How we got to this point.....

Well hello! :-) and welcome to our blog.  Sarah writing today (1 June and exactly 15 weeks until we leave UK on our big adventure).

It seems rude not to introduce ourselves and tell you a little about us so you get an insight into our motivation so here goes....

We are Ian (just turned 60) and Sarah (54) with 6 children and 6 grandchildren between us.  We met 7 years ago and as we were singing from the same hymn sheet about a lot of things, one of which importantly was moving to live somewhere sunny in the not too far distant future, we took the plunge and got married (again in both cases) 4 years ago.  

Ian is a trained mechanic and also skilled in minor building, refurb and handyman work as well as most aspects of gardening and gardening maintenance.  He has spent the last 8 years test driving Rolls Royce cars.   I am a fairly recently qualified Trinity CertTESOL teacher with admin and secretarial skills and have spent the last 15 years teaching/training adults in the volunteer sector.  Prior to this I variously worked in admin in the medical sector, as a secondary school English teacher and as a fundraising manager for a cancer charity.

Both of us have had a long held intention to live somewhere sunny and for seven years I lived in South Africa many years ago.  But we've increasingly come to hate the UK weather and also wanted to step off the treadmill of work/shifts etc before we were too decrepit to actually do it!  We had had a few holidays on the Algarve (Albufeira) and loved it, nearly buying a place there in spring 2011 but decided against it as didn't quite feel like home and this is an important point: you need to feel like you could live in a place.  A holiday is one thing, everyday life is quite another.

And so to the summer of 2011 when we decided to change location and I suggested Mallorca where I had spent many happy holidays as a child as my great aunt and uncle lived near to Palma in a lovely villa right on the coast at C'as Catala.  Ian had also had a couple of great holidays in Cala D'Or many years ago and agreed.  My daughter was coming with us so we chose three places in three different parts of the island from Owners Direct and Ian made the final decision - and as it happened he chose an apartment in Llenaire!  We had a wonderful time and really loved the Port.  Back in the the UK as the short days drew in and we thought wistfully of the sunshine in the Port, I suggested buying a place in Mallorca.  And so it was that we found ourselves contacting several estate agents on the island and arranging to view several apartments in two locations - Cala D'Or and Puerto Pollensa.

January 2012 saw us on a four day whistle-stop property-viewing tour of the island starting with Cala D'Or.  And it was there that we instantly fell in love with a large one bedroom apartment with enormous roof terrace overlooking the marina.  Once we arrived in PP (in the pitch dark and in gale force winds) we couldn't find our accommodation (turns out they messed up and eventually we got a refund but I digress!) and ended up finding a room at the lovely Bellaverde Hostel in the town.  We looked at some more apartments and found another we also liked - also one bedroom, light and airy, overlooking the apartment block pool area (see below).  Then we returned to the UK to deliberate.

Long story short, we bought the apartment in PP (obviously!).  In the end it's all about location, location, location and if you are lucky enough to be buying property in Spain and especially if you are buying as an investment then our TOP TIP would be to stick to this mantra.  We could have bought a larger apartment elsewhere but having one in the Port, 5 minutes walk to Tamarells beach and not much further to the town centre was definitely a good choice.  After all, the one thing you can't change is the location!  Another TOP TIP is to find a reputable and personally recommended solicitor.  Don't go to one recommended by the estate agent - we're not saying they would necessarily be no good but that you need to be careful in Spain and make sure that your legal representation is working for YOU and not with any other party in mind!  In any event, we used my family's solicitor on the island so were in very safe hands.  

You need a NIE number to buy property - and remember, although you have that number in perpetuity, the certificate expires after 3 months so if you are intending a move to Spain you'll probably need to renew it at some point.  We would recommend that you obtain the assistance of a professional or someone from your solicitor to help you as getting the NIE is quite an experience.  If you're getting one in the winter - not so much of a problem, but if in the spring/summer then another TOP TIP is to GO EARLY to the Police Station in Palma.  The queue starts from about 7am and is filled with people who need paperwork done in order to work during the holiday season.  Moreover, once they have issued enough entry tickets for the day then that's it - doors close and you have to go away and come back again the next day.  We know this from bitter experience.  On the second day we got there super early and got in and with our professional on hand we got through the paperwork easily enough as she had advised us what we needed and also spoke fluent Spanish but beware - you then have to take the paperwork they give you and take it to a bank to pay the tax and then return with the payment proof etc to the police station - which of course closes at lunchtime for the day!  On our third trip there we finally got our paperwork, so allow plenty of time to get this sorted before you have your meeting with the notaria to complete the paperwork for the property purchase - and you have to have it in order to do so.  The actual meeting with the notaria is rather different to buying in the UK as the seller, the purchaser, the solicitors, the notaria, people from any mortgaging banks involved - it's quite a party!  And actually very sociable :-)

You can see more about the apartment we bought here

Since that day we have been visiting the Port and staying in our apartment three times a year and during this time have made lots of friends and contacts.  But more about this next time!