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!
Moving to Spain? Help! 