House Hunters Rooman and Richard Journey to Finding a Home in El Faro
Rooman and Richard have a hectic life. Both working in the NHS – where they met – they love high-adrenaline sports, socialising and living life to the full with their family and friends.
So when they decided on a well-earnt bolt hole in the sun, it had to be somewhere that would work easily for weekends away: ideally around 20 minutes of their nearest airport at home – East Midlands - but also from Malaga on Spain’s southern coast. “We literally said to the A Place in the Sun researchers, find us somewhere within a 30-minute drive of Malaga,” said Rooman, known as Roo, a consultant nephrologist in Nottingham.
And so it was that in their selection of properties that Jean showed them in September 2022 ranged from Torreblanca to Fuengirola, Torremolinos, Mijas and El Faro – all popular beach towns to the west of Malaga on the Costa del Sol. With their budget of £140k for a two-bedroom apartment they ended up purchasing a property in El Faro, a quieter area of the coast between Fuengirola and La Cala de Mijas.
In the episode recently shown [November 2024] the programme ended with them getting the property for £130,000 and by March 2023 they had completed on the apartment with a stunning terrace running along its width.
After ripping out the kitchen and decorating the rest, the results show a colourful and contemporary make-over that sits well with the verdant view from the terrace. “It’s all about the outside. I can sit there for hours with a glass of wine just looking at the sunsets,” says Roo, 39, who says they’ve been out around 15 times. “We are out there nearly every month. It’s 25 minutes to East Midlands and there are between two and five flights a day to Malaga, depending on season. It’s totally easy to go out Friday and come back Monday.
“We’d never been to El Faro but it’s a five-minute taxi ride from all the bars and restaurants of Fuengirola. The researchers on the show totally nailed it with the location. It’s also only €3 to get the train from the airport to Fuengirola,” he adds. “That’s really my key piece of advice – rather than falling in love with a property or a location, really look at the access and be clear what is important for you when asking people to show you properties.”
But it’s not been completely plain sailing. “One day last year I was in the middle of a [renal] clinic and my Spanish neighbour called to say there water squirting all over the house. The water pipe had burst. I had to find an emergency plumber using an interpreter. Oh and we also had a gas leak, but apart from those it’s been great!”
The community fees are a hard-to-believe €150 a year. Water bills cost €20-30 a month, electricity €50-60 and €25 for broadband. He reveals that the apartment is one part of their retirement plan. “We’d love to end up spending four months in Spain and four months in Bangkok a year – and buy somewhere there too. I hate the cold! I’m 40 next week and hope to retire early".
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