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This article was submitted by Mark Laugharne of Del Sol Domestic Services, a cleaning and key-holding service for the La Condesa de Mijas Golf community. Mark is 41 and currently employed by Royal Mail. He and his wife will be setting up a business called Del Sol Domestic Services with the help of their daughter and her husband.
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We had only been in Torremolinos for a few hours but already we hated it, was that it? A stretch of beach and a few shops, our first visit to the Costa Del Sol did not impress.
That was twelve years ago, and how things have changed! We now know Torremolinos like the back of our hands (all of it) and are getting to know the rest of the coast just as well.
There came a time a few years ago when several trips a year was just not enough and sitting home in Wales just made us homesick for the part of Spain that we wanted to call home.
My wife's mother sold her small cottage and came to live with us, sharing the proceeds between her two children.
So off we went to Spain to see what we could get for £40000, the answer was a big fat nothing! Since our first few visits it was not only our opinion of Spain that had changed but the price of property as well!
We were told by a chap from Interealty our only option was to invest "off plan" whatever that was? We were a bit naive at the time, but we took the plunge and signed on the dotted line. Of course he was only after his commision, but in retrospect he did us a huge favour.
That was in April 2003 and now what seems like a lifetime later, we are nearing completion, April 2007 is D day or should that be D Month!
A lot has happened in that time, we have both decided it's time for a change of career but most importantly a change of country.
We are not in the fortunate position of selling our house and living the Vida Loca, we have to get a mortgage and we know we will have to work hard to pay it, but we also know it will be worth every headache and heartache we encounter.
We are now at the stage of having the business cards, the fridge magnets, the advertising for the side of the car and two glowing character references from our current employers, all we need now is somewhere to live!
It's great to keep in touch with all the owners through Eye on Spain, this has kept us sane through the long wait and we are hoping they will become clients as well as neighbours and friends.
Del Sol Domestic Services is the name of the business, and we will be doing post build and holiday let cleaning with a key holding service available. We will be permanantly at La Condesa for any situation that would arise there, but will be covering most of the coast should the demand (fingers crossed) be there.