Estoy buscando un piso

The viewings begin.

The three of us (myself, my wife, property sourcing agent) viewed several apartments in La Zaidia with various real estate agents. Their demeanour ranged from enthusiastic/pushy right through to "just can't be arsed today"... and everything in between.

The elegant surroundings of the Cafeteria La Nau.
When you need a little peace in a busy city.

This often depends on the time of day in Valencia... afternoon appointments can be somewhat lacking in energy. The Spanish/Valencian work ethic can take a little getting used to, but it's no less valid because of that. Our unexplained Northern-European desire to work at 100mph for 40-plus hours per week isn't a thing here. This is one of its charms.

Initial viewings were discouraging. Noisy neighbours' dogs, no outside space, needs total refurb, phone box-sized bathrooms, and so on. November's a good time to view property in a place like Valencia. You're less likely to be seduced by the weather, and it makes a place more honest somehow.

Eventually, walking into the living room of a second-floor apartment on Calle Puebla del Duc, the space felt right. The place needed a few things doing, but we wanted it, and reckoned we'd find the money for new windows. Once again, Valencian generosity and kindness of spirit meant that a local architect friend of our agent had a good look at the place for us and confirmed that it was a realistic potential purchase.

The offer went in... less than 90% of asking price.

We returned to the UK to await the owners' response, but not before handing power of attorney (slightly scary) to my abogada so that she could complete the purchase for me. As a result, I spent quite a lot of my birthday in 2015 in a Spanish notario's office dealing with the tangled web of intrigue that is the Spanish legal system.

My wife and I had decided that I would purchase the property in my name only... needing only one set of documents seemed to guarantee an easier process. But both the Notario and Spanish law were finding this difficult to understand. This is never done in Spain, and property will always be in the name of a married couple or whole family.

We all got our heads around it eventually. I suspect the notario was ready for his lunch and eventually put his signature to the thing. I placed my trust (and my bank account) in the hands of my abogada, had a last long paella lunch and headed back to the UK.