Tuesday 24 March 2015

Our Spanish Dream - Part 17: Not Today Thank You

Our Spanish Dream - Part 17: Not Today Thank You

The morning of Thursday 19th October 2006 dawned bright and early for us.  Together with our youngest son we headed south with smile on our faces and expectations in our hearts.  We arrived at the office and were greeted by our agent.  There was a complication!
The owner had inherited the property from her father, in his Will she was called by her married name and all paperwork had been prepared in that name.  There had been an authorised copy of a passport in her married name made and filed but the passport had since expired.  A copy of the new passport had been sent BUT the lady was divorced and had since reverted to her maiden name, so the name on the new passport didn’t match any other documents.  It was highly unlikely the Notary would agree for the sale to proceed without proof that the two names were for one person.
In Spain a woman does not change her name when she marries, the name you are born with is the one you keep all your life.  Everyone has two surnames, each child takes their first surname from the mother’s last surname and the second surname from the father’s last surname, (it’s simpler than it sounds!).  So the Spanish Notary was quite baffled as to why this woman changed her name on marriage and then changed her name back again with no need for any official deeds.  So instead of signing for our house we reluctantly agreed to give power of attorney to our solicitor to complete in about two weeks’ time after all the proof required had been sent to Spain for the woman’s identity.
Afterwards we went over to the house.  The lady owner had agreed that we could use the house as planned the next week anyway.  We deposited the bags we had taken with us and went for a swim in the pool before driving back to Mum and Dad’s.  It was disappointing but we weren’t worried. 
Oh, how we had underestimated Spanish red tape!
.

Dave and Bev Spanish Dream Properties
Dave and Bev Townsend have two homes, their main one in Norwich and a second home in Playa Flamenca in south Costa Blanca, Spain which they also let as a holiday rental www.house-by-the-pool.com   They run a property finding business offering a free service for those seeking to buy a property in the Costa Blanca (Alicante) or the Mar Menor area of the Costa Calida (Murcia) www.SpanishDreamProperty.com Bev has family in Spain and they intend to move there full-time in a couple of years.





Friday 6 March 2015

Our Spanish Dream - Part 16: Mum and Dad's 50th

Our Spanish Dream - Part 16: Mum and Dad's 50th


20th October 2006 was my parents' Golden Wedding Anniversary.  It was planned for ourselves, our youngest and my sister and brother-in-law to spend a week with them and share in the celebrations.  With not enough room for all five of us to stay comfortably at their villa we stayed in a friend’s three bedroom apartment up the road.  The main celebrations were on Friday evening with a diner and dance at a local restaurant for around 60 guests, preceded by a champagne lunch for family and a couple of close friends.
We arrived on Wednesday 18th with the plan to travel south and sign the final papers for buying the house on Thursday, then back to Mum and Dad’s that night for the celebrations on Friday and church blessing on Sunday, before heading south again Monday to start the big clean on our new house.

Lunch on Friday went well, with Dave assigned to the barbecue, and lots of laughter and presents. Mum made a Bucks Fizz for our 13 year old son, which he claimed it was very  nice and tasted of bananas.  Confused I looked on the juice cartoon to find Mum had accidently bought orange, grape and banana juice!  The evening meal went well with Mum and Dad being surprised by a Limo collecting them.  Dad gave a speech, their friend and Pastor gave a speech, the band played all night and everyone got very merry.
Sunday morning was a lovely service with a blessing.  My Dad had recently been given the all clear from his throat cancer and that added to the specialness of the occasion.  It’s a lovely memory to have of a time of such joy and laughter.  The coming years would make that time extra 

Dave and Bev Spanish Dream Properties
Dave and Bev Townsend have two homes, their main one in Norwich and a second home in Playa Flamenca in south Costa Blanca, Spain which they also let as a holiday rental www.house-by-the-pool.com   They run a property finding business offering a free service for those seeking to buy a property in the Costa Blanca (Alicante) or the Mar Menor area of the Costa Calida (Murcia) www.SpanishDreamProperty.com Bev has family in Spain and they intend to move there full-time in a couple of years.