“We’ve been out lots of times. It already feels like home”
Jackie and Lynne from Prestonpans, near Edinburgh, have been together for 20 years and had a long-held dream of buying a holiday home in Spain, for weekends away, with the plan to spend up to six months of the year there once they retire.
After flying out to Almeria to look at properties in December 2021, the married couple managed to find their perfect property, but also catch Covid. “At the close of the shoot we ended up staying in Spain over Christmas because we couldn’t travel home,” says Lynne, 51. “But we were looked after well and actually managed to sort out a lawyer for the purchase whilst we were there.”
So the couple purchased property two, the modern two-bedroom, two-bath apartment with a shared swimming pool, for €150,000. “We just loved the garden area, the balcony overlooking the pool with views towards the mountains,” says Jackie. They’ve put it to good use since March, which was when they next managed to get out.
“We’ve now been out a few times and love it so much. We intend to spend every single holiday in Roquetas,” says Lynne, who’s just starting a new job. “The family have visited too, they also enjoy spending time around the pool, we are so proud to have it.”
She says they would never have found it without the researchers on the TV programme suggesting something outside the area they thought they wanted. “It was great that they showed us such a diverse range of properties. When you are not quite sure what you after it is really useful to get to realise what you don’t want. Ben [Hillman] was also great fun. The filming was tiring but a good laugh.”
They loved the property and the selling agent, a Ukrainian called Elena, who turned up to meet them in tartan trousers. “She looks after the property when we are not there and she has been a godsend,” says Jackie.
The Spanish vendors were also delighted by the sale. ‘They left us champagne, chocolates, a framed photo of our wedding (not sure how they found that!) and bought us two brand-new mattresses for the bedrooms, which was a lovely surprise.”
They admit they didn’t really consider the running costs but luckily these are not too bad – community fees are €56 a month, then utility bills. They’ve put in new air conditioning and a new fridge but otherwise they’ve devoted their time to exploring the beach and the whole area.
“Roquetas has got a lovely harbour and a great shopping mall, Grand Plaza Park,” says Jackie. “We’ve got to know people who live here – and people recognise us in the resort now so it feels like home already. Eventually we’d like to move there full time.”
