Have you ever watched those holiday home programmes on TV, you know the ones I'm on about...A Place in the sun, Relocation Relocation, Relocation...well I'm guilty. I could watch these programmes until the cows come home. For years, I've conjured up notions of having a little bolt hole somewhere abroad, some where hot. However, I never really expected my 'dreams' to come true. However, I was probably like a lot of people a few years ago...you're walking through your local hotel and saw a sign or read in the local rag that a Spanish property expo was taking place at the weekend. Sure what else would you be doing on a rainy Sunday in February? I know-lets go for the carvery lunch and then pop into the expo for a nosey, who knows there might even be complimentary refreshments or a free pen on offer.
And so it came to be, I walked into the room in the local hotel and before i knew it we'd booked the £99 per couple special weekend to the Costa Blanca. Sure what was there to lose (!), it was a weekend away with my loved one subsidised by XXXX (I'll not name names). We arrived in Alicante airport and I guess the gods were looking unfavourably on us already....our suitcase went missing and didn't arrive until the following day, on reflection this was probably a bad omen. Anyway, we were picked up by a lovely couple from Northhampton who chaperoned us for the next 3 days, taking us to various beauty spots around the Costa Blanca, to several new holiday home developments north of Torrevieja, taking us for meals, drinks, to the toilet (only joking) but effectively they didn't let us out of their sight (other than to sleep) for 3 days. We saw all that the beautiful Costa Blanca has to offer, beaches, markets, restaurants, quaint spanish towns, great roads, the list goes on.
So before I knew it, we were standing on the beach in Guadamar wondering should we sign on the dotted line, part with €3k and sell our soul to the devil (or to XXXX). Sure what's €3k among friends, besides back in 2007, the £/€ exchange was much better that it is today and, and this is where the property agents hook you, if you paid the £3k up front you got it refunded if you proceeded with the property purchase! What's that old saying ' if something seems too good to be true, it probably is'.
Thus started our journey and explains how we came to become holiday home owners in Spain.
The saga continues....keep posted for the next instalment in which I will share with you our experience of the purchase process as it progressed.
p.s. this blog does have a happy ending...well kind of!