Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Cómpeta                         178.000€

Sole agent  Ref. TH388

This centrally situated village home takes full advantage of the superb views down over Cómpeta to the Mediterranean due to its wonderful layout. A property with charm and character. 2 beds, 2 baths, 90m² living space + 22,50m² terrace. The property is double glazed throughout and there is ample storage in the form of built-in wardrobes and cupboards

Canillas de Albaida       235.000€   May’s Property of the Month   Ref. V527

This property is situated in the village but is more than just a townhouse, it is a beautiful villa on four floors with fantastic views down over the village and the surrounding countryside to the Mediterranean. 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 230m² living space, wood burning fire and ac/heating. There is also a large garage and beautiful balustraded terrace, ideal for relaxing and enjoying the truly spectacular views

Competa Properties

Avda. Sayalonga 24B, Cómpeta (Málaga)
Tel: (0034) 952 516 107
Avda. Constitución 37B, Cómpeta (Málaga)
 Tel: (0034) 952 55 35 89
 www.competaproperties.com    
info@competaproperties.com

January 9, 2012

New Series of Business Seminars on the Costa to Help Entrepreneurs Boost Their Business

Starting January 26, Sparkers introduces their brand, SparkYourBusiness seminars at the Mainake Hotel in Torre del Mar. SparkYourBusiness seminars currently consists of a series of four seminars to teach business owners how they can become more successful. The first series of half-day seminars are about

Positioning your Business, Personal Branding, Finding and Reaching your Customers, and Social Media in your Business.

SparkYourBusiness seminars target foreign business owners on the Costa del Sol. Many business owners have made a business out of their passion, but have no formal training or experience in business or marketing strategy and execution. This knowhow is an important source of competitive power, not just when times are economically difficult, but also for the long term.

Practical focus
The half-day – English spoken – seminars are packed with information and have a practical focus. Each attendee will leave the seminar with a thorough background on the topic and a DIY step-by-step information kit. Participation in the seminar grants access to the Sparkers client group on LinkedIn. In this group, follow up questions can be asked – and will be answered – and members can network with each other.
The seminars can be taken as a sequential series. Either start with Positioning your Business or Personal Branding. The latter is for 1-person businesses that are selling themselves and their talents, such as artists, writers, plumbers, freelancers of any kind, or coaches for example. The other seminars – Finding and Reaching your Customers and Social Media in your Business – are logical sequels to the first two.

Speaker
The featured speaker is Pepita Bos, an experienced strategy consultant and educator. She consulted with large multinationals, small organizations, and entrepreneurs. Pepita has degrees in Business Administration, International Management, and Strategic Marketing Management and taught part-time at The Hague University. She recently moved to the town of Comares from The Netherlands to build a life here. Her passion is sharing her knowledge and helping businesses and professionals become more successful.

About Sparkers
Sparkers (www.sparkers.nl) focusses on helping businesses and professionals develop their knowledge in order to become more successful. SparkYourBusiness (www.sparkyourbusiness.nl) is a Sparkers’ brand.
# # #
If you like more information on this topic, or like to schedule an interview with Pepita Bos, please get in touch with her on 636181289 or via pepita@sparkers.nl.

We at LT Construction have a great depth of building knowledge and experience, ranging from small individual repairs through to the design and implementation of large-scale projects. We are happy to answer your queries and offer advice on all aspects of the design and building process.

Our close relationship with many specialist suppliers means that we are able to source materials and products at a competitive price, and pass these savings on to our clients. We understand that the build process can at times be a challenging experience, and we undertake to make it as enjoyable as possible by involving you and communicating with you at all stages of the process.

LT Construction is accustomed to working with clients whose villas in Spain are holiday homes, and we understand they cannot spend a great deal of time on site as the work progresses. Because of this, we know how beneficial it is to keep our clients updated regularly via email, picture updates and phone conversations.

We pride ourselves in our after-sales service and understanding of the importance of offering on-going advice and assistance to our clients. Let us work with you in realising your dream of a living environment which will truly enhance your life and lifestyle.

Please visit www.ltconstruction.es where you can see the full range of building solutions we can offer you. Call Lee Talbot on 659324586 for practical solutions to the ongoing issues associated with owning a Spanish property.

CAN YOU SELL anything?

We are Iberdrola the alternative energy supplier.

We are looking for top sales people from Nerja down to Estepona. If this is you!!!

Email me on energy@midastelecom.com or call me on 634331640 between 10 am-4 pm

Nerja Office Open Day – Wednesday 27th April – 11am – 2pm

• FREE legal consultations – ask any legal question you like!

• FREE Wills Pack – all you need to know about estate planning in Spain

• FREE Refreshments & wine – meet the our Nerja team. Charity Raffle in aid of The Sisters of the Good Samaritan for the Nerja Residential Care Home for the Elderly.

The long established law firm De Cotta, McKenna & Santafé, with over 25 years of experience on the Coast, is opening its doors on Wednesday April 27th, for a charity Open Day, with free refreshments, tapas & wine, free consultations, a raffle and the opportunity to meet the team, ask your legal questions and more. Drop in whenever you want to enjoy refreshments.
For a free consultation, please reserve your place by calling or emailing us now.
Tel: 952 527 014 Email: nerjaenquiries@decottalaw.net
De Cotta McKenna & Santafé
Calle Diputación, 6-2º-A, 29780 Nerja
Málaga, www.decottalaw.com

Choosing your legal representative in Spain can be complex. You want some one that speaks your language and understands your culture but also you need some one who can work effectively in the Spanish legal framework. To help you make your choice, consider these questions:

Q. Does your lawyer speak your language? Do they understand the differences in the UK and Spanish legal systems? The best choice is a firm where there are English and Spanish lawyers working together. Also, ask for evidence of UK training if a Spanish lawyer says they are a solicitor.

Q. Has the firm been established for a long time? Are they a respected and credible law firm? There are new firms springing up all the time, but very few can boast a history dating back over a quarter of a century. Look for an established firm, which is well respected by the community, the judiciary and the tax authorities.

Q. Does the law firm have specialists? Law is a highly complex field; for example Wills and Probate is very different to Family Law or Property Law. Make sure you have an expert looking after you.

De Cotta, McKenna & Santafé stands out in southern Spain as one of the most experienced law firms. Established over 25 years ago, their services include: Property, Planning & Conveyancing; Wills, Probate & Tax; Family & Divorce; Personal Injury; Commercial, Timeshare & Fractionals; as well as Civil & Criminal Litigation.

Friendly English and Spanish Team

The friendly and experienced team in Nerja are available for private consultations. The team is headed by Sandra Wrightson, one of Spain’s acknowledged specialists in Family Law, Timeshare and International Law. Fellow partner, Jon Sutton is also available for expert counsel on Wills, Probate and Personal Injury.

Reyes Gomez Llorente and Francisco Martin are amongst the firm’s highly skilled Spanish abogados in Nerja, assuring all De Cotta clients the most expert service in all areas of Spanish law, especially urban and rural property; Timeshare, Divorce as well as international law.

5 Regional Offices – De Cotta Law has offices in Nerja, Granada, Coín, Mijas-Costa and Tenerife offer one of the best legal networks, staffed by highly experienced English lawyers and Spanish abogados.

International Scope – In addition, the firm’s expertise is international, working closely with their UK and global network of associates, clients are assured seamless service on all issues such as Wills & Probate; Family Law, including divorce and child abduction; Property, including Timeshare and buying and selling permanent and holiday homes.

Multi-lingual – The team is multi-lingual and in Nerja alone boasts some of the coast’s most experiences lawyers speaking English, Spanish, Danish, Dutch and Italian.

Private Consultations

To find out about the firm’s ‘Open House’ on April 27th, where over free

refreshments, snacks and, in the

afternoon, cheese and wine you can meet the team, and have a free consultation – simply email:

 nerjaenquiries@decottalaw.net

or call 952 527 014.

Accidents and other unforeseen happenings are not the first thing on your mind when planning a holiday or entertaining your family at a holiday home, but nagging doubts often linger particularly when you have young children.

Pool safety is top of most parents’ list and after looking at figures published by ROSPA on child drownings when on holiday, deservedly so. In France the problem has been tackled with swingeing penalties for pool owners who do not comply with the law to make all pools secure for young children.

The fine for owners who do not comply is 45,000€ for private pools and up to 225,000€ for shared pools. There are suggestions that these same laws will be adopted by other countries including Spain but let us be under no illusions, simply complying with the law doesn’t guarantee safety.

There are five main types of protection: rigid pool shelters, covers, electronic perimeter alarms, immersion alarms, and fencing. Covers create work putting them on and off and tend to be left off. Perimeter alarms give only marginally more notice of a child crossing the beam before falling in than electronic alarms, which only work when a person falls into the water. If no-one is nearby to assist, they are rendered useless. Fencing with self-closing gates tend to work best but as with any safety measure, cannot be assumed to be foolproof. Vigilance by parents is essential.

ROSPA point out that drownings on holiday tend to happen more frequently at the beginning and end of the holiday. Why is not obvious, but maybe influenced by the inquisitiveness of children on arrival and parents being busy packing before leaving.

Swimming pools are not the only danger on holiday, and like at home there are always potential problems around the house and gardens.

Self closing gates at Cantueso with child proof catches.

At Restaurante Cantueso in Periana, they have 10 self catering cottages with a large swimming pool and have taken steps to minimise dangers not only with a high specification pool fence but have also adapted some of the cottages to make them more child friendly with stair gates where needed, bed guards, electric socket protectors, elimination of dangerous chemicals, and enclosed terraces to enable toddlers to play within a secure area. More about this can be seen on their website: http://www.cantueso.net/wordpress/tots-to-teens/ or you can watch a short video which shows how they have made sure the fenced pool has landscaped gardens to lessen the visual impact. http://www.cantueso.net/wordpress/cottages/

Travel companies have been curiously slow to catch on to the needs of travellers and all too few give you a search option of “secure pool” but if you look around you can normally find one that does.

An excellent NHS website regarding summer safety for children can be found here:

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Summerhealth/Pages/Childsafety.aspx

“Summer is a great time for children to get out and experience the world around them,” says Peter Cornall, head of leisure safety at RoSPA. “You do need to be aware of safety issues, but this isn’t a reason to stop children enjoying activities.”

The website emphasises, as we all should, the importance of letting children have fun and not to get too obsessed with being as safe as possible, rather than as safe as necessary. 

Boulder Walling

Boulder walling is a common feature here in Andalusia mainly used as a retaining wall. They can be an attractive feature and relatively inexpensive to build when compared to other walling types, which is why they are so ubiquitous.

So far so good! The question is, why do so many of them fall down?

The problem stems from the fact that the builder does not fully understand the land structure were the wall is erected.

Boulder walls are just dry-stone walls on a larger scale. Dry-stone walls are classed as gravity walls. They rely on the principal that the weight of the wall itself maintains the horizontal pressure necessary to maintain strength and integrity in the wall.

If you look at large boulder walls closely you will notice that any given boulder is only touching its neighbour in four or five places and so there is very little structural strength in the wall. They tend to be built only two or three boulders deep, (when they should be four or five). The problem with this is that if one boulder moves the adjoining boulders will also move and the wall will come tumbling down like stacked cards.

The reason they are prone to move is that they are often back filled with the soil that was excavated to build the wall, instead of aggregates.  This soil often leaches through the wall leaving a cavity behind it and with the weight of the wall a boulder will slip. They tend not to be built on a reinforced concrete footing and the weight of the wall is not spread out and movement can occur. There is also ground movement during the summer months when the ground contracts and in the winter when it expands with water retention. So there are three factors occurring, land movement through contraction and expansion and the soil leaching through the wall, added to the fact that we live in a earthquake zone all adds up to a very glaringly obvious fact…they are not safe.

Which is why you will never see them built in any other country (were planning restrictions are more thoroughly controlled). Stone block walling is different as there is more friction acting to give strength.

LT Construction should be your first choice in deciding on which approach to take in designing a retaining wall. Please contact LT Construction to make sure you get this most important element of a garden designed and built well. http://www.ltconstruction.es/press/

DENZIL:

Denzil was found tied up in an abandoned cortijo, unable to walk and
was dragging himself across the floor. His owners had left him there as they did not want to take him to the Vets. After a difficult rescue and 3 days at the Vets he his now fully recovered and walking again.

He is an German Shepherd Mix and is about 10-12 years old, and will need to take tablets for his joints for most of his life.

He desperately needs a loving home to go to to spend his Twilight years. He is a very loving dog seeing what he has been through and is happy to stay/sleep outside. He has been neutered and will be given his injections and microchip as soon as a home can be found.

Please contact Diane on 659425797 for further details.

Dutch artist Bianca van der Perk who lives and works in the village of Torrox is holding an Exhibition of her work in la Casa de la cultura Ël Apero” in Frigiliana. From 1st August to 14th August 2010.

The opening hours of the exhibition are:
Monday to Friday; 09.30 to 19.30 h
Saturdays from 09.30 to 14.00 h and 16.00 to 20.00 h
Sundays from 10.00 to 14.00 h and 16.00 to 20.00 h.

Here are a couple of examples of her latest work, but for an impression of her portfolio you can visit her website at www.artmajeur.com/shamana