Ray of Sunshine
You totted up your savings, shook your head and kept dreaming. But with the recession still squeezing property prices in Tenerife, the cost of turning dreams into reality means that more and more people can afford to find their paradise in the sun! This month we have a heart warming story of how a property purchase changed one couple’s life.
In some ways, Ray and Pauline Wallace were very much like most of us who dream of owning our own home in paradise. They thought that their dream was something that would only come true with a winning lottery ticket. But unlike many of us, their reasons for wanting a home in the sun were much more than just a sun and sangria lifestyle, and they knew that Tenerife may hold the key.
Ray’s career as a chemical technician in the pharmaceutical industry in the UK had been cut short by Rheumatoid Arthritis, a painful and debilitating disorder. Winters had been particularly cruel to Ray, who found himself wheelchair bound by the British Weather. Life was looking decidedly bleak.
However there were occasional splashes of sunshine. Ray and Pauline owned a timeshare in Tenerife and each of their increasingly frequent visits brought some respite to Ray’s condition. "We started coming to Tenerife in the nineties," explained Pauline. "At first we used to visit Los Cristianos, but later we stayed in Golf del Sur."
When Pauline retired from her job as a Document Controller for a multinational company in 2007, the couple resigned themselves to surviving the weather in England and dealing with Ray’s worsening condition. But still they had their timeshare points, and now they also had free time. It was the combination of these that would shape their future.
"Come on Ray, let’s take a trip to Tenerife," said Pauline one dreary morning. Ray returned the suggestion with a surprised look.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because we can!" answered Pauline mischievously.
The couple through caution to the wind and flew over to Tenerife, where Ray’s condition took a turn for the better.
"We thought we would have a look at long term rentals while we were on the island," said Pauline, continuing the story. "Friends had encouraged us, saying it makes sense to try before you buy."
So it was while looking for the prices of long term rentals in Tenerife that Pauline found herself looking wistfully at the windows of Tenerife Property Shop. She had always had her eye on Pebble Beach, a low rise development on the front line to the ocean in Amarilla Golf. "Stop daydreaming!" she chided herself and told the young man who offered to help her that she was just curious and really only looking for a rental.
Later that evening, she happened to bump into that same estate agent while walking along the ocean promenade. It seemed like fate and the couple agreed to have a look at a few properties the following day.
"The first one did nothing for us," said Pauline, "but when we stood on the terrace of the second apartment, our jaws dropped! It was truly a million pound view and the perfect spot." They sat on that terrace with the sales advisor from Tenerife Property Shop agent and started to work out if they really could buy such a home.
After what seemed like two hours later, still on the terrace, Neil asked them if they would like to actually take a look inside the apartment.
The couple had struck gold. It turned out that the million dollar view that they had fallen in love with was attached to a one bedroom apartment that they could actually afford! Would Tenerife now live up to their hopes and give Ray the new lease of life he had not dared hope for? Can it really have a magical life changing effect on people’s health as they get older?
We asked Bruce Grindley and Mary Spencer, fresh back from the CNBC International property awards where their company, Tenerife Property Shop, had not only received an award for Best Estate Agent in the Canary Islands, but also an award for the Best Estate
You can buy a similar apartment in Pebble Beach with a fabulous view for just £130,000!
Agent Website. Bruce and Mary have been helping British and Irish families buy and sell properties in Tenerife for over twenty three years, so it would be difficult to find more authoritative people to answer our questions.
"I don’t think there’s any magical cure," smiled Bruce. "They call Tenerife the Island of Eternal Spring because the climate is probably as close as you are going to get to perfect and that obviously has a positive effect on some people; especially those from colder places like Scandinavia, the UK and Ireland. Sometimes the effects can be so beneficial that there may seem to be some mystery behind it."
Mary continued, "Many people think that moving to a sunny place like Tenerife must be an expensive exercise, and the last thing anyone needs is the stress of having their finances stretched. Stress in the modern world is the main root cause of many ailments."
Affording a fabulous front line apartment like Ray and Pauline’s need not break the bank and you can sometimes find apartments in the same area from less than a hundred thousand Euros. "Which means less stress about money and more left over for you to enjoy life!" added Bruce.
However, one of the biggest stress areas about buying a property abroad is actually the purchase process itself, but even in this regard the couple fell on their feet. "Everything went so smoothly," said Pauline. "It really was stress free and we have Tenerife Property Shop to thank for that!" She paused. "You have to put that in your article, you know. Because it really was so smooth!"
"We do take away any of the risk or stress that a client might suffer," said Bruce in his softly spoken way, "and that’s not just an empty claim."
During the purchase, buyers are covered by Tenerife Property Shop’s Professional Indemnity insurance. This covers a client against any misrepresentation that a sales advisor may make. It even covers them against omission, so if a great big tower block is about to be built in front of your view: a Tenerife Property Shop sales advisor would have to tell you.
And life has changed for Pauline and Ray. "It’s not just the weather, but the lifestyle in Tenerife. It’s a completely different pace of life. We walk along the promenade and take the time to stop and have a chat. There are restaurants just a short walk away… we have everything we could want so close at hand." Pauline is quite sure that Tenerife has changed their life for good. And life is very good indeed.
In the background, Bruce and Mary know that their future is more secured than perhaps even Pauline and Ray realise. Clients of Tenerife Property Shop receive a rather special gift when they buy a property: a Title Deed Insurance policy, guaranteeing security for 20 years into the
future. Underwritten by one of Spain’s largest insurers, the policy protects a property owner from all sorts of possible eventualities, from compulsory demolition to discrepancies in paperwork and even squatters!
Tenerife’s sunshine continues to have its healing effect on Ray. He is no longer bound to an electric wheelchair and life is unimaginably better. And Tenerife Property Shop? Well there’s a heart warming story there too. For all their efforts to protect their clients in every way imaginable and in recognition of their high level of service, they went on to receive the most prized accolade in the world of European Property. The company have been voted as the Best Real Estate Agency in Europe, 2009. Now that really is a ray of sunshine for estate agents in the Canary Islands!
