Lisa and Neil Watson trace the journey to their TV debut and then their dream home in Spain to ‘a few glasses of prosecco’ at a visit to A Place in the Sun Live Manchester in 2022.
“I didn’t want to be on TV so decided not to do a screen test but we went around the show doing some research, finding a lawyer and also talking to A Place in the Sun Currency,” says Lisa, 60, who used to work in a bank like Neil. But the couple from North Manchester who have three sons took a break from their fact-finding and, buoyed by that prosecco, did a screentest for the TV show.
The ‘Dutch courage’ did the trick, and they soon got the call-up. “We nearly flew out twice before we finally made it so it was third time lucky,” says Neil, 60, who tested positive for Covid the morning of one planned flight out to Spain.
They flew out to look at properties in Murcia’s Costa Calida with a budget of £100k and after seeing five properties their love of the Condado de Alhama resort was confirmed. “It was the third time we’d been out looking for a home in the area and we just loved the resort that offered everything on tap,” says Lisa, of the resort 90 miles inland. ”Murcia seems less commercial than other parts of Spain.”
Golf resorts are a great bet for year-round life and at the end of the Spanish property boom the developer Polaris World built half a dozen golf resorts in the Murcia area, including Hacienda Riquelme, Las Terrazas de la Torre and Condado de Alhama.
The resorts were hit hard by the financial crash of 2008 but they have now bounced back and are both popular holiday destinations, but also great places to find an affordable apartment. Two-bed apartments start from around €75,000 and there are plenty for sale.
As you may have seen from their episode on Channel 4, Lisa and Neil did not buy one of the five properties shown them by Ben but they stayed on a week after the filming and bought a three-bedroom apartment for €81,500. “We stayed on and saw four more properties and really got a feel for the resort, and which part we wanted to be in – or could afford to be in,” says Neil. “When we walked into the right one we had that gut feeling.”
“The property we bought came fully furnished so it was great to start us off although we have since replaced everything.”
They’ve spent €20k putting in new bathrooms and redecorating. “The resort is being improved, and we are really happy with where we chose to buy. When we started our search we thought we wanted to be nearer the coast but actually it’s quiet and peaceful so we feel we have the best of both worlds,” says Neil.
“It’s also very convenient – it’s only half an hour from Murcia Airport, which is well served by Ryanair. We are only 35 minutes from Manchester Airport too, so it’s really easy to visit for weekends,” says Lisa. “We visit every couple of months. The boys use it too. My advice? Have a few glasses of prosecco…”
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