1st April 2007, The Sunday Mail OUR PERFECT OLE DAY SPOT
Place in the sun Couple love mixing with neighbours from across the world at Spanish villa Laura Davidson
Kathleen and David Macdonald love being part of an international community at their new holiday home in Spain. Their neighbours in Torrevieja are from so many different countries that the couple, of Hamilton, have nicknamed them the 'league of nations'. Administrator Kathleen, 57, said: "It's fantastic. Half the houses in the street are owned by people who are full-time residents in Spain, so it's really nice that you see the same faces on every visit. "We're making quite a few friends. There are people from Norway, Holland, Germany and Finland as well as a few English couples. "We made a trip out there for Hogmanay. At the bells, everyone came out into the street and we were all wishing each other a happy new year in our native tongues. "We won't forget that and we love feeling we are part of an international community." Kathleen and bricklayer David, 59, had been considering investing in property for years before they took the plunge. They thought about ploughing their cash into a buy-to-let property at home but decided a holiday home would bring the added bonus of being somewhere nice to retreat to for breaks in the sun. Having enjoyed many holidays on the Med, they took advice from family friends who had already bought in the Torrevieja area in Spain's Costa Blanca and booked a viewing trip last May. Kathleen explained: "We'd been browsing properties on the website of a Spanish estate agent called Sunline International. "There were about 10 houses we really wanted to see. We booked flights and accommodation and staff from the company gave up their weekend to show us round. "The last house they took us to see appealed immediately." Kathleen and David, who have four grown-up kids between them, didn't fancy a new-build property and were looking for a bargain. They came up trumps with a three-bed detached villa with sea views for 160,000 euros (£107,700). Kathleen said: "Our budget was originally 150,000 euros and we thought we could only afford an apartment. "But when we saw this property, we decided to push the boat out. "We were really lucky. The seller had just lowered the price because she was looking for a quick sale." The Macdonalds' house has two bathrooms as well as a large openplan lounge, a garden and roomy rooftop sundeck. Set in the village of Los Altos, they are just three miles from the popular resort of Torrevieja. The couple covered 100,000 euros (£67,300) of the purchase price by using savings and remortgaging at home. They then took out a small Spanish mortgage for the balance because interest was lower than with their UK bank. Kathleen said:"We're so pleased with the place. We've called it Villa Aranemco, a name made up from the first two letters of each of our grandchildren's names - Arron, Andrew, Emma and Coby. "The purchase went like clockwork. The Spanish estate agents gave us great advice, from purchasing to drawing up Spanish wills. We also took advice from other people who had bought abroad, including a family featured in Right at Home. "Our long-term plan is to spend our winters in Spain when we retire. "In the meantime, we're looking forward to spending holidays out there with our family. "Two of our grandchildren have been out and the other two are going in the summer. "It's nice to be able to invite the family over or just head off there for a long weekend on a whim. "Murcia airport is just 20 minutes from our house and the flight is only a couple hours from Glasgow. "We're so glad we decided to invest in Spain instead of buying a flat in Scotland. We wish we'd done it years ago." To find out about renting the Macdonalds' property, call 01698 282554. 'It's great to be able to invite family out or we can just pop over for the weekend'
