Property – Moving to Spain? Help!

Some things are sent to try us!!

Our future home?

Deb and I returned to the UK the following day and leapt into the task of collating our financial information AGAIN. Updated Company accounts, tax returns, P60’s, Experian credit reports etc. It’s not a two minute job for us as we’re not the most organised of people. ‘Last year’s Company accounts?’ I asked Deb hopefully. ‘Do you know where my last P60 is?’ She replied. I said, ‘Why would I know where that is, it’s your responsibility.’ ‘And your accounts are you’re responsibility.’ Was her response. ‘If you’ve lost them phone the accountant for copies, I’m busy.’ Stuart, my long suffering accountant, was extremely helpful and provided a copy of the missing accounts. The originals actually turned up 3 months later under an old hamsters cage.

Documentation collated and checked, we were ready to forward everything to Rob Govier, AGAIN. ‘Have you looked at our financial position,’ said Deb, ‘and checked that we meet the criteria for a mortgage.’ ‘I’m sure we do,’ I replied, with confidence in my voice. ‘We have cut our credit commitments, our accounts are on the up year on year and we have more savings so we need a smaller mortgage which gives us a higher equity stake and therefore makes us less of a risk for the bank. We won’t have an issue.’ Documents were e-mailed to Rob and we got on with our lives, but in the meantime we were still discussing what we were going to do with our little white house on the hill.

‘That pool has got to be the priority.’ Said Deb. ‘Even if we just refurbish the hole in the ground that’s there and re-tile the pool patio, that will be sufficient. We need somewhere to dip in the Summer.’ ‘It also ruins the view.’ I replied. ‘You’ve got stunning views in that direction but your eyes just get drawn to the pool. And as for that bloody gazebo, it has to go.’ ‘What about the house?’ Said Deb. ‘The house is fine,’ I replied, ‘we can live with it as it is. There is no real work to do, just decorating and re-furnishing, we can address that in the Winter. The important thing is to get the outside right.’ ‘You’re right.’ She said. ‘I want some sun beds for the pool patio and a sofa set for the front porch. We’ve already got the dining table for outside the kitchen so we should be good to go very quickly.’ It was all very exciting.

Bombshell time again. Rob was fairly quick at delivering the devastating blow that we still didn’t qualify for a Spanish mortgage. What!! How can that be? We have lived like peasants over the last 12 months, apart from the 2 villa holidays of course. We were stunned. What more could we do? Forget Aldi and go to food banks? Sell the house and move to rented accommodation? Lose the cars and drive round in an old wreck? What does that say to my clients when I turn up in an old rattletrap of a car? ‘Tell me Mr Govier, what more can we do?’ I asked. ‘Reduce your outgoings further,’ he said, ‘or raise money on your house.’ ‘If I can’t get a mortgage in Spain then I obviously can’t extend my mortgage here.’ I said, really frustrated. ‘I could always send Deb out on the streets.’ I joked. ‘It all helps.’ He said. Seriously?

Deb was getting used to devastating blows in this Spanish property purchasing experience and she dealt with it reasonably well. ‘Don’t forget to put that plugged in toaster down before you get in the bath hun,’ I said to her casually as I walked into the bathroom. ‘That could be dangerous.’ ‘Where does that leave us then and what do we do now?’ She said as she put the toaster on the bath mat. ‘There has got be another way of achieving this without involving the banks.’ I said. ‘The little white house on the hill has been on the market for well over a year, nearly 2 in fact, and the English owners are desperate to sell so there has to be an alternative we can offer them. Let me have a think about it and don’t write it off yet,’

I am a naturally modest person but I have to admit that my alternative proposal was pure genius, in my opinion. I had slept on it, well not exactly slept but turned it over in my mind all night, and I think I came up with a fantastic alternative plan that would benefit both parties. ‘Deb,’ I said excitedly as I gently shook her awake, ‘ I’ll make a brew and I think I’ve worked out how to do this.’

‘Ok, listen to this, I think it will work.’ I said to Deb when she’d come round slightly. I was wide awake and wired. ‘The little white house on the hill has been on the market for nearly 2 years, correct?’ I said. ‘Correct.’ Deb replied. ‘So the owners must be really motivated to sell, correct?’ I said. ‘What is this, an interrogation? Just get on with it.’ She said, infuriated. She can be a little touchy when she’s only been awake for 2 minutes. ‘Sorry, just really excited. So if they want to sell their property and we want to buy it but can’t borrow the money, why not rent to buy? Developers do it with new build properties so why not with older properties. I’ve also come up with an offer the owners cannot say no to.’ I prepared myself for the big pitch to Deb, took a deep breath and went for it. Here we go. ‘We give the owners 25% of the negotiated purchase price as a non refundable deposit, we also pay an agreed monthly rent for a period of, say, 3 years. During this time we save like mad and at the end of the 3 years we pay the balance due in cash, minus the 25% and the total of rent paid over 36 months. During the period of rental we get to use the property and pay all water and electric bills and Council tax bills. If we don’t complete after 3 years the owners retain the property and all monies paid, including the 25% deposit. All contractually agreed with respective lawyers. A Win/Win for the owners and all the risk is on our side. How can anyone say no to that?’ Deb looked at me, somewhat shell shocked and said. ‘Pay for it cash? Do you think we could do that?’ ‘Look how much we’ve saved in the last 12 months by living like we’re in poverty.’ I said. ‘I’m sure we could do it, and well within 3 years, but I’m saying 3 to give us a buffer.’ ‘Brilliant.’ She said. Look at my brownie point calculator on the rise.

The only people who didn’t benefit from this outstanding offer were Julian and Marijse. If it were accepted then they would need to wait for up to 3 years for their commission. It is hardly motivating for them and this was the only reason I was reluctant to put it forward to Julian. However, it was our only chance to achieve our little piece of Spain, so I e-mailed my thoughts and offer to Julian in the most positive way I could and asked him to put it to the owner.

All went quiet for a few days and I heard nothing back from Julian. I had visions of him pinning a picture of me on a dartboard in his office and casually throwing pointed objects at me all day. Then, after about 4 or 5 days days we got a response. ‘Deb.’ I yelled. ‘We got a message from Julian.’ I’m not deaf.’ She yelled back. ‘Sorry,’ I said, ‘I’m just anxious.’ I opened the message from Julian and it contained a response from the owner. So Julian had put the offer forward, what a gent. In a nutshell, the owner responded with a resounding NO, even though he thought the idea had merit. I leapt up and went into the kitchen, hid the kettle and toaster and turned the water off at the stop cock. Well you can’t be too careful, she was a ‘woman on the edge, at this point.

After so many disappointments I actually think we were both expecting yet another one as neither of us fell apart, we just looked at each other and Deb said, ‘Well, that’s it then. Our dream is over.’ ‘Not necessarily,’ I said, ‘as I have a Plan B.’ If you were being pedantic this would be actually Plan G or F, but never mind. ‘Don’t raise my hopes with another scheme doomed to failure.’ She said. Ominous silence, then, ‘Oh go on then, tell me.

Optimism keeps us going doesn’t it? If you have nothing to strive for or a goal in life, what’s the point? I said ‘Ok, so we’ve established we could pay cash for this in 3 years, correct?’ ‘Don’t start interrogating me again I’m not in the mood.’ Deb replied. ‘Well,’ I said, ‘ What we have to do is put the little white house on the hill behind us, difficult as that may be for both of us. Onwards and upwards. So we put our ‘rent to buy’ offer to all the agents in the Ontinyent area and see who responds. There has to be someone out there desperate enough to take our amazing offer.’ ‘Well,’ she said, ‘What have we got to lose. They can only say no. AGAIN.’

Ontinyent. Our New Home?

Date: 20 Feb 2018. Location: Alicante airport. Our mission: To make it from the plane, through passport control, collect undamaged bags, collect hire car and be on the road within two hours, while not having a cross word between us. A hugely difficult mission, but we were successful and on our way to Biar within 90 minutes of de-planing. In all fairness the odds were on our side as it was February so the airport wasn’t too busy and we only had carry on bags as we were only in Spain for a few days. But it was still satisfying to be successful.

We drove North and to the Hotel Rural Castillo de Biar which turned out to be a characterful two storey country house, situated in its own grounds on the outskirts of Biar, and with superb views. What a great location to spend a few days and explore the area. With a mix of our limited Spanish, the receptionists limited English and good old Google translate we managed to get to our room after checking in and reserving a table for dinner. Pointless really as we were the only guests that week. ‘Let’s have a drink on the patio,’ said Deb, ‘and soak up the atmosphere. The weather is glorious and warm considering it’s February’ ‘Sounds good to me.’ I replied. Relaxing afternoon in beautiful countryside followed by a well prepared evening meal and then a comfortable nights sleep to set us up for a busy day.

Refreshed and well fed, we set off to Ontinyent in the morning for our 11am meeting with Estate Agent Julian Hildick from Mangolink Property. We set off early so we could take a leisurely drive through the stunning countryside and what a drive it was. From Biar we travelled North to the CV-81 then East towards Ontinyent on this more major road. There was very little traffic on the road and we were soon driving past the amazing town of Bocairent with houses and buildings rising from the cliff top, all tightly packed and so characterful. Then down the winding mountain road for a few miles, past Pou Clar, which is a geologicalcal water feature of descending pools with a walkway and steps at the side so you can follow the progress of the river. I said to Deb, ‘This drive to Ontinyent is amazing, it offers so much.’ ‘You’re right.’ She said. ‘You’ve got the beautiful open countryside, the picturesque town of Bocairent, the dramatic winding drive through the mountains and then Pou Clar as the icing on your journeys cake. What more could you ask for? I’m getting really good feelings about this trip.’

And the positive feelings kept coming. You know when things just fall into place and everything feels right? Well, that’s how things progressed. We entered into the town, which was attractive and welcoming and nothing disrupted the flow of positive thoughts. Deb was driving and I was navigating as usual. ‘Car park over there on the right.’ I said. ‘No, the other right.’ As she looked to the left. ‘OK, I see it, ‘she replied, ‘we’ll park in there and have a wander round as we’re still quite early.’ We walked from the car park, which was free by the way, through to a nearby square. Lovely, vibrant, bustling, attractive and obviously having investment spent on it, perfect. So we sat there taking everything in when we saw a small estate agency across the square called Los Hildickos. ‘Love the name.’ I said to Deb.’Let’s go and have a look in the window and see what they have on offer.’ We had a look at their display of properties from the outside and then popped in for a chat with the Agent.

The agent we met turned out to be Marijse Hildick, the wife of the chap we were meeting. Mangolink Property were based further South in Murcia but had a link with Los Hildickos further up North. Obviously covering a larger area with less travelling. Makes sense. We had a good chat with Marijse, who was really pleasant and helpful, and she informed us Julian was on another appointment but would be back for our meeting time. ‘You can wait here if you like,’ she said, ‘It’s only half an hour.’ No thanks,’ Deb replied, ‘I think we’ll have a little bit of an explore of the immediate area.’ Off we went and had a look around the nearby shopping area. ‘Doesn’t it have a really good feel?’ She said. ‘You’re right,’ I replied, ‘the street cafes and busy shops bring the area to life.’

Soon we were back at the office where we met again with Marijse. She introduced us to Julian, and what a lovely couple they are. So helpful, chatty, friendly, knowledgeable and make you feel comfortable immediately. We left our car in the nearby car park and started out with Julian, who gave us a really extensive overview of the town and his enthusiasm for the area was infectious. We drove into the countryside and it really was stunning, a beautiful area with some dramatic scenery.

Julian had the files on our chosen properties and we made a start. He said ‘One of the properties you chose doesn’t have any views and it has a smaller built area than you wanted so I’ve replaced it with another. Hope that’s ok?’ ‘Of course,’ Deb said, ‘you know what we’re looking for.’

On to the first, a 3 bedroom detached villa in a large plot with fruit trees and an olive grove. The house was two storey and had a first floor balcony overlooking the large pool. The property was approximately 8km from Ontinyent, quite a distance off the main road and had four neighbours who were quite close. Deb and I didn’t speak while we were there, we just wandered round gathering our own thoughts. I wasn’t enamoured at all but waited until we were back in the car after a visit of a respectful length of time. ‘That’s not for me I’m afraid.’ I said to Deb. ‘Why not?’ She asked. ‘I quite liked it.’ ‘I think,’ I said, ‘it is too far from town, a little too remote and the neighbours are too close. The stairs to the first floor are awkward, the pool needs some work and I’m not inspired by the views.’ ‘Does that mean something other than No?’ She said. Onwards and upwards.

Property two and this was one I was really interested in. 3 bedroom, lounge kitchen, dining area, all arranged over a single floor, with the house, parking area, patio and pool on an upper level and half an acre of olive grove separating the house from the road. In the agents photo’s it looked fantastic and I would have offered on it from the pictures alone, even though the agents description informed us it was a quirky layout. The description was right, the layout just didn’t work and it would be a big project to make it right. The plot also looked quite tired. Again, it didn’t appeal to me. ‘What do you think?’ I said to Deb. ‘It doesn’t work does it?’ She replied. ‘Also, look at the work we’d have to do to get the plot looking attractive.’ ‘Shall we move on?’ Said Julian. We both nodded.

On the road again, Julian said, ‘The next one is the alternative I’ve picked for you. I think it ticks most, if not all, of your boxes.’ We were only about 1km from the outskirts of town when we turned off the main road onto a single track, tarmaced road, leading upwards past well kept detached properties in their own grounds. ‘I like this.’ Said Deb. ‘It’s really nice to have a attractive approach road.’ The tarmaced road ran out and we were then onto an unadopted stone track, a little bit rough but not to bad in Julians 4×4. Over the crest of a hill and the track took a downward turn with a deep gorge to one side lined with pine trees, you could see the views opening up. ‘This is like an off-road experience.’ Said Deb. ‘Really exciting.’ Julian took a turn up a small access road to a set of gates, opened them up and drove along the stone covered drive. Olive trees either side of the drive and in between there were tempting snapshots of the views across the valley. To the end of the drive towards a simple, white painted, single storey house and up an incline to the parking area. The views opened up to 180 degree, South facing, uninterrupted views across the valley towards the distant hills and further to the mountains. It was fantastic! This is it.

The house sat on top of the plot which then lead down to a terrace which contained a pool with patio, bit of work needed here, then led again to three terraces going down the hillside into the valley.

The luxurious swimming pool, but look at the views

‘I love this.’ I said to Deb as I started descending the terraces to explore. ‘I absolutely love it. This is so interesting with so much scope, and look at those views.’ Deb had her practical head on when she replied, ‘Look at that pool area, it needs a lot of work and the plot needs tidying up, but the views are to die for I must admit.’ ‘Let’s have a look at the house.’ I said. It was single storey, three good sized bedrooms, one bathroom, nice light and airy lounge area with fireplace and wood burner and a decent workable kitchen. Not overlooked at all but there were nearby neighbours. ‘This is perfect Deb.’ This is the one.’ I said. ‘ I think you maybe right,’ she responded, ‘but let’s talk about it later at the Hotel.’ ‘Whatever you say hun, but I think this is it.’ I said.

Reluctantly, we had to leave so we could view the fourth and final property with Julian. I could have stayed there all day. ‘Nothing could compare to the last one.’ I said to Deb as we drove away. ‘It was absolutely perfect.’ ‘Some work to be done outside though.’ She said. ‘I know,’ I replied, ‘but it can be done over time. The location and views though were outstanding, don’t you think?’ She had to agree.

The final property, I have to admit, was really nice. The area was a little more built up but the house was situated in low maintenance, hard landscaped grounds with really nice pool area and patio surrounded by well established trees. The property itself was single storey again, with 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. Light and airy lounge with a separate kitchen and the whole building was owned and really well maintained by a local Spanish family. Towards the back of the plot was an olive grove, the length of which Julian assessed as par 3, but to my mind, and golfing ability, it was at least par 4. ‘It is really nice and well looked after.’ Said Deb. ‘I agree,’ I replied, ‘but it’s…..hmmmm………. boring. That’s it, boring. As nice as it is, it’s not interesting like the last one.’ ‘Let’s discuss later.’ She said.

Julian dropped us at our car and we thanked him for a really interesting, informative and thought provoking day. We promised to be back in touch the following day with feedback.

We were excited and animated on the drive back to the Hotel, ignoring Pou Clar, oblivious to Bocairent, and totally blind to the outstanding countryside. All talk was of the little white house on the hill as Deb had already renamed it. ‘This has got to be the one.’ I said. ‘It’s better than anything we’ve seen and is far better than the one in Montroi. I’m so glad that one didn’t come off.’ ‘The more I think about it,’ Deb said, ‘the more it appeals to me, but I’d like to sleep on it and try to get another viewing before we leave, just to be sure.’ ‘Great idea,’ I said, ‘let’s go back tomorrow.’ ‘What about Carbonell?’ Deb questioned. ‘We’ve got a day of viewings booked with them.’ ‘Nothing they show us will match that one.’ I replied. ‘We’ll cancel Carbonell if we can get a second viewing on this one with Julian and Marijse.’ ‘OK.’ Deb agreed.

We contacted Julian and Marijse when we returned to the hotel. They were pleased we wanted a second viewing and happy to accommodate us the following day. Carbonell was cancelled and we could then sit back and relax knowing that we had found our little piece of Spain.

The next day we made an exited trip back to Ontinyent and the offices of Los Hildickos. Marijse was accompanying us this time and we spent a wonderful 30-45 mins exploring the little things we missed the previous day and taking in the fantastic surroundings. ‘The visit has just reinforced my feelings for this property.’ I said to Deb. ‘What about you?’ ‘It’s spot on.’ She replied. ‘Let’s get our finances arranged and do this.’

We thanked Marijse when she dropped us off later and informed her we were arranging our mortgage as soon as we returned to the UK the following day. ‘You’ll be hearing from us as soon as possible with an offer.’ I said. ‘It’s perfect.’ We spent the rest of the day exploring the town from the vibrant local centre to the large commercial area on the outskirts to the historical area of the older part of town. It had everything to offer us, this was our future home. ‘All we needed to do now is secure the mortgage.’ Said Deb. ‘Not a problem,’ I replied with abounding confidence. ‘The little white house on the hill will soon be ours.’ If only things were that simple.

https://hotelruralcastillodebiar.es/

Inicio

http://www.loshildickos.com/

2017. The Year of Frugal Living

Views from the patio

After some extensive discussions during our Lanzarote holiday and over Christmas, we started 2017 with a positive attitude. Simon, from Azahar Properties, took the news surprisingly well that we couldn’t get a mortgage and we told him we would be back in a year or so, fully financially refreshed. I think, hope, that Simon didn’t see us as time wasters/tyre kickers as we spent our own money on the visit after carrying out our own research and not just appearing on A Place in the Sun.

Views from the terrace

We considered our plans were well thought out and structured. We had made some purchases on 0% interest free credit a few years before during a refurbishment of our house and these were due to finish in early 2017. My business was hit pretty hard during the financial crisis and it took us a few years to get back on our feet following this dark period. But work still needed doing on our home so major things like kitchen and windows were put on 0% interest as we didn’t have the spare cash. We then planned to pay off credit cards as quickly as possible and clear all other outstanding debts during the year. We thought this achievable because of the year on year growth of my business, getting back to ‘pre-crash’ levels.

We also opted to start shopping at Aldi and Lidl rather than M&S and Sainsbury. This was inspired as we found the quality of fresh fruit, veg and meat were, a lot of the time, superior to the big name supermarkets. Note, we still do part of our weekly shopping at Aldi or Lidl as the savings are phenomenal.

We had a goal and the motivation to achieve it. Martin Lewis would have been proud of us if he knew half of our money saving measures. This was our future at stake.

Deb, in the meantime, was constantly watching ‘our’ property, as she called it, on a nightly basis. ‘It’s still there.’ She’d inform me every evening after searching the Azahar Property website again. ‘Don’t worry,’ I’d say, ‘nobody is going to buy that one, it’s too far into the country and secluded. There aren’t many people out there like us.’ Guess what? There was at least one. Sometime in, I think March, the property was indicated as ‘Sold’. Devastation knocked on the door again, Deb was distraught. ‘What are we going to do now?’ She cried ‘That property was perfect for us.’ ‘It obviously wasn’t meant to be hun.’ I replied, ever the pragmatist. ‘That can’t be the only one that is right for us and what this experience has achieved is giving us a benchmark to judge others by.’ ‘You’re right,’ she said, ‘let’s get out there and carry on looking.’ ‘I think we should look in a different area of the same region,’ I said, ‘I love it and I think we should explore further afield.’ Deb agreed and she started researching again.

We usually take three holidays each year, 7-10 days each, and always in a detached villa because we enjoy our privacy. However, 2017 being the year of the frugalist, yes I promise it is a real word and I’m attempting to have it included in the Chinese calender, we had decided to reduce this to two holidays. Aldi and Lidl are one saving but having less than two holidays is unthinkable. We, or should I say Deb as I’m not allowed to get involved, arranged 2 holidays to Javea on the Northern Costa Blanca, one in June and one in October. The reasons for two holidays here were twofold, firstly to have a holiday, obviously, and secondly to do a little exploring of the inland area from here. You can tell we were confident we could satisfy the affordability criteria for a mortgage by the end of this year.

Fast forward to June and our first visit of the year to Javea, via Alicante unfortunately, and back to battered luggage and long queues. The drive North from the airport takes you through some dramatic countryside, but none more dramatic than the view of Benidorm. It appears out of nowhere and is just alien to its surroundings with high rise tower blocks and hotels with a diversity of design having no sympathy at all to their natural surroundings. Further North, past Altea, Calpe and Moraira, all well showcased on A Place in the Sun, to Benissa and then towards the coast through picturesque valleys to Javea. The particular villa Deb had booked was near Cap de la Nau just South of Javea town. It was on an urbanisation of detached villas and this one had outstanding panoramic views of the Mediterranean from a raised, prominent and, more importantly, private plot. A great base for a holiday and also to do a little exploring inland at areas and properties.

We like Javea for a holiday as it’s calm and relaxing with all amenities nearby. The lovely and well maintained beach also has a sweeping promenade serviced by a host of bars and restaurants. Slightly further North and the beach continues to the Port and the main shopping area which is vibrant with a huge range of shops. If you find your way to the old part of town you will be there for the day easily, surrounded by a wealth of history and character. ‘Sounds idyllic.’ I hear you say. It is, but the properties are horrendously expensive, everyone you come across is English, which is also the dominant language and it is incredibly pretentious. Local English residents have this smug look about them and tend to look down their nose at the tourists. We don’t spend a great deal of time in town, apart from the odd morning beach walk, we tend to prefer the privacy of the villa. Even had we been able to afford it, we wouldn’t purchase a property in Javea.

We spent a couple of days exploring inland towns, avoiding the aforementioned Altea, Calpe and Moraira. Mainly because we were looking for something inland but also we felt we knew the towns so well as we’d seen them so often on A Place in the Sun. In fact we have seen them so frequently the chances are we would recognise most of the residents from the programme. We went through Jalon to Orba, Pego and then up into the mountains on roads full of cyclists, towards Muro de Alcoy. ‘The scenery is stunning,’ said Deb. ‘It is,’ I replied, ‘this is the sort of area we’ve been looking for. Look at the views and the groves of oranges, lemons, olives and whoever knows what else. It’s amazing.’ Not that impressed with Muro de Alcoy though unfortunately, it just didn’t have that vibrant town feel to it. ‘We want to live near a town,’ said Deb, ‘that we enjoy visiting for either shopping or socialising. Somewhere we feel offers the right mix of modern and traditional with all the facilities, and I don’t think this is it.’ ‘I’ve got to agree,’ I said, ‘but I definitely think we are in the right area.’ ‘Absolutely.’ She said.

Back in the UK and our loans were disappearing, credit cards getting paid off, business was looking good and we were confident our fiscal diet would make us an attractive proposition to the banks. Deb, in the meantime, was scouring our new found area inland from Javea. Properties were being sent to us thick and fast by agents as well as regular e-mails from Kyero and Think Spain. There was no point in viewing properties until we were confident we could satisfy mortgage criteria as we didn’t want to waste anyones time but it didn’t stop us looking at areas for when we were in a position to purchase. Deb was concentrating on the area to the North of Muro de Alcoy up to L’Olleria and Xativa. ‘There is some beautiful countryside in this area and the towns are a good size.’ said Deb. I replied, ‘Sounds just what we’re looking for. How about we take a drive up in October when we’re back in Javea?’ ‘I was just thinking the same thing.’ she said.

Javea in October is a more quiet affair as it’s out of the main holiday period. Our villa this time was again in the Cap de la Nau area but a little nearer to Javea. The promised secluded villa, wasn’t. Next door villa had a first floor balcony which overlooked our pool and some of the garden but we got some privacy if we squeezed behind the outdoor shower. Fortunately, the people who were renting it left the day after we arrived and no one else took up residence during our stay. Perfect.

We had a very relaxing week apart from one day we spent investigating the area South of Xativa. Xativa has a population of around 30,000 and all the usual amenities you would expect from a town of this size. It also has an interesting history going back to Roman times. We drove South through undulating countryside surrounded by groves of all varieties with outstanding views. ‘Now this is lovely,’ said Deb, ‘I can see us being in an area like this.’ ‘I agree.’ I replied. ‘I love this area and you have the large town of Xativa fairly close as well. I think this area deserves some research when we get back home.’

Deb was on the case as soon as we returned and started her research. She was looking South of Xativa when she said. ‘What about Ontinyent? Largish town with a population if approx 35,000, a bit more compact than Xativa. Looks like a really good mix of old, historical areas with a vibrant and modern looking town centre.’ Deb loves doing the Google Streetview walks through places. ‘Sounds good.’ I said. ‘So the town would be large enough to offer all the amenities?’ ‘Looks that way,’ she replied, ‘I can see a hospital, shopping centre and some nice open plazas.’ She delved further and into the surrounding area and we were really impressed. ‘I’m going to see what property is available in this area. It looks great.’

She searched local estate agents and started looking through the offerings of Carbonell Inmobilliaria (translated as real estate as we had come to learn) and Mangolink Property who, although based in Murcia, had quite a lot of properties in the Ontinyent area. ‘Do you think we will qualify for a mortgage now after our savings and cuts this year?’ Deb asked me. ‘I’m sure we will.’ I replied. ‘We’ve cleared a lot of debt, the business is in good shape and our savings are on the increase. I think it’s time to get back on the property search.’ ‘Right,’ she said, ‘that’s great. What budget do you think we should look at?’ ‘Let’s say 150,000€, I said, ‘things are looking good at the moment.’ So Deb was now looking at a range of properties in the Ontinyent area of Valencia region, with the same criteria as last year but with a slightly increased budget.

‘There are some lovely properties on the market with Mangolink,’ Deb said, ‘and within our budget. What shall we do?’ ‘Let’s take the bull by the horns and get a viewing trip booked.’ I replied. ‘Not a holiday but a few days just viewing properties. However, I think we should look but not make an offer on anything until we find out we can get a mortgage on it.’ ‘Brilliant,’ she said, ‘when?’ I thought about this and said, ‘What about your birthday in February? I think that would be great timing.’ ‘I love it.’ She said. ‘Let’s do it.’

Into December, no week away in the Canaries this year, that was one of the many sacrifices during 2017, but we were going to end the year on a high. We had a hotel booked about 30mins from Ontinyent in February 2018. Deb could only find one hotel in Ontinyent and she didn’t really fancy it. As I mentioned in a previous blog there aren’t that many hotels inland away from popular tourist areas but Deb found the Hotel Rural Castillo de Biar, which is a lovely rustic hotel, bar and restaurant just outside Biar and booked 3 nights. Also a day of viewings with Mangolink Property and a day with Carbonell.

We were back in the game!

Looking forward to visiting in February 2018

Financing

It’s no Architectural masterpiece

This was then, potentially, our new holiday home/long term home. As I may have mentioned, it wasn’t the best-looking house in the world, but the outside space was outstanding, the views glorious and the roof terrace huge. The internal layout was ideal as well.

We therefore returned to the UK extremely excited and motivated to progress the financing and purchase of the property. Deb said ‘I’m sure this isn’t going to be straightforward and there will be loads we need to address but firstly I think we need to get the mortgage sorted. Who do we approach for a mortgage on a Spanish house?’ ‘I haven’t got a clue.’ I replied. ‘I know, I’ll get in touch with the broker who got our mortgage on this house. Everything went really smoothly and easily with that one, he should be able to handle it.’ I therefore contacted our broker and asked if he could organise a Spanish mortgage for us. ‘Not my field I’m afraid,’ he said, ‘but I can put you in touch with someone who I’ve dealt with in the past.’ Introducing Rob Govier of the MHI Group, who are international mortgage specialists.

I sent an introductory e-mail to Rob explaining our requirements and our current employment positions, me being self-employed and Deb being employed. He responded very quickly and positively with a long list of documents he required for him to be able to assess our eligibility, such as P60’s for Deb, 2 years tax returns for me, personal and business bank statements, passports, proof of our own funds and Credit Reports from Experian. ‘This is a bit more complicated than last time I applied for a mortgage.’ I said to Deb. ‘All I needed to do last time was to tell the bank I could afford it. Maybe lending has become more stringent following the financial crash.’ ‘It needed to.’ She replied.

Rob then responded saying that we also needed the full address of the property, a copy of the purchase contract, our Spanish lawyers details, a Nota Simple and our NIE numbers. ‘What,’ I said to Deb, ‘is a Nota Simple and what do we do about NIE numbers?’ ‘I have no idea,’ she replied, ‘why don’t you ask Simon the agent?’

I contacted Simon asking what these were and how to get them. He informed us that the purchase contract would be issued once we paid the non-refundable 10% deposit, for this we needed a lawyer and he could recommend one if needed. The Nota Simple is a document from the Property Register that gives all the details of the property such as any outstanding debts such as mortgage or taxes, the name of the current owner and whether anyone else has any rights on the land such as access paths or roads. The lender requires this so they can use it in part of the assessment of the property. Our lawyer would get this document as well. The NIE (or Numero de Identificacion de Extranjero) numbers are tax identification numbers and are mandatory for all foreigners who have financial, professional or social affairs in Spain, whether a resident or not. Apparently, you can apply yourself and I understand it means a visit to a Spanish Consulate in the UK with the appropriate form and fee or you can just let the lawyer do it on your behalf.

‘That seems like a lot of work and cost,’ I said to Deb, ‘if we ultimately, for whatever reason, don’t complete on the property.’ She replied, ‘Can we just get Rob to do an assessment in principle before we go down this route? If everything seems ok with our financials then we can progress to instructing lawyers and pay the deposit.’ That sounded like a plan. As I said, not just a pretty face. We asked Rob to do just that. He told us it would take a week or two as there was a lot to go through and he was currently very busy. We informed Simon the agent that it would be a few weeks before we could confirm the purchase and we got on with our lives.

This included getting ready for our annual trip to Lanzarote the week before Christmas. We had done this for the last 4 years as it’s nice to get a week in the sun during the Winter, the Canary Islands are known for their year-round warm weather, and it extends the Christmas holidays by an extra week. We had re-booked the same villa we rented the previous year as it was perfect. It was private with no over-looking neighbours, no building site next door and no golf course for miles.

When I say, ‘we booked’ what I mean is ‘Deb booked’. She handles all holiday travel arrangements from accommodation to flights and car hire. I am not allowed anywhere near this part of the holiday. It suits me because one person handles the arrangements so there is only one point of blame if ‘the wheel comes off’. Actually, I was told by Deb to not get involved following my first, and only, foray into a villa booking for an earlier holiday in Lanzarote a few years ago. I happened to see an e-mail about this particular villa booking and I had an issue with the price as there was a supplement because there was only 3 of us in a large villa. I e-mailed the owner back saying it was ridiculous charging us a supplement as there would be less cleaning to do, less sheets to wash etc. In fact, we should get a reduction. She e-mailed back saying she had been doing this for years and never had a complaint and that it was standard practice. We e-mailed a couple more times and the tone got more and more heated until she eventually said she would cancel the booking. I told her that was fine and we would find someone who wasn’t going to rip us off.

I said to Deb that evening when she came in from work, ‘I’ve been in touch with the owner of the villa and we had a few words about the price and for some reason she has said she is going to cancel the booking.’ She went mad. ‘What have you done?’ She said. ‘Everything is arranged, flights, car hire everything. That villa sounds ideal and we won’t get another one now. What did you get involved for?’ ‘Well, it sounded like we were being ripped off.’ I said. She replied ‘The pricing structure is standard practice and it’s how the tariffs are worked out on all villas we rent.’ ‘Well it’s not right and I don’t agree with it.’ I fought back. ‘It doesn’t matter whether you agree with it or not,’ she said, getting quite frustrated, ‘that is the way things are done. Now get back to her, apologise profusely for your misunderstanding of the process and pricing and NEVER get involved again.’ That was me told. I then had to grovel to the owner, sincerely apologising, explain that I never get involved in these things normally and could we have our booking back, please. She relented and strongly suggested I don’t deal with holiday bookings in the future. So, I don’t.

You may ask why we didn’t consider a property in Lanzarote if we like it so much. Well Lanzarote is great for a holiday. We like to stay in Playa Blanca, which is a little less built up and has a fantastic promenade walk for miles and a bustling town with all the usual bars, restaurants and shops. But that is all there is. If you want a change then you go to visit another tourist town or drive through the picturesque landscape. Great for a couple of weeks maximum, but for years? No thanks. We want the diversity of coastal towns, inland towns, large cities and even do a little touring through Europe, possibly France and Portugal to try and change our opinions of them. If you’re on an island it isn’t as easy. I’m sure people will disagree but that is just our opinion.

During the couple of weeks leading up to our Lanzarote trip, the talk was all about the house in Montroi. What work we were going to carry out, such as a balustrade to the roof terrace for safety and to try and lift the aesthetics of the building somewhat. There was a fair amount of work to be done to the grounds to tidy them up, but that could be carried out over time, and the pool needed some refurbishment work. ‘We’ll see how the financial assessment comes back,’ I said to Deb, ‘then we can programme the works.’ ‘Sounds good.’ She said. Back in the good books after getting the villa booking reinstated.

Thursday December 15^th, that date will always be etched in my memory, we set off for the airport and our week in Lanzarote. Everything was upbeat, going on holiday, nearly Christmas and a new house in Spain to look forward to. Life was good. Plane journey was uneventful as usual and we de-planed at Arrecife airport 4 and a half hours later. As we are stood in passport control, I switched the flight mode off on my phone and checked my e-mails. ‘I’ve got a message from Rob Govier.’ I said to Deb excitedly. ‘Brilliant,’ she said, ‘this holiday couldn’t start any better, great timing. What does he say?’ He said he had taken it to the bank and we didn’t meet their affordability criteria. Our credit commitments, including mortgage, car loans etc were such that we didn’t comply with the stringent requirements. The only way forward was to reduce our credit commitments or raise money against our UK property.

Well that took the edge off the holiday I can tell you. Deb was devastated. ‘What do we do now?’ She said. ‘Let’s try to enjoy this holiday as much as we can,’ I said, ‘we’ll discuss best way forward over the Christmas holidays and hit the ground running in 2017.

First Property Viewings

Valencia, here we come for our first property viewing trip. We’d never flown to Valencia before. We always flew to Alicante if we were going to Northern Costa Blanca as there were always more flights, therefore more choice. Valencia flights were few and far between as it was not such a popular destination and the difference was remarkable.

The nature of the flight was so much more relaxed and calm with no rowdy groups on the way to Benidorm or big golfing parties on the way to La Manga. There were tourists on board obviously but mainly couples and quite a few Spanish.

The airport experience was also far more relaxed. We only had carry on bags as we were only there for 3 nights but when we got through passport control and were walking past the carousel our flights’ baggage was just starting to come out. The baggage appeared to have been placed there lovingly by the handlers to protect the contents, rather than thrown on from a great height with complete disregard, which you tend to expect at Alicante.

Then to car hire. No huge queue, dealt with very quickly, politely and efficiently and sent very pleasantly on our way. All in all, from disembarking the plane to driving out of the airport the whole experience was approx 40 stressless minutes. Remarkable. As opposed to Alicante, which has taken us upwards of two and a half infuriating hours.

I said to Deb ‘As we’re so early, shall we check in at the hotel, drop our bags off then head to Spain and Property in Montserrat? We’ve easily got enough time thanks to Valencia airport.’ ‘Great idea,’ she said ‘I could do with freshening up after the journey.’ So off we headed for Hotlel la Carreta.

It was only a 15-20min journey along the A3 and were were soon at the Hotel. ‘ Hi, my name is Deborah Newman and we have a reservation?’ Deb said to the receptionist. Blank look with a shake of the head from the receptionist was the response. She said something in Spanish to a colleague who also shook his head. You don’t have to go far inland to find that the dominant language is their native Spanish. Deb tried again, ‘Buenas dias, como estas?’ ‘Muy bien.’ She replied with a smile. Bingo, we managed hello and how are you, the receptionist was very good, but just not at English. Deb said ‘Soy Deborah Newman y tengo una reaervacion.’ The blank look of the receptionist had returned. Had our basic Spanish not impressed the lady?

As it turned out we didn’t have a reservation with them and they were full due to a race meeting at the adjacent Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The language barrier was proving a major hurdle, as we both only have basic Spanish, and we had resorted to Google translate, hence the understanding of the fact they were full. The reservation paperwork Deb had printed off was our only saving grace and we were requested to wait while they tried to organise something. The staff were brilliant though and couldn’t have been more helpful. They eventually organised us a room, they must have a few spare for such occasions or had a cancelled booking, although we didn’t care which as we now had a room.

What we didn’t have was a meeting with Suzy at Spain and Property. The debacle with the room meant we were still at the Hotel an our and a half after our appointment time and still had to find her offices. We contacted her to explain the situation and asked to re-arrange our viewings, but she had other commitments after our viewing trip which she couldn’t change and she had no other free time during our visit. What a bombshell. Deb was devastated, and a little annoyed to say the least, ‘What a complete waste of bloody time this trip is, we shouldn’t have come to the Hotel first,’ and glared at me, like I had strong armed her into the decision. Perfect 20/20 hindsight. ‘What can I say,’ I said ‘It seemed like common sense at the time as we were so early. Anyway, it is what it is now and we still have Simon from Azahar Properties tomorrow.’ ‘Hopefully,’ she said, daring me to find some way of messing that one up.

Bright and breezy the following day, after a good night’s sleep and a continental breakfast, we hit the road to Montroi to meet Simon. Not at his office but at a petrol station on the outskirts of the town. Sounded dodgy straightaway but he said it was easier than going to his offices. The journey from the hotel was fantastic, open roads, very little traffic, miles of olive, orange and lemon groves covering the undulating countryside on both sides of us and the aroma in the air was wonderful. We had set off early, this time on Debs’ insistance just in case I came up with any other bright ideas that might make us late. We therefore had opportunity to stop a few times to take in the views and they were outstanding. Rolling countryside with individual houses nearby, which were farmhouses, small settlements in the distance and far away mountains to add a little drama. Fantastic.

We found Montroi and the petrol station easily, and on time for a change, where we met Simon Creed. British expat, set up offices in Montroi about 10 years ago and hadn’t looked back. All this before we had even got into his car for the viewing tour. ‘We will be seeing the five properties you requested,’ he said as we pulled out of the petrol station ‘and we’ll start off in Catadau.’ The first property was a 2 storey detached house set on an urbanisation, with a pool a little land but no olive grove. Some neighbours but non overlooking. Lovely elderly English couple desperate to get back to the UK for family issues. Ideal bargaining tool you would think, but no. Being six foot six inches tall I couldn’t stand up straight anywhere in the ground floor, which was mostly bedrooms. To the first floor was a lounge opening up onto a huge balcony with amazing views, which were blighted by a concrete tower directly front and centre off your view. No good. Adios lovely old couple, hope you managed to get back to the UK.

Second was also near Catadau but was empty. Again, detached property but single storey this time, no pool, some nice views, with neighbours but non overlooking. Looking a little tired on the outside but nothing that a bit of DIY can’t fix. Simon opened up, let us in and the smell of nicotine almost made you gasp for air. Apparently the chap who owned it was a chain smoker and had lived the house for years and had never decorated it. That smell was in the fabric of the building and would never be eradicated. The fact that the layout was not to our taste, with bedrooms leading of the lounge which is a common layout, was a minor reason not to look at this house favourably.

Off to Pedralba next. The name put me off straightaway. ‘Pedralba,’ I said to Deb when out of earshot of Simon ‘I don’t know what it is about that name but is sounds somehow, mucky.’ She nodded and ‘I know what you mean.’ In all fairness the small town seemed ok, just blighted with the name, but as we turned off the main road onto a minor road to take us up into up the hills to next property Deb said ‘What is that smell?’ Simon replied ‘I think It’s some stagnant water that tends to gather around this area.’ Not a good start. Then, around the next corner, a concrete wall full of graffiti. Not the kind of views you want on the drive up to your house.

The house itself was on top of a hill with lovely views into the valley, a pleasant garden area with a small pool and land around it creating the privacy. We were greeted by the owners, another elderly English couple who were desperate for a UK return. They were pleasant and the house was ok but didn’t really grab me. ‘What do you think?’ I said to Deb. ‘I can’t put my finger on it but It’s just not right,’ she replied. ‘The layout is sort of what we want but it doesn’t feel like home. Plus you have to drive through the smell and past the graffiti to get to it. No.’ I quite agreed. We wished them luck and moved on to the hills outside Montroy.

The fourth property was accessed through a complicated mix of stone tracks that varied from very rough to nearly impassable and we eventually ended up at a single storey, extended and refurbished animal shed. It would have won no architectural awards as it was more function than form but I liked the look of it straightaway. It was positioned on a hill with fantastic views into the valley. Couple of neighbours close by, who seemed to have some very nice saloon cars. I looked around for the helicopter pad that brought them up as they certainly hadn’t driven up that road. I mentioned this to Simon. ‘I brought you via the scenic route,’ he replied ‘there is an alternative which isn’t as bad.’ ‘Can we go back the non-scenic please?’ I said, ‘My back can’t stand the return journey,’ This one was empty so we took our time looking round and absolutely loved it. The layout was quirky but perfect with an open plan living/dining/kitchen, doors opening up on to the South facing patio with views across the valley and the views were outstanding. There were 3 good sized bedrooms accessed from a corridor off the living area, one with an en-suite, and a large family bathroom. The house had a flat concrete roof and the whole of the roof was a first floor balcony. Wow! Location was secluded but not isolated, it had a pool and approx 3000sq m of land. It was a lovely warm day in a fantastic location and feelings were running away with us. ‘It’s perfect.’ said Deb. ‘I agree.’ I replied.

We left reluctantly and Simon showed us the fifth and final property, which I no longer remember as my thoughts were completely taken over by the refurbished animal shed. Needless to say the fifth prperty wasn’t a consideration.

Simon dropped us back at our car and we said our thanks and goodbyes. He had been a great host for the last 3 hours and passed on interesting points to consider if purchasing in that area. He also mentioned that he didn’t charge the purchaser a commission. ‘ What? You mean some do?’ I had asked him. ‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘It’s the way the Spanish agents work. They charge both the buyer and seller commission.’ Well that wouldn’t be happening with us.

An interesting evening ahead then with much to discuss about the day just gone and what to do with the free day ahead.