AJ Andalucia Estates Spain Gibraltar Long Term Rentals

This is to share my experience with this company, AJ Andalucia Estates in Spain, for Long Term Rentals in Spain, Gibraltar, to warn others before considering renting from these people.

All comments on here are based on facts and my personal experience and don't involve any hearsay.
It's up to the reader to decide to have any dealings with the company, AJ Andalucia Estates.

- First of all, this is one of the few companies on the Costa-Del-Sol which will charge the prospective tenant 50% of the rent as a commission.

But on to my dealings with AJ Andalucia Estates in Spain, a company for Long Term Rentals in Spain and Gibraltar.
I came across them by googling for an Estate Agent on the Costa-Del-Sol for Long-Term-Rentals.
They seemed to have quite a huge selection of properties on their website - but on enquiring, most of them turned out to be off the marked. They don't seem to bother with updating their website.

I was especially interested in a house which was for rent, described as in new condition. It took them about a month to arrange the viewing, with em constantly sending reminders via email.

Long story short, I went to see the house in the dark, decided to rent it and moved in shortly after.
The agency, AJ Andalucia Estates, promised to send in a cleaner prior to me moving in. But it was obvious that the house was in exactly the state the previous tenant left it in:

- Waste in the bins
- Everything covered in dust
- Hob and Oven dirty
- Dog poo on the patio, amongst other garbage.
- The (dark-ish green) pool water hadn't been cleaned in months
- The general state of the house was closer to "thoroughly worn down" than "as new".

Additionally:
- The door entry system was broken (and no attempt was made to repair it)


> AJ Andalucia Estates will send you the electricity and water bills as they see fit. I've had to wait almost 3 months for the first bills, which obviously added up to that point Financial planning was impossible.

> The water was cut off, not because I didn't pay but because AJ Andalucia Estates weren't able to handle the billing situation properly.

> The second round of bills, again months later, added up to such a high amount, that I would not have been able to pay rent and bills at once. There was also the threat of the water being cut off again.
(I will add at this point that the bills were about 3 times the amount I used to use before, without changing my habits. The property included a garage to which I had no access. And there was a wire leading from the house to the garage).
I also never saw one bill in its original form.
At this point I decided to move out on a very short notice.

I was aware that I would loose out on my deposit, and would still have to bay the previous bills.

> At this point, the company owner of AJ Andalucia Estates started to threaten me, via email, that if I wouldn't pay the bills, he would be in contact not only with my employer, but also with every other company he was working with in Gibraltar, the UK and other countries.
He made up stories, that one of the executives at my company was a personal friend of his, and that he'd
ruin my reputation.
I got in contact with the named executive as well as with my HR department, and so it turned out that
neither of them was interested in this private matter, as it didn't concern my work.
AJ Andalucia Estates kept on mentioning that they hadd been asked by the executive to be contacted in case of non-payment, which was a definite lie.

Moreover, the owner of AJ Andalucia Estates, Andrew John, started to get very personal against me and my family in his emails, constantly trying to blackmail me into submission.

To top it all off, AJ Andalucia Estates then tried to charge me over 200€ for cleaning the house, apparently for a cleaner who charged 10€ an hour - so 20 hours for cleaning a fairly clean house?!
Remember that we received the house in a worn-and-torn and dirty state, and put quite some time and money into it to get it right already. I refused which was obviously met by the typical "shut up and pay up - or else" reply.


To sum it up:
If you deal with AJ Andalucia Estates, be prepared to:

- Pay a 50% commission on top of one month's rent and one month's deposit
- Receive the property in a state that might be different from the description (new vs. plenty of wear & tear)
- Be told that the property will be cleaned, but it will still be dirty on the day you move in.
- Receive the bills at a random date, usually 3 months later
- Be personally threatened, should you decide to terminate your contract early and still have open bills.
- Be charged over 200€ for cleaning the house on moving out. Watch your deposit!


For me, this was the most appalling experience I've ever had with any estate company.
The company owner, Andrew John, of AJ Andalucia Estates, Spain, is running his business
in a way that every Mafia would be proud of!

A company like that needs to be shown that they have to follow rules and laws, even if someone decides to leave on a short notice. It doesn't give them the right to threaten ones reputation or standing in any way, shape or form.