News

Some of the first clients we had the pleasure of helping search (and find) their Spanish dream home are Sonja and René. This month, we asked them how they are enjoying their Spanish holiday home.  

In 2015, you bought a second home in the campo of Canillas de Aceituno. What were your considerations for the purchase then?  
"How quickly time goes by! Yes, right, in May 2015 to be precise and we have not regretted for a second!   

At that time, we started thinking about our retirement and liked the idea of being able to enjoy Spain not only 'later when we are older', but also now.
   
We really needed the support of Jan and Marita at Second Home Andalusia to get everything right and so it became clear to us that, within the framework of "you live now and you have to enjoy now", a second home was absolutely feasible. So our pension is now in bricks and mortar and we travel to Spain as much as possible, but we also rent out the house in the summer months when we are not there ourselves which covers part of the costs in having a second home in another country." 

So you've had the house for 7 years now, have your 'dreams' come true? Are you using the house as you planned, has it lived up to expectations?  And have the rentals been successful?  
"Yes definitely! Basically, we are in Spain for a week every 5-6 weeks. That's possible because I can also work remotely. And for René,  he likes to do odd jobs in and around the house so there is always a project on the go and slowly we make improvements that our guests can also enjoy. 
Once a year, we go to our house for a little longer to explore beautiful Andalusia. There is still so much on our list to discover. This year, for instance, we finally hiked the Caminito del Rey!   
So we like it very much. We put a lot of energy into making it 'our own finca' and you can read that in the tenants' references. Basically, we rent out Casa Flotante 3 to 4 months a year (June-Sept). We do that through our own site or through Natuurhuisje. In this way you also attract the right audience. It's always exciting how the rentals will go, but in general it is more or less  fully booked with happy tenants and we are proud of that! ;-)"  
  
What tips would you like to give people if, like you, they want to buy a house in the Axarquía?   
"Don't do the buying alone!  Things work so differently in Spain than in the Netherlands (or the UK) and to save yourself from all kinds of surprises, it is wise to seek professional help. 
  
With our house, for instance, there was a small hiccup in the form of getting the DAFO. We turned out to be one of the first to request this licence upon purchase and it ended up taking much longer than expected. Without the support of the team at Second Home Andalusia (and their confidence all would be fine) and with the perseverance of the lawyer, we really wouldn't have started the process.   

In reality, you can only relax back home when you are sure that your house here is in good hands and for that you have an administrator team keeping an eye on it for you. If there has been a storm, for example, and someone goes to check that everything is okay. Or, in our case, that the garden is kept tidy and the pool is in peak condition. 

The Second Home Andalusia team really takes care of everything, and that gives us the assurance that we will be able to enjoy our second home and our eventual retirement to the full." 
 
https://casaflotante.nl/