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SAVED BY A WHISKER! AN expat’s cat ‘saved her life’ after the clever moggy ‘warned’ her of carbon monoxide poisoning inside their Marbella flat. Debbie Lush was forced to act after her kitty, named Coco (above), refused to stop meowing at the boiler inside her rented apartment. Suspecting something was amiss, following weeks of headaches, the estate agent, from Dublin, bought a carbon monoxide detector, which began immediately beeping. A plumber who came the next day, insisted he had fixed the problem after hoovering away some dust. But, that night, Coco continued to ‘howl’ at the boiler, so Debbie sensibly sought a second opinion.
Lethal
Fortunately another plumbing firm discovered a hole in her cavity wall leaking the lethal gas. It also emerged that her boiler was 27 years old and had rotting rubber parts that had never been replaced. She was told it needed immediate replacement. “Coco knew something was wrong and she would not let up until I got the boiler examined. “Now it’s fixed, I haven’t heard anything more than purring, it’s incredible!” She continued: “If it wasn’t for her I could be dead.” Now Debbie (below) is calling for a so-called ‘Coco’s Law’, which would require all homes in Spain be fitted with a carbon monoxide detector, particularly tourist apartments. She added: “I already feel better and the headaches have stopped. God knows what could have happened if Coco hadn’t raised the alarm.” She added: “I would advise all homeowners in Spain get a detector because every year I hear a b o u t horror stories of people dying.”
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Lack of new housing developments blamed for driving up house prices in Spain by 8.7% in a year
THE Spanish government slammed as housing prices has been continue to The crisis has been most By Walter Finch skyrocket across the country, pronounced year. Andalucia’s in Spain’s provincial capitals, national average rising by 8.7%with the with Ma- one of the most Jaen province remains over the Idealista, attributed drid past year. the surge to a com- jumpsand Barcelona experiencing price prices as low affordable regions, with as €838 per of 17.8% bination of factors, including A report by property portal inade- In San Sebastian,and 16.7% respectively. Elsewhere, Valencia sawsquare metre. build properties has created a ‘perfect Idealista quate land development, a 17.6% rise storm’, according the country’s most ex- followed reveals the average price bureaucratic to Idealista, leading at €2,182 per square metre,now stands obstacles, labour shortages, and un- pensive city, housing prices have soared in line by Santander (16.7%). Next to a national housing though the checked population are Alicante (15.9%), Granada to crunch that is increases have been particularly growth in high-de- ing€5,570 per square metre, underscor- (15%) and Soria showing no signs of easing. steep in mand areas. the widening gap between (13.5%). certain regions and cities. Idealista’s report calls for urgent Spain’s Prices have major urban centres and “Used housing policy The rapid rise in house more afford- Barcelona also risen in Palma (10.2%), reforms, including measures prices has ing demand, andis unable to meet grow- able areas like Zamora, (9.8%), Sevilla (7.8%), Bilbao to streamsparked concern that government in the where line the construction process pol- age of supply, prices face of a short- remain at €1,175 per square metre.prices (6.1%) and San Sebastian (4%). and inicies are failing to address are centivize large-scale developments rising sharply,” The rising cost of housing in is putting issue of affordable housing. the critical Iñareta said, calling for immediate gov- Malaga has emerged as the priciest significant provincial capital in Andalucia, pressure on buyers across high-demand areas. Without swift acernment intervention Francisco Iñareta, spokesperson for housing construction. to accelerate new an average of €3,095 per square with the country, with many now spending tion, housing prices in Spain’s most dymarking a 17.9% increase over metre, over 30% of their income on mortgage namic cities and regions are expected to continue climbing, further the past payments. The exacerbating lack of affordable new- the housing affordability crisis.
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Vol. 18 Issue 455 www.theolivepress.es October 16th - October 29th 2024
● All inside our Property magazine this issue
CLEANED OUT! Couple ‘lose €64,000 worth of items’ after alleged burglary on their luxury Costa del Sol Airbnb A SWISS couple have called in police after allegedly suffering ‘the robbery of the century’ while staying at a tourist flat on the Costa del Sol. Davide Z and his wife claim to have lost an eye-watering €64,000 worth of items when their luxury Airbnb was raided as they enjoyed a night out in Marbella. In an official denuncia seen by the Olive Press, the missing belongings include an €8,000 Birkin bag, a Chopard watch, worth €18,000, and a Rolex, worth ‘over €5,000’. Incredibly, their insurance company has refused to cover any of the items because their policy states the Airbnb owner must be declared responsible to make a payout. Davide told the Olive Press: “We have experienced the worst nightmare of our lives, during what should have been a wonderful holiday. “On that night our whole lives were stolen, my wife has been made sick by the ordeal and is crying every day,
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she is just devastated.” The couple had booked the €150-a-night accommodation in the Fuentelegrales urbanisation in Mijas, from September 14 to 21. The couple, who visit Marbella every year, were staying there with Davide’s mother-in-law and brother-in-law. Davide claims there had been immediate red flags, which they should have noticed in retrospect. This included the apartment having a different address than the one on the listing, and a ‘surprise’ female co-host named ‘Manal’, who manages a local cleaning company. On the night of September 20, the day before they were due to leave, they headed to Marbella at around 9pm for dinner. According to their police report, when they returned at around midnight, they found all the items stolen.
DEVASTATED: The couple say they will never use Airbnb again after their ordeal
warned her the police were already involved. Davide added that CCTV footage from a neighbour showed the only car to arrive on the street on the night of the robbery was a white 4x4, which was shown to police. “I would like to return to Marbella but we will never use Airbnb again,” he concluded. Manal told the Olive Press that it is normal for her to have keys as she runs a cleaning company that manages the property. She said: “The accusations are false. Evidence for this are the very inconsistent accusations made by the leaving guests. “I have an alibi from six people, and a camera surveyed parking, showing that I was far from the apartment during the time of the alleged theft. “I have had APPEAL We need your help to find cleaning compaSee Page 5 Stephen’s home and family nies in Sweden and Spain for 17 ● Chopard watch - €18,000 years and have ● Hermes Birkin bag - €8,000 never received ● Diamond rings - €6,500 such accusa● Oyster Rolex - €5,000 tions.” ● Engagement ring - €4,250 Airbnb has de● Diamond necklace - €3,600 *Data extracted from process closure surveys after using our roadside assistance and breakdown services. nied any liabil● X4 gold rings - €2,900 See page 23 ity and advised ● Ebel watch €2,000 *Data extracted from process closure surveys after using our roadside assistance and breakdown services. guests to get ex● Frederique Constant watch - €1,900 TheOlivePress-256x170-Multi2404.indd 1 tra insurance for ● Chanel watch - €1,250 peace of mind.
EXCLUSIVE
Davide recalled: “We went straight to the police station that night to lodge a complaint but nothing was really investigated, they didn’t want to move until noon the next day! “We also wanted the owner to make a declaration with his own insurance company so that we could make our own claim, but he has never replied to us.” Davide claims Manal arrived at around 2pm on their scheduled checkout day. It was at this point he decided to confront her claiming she was responsible and demanded his stolen items back. He also
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Haul of the century
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