A family buys in Caleta de Fuste, Fuerteventura - From June 08

When writing our case studies about people who have been brave enough to take their world by the ears, shake it up and go out and find the new life of their dreams that so many others only talk of, it is always a heart-warming experience. But this particular true-life story has even more to warm the heart than usual.

Our story begins with Barry, who is in his early fifties, when he was living in London and working as a pipe work engineer. However, if you ever meet him don´t make the same mistake I did and say “Oh you mean you were a plumber!”

When I stood up again I asked him what the difference was between a Plumber and a Pipe Work Engineer, his first answer was “about 10 quid an hour” His second answer however was far more detailed and technical and I am happy to share with you now my somewhat shortened version of the difference in case you ever need to know. “Pipe work Engineers have bigger tools than plumbers”

Barry however was not really content with his life and desperately wanted to go out in search of a new one. He lived alone, worked too hard and enjoyed life too little, so following an enjoyable holiday in Fuerteventura, he decided to go home, sell his house, take early retirement and move out to the sun to finally begin enjoying the quality of life he had been missing.

He had taken a real liking to the area around Caleta de Fuste, which is only a short drive from the airport on the Eastern side of the island. He therefore decided to buy a one bedroom bungalow on a development called Cocosol, which is a lovely little quiet and well-maintained complex in Costa Antigua, only around a kilometre from the centre of Caleta.

Everything went smoothly with the sale of his house in the UK and the purchase if his new home in the sun, so Barry settled in to begin his new life which was now perfect with the exception of the fact that he was still living alone so had no one to share his wonderful new life with.

Our story now shifts a couple of thousand miles to the North, to a house in Chester in England where Debbie lived with her two young daughters, Nieve and Tamsyn who are now aged 6 and 9. Debbie worked hard as a special needs teacher; a rewarding occupation that she loved, although with all such careers that require so much dedication, it left her little time outside of looking after her own girls to find much of a personal life for herself.

So Debbie one day took the plunge and decided to try and find the love of her life in the same place that so many others currently do, and I don´t mean down the pub or the supermarket. Debbie joined one of the growing number of very professional and discreet Internet sites that provide so many people with the opportunity to safely meet others like themselves.

Little did Debbie realise that at the same time, two thousand miles to the South, on a small Island she had barely heard of, just 100 km off the coast of West Africa sat a man she had never met, reading the words she had just written.

But, with a perfect mixture of the power of technology and the Internet thrown in with large helpings of the human spirits desire to find and follow the scent of true love regardless of obstacles or geographic boundaries; soon internet chats turned to phone calls and phone calls turned into a life changing holiday for Debbie and the girls when they made their first visit to Fuerteventura.

The following 12 months saw an increasing number of air miles being built up by both Barry and Debbie as they took it in turns to visit one another. And as time went on it became clear to both of them that they had found what they were looking for in terms of someone to share their life with.

However, along with the wonderful realisation that they had both found the person they wanted to share their life with, was the practical consideration of where they would in fact share it, as their lives were still two thousand miles apart. Now Chester is a lovely place, but when put to a family vote as to where Debbie, Tamsyn and Nieve would each prefer to live, either Chester or Fuerteventura, the answer was unanimous; the next flights that they booked to Fuerteventura would be one way only.

So fourteen months ago Debbie and the girls arrived to begin their new life, as a new family on a new Island but there was still one vital ingredient missing as whilst Barry lived in a lovely bungalow, it was not the family house that they now needed. So, they now had to go off in search of a new family home as well.

During the time they had all spent there, they had all grown to love the Costa Antigua area so they decided that would be the ideal place to begin the search for their family home. At this point they met with Bianca from Carmen Villazans Real Estate Agency in Caleta de Fuste and explained to her what they were looking for and where they wanted to be based.

Now sometimes when looking for a property you can look for weeks or months and find nothing that you really want; you can look at lots of different options and go back and buy the very first property that you saw or, as in this case, you can be absolutely clear about what you want, walk in to the right agent who understands your requirements perfectly and be shown the right house straight away.

And as it turns out, they didn´t have far to move as their new home was only a stones throw from the bungalow that Barry had been living in. Called Residencial Costa Antigua, the new complex consists of three storey town houses surrounding a large communal swimming pool and is set only 200 metres from the sea, with a pleasant stroll along the coastal path taking you in to Caleta de Fuste.

The houses are perfect for a family being spacious inside with terraces front and back, a kitchen, living room and W.C. on the ground floor, two bedrooms and a bathroom on the middle floor with the master bedroom and en-suite bathroom on the top floor as well as a balcony. The whole family were happy with the house so they told Bianca they would proceed with the purchase.

Bianca and the other staff at the office of Carmen Villazan in the High Street in Caleta quickly and efficiently dealt with all the relevant paperwork, organised the mortgage and without much delay got the sale safely through Notary so Barry, Debbie and the girls could move in and get on with their lives. However, the work of the team at Carmen Villazans did not stop once the deal was done.

Debbie takes up the story “We were delighted with the house; it was every thing we wanted and brand new so we could make our own mark on it. It was wonderful starting out as a new family in a brand new home. However there were a few teething problems! With the house that is, not with the family”

“In any new property that has never been lived in, you don´t find out about everything until you move in and actually start living in it and using things. Over the course of the first few weeks I was in and out of Biancas office on a regular basis, to report little problems as they came to light”

“There was never anything major, only niggly little problems with the water system and plug sockets, things like that. I must admit I thought they might get a bit fed up with me going in and out all the time, but it was our new home and I wanted it to be perfect. I really needn´t have worried though as each time Carmen, Bianca and the team, just clarified exactly what the problem was, then got it sorted out with builders. Quick, simple and no fuss. It was great service”

Now during this time the pair had been busy with other things as well; they had sold up some other property in the UK and also started to rent out the bungalow in Cocosol on holiday lets. They were handling the rental and management of the bungalow themselves and were having great success. So it wasn´t long before they had another chat with Carmen Villazans office.

Knowing and loving the development they were living on they decided it would also be the ideal place to own another property to also rent out on holiday lets. So being old hands now they quickly got down to business and added property number three to their portfolio. They quickly got the snagging problems sorted out again and with the house spruced up and furnished began to make more holiday bookings.

In a very short space of time they had met a number of other locals who were impressed with how they were looking after their own property rentals and were offered more properties to rent out and manage on behalf of other people. Pretty soon they realised that an ideal business was being placed in their lap if they wanted it, so yet another new adventure for the family began.

Not long after this, they had a new addition to their family when Costa Antigua Total Care was born. Now just a few short months after starting to successfully rent out and manage their own properties to holiday makers, they have twelve other properties that they manage for other people and they are going from strength to strength.

So how have they managed so many changes in such a short space of time? Debbie explains “Well I guess the last couple of years has been quite a whirlwind really, we have done so much. We have moved country, began to live as a new family, sold property in the UK and bought property here as well starting a new business”

“But what made things much easier for us was having people we could rely on and trust over here. Bianca and the team at Carmen Villazan were really great and they made what could have been a stressful and difficult time, an easy and enjoyable one. If you are looking to start a new life over here I recommend letting them help you do it!”

So, if you are looking for a new life, a new love, a new business, a new home or maybe all four, Barry and Debbie are living proof that you can find whatever you are searching for; as long as you look in the right places!

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