A second home in Spain, we had never really thought about it, let alone really considered it. Until after a 2 week stay in Ronda and a year later in Pedregalejo we thought it might be worthwhile to have a more specific look in Andalucía. Who knows, maybe we would find our future destination there? So, we searched through the well-known search engines for a house to rent for a few weeks in order to plan our next move.

The owners of the rental house turned out to be Dutch too and when we spoke with them just before we left and told them that we rented the house because we wanted to use the time to get to know the area better and possibly start the search for our property. I took the opportunity to ask the owner, who seemed to be knowledgeable about these things, if she had any advice on the do's and don’ts of such an undertaking. After about an hour on the phone with her, she concluded that the best way forward would be to contact Jan and Marita of Second Home Andalusia.

We immediately made an appointment when we arrived in Spain and on the square in Canillas de Aceituno we got acquainted while enjoying some tapas and a caña and discussed details about working methods, next steps, what we could expect from each other and what not, and above all we spent a pleasant evening together. Jan, the commercial talker, networker and bon vivant and Marita, the pleasant and warm personality who does not lose sight of the business and process; a good combination.

Armed with the completed list of our wishes and our available budget, they immediately set to work finding possible houses and projects that would be worth visiting. After these had been briefed to us, the viewing schedule was sent ahead and on the planned date we went to view them, usually with Marita in the Landcruiser providing us with bottles of cool water.

It was very important that the house has to be right for both of us and Jan and Marita began to understand more and more what kind of house would be suitable, and even more clearly what kind of house would not. During the process, it is often the case that you have to adjust a number of wishes/requirements or that you may have to make some changes to your budget. Jan and Marita never made us feel any urge to do so and they enthusiastically kept proposing new houses.

Another good thing is the network of advisers, intermediaries, lawyers, banks, builders, gardeners etc that Second Home Andalusia has now gathered around them. The first time we had to use this network was after we found our first property option in the Campo close to Moclinejo. We knew that it needed a lot of renovation work and we also had some reservations about the paperwork involved in this "Project". The selling agent and the owner were confident about this. We then made a formal offer subject to a technical inspection and a legal check of the papers, in order to at least have exclusivity on the property. Here the work of the lawyer recommended by Second Home Andalusia turned out to be very valuable and efficient: permits turned out not to be in order and area turned out to be a protected nature reserve with restrictions in the possibilities, so no go. The whole settlement and reversal of the provisional purchase contract went smoothly without us having to worry for a moment about the outcome.

The search continued and after a couple of days of visiting houses that were not what we wanted, we found a cortijo for sale in our desired village that met all our requirements (sea view, detached, not too much land, in the Campo, walking distance from amenities and the sea, not too far from the airport, in short, everything on the wish list was fulfilled). The Selling agent, however, was unable to make an appointment at such short notice so on our way back to the airport we managed to find the house ourselves. We were able to walk around the property and view it from a distance to get a feel of the property; and that was helpful. Two days later Jan and Marita were able to plan an appointment with the selling agent and while FaceTiming we could virtually walk with them from the Netherlands through "Cortijo Molino".

We immediately knew: this is it, so we booked a flight back to Spain and 2 days later, within half an hour, we reached an agreement with the sellers and their agent. The further formal settlement of this also went smoothly and without much effort on our part.

We now have our dream house, in the perfect location. So, the end of the successful search with the help and, by now, friendship of Team Second Home Andalusia. But also, a new beginning, namely the "Project Cortijo Molino, the renovation" again together with the friends of Second Home Andalusia, but more about that later.

Nicole and Wim Pols

PS. We haven't mentioned anything about the property yet, but apart from the structural condition of the building, exterior and interior walls, roof, etc., just about everything in the building had to be replaced, renovated or renewed ...