When we decided to sell our house in Istria and move to Spain, we initially didn’t look at future renovation projects. We thought that we wanted somewhere we would move in, and tinker around the edges, putting our stamp on the property. But, the more that we looked online, the more we were being drawn to projects. We saw lots of ready-to-go houses, but most were pretty soulless and most were recently built – the kind of houses you see a lot of when A Place in the Sun films in southern Spain. Many were discounted immediately, as well as the areas. We’re not averse to living somewhere that has lots of nationalities living there too, but we definitely didn’t want an enclave of British ex-pats. As a result, we started to find ourselves drawn to Andalucia, and especially the south west. Here, we started to find old houses, town houses, which really piqued our interest and we earmarked a number to view, when we travelled out over the summer.
The first house we viewed was in the beautiful pueblo blanco of Medina Sidonia. It was actually a fairly new house, but constructed in the style of a townhouse, and so ticked many of our boxes. Over three floors, with quirky features, we did like it a lot, but ultimately the outdoor space wasn’t enough, and to either side, there was land, which definitely looked ripe for additional houses to be built on.
So, our next viewing was in the pueblo blanco of Jimena de la Frontera, not too far from the coast, but far enough away to feel like an authentic Spanish town. We had about five houses to view but the first was a rather grand looking townhouse, for an amazing price. Originally, we had discounted this house, because the estate agent’s website stated it was “Sold”. However, I contacted the agent, and said if anything similar became available to let me know – and in a moment of serendipity, he told me that it was about to go back up for sale. Almost as if it was meant to be…
As soon as I walked through the door, I knew this was our home. Perhaps because we had viewed it online so many times, it felt so familiar. Walking through it, only made the belonging grow, and by the time we had seen everything, I knew this was the one. I didn’t want to see any of the other properties before we had had a chance to discuss this house and so we postponed them. A relatively quick chat confirmed what we were both thinking – call off the search. This had to be our house. And, two days later our offer was accepted!
Fast forward three months, and she is ours. Documents all signed, deeds transferred into our names and paid for. That dream of buying a house in Spain that we could more or less move straight into, hasn’t quite materialised, but I do think we now have our dream home. Initial plans are now being drawn up for the internal renovation and we expect that over the winter – when we will be living elsewhere – work will begin on the really dirty demolition work. The house is in a bit of a state at the moment, because it has been unloved and neglected, but not for long.
This is our starting point, and as daunting as it feels currently, we think we have found ourselves a gem of builder, who will work with us on this new, and super exciting, renovation project.
