romeral- i think 42 euros a month is a bit steep! What service do you get for that? Someone monitoring your house?
> If it is just checking should the alarm go off , it's too much.


Maybe it is a bit steep but I sleep a little better at night knowing there is some protection when I am thousands of miles away. Over the years we have used maybe 4 companies and came back to Segurisur who we had first and did the installation when we built the house. They have quite a few others houses in the area so their vigilante vans are often about which is good as we are in the campo. If the alarm goes they will contact us and then call for the police if deemed necessary.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Be very, very careful with whom you leave any keys. 
Make sure that you have all recurring bills (electric, water, IBI, insurances, etc) domicilio-ed.
Make sure that all insurances are up to date and that the insurers know that the place may be empty for extended periods
Make sure that, in addition to water and electricity being turned off at the outside stop-cock/controls, that it is also turned off by similar controls immediately inside the house.

We are currently trying to resolve the problems being faced by some people who went back to UK four years ago and none of the above was done. The keys were left with the people who ran the local bar who have since gone back to UK. When they returned to the house recently it was found to be empty - all furniture, possessions, everything was gone. They have huge bills (€2500 for IBI [including interest] alone). The inside of the house is black with mould. They had not kept up any insurances... Heart-breaking!


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## tonymar (Jan 29, 2015)

extranjero said:


> Do you really think a good plumber is hard to find out here ? Plenty of good Spanish plumbers round here!
> If they have a pool, and a plant watering system they can't turn the water off, unless someone is looking after the house, and turns it off when they have watered the plants and topped up the pool, and in the summer that would be very frequent.
> el romeral- i think 42 euros a month is a bit steep! What service do t you get for that? Someone monitoring your house?
> If it is just checking should the alarm go off , it's too much.


No I was just messing about , there are plenty of good plumbers of all nationality's ( in my opinion , dont want to offend any one ! ) 

I did see a Dutch plumber fit a very good device to a property , it was an automatic shut down system , it was a motorised valve fitted just after the water meter which could be programmed to shut the water off in the event that constant flow was detected over a certain time ( for example 1 hour continuous flow )

Seemed like a great idea , I wish I would have got the details off him, maybe some one else on this forum has that system ?

Cheers Tony


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## John&Sandra P (Jun 10, 2015)

Thanks to everyone, loads of great advice

As we have a garden and a pool I guess we can't switch everything off so we will need to find a good trustworthy gardener and some form of decent security beyond the locks and bars already there. 

I guess you don't think of all of the details when you get caught up in the excitement of buying a house, so I best get started. 

Anyway, it's a nice problem to have.

Cheers!


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

I take it you went in the town hall & asked, as they'd point you in the right directions & to the local forum?


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## John&Sandra P (Jun 10, 2015)

gus-lopez said:


> I take it you went in the town hall & asked, as they'd point you in the right directions & to the local forum?


No I found the site on my own, I guessed there would be one. The town hall was closed as we we only had a long weekend. We are sorting out NIE number and everything else through our lawyer.


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