Moving to Spain – life as an ex-pat
Rachel Webb our latest Franchisee has been living in Andalucia, in a place near Martos since 1996. Relocating from Devon, (although a Yorkshire native), she came with her husband Nick and two young sons Ben, age 5 and Tim, age 3.
Now 23 years later with three sons, a dog, cat and two chickens – and having had a varied career running a holiday let and teaching English – she’s decided to embark upon a new career – Estate Agent.
She tells her story…
From property hobby to career idea…
One of the most enjoyable things we’ve done whilst living in Spain is buying and renovating a holiday rental home. I really enjoyed that, Nick did all the work of course, I just had the ideas!
Soon after that we helped friends buy property and others sell houses here in Jaen and I really enjoyed looking for houses with them and revamping them in my head. I always see the potential and plan what I would do with a property if I bought it and of course being the wife of a fix-it-all I question any problems I see in a property for sale.
Helping friends fired my interest in property and well here I am! I’m busy painting and preparing the office in Martos in the yellow and blue of the Inland Andalucia brand!
Spanish real estate – choose your opportunity wisely
Why Inland Andalucia? Over the years I’ve had contact with all the estate agents in my area. Some are better than others. I’ve also heard and witnessed first-hand some horror stories and lots of minor gripes. When an estate agent tells an owner ‘we won’t mention that’ or a tells a vendor ‘ you don’t need a lawyer, give me the Power of Attorney’ alarm bells should ring.
I saw Inland Andalucia advertising their franchise opportunity at a perfectly timed moment; my mother’s house was being sold and we wanted to invest some of that money. I also was fed up with teaching English and was looking for the right career pathway to come along. We’d already had experience of running a business in Spain, so felt this could be a great match for our skill set.
We made plans and met Graham Govier whose successful Estate Agency business had grown and expanded over the previous eighteen years. We both liked Graham instantly and recognized him as an honest, up front and all-round nice gentleman. Decision made.
Setting up a Spanish business – it’s all systems go!
Nick and I will run the office along with occasional help from our youngest son Dan who is studying IT and is bilingual in Spanish compared to our pretty fluent use of the Spanish language. Because everything closes in the last two weeks of August and Martos has its Feria, getting the office operational has been rather testing.
The due date for our opening is 16th September because the office furniture couldn’t be delivered before then. We are working now and I’m meeting people and listing houses which is great. Driving around, talking to people, visiting houses (and making alterations in my head) is something I’m really enjoying, and the journey is just beginning.
It’s exciting and I know I’m going to enjoy the ride. If you’re looking to buy a house in Inland Andalucía come and meet me in the Martos office – we’d be happy to show you around.
