Julie Hamilton sadly passed away earlier this year, but her husband James has fulfilled her last wish and bought a villa in Montserrat through HomeEspaña that he plans to move into as soon as he sells his house just outside Manchester.
“I love Valencia and where we are in Montserrat is just beautiful.” James says he didn’t want to live in an area that was full of ex-pats. “I wanted something that was still a bit Spanish,” he said.
A coach driver for touring musicians and artists, James and his his wife were originally planning to move to France to start up a small camping business, but then Covid struck and they felt that the opportunity had passed three years further down the line.
“Julie said why don’t we go somewhere in Spain and find somewhere to sit in the sun? That was our plan, but Julie got poorly so quickly, we never got the chance to go over to Spain to look,” James says.
James started searching online and when he found HomeEspaña and saw they spoke English, he decided to give them a call and it was HomeEspaña Sales Director Andy Rowland who picked up the phone.
“He was amazing. He took us to see half a dozen properties and my daughter fell in love with the one we bought.”
James ended up buying a three-bedroom villa near Montserrat town for €148,000 and the purchase completed at the notary in July this year. The main living area is on the first level of the property and includes a living/dining room, a fully fitted kitchen, three double bedrooms, a large storage room and a family bathroom with a bathtub. There is also an underbuild with a garage and two rooms that could be converted into separate accommodation to host family and friends. The property also has a private swimming pool, summer kitchen and a garden with Mediterranean fruit trees on a 734m2 plot.
James says he did not want to be on a large housing complex and loves the location of the property. “It’s just the three of us, we have a neighbour either side, so that’s just really nice. And it’s just over a mile to Montserrat so we can walk in.”
“My daughter just wouldn’t have anything else. It was sort of a blank canvas for her, as it does need updating. She said once we strip back everything and redo it, it will be a lovely property.”
James plans to start by retiling the house and renovating the kitchen and bathrooms as soon as he sells his house in Manchester.
“I have a viewing today at 1pm so I’m hoping I will be over there in a couple of weeks!”
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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.
“Go and look at some properties in Spain and move over there and enjoy a bit of sun.”
Owning a home is a keystone of wealth… both financial affluence and emotional security.
