My wife Lesley and I have just returned from a wonderful exploration/fact-finding trip to the beautiful Extremadura region of Spain and I really wanted to share some of our early experiences of the area with anyone who may be the slightest bit interested in reading about them!
We have long had the bug to move permanently to Spain but were not inclined towards the Costas. We particularly didn’t want to live in an ex-pat community and wanted an area ‘blighted’ by as few non-Spanish tourists as possible. Extremadura really did seem to fit the bill...and even more so now we’ve been there!! We were determined not to look at things through rose-coloured spectacles...and to just see things exactly for what they were!
After deciding that this was the area that most interested us, a quick search on the internet revealed a few companies/individuals who dealt with properties in this province. One, in particular, stood head and shoulders above the rest and that was Extremadura-Country-Homes.com headed by Hendrik Berends. What intrigued us the most was his Lifestyle Consultant title and his absolute ‘non-Estate Agent’ approach to selling property and his total, upfront honesty. We ‘devoured’ the site from back to front and especially enjoyed reading the testimonials from British couples who had moved to the area. This, together with other research, led us to invest a relatively small amount to secure Hendrik’s time and enable us to achieve Exclusive Client status. What a fantastic decision this turned out to be!
Being in the Military, free time is very short, so we had to tailor our trip to coincide with a time that Lesley and I (and of course Hendrik) could all be free together. This, unfortunately, turned out to be in mid-August...and was probably not the best time to travel in Europe, due to school holidays, heat, crowds etc! However, an early BA Business Class flight departure from Heathrow eased the pain a little (along with the Champagne!) and we arrived in Lisbon Airport a couple of short hours later. The Spanish/Portuguese peak holiday season is not the time to travel through an Airport and after many queues, we eventually managed to pick up our baggage and a Hire Car and head off on our big adventure!
We easily found our way from the Airport onto the main Motorway into Spain. Actually, that’s a bit of a lie...the Tom-tom found the way perfectly for us and if you are unfamiliar with this part of the world, then one of these units (or equivalent) is an absolute must! Some three hours driving later, having been on beautiful, almost deserted Motorways (one of which was an inexpensive Toll) we arrived in Caceres - which was to be our base for the week. Hendrik (or Enrique, as he is known locally) had booked us into a very comfortable Hotel and after unpacking and a short siesta, we arranged to meet that same evening for Tapas. (It is very reassuring to know, that the Province of Extremadura is one of the only areas left to keep Tapas free! That means, when you order a drink, your plate of Tapas is produced instantly... and you don’t pay for it!). If you have not seen any photographs of the ubiquitous Mr Berends...then I would suggest that you just try and conjure up an image of what you imagine he’ll be like. Lesley and I were completely wrong on all counts (!) as we were met by a cheerful, smiling, exuberant Hendrik who greeted us both in a very warm and friendly manner. Hendrik is 61 (but looks 50) is Dutch, but speaks approximately 10 languages; amongst which is fluent English and fluent Spanish. This fact was to be of immense assistance to us over the following few days! I cannot emphasise enough just how instantly at ease we felt with Hendrik, and I honestly believe that he felt the same way too!
The following few days were a whirl of mid-morning meet ups, lazy, boozy lunches, siestas and further social gatherings in the evenings. However, Hendrik was never complacent, intrusive or overbearing at any time and was always happy to give us space or time alone if we required it. The fact that we were all enjoying each other’s company so much actually meant that we spent a whole lot of time with each other!
As others before us have written (and probably more eloquently) there are numerous ‘hoops’ that have to be jumped through if you wish to (eventually) live in Spain. Opening Bank Accounts, meeting with Lawyers, obtaining NIE numbers, arranging Power of Attorney etc.etc. This would have been a completely overwhelming task, and more likely impossible, if it hadn’t been for the professionalism and sheer ‘local knowledge’ that Hendrik possesses. He drove us around in his huge, blue 4x4 for the entire week. What service!
To expand slightly on comments in the previous paragraph, we readily accepted a suggestion from Hendrik that we should try the Caja Madrid Bank to see if we would feel comfortable enough to open a Bank Account. The fact that we arrived after main working hours but were warmly greeted by the new manager – José Maria Cobo - sort of ‘sealed the deal’ as far as we were concerned! The account was opened quickly and efficiently and they even spoke with the main office in Madrid to see if our debit cards could be sent express as we only had 3 days remaining. They were unsure if this was going to work so arranged for duplicate cards to be sent to our address in the UK via DHL. They were on the doormat waiting for us when we got home!
Obtaining NIE numbers (Número de Identificatión de Extranjero) would have also been virtually impossible for us to do during the short time we had available to us. By now, if one wants to purchase a property, or even a car, in Spain, one needs this number, which at the initial stage is known as a Fiscal Number, to be mentioned on any documents when making an official purchase. Again, Hendrik stepped in and arranged everything. As we would be back in the UK when the NIEs would become available, he arranged with us to meet up with an excellent english-speaking Lawyer in Cáceres to see if we could arrange for her to have Power of Attorney on our behalf. What a lovely lady! Young, beautiful, talented, well-schooled......sorry Lesley, I digress!! We met with our Lawyer for about 40 minutes and she gave us a wealth of advice and guidance absolutely freely. She even telephoned the Notary’s Office and arranged a ‘fast track’ so that we wouldn’t have to queue with the locals! How efficient is that?? We both readily agreed that our Lawyer would act on our behalf for all matters legal and (sadly) bade farewell!
I could go on and on and on about how much help Hendrik gave to us when were in Extremadura...but I think you get the picture by now? We would never have achieved a fraction of what we eventually managed without his tireless assistance. On one occasion, he took us to his home to fill out the NIE application forms and when we were there, he opened his MS Outlook and he had over 200 un-read emails to deal with from that day alone!
However, no matter how busy he was (and he was constantly on the phone/mobile) he was never too busy to make us feel anything other than we were his ‘Exclusive Clients’!
We are (obviously) back home in the UK now and we are so sad and depressed that we left such a beautiful region and came home to rain, wind, and all the other problems that drive us to want to live in Extremadura. If you have even the slightest desire to investigate this beautiful area of Spain, think of (just a few) of the following:
- Beautiful, clean Air
- Incredible far-reaching views of spectacular countryside
- Hardly any traffic
- Feeling very safe day & night, everywhere one goes
- NO lager louts!
- Very friendly people everywhere
- Pleasant summer + winter temperatures
- Beautiful scenery, wonderful lakes
- Great food, lovely, local wines
- No hint of terrorism, immigration problems, etc.
- No high concentrations of expatriates anywhere.
Add onto these benefits the completely affordable cost of buying a home and low living expenses...and you can’t possibly want for anything more! However, a sound, working knowledge of Spanish is essential as we didn’t encounter anyone (apart from Hendrik and our Lawyer) who spoke any fluent English! And, funnily enough, how nice that was!
We are not living in Extremadura...yet! However, it won’t be long...and Lesley and I really thank our lucky stars that we teamed up with Hendrik Berends. What started as a purely business relationship has turned into one of complete trust and friendship...and what other occasion could you honestly say that has happened to you??
Thanks to Hendrik and the wonderfully, friendly people of Caceres Province, a safe environment where we felt like being back home fifty years ago, but now with all modern conveniences, ...we will be back and hopefully living there full-time very soon!
Best wishes,
Tony & Lesley Ashwood
aashwood@clara.co.uk
PS. We are happy to answer (honestly) any questions you may have about anything we have written about so far. Remember, this is work in progress....we’ll keep you informed!