All is well that ends well

Names: Malcolm Catesby and Christine McCann
Ages: Old enough to be retired and young enough to enjoy it
From: Liverpool by way of Wales
Wish list: Well maintained 1 bedroom apartment close to the sea
Actual: Everything they could have wished for
Budget: Initially, up to 100,000 Euros
Actual: 85,000 Euros

In my case I proposed to my now wife after knowing her for just five days and I can tell you that fifteen years later I’m sitting here in the sunshine, tapping away at my keyboard blissfully happy. Or at least I will be after our divorce is finalised!
Anyway, my point is that some people dip their toe and back off again, whilst others just go ploughing in without too much thought but, importantly, after a lifetime of studying these human behavioural traits I’ve come to the conclusion that ultimately there is no right or wrong method in terms of decision making. At the time we make decisions, we believe they are the best decisions for us at that given time, therefore all decisions are ultimately correct.
In just the same way, some people visit the Canary Islands and on their very first visit end up buying a property, whilst other people may flirt with the idea for years or even decades before eventually circumstances conspire to produce the right conditions for them to buy something.
In this particular look at a real life story of someone that has recently bought a property in The Canary Islands there was actually a twenty five year courtship between when marriage was first proposed and when the event actually took place.
Christine and Malcolm have only recently purchased their apartment in the popular coastal town of Arguineguin in Gran Canaria which is their first ever property purchase on the island. Christine however first looked at buying on the island over twenty five years ago, back in the early eighties. Luckily for Malcolm however, things didn’t work out that way for Christine at the time as she was looking to live there permanently meaning they would most probably have never met.
Back in those halcyon days of the early eighties, the world was a very different place; most of us had hairstyles and clothes we would probably rather not be reminded of; all of the MP’s in the House of Commons were honest, reputable and trustworthy or least they hadn’t all been caught red handed yet! And Spain was only just starting to emerge as a democracy following the iron fisted reign of General Franco which lasted twenty eight years and only ended a few short years earlier with his death in 1975. In fact it wasn’t until 1978 that a new constitution was drafted in, effectively ending the right wing authoritarian regime.
It’s easy to forget now just what a hugely different place Spain was under his rule; the relaxed, easy going Spanish attitude, welcoming us foreigners in to live, work and buy property, which now attracts so many of us, simply didn’t exist then. And it was in to the hangover of this post Franco attitude that Christine found herself wandering, hoping to make a new start.
Christine was an independent, pioneering soul who wanted to start a new life in Gran Canaria and buy and run a restaurant on her own. Even today that takes guts and courage, but back then it was pretty much unheard of, as women, certainly in the Franco era, simply didn’t do that kind of thing. And so having lived in Gran Canaria for six months endeavouring to pursue her dream of buying a restaurant and setting up in business, she eventually had to give up on the whole idea as each door that she knocked on, was quite literally, closed in her face.
Returning back to the UK she settled back into her career as a retail manager in the china and crystal business, which she did until deciding to spend more time helping others, when she took over the running of a Help the Aged shop. By this time she had also met her fiancé Malcolm who after many years in Computer Security had also decided to change direction by taking responsibility for managing the social club at the head office of Royal Sun Alliance.
Eventually they both decided it was time to retire so they sold up and moved to Wales to a quieter life which they both enjoy. As beautiful as Wales is however, they both relished the thought of a winter retreat somewhere warm, sunny and inexpensive, so Gran Canaria was once again on the radar. But, when taking into account that Christine’s son relocated to Gran Canaria five years ago, it really was the obvious choice.
So, off they trotted to Gran Canaria in search of their ideal bolt hole, secure in the knowledge that one of the UKs leading high street banks was diligently and responsibly looking after their stash of one hundred thousand pounds, with which they would make their purchase. Feeling secure and positive they began scouring their chosen area of Arguineguin.
Finding the right property often relies on a mixture of careful planning and luck and Christine and Malcolm’s case was no different. They knew what they wanted, where they wanted it and what they were willing to pay, but the luck came in terms of stumbling across the perfect real estate agent that would put the whole dream together for them.
When Christine and Malcolm contacted Cardenas Real Estate they were hoping for no more than details of a few apartments that might be of interest to them. What they got was the total support and dedication of an entire team of professionals that have, since they opened for business some twenty nine years ago, ensured that customer service and customer satisfaction was at the very heart of their business.
Their initial contact was with Axel, who sat down with them and discussed their very precise requirements. He then took them out and about in the general to get an even better understanding of the type of property they wanted and in what kind of location they wanted it. Then, armed with this thorough brief, he showed them two apartments, and they fell in love with the second one, agreeing to buy it on the spot.
Now, whilst that may seem a little rash to some of you, I can attest from my own personal experience that when you have a client with a very clear idea of what they want and an experienced and knowledgeable agent who can understand the brief and translate that into ‘actual’ properties, it sometimes really can be that quick and simple.
The apartment was ideally situated, the right size, fully furnished and beautifully maintained with loads of terrace space, just a few minutes stroll to the sea and a great deal financially. They didn’t hesitate at all and paid over a ten percent deposit straight away. They relaxed and enjoyed the remainder of their stay, looking forward to a simple completion in a few weeks time.
They returned back to the UK amidst a media frenzy regarding the catastrophic situation emerging in the UK banking industry. Feeling pleased to be getting away from the entire goings on over here; they contacted their bank to arrange for their funds to be made ready to pay for the balance of the property. The news hit them like a sledgehammer blow; their one hundred thousand pound next egg was now in fact their sixty two thousand pound next egg. Virtually overnight they had lost thirty eight thousand pounds.
Disbelief, anger and frustration eventually gave way to the realization that not only was that money gone, never to be seen again, but that they were now short of funds to complete the purchase they had paid a deposit on. By this time they were moving ever closer to the notary date where all the funds were required to complete the purchase, so they rallied round pulling together the missing money from other places.
They were still however waiting for their main bank that were still holding onto their depleted funds, to release the money to them but despite many requests the money was still not forthcoming. If they didn’t get it soon they were in danger of missing the notary date and losing their deposit so they turned to Cardenas Real Estate for help.
Cardenas understood the problem completely having been kept informed of what had been happening since their return to the UK. They immediately sat down with the vendor and explained the situation as well as dealing with the lawyers and notary. The vendor however had his own issues and needed to return to Germany so therefore couldn’t wait around for a later notary date to fit in with Christine and Malcolm.
Cardenas however bent over backwards for all parties concerned to ensure that everything still carried on smoothly. Again, luckily for Christine and Malcolm, the reputation for integrity and professionalism that Cardenas have is so good, that the vendor was happy to agree that Cardenas would take on a special power of attorney for him, so that he could return to Germany, leaving Cardenas to sign for him at the notary when the funds came through.
Eventually, after much delay, the very unpopular UK bank who shall remain unnamed, deigned to release their own money to them, allowing the sale to be finalised. Christine and Malcolm are now delighted to be in their winter getaway, away from all the gloom, despondency and most importantly bad weather in the UK.
They would however like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the entire team at Cardenas Real Estate for everything they did, from the owners and founders of the company, Antonio Garcia de Cardenas and his wife Rolande Chagrin Chevenement, to Carolina García Chagrin and finally an extra big thank you to Axel Kubisch, without whom, they feel they wouldn’t be sitting on their terrace today. There is always a drink and a warm welcome for any of you at any time!

www.cardenas-grancanaria.com

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