Our mission: find a house.

We landed on the Spanish ground, checked in in Airbnb apartment, and planned to find a house during a week. Was it too optimistic? Well, maybe a little bit. Fortunately, there was a possibility to extend stay in Torrevieja for 5 more days. It had to be enough.

Every day a new apartment ad appears on the Internet. We checked mainly idealista and thinkspain. We sent e-mails and called, very often using WhatsApp (I didn’t use this app til now, but here it seems to be the most common means of communication). I had to speak my not perfect Spanish. And I surprised myself because I was able to communicate! It is still difficult to shift towards a new language. When I think about the word I should use, Danish one pops out. But just a little practice and it will be ok.

The biggest obstacle we encountered was not having a job in Spain. And I do understand that people want to have some kind of guarantee we will pay monthly rent, but… Everyone, real estate agency and private owners required proof of income from the last three months. The only other option was to pay 6 months up front.

How did it go with searching for a house? (“House” means a terraced house. Time for a detached villa will come in the future.)

1. Rafelcofer
   Ii was a house from a real estate agency, available from now on. We drove 160 km with hearts filled with hope. Although it was the first place we were going to see, we were ready to sign a contract at once. The town was peaceful, 6 km from the sea, surrounded by lemon and orange groves. First impression positive (with one exception of a man who pointed out my dog peeing on the wall.) The plot was quite big but strangely deployed. From one to the other end there was a long corridor, and all the rooms were located along it. There were very small patios in the middle and one bigger with a lemon tree in the end. But it was only an imitation of the courtyard, cause it was surrounded by walls with sky view only high above. And there was no heating in the house. We decided to take some time to think this through. I wasn’t convinced I want to live there.
   I want to mention Spanish custom of kissing twice each other cheeks. I’ve heard about it, but there’s a difference between hearing and experiencing. It was just a bit funny to kiss a real estate agent, or the owner of the house, for that matter. 🙂
2. Panorama
   That one was from a private person and we were thrilled when we saw it. It lied in a quiet district, with a courtyard in front (just a perfect spot for a morning coffee) and a magnificent sea view from the window. A small kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms were upstairs and one bedroom with a bathroom downstairs (with a separate entrance.) We wanted to take it but the owner asked for a day to take a decision. We were waiting with bated breath. In the end, she informed us that she has some other things now and she won’t rent it. That was strange. We were very disappointed and discouraged but somehow we went back to searching.
3. Santa Pola (western suburbs)
   From an agency with an agent speaking English very well. The house was a bit more expensive than we intended to pay, but more or less ok. Close to the beach, with a good connection to the city center. But maybe because of the price or maybe we were too distracted by a previous one, but in any case, we did not take this one into account.
4. Oliva (urbanization 5 km south from the city)
   It was another long journey (150 km) that’s why we really wished it would be the end of searching. The house was spacious and nice, although without bathtub and with dangerous staircase (high steps with gaps between). The beach was very close and it was a really lovely one, with a view of the mountains on the shore side. The biggest disadvantage was that this urbanization was too quiet, almost dead. Most of the houses were occupied only in the summer time and you need to drive to the city to do your shopping (there was a small shop at the camping nearby). We already knew it won’t be so easy to find a house so we were ready to take this one. However, we spoke with the owner’s brother, who had to speak with her. The next morning she wrote to us, we wrote a little about ourselves and that was the end of a conversation.
5. El Moncayo
   At this point we were desperate and we sent inquiries everywhere. This house from the agency was smaller but cheaper as well. It was not a whole terraced house but only its part on the first floor. Two rooms, a living room with a kitchen, a balcony and a small area outside. The neighborhood was quiet but there were many cars parked on the street, so I guess, people were actually living there. The nearest shop was opened only in summer, otherwise, you have to drive 4 km to the city. It wasn’t perfect, but it was ready to move in. And it was Tuesday evening. We had to leave Torrevieja on Thursday.
6. Ciudad Quesada
   I believe in the principle that “to want is to succeed”. That everything will be all right, that the right solution will come. For us, it came in the form of agent Francisco. Late on Tuesday, I sent a message to an agent who showed us a house in Santa Pola to ask if he has anything else, doesn’t matter where. He replied on Wednesday morning that we can go in one hour to Ciudad Quesada and his brother will show us the house there. I didn’t even have time to eat breakfast (and the breakfast is essential to me) and we drove to the meeting point. Francisco showed us the house. And we knew, this is our place. To have an inner feeling that this is it – priceless. There were two bedrooms (each with a balcony) and a bathroom with a tub on the upper floor, and a bedroom, a living room, small bathroom with a shower and a small kitchen downstairs. There were a terrace and an orange tree behind the house, and a lemon tree and a palm in front. And the swimming pool within 10 steps! The last thing to do was to pay 6 months upfront and we could move in.

Mission accomplished!