Tenerife Client Testimonials
We are very proud of the personal service that we give to everyone who comes to us looking to realise their dream of owning freehold property on our beautiful island of Tenerife and it is really nice when a client compliments us by writing a recommendation such as this, written by Lyn and Malcolm Thomas
Silvana & Dario in Tenerife & David in the UK
Client Testimonial by Lyn & Malcolm Thomas
A change of affection
For several years our family had been having a love affair with the Caribbean. We loved the climate, the people, the way of life, the food and the general ambience of the places we visited and the things that we did. We habitually booked our holidays on an “All Inclusive” basis, and dreamed one day of buying our own little place to retire to at the earliest possible opportunity. The only downside we found was the distance involved – a minimum ten hours travelling curtailed short breaks of any kind to the point that we decided to try some short breaks a little closer to home.
Looking at the options available, we decided to give The Canary Islands a try. Our first trip was to Gran Canaria where we were pleasantly surprised by the shortness of the flight, the climate and the conditions, but disappointed by the intermittent nature of things to do, and the distance between attractions – often needing a cab to travel between them.
Discovering Tenerife
Soon after we returned from Gran Canaria, an opportunity to visit Tenerife for a week during a school holiday presented itself. We booked into “The Bahia Principe” in Costa Adeje, which was wonderful. As we explored the area, we realised that Tenerife had an awful lot to offer. Again the climate was brilliant. We found loads to do and plenty of places to see. Tenerife offered a good mix of old and new, rugged and tranquil, lively and relaxed. As a result, we found ourselves falling in love all over again – but this time with a more attainable, more manageable, more accessible part of the world, and again we found ourselves dreaming of buying a little “Place in the Sun”.
As we looked into its feasibility, it soon became clear to us that Tenerife actively encourages buyers from overseas. Given its popularity and year round climate, holiday lets are commonplace, and copious information is available in English to simplify the buying process. Estate Agency is very different to what we are familiar with in the UK, and of course the whole legal process seemed strange at first sight. During our stay, we viewed several properties in the immediate area – and in fact we were so impressed with what we found was available in our price range that we decided to return to have a proper look at the earliest opportunity.
In the interim, we used the Internet to research availability of mortgages in Tenerife, different areas, types of property and of course how much money we should expect to pay for them. Information was plentiful, but in many ways confusing and contradictory … and then we chanced upon the Wady Properties site. Wady Properties seemed to have a “plain English”, transparent approach to the whole thing – better still they offered free advice with no obligation to “newbies” such as ourselves, so we decided to take them at their word and contacted David Cusworth at his office in England.
Before Purchase
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First contact
David was very helpful – he took the time to describe the whole process to us, and probed to discover what we had in mind, budget etc. After a long conversation, he briefly described the suite of services that Wady Properties had to offer, and insisted that at the very least, before we make a decision to buy, we should meet “the amazing” Silvana in Tenerife and let her show us a portfolio of the possibilities available to us – again with no obligation. He followed the call with an email summarising our conversation and reiterated his suggestion to make contact with Silvana and take the time out with her in Tenerife.
Our first conversation with Silvana confirmed all that David had enthused about. She gave us all the time that we required discussing what we had in mind and our concerns whilst describing how she could assist us, not only with the initial purchase, but also with the property’s rental and maintenance if we wished. She assembled a compendium of properties that she believed might suit our requirements, emailing photographs and details for us to peruse at leisure in advance of returning to the Island. Clearly she was immediately on the ball – her suggestions broadly appeared to match what we thought we were looking for, and her straightforward, un-aggressive approach made us feel comfortable to meet her during our return trip.
The viewing trip
Scheduled flights were readily available at a very fair price, but a matching holiday let proved a little more challenging to find. However, we rented a Studio Flat in Los Cristianos (which itself reflected another side of Tenerife), and after familiarising ourselves with the area, Silvana called to collect us for our tour. She had prepared an itinerary, which she gave us, complete with details and pricing all in English. The rest of the day was a revelation – we really had no idea of the array of property types, the variety of styles, the availability of shared facilities, community fees, and the variations in rental potential – but we certainly had a much better idea by the end of the day! As time went on, and Silvana imparted more and more of her unquestionable knowledge and experience, we became more and more able to focus on what we really wanted. We viewed properties in the mountains, on the coast, and in both busy and quiet areas, and all the time, Silvana provided an informed and balanced insight into their suitability for our requirements.
By the end of the day, we had discounted the majority of the offerings we had viewed for one reason or another, but were particularly keen on one property adjacent to a golf course, not far from Playa de Las Americas. On the way back, we asked Silvana about Fanabe where her office is located. She was surprised that we hadn’t been there – and insisted that we go there.
After Purchase
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Finding the right property for us
On the way, she made what was either a truly gifted or incredibly lucky comment about a property that was available there. It was unfortunately smaller than we had been looking at all day, but with what she termed “a bomb”, it could possibly be adapted to what we needed. The comment was left hanging in the air until we arrived in Puerto Colon, but as soon as we saw the marina, the promenade and the facilities, somehow we knew (even if Silvana didn’t at the time) that we had to have a look before we returned to the UK.
Given the fact that we were due to fly back the following day, we called Silvana out of hours that evening to ask if we could view “the property that needed a bomb” before we returned – and true to form she pulled the stops out to gain access and collected us early the next morning. Before we went in, Silvana warned us that the property was 20 years old and needed some work, but she advised us not to see what we saw but to imagine what she described. Her vision was clear – and immediately we bought into it. Better still, Wady Properties were in a position to manage the entire project on our behalf – the conveyance, purchase, mortgage, planning, building and refurbishment were all in the scope of this single business, and we were about to find out exactly how efficiently the entire project would be executed. The large one bedroom bungalow duplex with a single bathroom was about to be refurbished and extended into a property with two bathrooms and two double bedrooms. The kitchen was to be relocated and the doors and shutters were to be replaced.
The building work
Given the lack of time before we had to fly back, Silvana introduced us to her colleagues at 'Wady Services' who were to deal with the refurbishment project. They immediately grasped the concept, and confirmed the plan’s feasibility before we had to dash off to catch the plane home. A detailed drawing arrived by email very soon after our return to England along with a quotation and timescales to complete the works. Time was particularly important to us because we wanted to have it all completed in time for us to holiday there. This was to prove somewhat ambitious, but again Wady Properties would prove to be good to their word.
While the financial and contractual arrangements were underway, Silvana kept us up to speed with what we needed to know. Of course we had to supply various documentation, but Wady Properties proved invaluable dealing with the entire process on our behalf. It was all very hectic – but so exciting.
Client Testimonial by Lyn & Malcolm Thomas
