Testimonials
Kevin & Vera - 'Like spending a weekend with old friends'
When we collected Kevin and Vera, both teachers from London, at Murcia
Airport there was a definitely strained atmosphere. Only much later did
Kevin admit that he was expecting to be met by a slick salesman with a routine
hard sell full of the usual clichés. "As I left the staff room on Friday
afternoon to catch the plane I was given some pretty ominous warnings about
sales reps selling anything to earn commission," explained Kevin "and I
was in a very determined frame of mind to resist that type of overture!"
After a coffee and a sandwich on the patio of the Nautilus Restaurant at
the edge of the sea Kevin and Vera began to relax " I was pleasantly surprised
that the conversation did not touch on house selling it really revolved
around the experiences that Sandy and his wife Val had had in Spain over
the years "recalled Vera. That evening, over dinner at a local Spanish restaurant,
we had no opportunity to raise the subject of buying a property as Kevin
and Vera entertained us with astonishing and fascinating tales of their
lives in Rhodesia, now of course Zimbabwe, where they first met; He an immigrant
farmer from Wales and she the daughter of a Rhodesian farmer.
The next day when we arrived at the Santa Ana del Monte development at Jumilla
both Vera and Kevin were struck by the similarity of the scenery to that
of Rhodesia something that obviously brought happy memories. Having decided
to buy an Azucena with views across one of the two 18 hole golf courses
they are now eagerly anticipating the day that they will stroll down the
fairway surrounded by a visual feast of mountains and vine groves.
A few days after Vera and Kevin returned home we received an email thanking
us for our hospitality and commenting that the three day visit had been
"like spending a weekend with old friends."
Martin and Michelle - 'Lost in Translation'
Martin, a supermarket manager in central Scotland contacted us after noticing out advertisement in the Golf Punk magazine. ‘I just bought the magazine to read on the train on the way home’ recalled Martin ’Suddenly a whole new life took shape in my mind involving living and working on a golf resort in rural Spain’. Almost as soon as he arrived home Martin contacted us about arranging an inspection visit.
In their mid 30’s Martin and his fiancée, Michelle, were both
very keen golfers and like many of the British yearned for a less stressful
lifestyle in a country where it is much easier to achieve a balance between
work and personal time. Their vision was one of running a business on a
golf development where they could indulge their passion of playing golf.
Developing this theme of working in Spain Siggy the sales manager at San
Jose asked what sort of business Michelle had in the UK. “I’m
a nail technician” she explained. “Ah, that is a wonderful business
to start near to a new development” exclaimed Siggy” A Ferreteria
can make a great deal of money!”
As Siggy wandered off with her husband to view the show houses Michelle
turned to me and asked “Sandy’ what’s a ferreteria?”
“A hardware shop” I replied ” Siggy has his nails mixed
up!” I should point out that this is a small but amusing mistake for
an Icelander who can speak seven languages!
“The very personal treatment during our visit was amazing,”
said Martin,” we were even invited to dinner at Sandy and Val’s
home and had a taste, so to speak, of the relaxed outdoor life that can
be enjoyed every day in Spain.”
Peter and Jola - 'Icing on the cake'
Peter had worked for over 30 years in the Bakery business and had an offer
to buy his business on the table when he saw our advertisement in the English
Club Golfer. “Jola and I had been to quite a few exhibitions about
Spanish property without finding anything that kindled our enthusiasm”
Peter recalled,” but for whatever reason Casa Sierra Villas advertisement
made me decide to contact them.” Continued Peter,” The literature
that we received was extremely factual and informative but it was the numerous
telephone discussions which I had with Sandy made us confident that a visit
was worth while.”
We never ‘sell’ Spain, the developments or the properties we
simply tell our clients about our life and experiences here. We like to
think that this genuine enthusiasm comes across in conversations on the
phone or during visits. Peter certainly thought so. “Sandy and Val
promised to help me find employment in Spain and amazingly I am now employed
by the company who built the house we bought which is all due to Sandy’s
efforts!” Finding Peter a job wasn’t too difficult. We knew
that San Jose were looking for people to help with their UK marketing and
Peter’s contacts in the golf world and combined with his enthusiasm
made him an ideal candidate. Our suggestion to the sales director that she
should give Peter a trial was taken up and now he is organising their exhibitions
in the UK while enjoying life in Spain.
Peter and Jola bought an apartment near Cabo Roig as a first step and are
waiting with great excitement for their front line villa to be completed
on the Santa Ana del Monte resort. With an interesting job and his youngest
son happily settled in the international school near Murcia Peter finds
it hard to believe how much his life has been transformed over the last
year.
David and Ann
David’s wife and her brother had inherited a property near Torrevieja and as it was almost thirty years old it was in need of some TLC. We as Villa Reform were invited to quote for the work which involved adding a third bedroom by extending and enclosing the porch and a shower and toilet room at the back of the integral garage. As we surveyed the property it became obvious that the clients ideas were not very sensible and would in fact devalue the property. “Over a cup of tea in the garden Sandy looked me in the eye and told me my ideas were bizarre. I can see that now, but at the time I was a bit taken aback by his candour!” said David “But of course he was giving me his professional opinion whereas the other contractors had just accepted my brief.”
We persuaded David and his wife to convert the garage into a master bedroom with an en-suite shower and toilet. This meant that the enclosed porch, without alteration, became an office. A useful facility as their business is internet based and travels with them on holiday!
It has always been my policy as a designer to give clients my professional opinion which at least stimulates a discussion. Of course, this is not always welcome but in this case our design proposal added real value to the property. “it didn’t take long for Sandy to persuade us that his ideas were sensible” admitted Ann “ and now we have master bedroom that looks as thought it has always been part of the house.”
David and Lynne
Under build conversions are a popular method of enlarging a house in Spain. These basement areas are usually the same size as the building ‘footprint’ and ideal for reforming as an apartment or extra bedrooms. “We wanted a separate living space for our teenage children to give us peace on holidays and for friends,” explained Lynne “and Villa Reform came up with several design options.” The critical issue for David was communication during the contract. “We had a real fear of employing a builder who would make things up as he went along while we were running our accountancy practice in the UK” said David “we had heard so many horror stories about people coming back to their property and finding the finished job nothing like they imagined”
We at Villa Reform know the importance of maintaining personal contact
with our clients. We provide our clients with regular email reports backed
up by photographs and where necessary drawings showing design issues that
need decisions. This avoids nasty surprises on both sides. The appearance
of what appeared to be a water spring in Linda and David’s under build
highlights the importance of communications. “Initially we were alarmed
by the email announcing the discovery of the spring” recalled David”
But the email was accompanied by a lucid report, drawings and photographs
explaining the situation and the solutions. This professional flow of information
reassured us that everything was under control. In the end the spring turned
out to be a leaking water supply pipe but we never felt the need to book
flights or anything like that.”