Management Service

You can contact a management service for letting your villa/apartment, you will need to make enquires locally or through the Agency you are buying through. You may be told of one or two agents that provide this service, but there are more, just remember to do your research while you are there, not just before you go, things are constantly changing.

Also consider whether the apartment you buy will be managed by yourself or a management agency.
- Whether the Management Agency will rent the apartment for you, perhaps they will advise it's not suitable for short or long lets because:

- it is positioned too far away from main areas to rent weekly
- lack of roads or lighting to property, safety etc (may suit a long term rental not short term).

- you may be able to advertise your own property and inform the management of bookings you have accepted.

Condominium Management

This is different. If you buy into a block of apartments or in a resort, there should normally be a Condominium Management service for all the apartments in a block and / or in the resort. The condominium management of a building will differ, as willthose in resorts. Annual charges may include costs towards common areas, maintenance of the building and cleaning of communal areas. In a resort there may be costs included for the upkeep and treatment of the swimming pool.

Maintenance

Also check what maintenance arrangements are in place for your property. Are you insured if things go wrong, will it cover contents. How will it work if you live in a block of apartments and you all need to share the costs for a repairs and what happens if one or two owners do not pay?

Think about how you will you deal with wear and tear and replacement of items after a number of years. Perhaps sliding doors, door handles, locks will get damaged, find out how easily these can be repaired or replaced.

Some developments have imported furniture, fixtures and fixings from Spain, Italy and UK but I would not expect them to have replacement parts on the islands, its not as if you or they can pop down to the nearest Wickes's or BandQ.

For those that are in individually managed blocks of apartments built by other smaller developers, you may wish to ask about similar needs for your property, which hopefully will be provided by the current Management Service.

Service Charge

You will have to pay these on most buildings, as a contribution to the external upkeep and maintenance, these differ depending on the type of apartments/complexes and amongst developers, make sure you get everything in writing and that you know exactly what you are getting for your money and even more importantly what you are not getting for your money as there may be hidden costs that you will need to take on board. Your solicitor/lawyer can help you with this.

Just remember that the more services you have the more you will have to contribute too for upkeep, pool treatment and maintenance, cleaning, security etc.

Service Clean

Can be arranged but you have to shop around. It may be part of a Service Agreement. Some agents can provide this service but they get a commission for doing so, ask them what the conditions are for employment, how the staff are monitored etc. Think about whether it is safe to leave valuables about.

If you are employing staff yourself, also check what employment laws exist i.e. maternity payments etc. for cleaning staff, so that you can budget for these circumstances. Get everything in writing and in English.

Remember you need to put your trust in someone who provides this service for you, so make sure you check that things are running smoothly as per your agreement with that person/agency. If you find there is a problem then perhaps discuss it with the agency or with other people that share the same service.