Latest Testimonial for Spanish Property North

Here at Spanish Property North we take great pride and satisfaction in the excellent service that we provide to our clients. Nothing makes us happier than seeing clients installed in the home of their dreams here in northern Spain, after a smooth and stress free house purchase. Here’s a personal insight into the process from another perspective, via a couple who recently celebrated the first anniversary of their house purchase here in Asturias.

After a 12 year search for a property in Northern Spain, we had all but given up hope of finding our ideal house. We had been close but there was either too much work needed or there was something just not quite right. We had found Spanish Property North through a search on the internet. In August 2014 we heard via an estate agent of a property in Asturias that on paper should have been ideal, in reality to was far from it. Fortunately we had contacted Mary before our visit so had arranged a meeting. From the outset we were impressed with Mary’s in depth knowledge of not just available properties but also her insights into the whole buying process, legal issues, costs, the process, very much the helping hand we needed. During our short visit Mary sent us some info on a house that we had seen on the internet before but had dismissed due to cost. The price had just recently been dropped to a point that it was now within budget, we loved it. Within 24 hours she had managed to arrange a meeting with the vendor and negotiations began in earnest. In early October we actually managed to rent the property for a couple of nights and Mary again arranged meetings and was able to find answers for us for those inevitable questions. By the end of our visit we had made an offer, by the end of October with Mary having arranged appointments for the all important NIE number, bank account, notary, we signed on the dotted line and we became the new owners of La Torea. I cannot recommend Mary and Spanish Property North more highly. Her help was invaluable and as the process went on we were ever more aware that we would not have been able to this without her. A massive thank you for all your help.’

Frank & Sue Hendre, Suffolk, UK / La Torea, Piloña, Asturias.

Frank and Sue's gorgeous home in northern Spain has spectacular views to the Picos mountains

Frank and Sue’s gorgeous home in northern Spain has spectacular views to the Picos mountains

Driving Over Apples

I read recently in El Pais in English (a great source for English-language news in Spain, btw) that Driving over Lemons author Chris Stewart is taking a sabbatical from his writing for a year in order to tackle problems with wild boar on his smallholding in southern Spain. This is a problem I am familiar with myself (they stole my potatoes the blighters!) and it is one of the (few) downsides of living in a wild and beautiful landscape.

Still, nothing that good fences can’t fix. And in the spirit of providing counter-balance to the bad news boar stories I thought I’d share this little video with you. It was taken around midnight on the way home from dinner a couple of Saturdays back. The quality is poor but the awww! factor is high.

 

Escape to the Continent

We’ve been really looking forward to watching the Asturias episode of BBC’s ‘Escape to the Continent’ since we helped the production team with filming last October. Yesterday our long wait came to an end and we have to say it was worth the wait. If you haven’t seen it already then check it out on BBC iplayer.

Magical morning views from one of the properties featured in the show

Magical morning views from one of the properties featured in the show

If you don’t know Asturias very well then it’s an excellent, highly visual introduction to the region as well as to the Asturian property market. If you’re already a fan of the area then you can just sit back and enjoy the spectacular scenery whilst keeping a beady eye out for places and people you recognize!

And if the show gets you itching to buy one of the properties featured I can tell you *SPOILER ALERT* that two of the properties are still available for sale. And one of them has just had a big price drop, making it even more attractive. Look away now if you don’t want to know which one 😉

Now on at €130,000!

Now on at €130,000! Eco water mill in Pilona Our reference MR340

If you want to know more about the water mill for sale near Sevares then click here. And if you’re hankering after those spectacular views of the Picos de Europa mountains that you got from the glass-fronted galeria of the house in Cabranes then*Update* This property has now sold!* Or if you’d like to find out more about any aspect of buying property in Asturias or the realities of life as an ex-pat here then do feel free to get in touch. We’re always happy to help!

Scroll Down And Click To View Full Site

If you’ve navigated to Spanish Property North on your smartphone then the mobile version of the site will have taken you here, to our blog. Don’t panic! The full site (with those all-important property listings) is still available to you. You just need to scroll right the way down to the bottom and click to view the full site.

Home page full site version

To browse listings you need to access the full site – scroll down to the bottom and click to view!

 

 

El Jardinero Inglés – The English Gardener

There was great excitement today at Spanish Property North headquarters when this large, purple truck pulled up at our door.

IMG_3089.JPGThe cavalry had arrived.

But before I explain, let me first tell you a cautionary tale of an over-optimistic, overly-romantic ex-pat, with eyes bigger than her belly, who took on too much land, with too little knowledge and quickly found herself in a pickle, with weeds and brambles threatening to consume all before them. Armed only with a whimsical scythe our heroine was quickly overwhelmed.

So I she did the obvious thing. Ignored it all. Gaining a permanent crick in her neck from avoiding looking at the disaster that was her hopefully envisioned garden field. The thing is, the climate in Asturias is perfect for growing. It really is. The only problem is that if you don’t plant up and manage your land cleverly then nature will take over. If you don’t decide what grows, then she will. And she does seem to have a perverse liking for brambles and nettles and other unpleasantries. Punishment for neglect, I guess.

The good news is that there is no need to suffer in this way. Help is at hand. If you, like I, don’t have the necessary tools, time or training to get the best out of your garden (or field!) you can do what I did and call in ‘El Jardinero Inglés’ (The English Gardener – an added bonus for newly-arrived expats, the boss is English so no language difficulties to navigate).

I have to say, it’s one of those things you just wish you’d done sooner. I’ve seen that big, branded purple van knocking about for years now and yet it was only last week that I got around to ringing the number and asking for help. I think I thought they just specialized in bigger, posher jobs than mine. Turns out, if it’s a garden or growing related job then they can turn their hand to it. And all for a very reasonable price. Highly recommended.

Watch out for photos of my newly-scalped (and accessible!!) field coming soon to a social media account near you…

 

 

January Sales!

Well 2015 has got off to a flying start here at Spanish Property North. I don’t know whether it’s down to our constant hunt for the best properties to market combined with our excellent service or the fact that prices have fallen as low as they’re likely to or simply the strength of the pound to the euro, but we are currently swamped with buyers.

As ever, properties with lots of land are particularly popular, with many of our clients looking to escape from the stresses of city life and to live more in harmony with nature. The dream of self-sufficiency and low-impact living is alive and strong in the hearts and minds of those moving to Asturias, ‘el paraiso natural’. Properties like this one, with 2 hectares of land and the chance to buy more, plus various outbuildings ripe for conversion in addition to the main house, are generating lots of interest.

Stone built house and barn with 2 hectares of land

The house is fully renovated and has a secluded setting, 8km from the popular fishing port of Ribadesella

The architecturally typical Asturian house, stone and wood built with classical galeria or corredor, is also as popular as ever; particularly if it’s detached, with a garden, great views and great access, all at a very accessible price – like this gem, located in the natural reserve of the Sueve.

Typical traditional Asturian house for sale in Piloña

Gorgeous traditional Asturian house, ready to move into.

And then there’s the properties that have had their prices slashed to way below cost, making them unbeatable value, like this luxury villa in Galicia, on sale at half the original asking price. No wonder buyers are beating a path to our door!

Luxury villa for sale in Galicia

Luxurious top-quality villa set in 8,000m2 gardens