Well, lets see where we are now after almost two months of being here.
I notice that I seem to start many of my blogs with “well” word - I will try not to from today but please forgive me if I start on the “well” word in future!
I was of the firm belief that we would never find the right place to rent after we had decided that the housing market was overheating here and the pound (£) was performing so poorly against Euro (€) and that buying a property now would be folly.
When we set out on this adventure we had thought we could get something really good for our pound but the properties now look like a bad deal on exchange rate fluctuations. Also, the sellers here are very odd, for example, they have a place on the market for months that is NOT selling, so what do they do? They, the local Ibicinos that is, see a new property come on the market that is similar and a higher price than their's so, they hike the price of theirs in the vain hope that at an even higher price the property will sell!
To top it all they also factor in the very high estate agents fees (ten or fifteen percent here) so that they effectively pass on fee to the buyer.
So, we changed our minds and decided to rent somewhere and save (preserve more like) our capital from the ravages of the Ibiza housing market and the British / European financial markets. Anyway enough of the financial stuff... Let’s get on with the story.
We placed an advert in the local paper the “Dario de Ibiza” and low and behold within 24 hours we had a call from a lady saying she had a “casa” in a place called San Carlos (Sant Carles). We have looked at this area before but Val thought it a little bit too far away from the town and we would be too dependent on a car to get anywhere. She had always wanted to be able to walk into a town early mornings to go to market etc.
We agreed to meet the house owners in San Carlos on Monday so that they could show us the house. I think you will agree that the photos tell the story!! At this point I should say that there were several key elements of any rental or purchase.... these were;
There MUST be a proper bath (most places here have only showers and Val does not like to shower .... I don't like to bath, but of course you all know that once you get close to me. The property would have to have three bedrooms and there had to be a separate kitchen and finally there had to be two bathrooms (she prefers I have my own).
The look of awe that came over Val's face as she stepped through the door of the lovely little finca was a picture. The house has the three bedrooms, two bathrooms and TWO kitchens and sits in a fairly large plot on a nice rise set back off a narrow road with views to the sea in front and the hills on the other three sides. There is a well for drinking water (we will see who dares to drink it first!), large double garage and extensive terraces all around. All in all perfect and we plan to give notice here in Playa den Bossa and move in around the middle of January once the aircon and heating is installed there.
Oh, I forgot to mention.............no bath!! I don't think Val has noticed yet.... but it is going to be great not to have to live out of boxes for much longer.
On the subject of the bath, I was so obsessed with finding a place with one that when I was talking to the lady offering the property for rent on the phone that she became convinced I was in a wheelchair and needed special access to the bath!!! This meant that when we arranged to meet in the Santa Carles car park we stood for 5 minutes looking at each other because I was clearly NOT in a wheelchair....
I notice that I seem to start many of my blogs with “well” word - I will try not to from today but please forgive me if I start on the “well” word in future!
I was of the firm belief that we would never find the right place to rent after we had decided that the housing market was overheating here and the pound (£) was performing so poorly against Euro (€) and that buying a property now would be folly.
When we set out on this adventure we had thought we could get something really good for our pound but the properties now look like a bad deal on exchange rate fluctuations. Also, the sellers here are very odd, for example, they have a place on the market for months that is NOT selling, so what do they do? They, the local Ibicinos that is, see a new property come on the market that is similar and a higher price than their's so, they hike the price of theirs in the vain hope that at an even higher price the property will sell!
To top it all they also factor in the very high estate agents fees (ten or fifteen percent here) so that they effectively pass on fee to the buyer.
So, we changed our minds and decided to rent somewhere and save (preserve more like) our capital from the ravages of the Ibiza housing market and the British / European financial markets. Anyway enough of the financial stuff... Let’s get on with the story.
We placed an advert in the local paper the “Dario de Ibiza” and low and behold within 24 hours we had a call from a lady saying she had a “casa” in a place called San Carlos (Sant Carles). We have looked at this area before but Val thought it a little bit too far away from the town and we would be too dependent on a car to get anywhere. She had always wanted to be able to walk into a town early mornings to go to market etc.
We agreed to meet the house owners in San Carlos on Monday so that they could show us the house. I think you will agree that the photos tell the story!! At this point I should say that there were several key elements of any rental or purchase.... these were;
There MUST be a proper bath (most places here have only showers and Val does not like to shower .... I don't like to bath, but of course you all know that once you get close to me. The property would have to have three bedrooms and there had to be a separate kitchen and finally there had to be two bathrooms (she prefers I have my own).
The look of awe that came over Val's face as she stepped through the door of the lovely little finca was a picture. The house has the three bedrooms, two bathrooms and TWO kitchens and sits in a fairly large plot on a nice rise set back off a narrow road with views to the sea in front and the hills on the other three sides. There is a well for drinking water (we will see who dares to drink it first!), large double garage and extensive terraces all around. All in all perfect and we plan to give notice here in Playa den Bossa and move in around the middle of January once the aircon and heating is installed there.
Oh, I forgot to mention.............no bath!! I don't think Val has noticed yet.... but it is going to be great not to have to live out of boxes for much longer.
On the subject of the bath, I was so obsessed with finding a place with one that when I was talking to the lady offering the property for rent on the phone that she became convinced I was in a wheelchair and needed special access to the bath!!! This meant that when we arranged to meet in the Santa Carles car park we stood for 5 minutes looking at each other because I was clearly NOT in a wheelchair....
2 comments:
Go on then Richard, I give up where are the photos of this house then ?
Well(!) I agree about the lack of promised images - this just isnt good enough from an ex IBM'er and IT savvy professional such as yourself! And, well, I think you should both stop obsessing about food, and facilities and 'back home'. And ...well ...get out there - get photos of eachother ENJOYING Ibiza,and well, everyone you meet - tell us their stories, and show us the amazing hidden coves and flora and fauna etc etc -show us your photographic skills!
All Love FR&D
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