Urcal or Arboleas- farm issues

Hi, we moved over here and bought a house in Los Menas which is on the A334 road approx 12km from Arboleas. There are flies all around with some areas a lot worse than others.

Around all the areas, especially Urcal, Santa Maria de Nieva and villages nearby there are loads of pig farms, hence loads of flies and smells. We stayed at a B and B in Santa Maria when we were looking round and regretted it. 

There are some pig farms round Arboleas but you have to realise that Arboleas covers a massive area so there may be an odd one here and there but none in a lot of other areas. Where ever you move to I would suggest you get a fly free area built so you can enjoy your life outside in this lovely province. We have recently moved out into the hills above Zurgena and we still get a few flies but certainly not a nuisance. When you do find a property, if you do a search on Google maps you should be able to look round the area using the satellite tab.

Good luck with your search and really check your area, don't just rely on the agent saying there are no pig/goat farms nearby, use your eyes and more importantly your nose to check your choices.

Hi, thank you very much for your reply.  I didn't realise that Arboleas covers such a large area so I will be sure to check on google satellite. I think I'll look more into the Arboleas area as it seems to have more amenities there and just generally seems a bit more like the kind of place we are looking for

Thanks again :-)

Hi. Arboleas is made up of lots of hamlets, sine close to the main village, others farther out. We live in La Judea which is walking distance to the main village and pretty good facilities. Yes there are flies but no worse than anywhere else and certainly no worse than where we also have a place in Mojacar. One of the advantages of Arboleas is there are no big pig farms  The smell for quite a distance around them can be very bad in summer and the flies are awful. As you get closer to Huercal Overa there are a lot of pig farms so beware.

Have a look at Almanzora and Cantoria as well. These are pretty villages with decent facilities. Above all, mJe sure your property is legal! Best of luck.

Hi, thank you for replying. That's really useful to know, I'll have a look at Almanzora and Cantoria as well. I saw a couple of properties in Arboleas which were lower priced and seemed to say that buyer has to pay all legal costs and the property is cheaper to reflect this (I tried to re-find advert to requote properly but I couldn't). It said there were 150 properties or so being sold this was in Arboleas. I didn't understand it, but they were cheaper than other same spec properties.I don't suppose you know what this could mean do you? 

If I purchase through estate agents properties should be legal shouldn't they? Or do I need to be careful even then? 

Thanks, Sarah

You need to be careful as they are loads of illegal properties all round the Arbolea/Albox areas, some agents will tell you but some won't unless you specifically ask them. Quite a lot have what's called an afo, this means the house is sort of legal but you are not able to make any changes such as adding a garage, fly free enclosure, pool, etc. These properties are usually a bit cheaper whereas the illegal ones are usually considerably cheaper so do really check on what you are looking at. You can legalise a property by getting an afo but it can be quite a drawn out, expensive project.

Hi

We have a villa in Los Golondrinas area of Arboleas. It is about a 5 minute drive from the centre of Arboleas. We have been here for 3 years and certainly have not found any pig farms whilst driving around  There are no smells and is a fairly quiet and peaceful area. Yes there are flies but no more than anywhere else. If you are looking for an excellent estate agent I can recommend Andrea from  Dream Homes Almeria. The office is located in the Main Street of Arboleas and Andrea and her family have lived in Arboleas for a number of years. She is English and l have found her to be most honest, friendly and reliable. Andrea really goes the extra mile to find you your ideal property and does not exert any pressure to buy. In fact many of her ex clients have become firm friends of her and she is always available to assist in various matters after the purchase has been completed. Also Andrea always checks and confirms that properties are legal before she starts marketing them.

Thank you for your reply, I didn't know about an afo. So  a property with an afo was built illegally but then legalised but there's probably no possibility to improve on it in future (extend etc)? And then there are the illegal ones which remain illegal, and the fully legal ones which we may be able to change in the future subject to planning etc in future?  If I ask the agent in writing if a property has an afo I'm guessing they have to legally disclose it? Can properties with an afo still be used for holiday lettings or are there any restrictions in the usage too? Sorry for all the questions, there's a lot to think about! 

Hi Terry, thanks very much for the recommendation, I'll have a look on their website and give Andrea a call next week. We're quite happy with the Arboleas area now, seems like just the kind of place we're looking for- not too busy but not isolated :-)

Has anyone let their property out for holiday rentals, either in the past or still? Long term we'd love to move there permanently but shorter term it's a bit unrealistic for us. So for the time being we'll be happy (more than happy!) with a sun escape for the family and somewhere we can let out as a holiday let when possible during the year to give us a bit of income. 

Do you know if there are any good property management companies in the area who deal with the day to day laundry and changeovers? And do you know roughly how much they charge? Any advice very appreciated. Thank you!