Staff Reporter
SO as I sit here by the pool enjoying the last few hours of sunshine, sipping my G&T watching the sun setting over the mountains I settle down to write what is hopefully the final instalment of our house buying experience here in the beautiful Costa Tropical.
With us being unable to agree a price on the gorgeous villa we had fallen in love with, just off the Acebuchal road on the outskirts of Frigiliana, we had already found an equally attractive alternative closer to the neighbouring village of Torrox.
Although with comparable accommodation and in a similar position to the previous property, it’s amazing how just moving a few kilometres into a different postcode, can make a massive difference in price.
We have had an offer accepted which is over €100k less than the asking price of the previous place, yet still only a 15 minute drive from either the meandering lanes of Frigiliana and the beaches of Torrox or Nerja.
With a small deposit now transferred to the agent’s bank account and an initial ‘offer to purchase’ contract signed, the property has now been removed from their website and can no longer be marketed for sale.
This is so much better than the system in the UK where there is still a danger of being ‘gazumped’ several months into the process.
Subject to a satisfactory mortgage offer, and with no ‘chain’ the move to our new home is Spain is achingly close now. We’ve now handed everything over to the solicitors and await a satisfactory valuation form the bank.
Fingers crossed its not down valued too much but fortunately we are nowhere near the maximum borrowing figure so there is some ‘wriggle room’.
With the heat turning up another notch this week, due to a weather system crossing the Mediterranean from Africa, we are almost relieved to be preparing for our imminent two week trip back to the UK to see family and friends.
We have been living in Spain for almost six months now, so it will be very interesting to see how we feel about ‘home’ in comparison.
Naturally I will always be British, but I am growing to love the outdoor living afforded by the glorious weather – of course it’s raining back in the UK as they have just had August Bank Holiday weekend!
The days seem longer and although we haven’t quite become accustomed to ‘siesta’ time I have been rising around 5am, to take advantage of the cooler hours before sunrise, often finishing work in the early afternoon.
I admire the many people who return to work at 5 pm after siesta, and continue well into the evening. I guess that it’s easier for them as it is ingrained in their culture, but I personally couldn’t do it – unless it was for a networking event and food or wine was involved!
So it looks like we will be staying in Spain for the rest of our lives.
When we return from the UK at the end of August our next step is to obtain residency, which will hopefully not be too difficult as we are both working and will be paying taxes and social security very soon.
We have been strongly advised to complete the process well before Brexit when, from what I have read, BoJo intends to crash out of the EU on October 31 -deal or no deal!
It does sound like Halloween this year will be particularly scary for a lot of people!
If concerned about how your investments or pensions are currently positioned get in touch with me for a ‘Discovery’ meeting at my expense – I’ll even pay for the coffee!
