That is what DIY enthusiast Dave asked his wife Isabel when they were packing their bags to come to Spain to complete the purchase of their new villa near Pedralba in Valencia, which they found through HomeEspaña.
“I’m looking forward to the sun and a new way of life and my husband is looking forward to the sun and the DIY,” Isabel said.
Engineer Dave (53) and Sales Operation Executive Isabel (52) are from Kidderminster in Worcestershire (UK) and are planning to use their villa as a holiday home for now until they move to Spain on a permanent basis by obtaining the Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa.
Dave and Isabel completed the purchase of their villa on 28th March this year for €192,000, but actually reserved the property back in September 2024 before they had even seen it in person. Isabel said she was sent “the most comprehensive video you could ask for” by HomeEspaña.
“It was a complete breakdown of the surrounding area. It was a fantastic video,” she said.
As for the property itself, the main villa has four bedrooms and two bathrooms, while there is also a separate accommodation with another bedroom and bathroom as well as a kitchenette.
“We wanted it to have an annex of some sort so Ben (Dave and Isabel’s 14-year-old son) could move into that and live separately to us, but we are still on hand if need be.”
Isabel said they also wanted the property to be in the countryside, rather than a built-up area, and that driving past orange groves to reach the house is a really nice thing to do.
“One of things that was so exciting is that we have a lemon tree, an orange tree a clementine tree – and a really big orange tree – they were the size of grapefruits and my son was in absolute awe! It’s so exciting to be able to live off the land that way.”
Regarding their experience with HomeEspaña, Isabel says the thing that most impressed her were the people.
“We couldn’t have asked for more help from Aaron (Client Relations), Andy (Director) and Arge (Aftersales Executive) – the triple A’s! The day we came over to see the place, Andy picked us up from the airport, took us round the place, dropped us back to the hotel… he was so helpful. He didn’t push us or rush us in any way”, Isabel said.
Isabel and Dave were initially going to finance their purchase with the proceeds of the sale of their UK property and the seller in Spain had agreed to give the couple six months to achieve this. But in the end, the couple decided to take out a mortgage on their UK home and use that to buy their villa in Spain.
“Before we signed for the mortgage on our UK house, Arge went out to check the property after the rains in Valencia and took loads of photos to show us the house itself had not been affected at all.”
Isabel says HomeEspaña also recommended a money transfer company and a financial advisor who were both “fantastic”.
“With Currencies Direct, on the day I did the transfer, I saved £5,000 when compared to Lloyds.”
Isabel explained that Currencies Direct did not charge fees for the transfer and that coupled with locking in the exchange rate when she did was how she saved a lot of money. (Click here to find out more about Currencies Direct.)
She was also delighted with the help of the Spanish financial advisor who gave them advice on tax issues and also confirmed the couple would be able to meet the financial requirements of the Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa via a combination of investment earnings, pension income and savings.
The family say they will be returning to their new home in Spain in June for a holiday and some DIY of course!
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