“Why don’t we buy a place on the coast?” said my wife out of the blue the other day.
“What with?” I replied. We’re brick rich, but cash poor.
By that, I mean we own three houses here in Andalucia: Rita’s house in Montejaque from before I met her back in 2008; our marital home near Ronda, which we bought the year after we got married in 2010; and a doer-upper in Montejaque, which I bought with some of the proceeds from the sale of my Ronda apartment in 2019.
Houses for sale
Casa Real, which I have just finished renovating, turned out to be a bit of a money pit, in that I spent far more than I intended to. Nevertheless, it gave this over-70s man a project to keep him active in his dotage.
So, back to the question “Why don’t we buy a place on the coast?”
I liked the sound of it, being a lad from North Devon who only lived six miles from the nearest beach. Rita, on the other hand, being German, suffers from “Strandmangel-Syndrom”, lack-of-beach syndrome. Well, Germany is largely land-locked with only two stretches of coastline in the far north, ie the North Sea coast and the Baltic coast.
So, a place on the coast, to spend the winter away from the cold Serranía de Ronda and near the significantly warmer Mediterranean Sea.
“What with?” I reminded my good lady. “We have no money!”
“We could sell our two houses in Montejaque and then we’d surely have enough for somewhere near the beach on the western Costa del Sol, eg Casares Playa, Estepona, La Duquesa, Castillo, San Luis de Sabinillas …..”
If we got the right property, we could decamp there for the winter and then rent to holidaymakers in Spring, Summer and Autumn.
Don’t get me wrong! We love our two village houses in Montejaque, but why do we need three houses in the Serrania de Ronda? An option for a change of scenery as we approach old age would be a good idea.
On the market
So Casa Real has just gone up for sale. This is my do-er upper, which I have reconfigured and renovated – with help – over the last couple of years.
I’m just finishing off the third bedroom and de-cluttering the house, removing my personal items.
If that sells quickly for the right price, Casa Rita will go onto the market. Rita’s former home should sell quickly, as it’s high quality and simply a delightful place.
In the meantime, it’s off to look at places on the coast around an hour from Ronda.
I’ll keep you posted.
© Pablo de Ronda
Factfile:
For information on Casa Real, Montejaque look here: LARGE MODERNISED TRADITIONAL VILLAGE HOUSE - Help me, Ronda (help-me-ronda.com)
For information on Casa Rita, Montejaque, look here: Casa Rita Holiday Rental Montejaque - Secret Serrania de Ronda