Bonus & Wendy's Big Adventure . . . .

[Bonus]

some more . . .

[Bonus]

some more . . .

[DIPSLICK]

Stunning,,keep them coming

[Wayne Potgieter]

Gees...that is pretty....

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[Gen]

some more . . .

Phil would go bonkers for that view [emoji6]

 

Too beautiful Bonus

[Gen]

When is that guesthouse of ours going to be ready[emoji6]

[Bonus]

When is that guesthouse of ours going to be ready[emoji6]

 

I'll do a full progress update this afternoon . . . . :-)

[Gen]

I'll do a full progress update this afternoon . . . . :-)

[emoji16]

[Bonus]

The Long and Winding (and treacherous!) road to our ongoing quest to obtaining planning permission for our project . . . . . . (Part 1)

 

Most of our posts on here have tended to be light-hearted and happy - and for the most part that has been exactly how things have been going for us over here in España. We have been very lucky - we've made some very good friends who have taken us into their homes & lives and treated us amazingly. We've been given help (and food!) without asking and generally treated like family. When the Spanish people say "mi casa su casa" (my house is your house) they really mean it. On top of that, the riding here is out of this world!

 

The professional people we've dealt with, the architect, our translator & solicitor and our financial advisor have become friends. All going "above and beyond" in order to help us with anything unplanned that has come up or anything we've struggled with. We are grateful to them all for making our lives easier than they could have been. Of course it's not all down to "luck" - I'd like to think that we're good people ourselves (well Wendy is anyway) so maybe it's true that you do get back what you put out there . . . .

 

 

 

However, as with any good story, there has to be a couple of "baddies" in the plot. Too much sugar will give you diabetes after all . . . . .

 

 

We applied for planning permission back in the middle of March. We knew that it could take a bit of time and we were prepared for that - mentally and financially. We chased-up the office of the municipal architect ourselves for the first ten weeks or so - but then when we really seemed to be getting nowhere our architect started chasing for us. Initially he had left it to us because he felt the municipal office would take us more seriously than they would take him - on the basis that at any one time he might be chasing them for half a dozen different projects.

 

Once he took over the chasing it became apparent that "all was not well". There was some confusion in the municipal offices as to whether we'd received a particular letter from them or not. (despite me visiting and asking for it a trillion times!) Adding to the confusion was the fact that we'd requested any post they sent to us to go to the previous owners house (Ramon the farmer) - because our property didn't have it's own post box. Eventually our architect went with us to the municipal offices and we discovered that the letter we'd been waiting for had been sitting with them for seven weeks. . . .

 

Not cool, but what's done is done. The seven weeks had gone and we just had to get over it and move on, which we did. (I have mentioned this missing letter on here before, so for some people this might be a repeat, but it's important with regards to what happened next). 

 

Thinking that everything would now be ok we fell into what turned out to be rather a false sense of security. It didn't take long before the next bomb-shell came our way. While our letter had been sitting in somebodies "In Tray" the Spanish law regarding what you can and can't do when renovating a rural property had changed! They had now placed percentage limits on the total area of a finished project when compared to the original pre-renovation property . . .

 

Oh joy . . .  :-)

 

Our architect consulted with a local lawyer, with an old friend in the government in Zaragoza and with a couple of local municipal advisors. The situation was clear - in this case where the change in law was nothing to do with public safety or similar, the municipal architect was obliged to take the date that we applied for planning permission, some weeks before the law changed, into account. To cut a long story short, after some badgering and raised voices the municipal architect agreed and our original plans & measurements would again be accepted.

 

Thinking that everything would now be ok we fell into what turned out to be rather a false sense of security. It didn't take long before the next bomb-shell came our way . . .  (you will see that this is a recurring theme!)

 

Whilst on quick trip to the UK to see family and friends we received an email from our architect. One of our neighbours - a 90 year old man called Pepe had been to the municipal offices and objected to our planning application . . . . 

 

 

In Part 2 you can find out what happened with 90 year old Pepe - now nicknamed "the busybody with far too much time on his hands!" . . . . .

[Pulse]

I love reading your strory, bit can only imagine how frustrated you must be getting...

 

I am also one to believe that 'good things happen to good people'

[CogitoErgoSum]

My biggest gripe in life - old people with nothing to keep them busy. They will set out and make your life hell just to make theirs have some meaning. I thought this can only happen in this crappy country of ours, not Europe.

 

Your situation must be so frustrating to say the least. You have invested so much (time and money) already. To have some old fart come and turn it up... I will loose my cool.

 

All the best going ahead

 

(We stay in a full-title townhouse in a complex, but the retired neighbours see it fit to threaten/scream/swear/shout at any child they come accross.... I have even applied succesfully for a protection order against harrasment from one neighbour)

 

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Edited September 1, 2016 by cjlieben

[Pulse]

"Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end" - John Lennon

[Gen]

The Long and Winding (and treacherous!) road to our ongoing quest to obtaining planning permission for our project . . . . . . (Part 1)

 

Most of our posts on here have tended to be light-hearted and happy - and for the most part that has been exactly how things have been going for us over here in España. We have been very lucky - we've made some very good friends who have taken us into their homes & lives and treated us amazingly. We've been given help (and food!) without asking and generally treated like family. When the Spanish people say "mi casa su casa" (my house is your house) they really mean it. On top of that, the riding here is out of this world!

 

The professional people we've dealt with, the architect, our translator & solicitor and our financial advisor have become friends. All going "above and beyond" in order to help us with anything unplanned that has come up or anything we've struggled with. We are grateful to them all for making our lives easier than they could have been. Of course it's not all down to "luck" - I'd like to think that we're good people ourselves (well Wendy is anyway) so maybe it's true that you do get back what you put out there . . . .

 

 

 

However, as with any good story, there has to be a couple of "baddies" in the plot. Too much sugar will give you diabetes after all . . . . .

 

 

We applied for planning permission back in the middle of March. We knew that it could take a bit of time and we were prepared for that - mentally and financially. We chased-up the office of the municipal architect ourselves for the first ten weeks or so - but then when we really seemed to be getting nowhere our architect started chasing for us. Initially he had left it to us because he felt the municipal office would take us more seriously than they would take him - on the basis that at any one time he might be chasing them for half a dozen different projects.

 

Once he took over the chasing it became apparent that "all was not well". There was some confusion in the municipal offices as to whether we'd received a particular letter from them or not. (despite me visiting and asking for it a trillion times!) Adding to the confusion was the fact that we'd requested any post they sent to us to go to the previous owners house (Ramon the farmer) - because our property didn't have it's own post box. Eventually our architect went with us to the municipal offices and we discovered that the letter we'd been waiting for had been sitting with them for seven weeks. . . .

 

Not cool, but what's done is done. The seven weeks had gone and we just had to get over it and move on, which we did. (I have mentioned this missing letter on here before, so for some people this might be a repeat, but it's important with regards to what happened next).

 

Thinking that everything would now be ok we fell into what turned out to be rather a false sense of security. It didn't take long before the next bomb-shell came our way. While our letter had been sitting in somebodies "In Tray" the Spanish law regarding what you can and can't do when renovating a rural property had changed! They had now placed percentage limits on the total area of a finished project when compared to the original pre-renovation property . . .

 

Oh joy . . . :-)

 

Our architect consulted with a local lawyer, with an old friend in the government in Zaragoza and with a couple of local municipal advisors. The situation was clear - in this case where the change in law was nothing to do with public safety or similar, the municipal architect was obliged to take the date that we applied for planning permission, some weeks before the law changed, into account. To cut a long story short, after some badgering and raised voices the municipal architect agreed and our original plans & measurements would again be accepted.

 

Thinking that everything would now be ok we fell into what turned out to be rather a false sense of security. It didn't take long before the next bomb-shell came our way . . . (you will see that this is a recurring theme!)

 

Whilst on quick trip to the UK to see family and friends we received an email from our architect. One of our neighbours - a 90 year old man called Pepe had been to the municipal offices and objected to our planning application . . . .

 

 

In Part 2 you can find out what happened with 90 year old Pepe - now nicknamed "the busybody with far too much time on his hands!" . . . . .

Thought part 2 would be here already.

 

Must be so frustrating.

 

Bonus you should write a book.. this could be a brilliant comedy adventure.[emoji6]

 

Maybe even be adapted I to a movie.. could Hugh Grant pull you off in the movie?

[Bonus]

Part 2 coming soon . . . . :-)

[Popit]

Bonus .... back in SA it is SOON ....

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

could Hugh Grant pull you off in the movie?

Sure Wendy would prefer to be pulled off by Hugh Grant...