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Puerto Banús did it for us!
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VIVA Customers: Geoff & Catherine Philpot
Where and what they bought: Apartment in Los Naranjos Golf, Nueva Andalucía
Their dream: A second home in the sun and an investment for their retirement
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Their story...
“We spent a few breaks in Puerto Banús, at a friend's apartment in the development of Los Naranjos de Marbella. From our first time in the area we knew it was for us. The combination of the port, the shops, the numerous quality golf courses, the weather and the general ambience of the place just felt right.
We love just sitting in one of the bars at the port, having a drink and watching the world go by. This, together with the accommodation in Los Naranjos de Marbella, made us want to make it a more permanent part of our life. The fun of trying to find somewhere to holiday every year by looking through brochures and websites really had deserted us years before.
During a stay in October 2003, we decided that the time was right for us to look to buy in the area. We loved the development of Los Naranjos de Marbella and the process of building the final phase of the development was underway. There were a few apartments still available. However, we were conscious that we didn't know much about any other developments, so we made contact with VIVA Estates in Puerto Banús and arranged to spend the next two days viewing other options.
We soon realised that there was no question, this was an apartment we wanted. It's solely for our own use, we have no intention of letting or lending it and we certainly wouldn't want to arrive for a well-deserved break and have to spend half the time painting walls, cutting grass and dredging a pool. So it had to be turn-key, on a development that was fully maintained so that we only had to find someone to look after the inside and clean and tidy before we arrived each time.
We decided that we wouldn't make an offer until we had returned home and spoken to people there like our accountant and bank manager, just to confirm that we weren't completely off our trolley after too many days of sun. Also as great believers in fate, we felt that if the apartment was still available after this, then maybe it was meant to be!
After being reassured at home, we contacted our VIVA agent again and asked that they make the enquiry and the offer on our behalf. By dealing with an agent like VIVA, we always had someone that was on hand when we needed them.
We used a lawyer based in Marbella that was recommended to us by our friends who owned on the same development and we made contact with them by telephone.
We're in now, all furnished and we love it. It's our escape.
If I was to give any advice to prospective buyers, it would be to buy from a respected and established company, get a good lawyer that is recommended to you, make sure you have an estate agent that you can use if you need things to be done remotely and ask your lawyer to detail for you what your anticipated expenses will be so you know exactly what you will be paying.
Who knows what we will do in the future, but at the moment, we're enjoying our second home now with the additional benefit that it's another investment for our retirement.”
Where next?
