# House Clearance



## Bibi2 (Jan 18, 2015)

Our Move to Spain is looming closer as we have our house here under offer so we are looking into everything to do with buying selling etc. One thing we've noticed when viewing houses for sale in Spain is that many of them include furniture which would not be of interest to us. We would want a blank canvas and wonder how much it costs to clear a house if we accept the inclusion of furniture in a sale or if, despite not including it, we end up with unwanted items anyway.


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## alborino (Dec 13, 2014)

For us 40 Euros to the drug addict re-housing charity and they took everything away including some big stuff difficult to remove. It was all usable but much had woodworm. Ask in the town hall to find them or something similar.


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

We have found there is always someone in our local village in need so anything we didn't want has been given away to a good home, also many of the dog rescue charities or other charities would be happy to take things they can sell on to raise funds , its a bit more of an effort but at least it recycles things and helps others.


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## Bibi2 (Jan 18, 2015)

That's great thanks for the info. Will certainly be happy to recycle and help out a charity if possible. 

The only problem is if you want to move your own furniture in before you've been able to clear any that's been left.

We had the horror of moving into our current home expecting it to have been cleared only to find that not only was the house still fully furnished but the elderly occupants were having lunch in the dining room with no intention of moving out despite having signed the contracts and arranged to move into a nursing home. 

We had to hold our furniture in the removal van while we taxied the couple off to their home (after picking up their prescriptions at the local pharmacy) before clearing one room onto the drive so that we could off load ours!

I'm now no longer a young person and have no desire to repeat that experience particularly in a strange country! We will probably rent for a few months while we purchase so it should give us time to sort out any problems like that and arrange for unwanted furniture to be recycled.


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## tonymar (Jan 29, 2015)

That's a great story about the old people in your house
hey hope you don't find any in your Spanish house

We had a load of old crap left at our finca when we moved in, but there was an old tractor left on the land , so I done a few hours work on to get it working
Great I thought , until the old boy who owned the house found out , he came back for it 

He decided it wasnt crap any more as it was now working !!

Good luck with the move 
What area are you coming to

Tony Agost Alicante


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## Bibi2 (Jan 18, 2015)

Hi Tony, I'm assuming you gave him back the tractor but I would have been tempted to add an invoice for the work- only joking- better to have good neighbours than make an enemy over an old tractor.
We hope to move somewhere within the area ranging from Valencia City down to Denia and anywhere from the coast west to Alberic/Alcoy. 
We don't know the areas that well but have been out on an investigative trip just before Christmas.

We still haven't truly isolated what we want which is a bit scary since we have had a cash offer on our house which appears to be going through so we will probably rent around Gandia somewhere so that we can visit the area and view a lot of properties before buying.


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## tonymar (Jan 29, 2015)

Bibi2 said:


> Hi Tony, I'm assuming you gave him back the tractor but I would have been tempted to add an invoice for the work- only joking- better to have good neighbours than make an enemy over an old tractor.
> We hope to move somewhere within the area ranging from Valencia City down to Denia and anywhere from the coast west to Alberic/Alcoy.
> We don't know the areas that well but have been out on an investigative trip just before Christmas.
> 
> We still haven't truly isolated what we want which is a bit scary since we have had a cash offer on our house which appears to be going through so we will probably rent around Gandia somewhere so that we can visit the area and view a lot of properties before buying.


Hi Bibi

Well he just took the tractor , so didn't really get a choice !, didn't have any Spanish then so couldn't argue with him about it .

As you said wasnt worth making an enemy over it anyway .

He did keep just turning up for ages , in the end we put a fence up and thart did the trick !


We live just inland of Alicante , not a bad area as it is close to the beach and airport but still in a real Spanish village , if you want any info on the area let me know , have been here for 12 years now , there are plenty of bargains about at the moment !

Cheers Tony Agost Alicante


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## Bibi2 (Jan 18, 2015)

tonymar said:


> Hi Bibi
> 
> in the end we put a fence up and thart did the trick !
> 
> ...


Hi Tony
We always say good fences make for good neighbours!

Would love to know more about Agost particularly what clubs etc it has and how easy you found it as an ex pat to integrate. Like you, we won't speak Spanish initially but intend to take classes and would want those classes to be as local as possible.
Wiki says Agost has a lot of potteries and I wonder if there is an active art community there?

Main reasons for looking close to Valencia is wanting to take advantage of living on the continent and using the High Speed Rail to do some travelling. Also, Flights to and from UK are cheaper from Valencia than Alicante and I'm wary of going too far south because I don't want to sizzle in excess summer temps.
I'm an artist and want to keep painting during my retirement. We have been looking at a few properties in your area but would't want to go further south than San Javier.


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## tonymar (Jan 29, 2015)

Hi Bibi,

Yes you are Right Agost is famous for pottery , traditional items are still made here , the Botijo is the most popular , it is an interesting item basically an ancient way of solar cooling water .
a vessel made from the special white semi porous Agost clay , you fill it with water and leave it in the sun , as water evaporates through the clay the water is cooled inside .

there is also a water feeder version for animals ( great way of providing cool water for your pets in the summer ) 

The potters are true artists , fantastic to watch !

As regards to an ex pat community it is quite small in Agost ( which is strange considering its proximity to airport , beach and Alicante city ) 

I Believe Alicante is also well connected to the rail way network ( the hi speed line passes quite close to my house )

Unfortunately Agost station is closed , it is abandoned and looks like something off a wild west film !

HOT here in the summer , very dry and desert like ( it was used as a film set for a spaghetti western in the 60s , the mountains provide a beautiful back drop .

If you head inland a little more say to Castella it is much greener but colder in the winter !

English is not widely spoken it is still very Traditionally Spanish here with some very interesting fiesters 

Not sure about painting groups , I will ask about .

The via verde is worth a look , is an un used rail road that is now a country walk , through some fantastic un spoilt mountain areas here is a link https://www.google.es/url?sa=t&rct=...U-Bo20HsxZiltPsY5iQ0Kcw&bvm=bv.85970519,d.d24

Cheers Tony


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## Bibi2 (Jan 18, 2015)

Thanks Tony- fantastic info and lots to look up. It sounds very interesting and probably the size and local Spanish community would be very appealing but the descriptions of arid scenery and the emphasis on HOT may be a deterrent but we are coming to Spain with very open hearts and minds prepared to explore and hopefully find the home where we can end our days!! We've also discussed doing our own travelling around Europe during the HOT season if I find the temps too difficult in July/August.

Thanks again, Bibi


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## tonymar (Jan 29, 2015)

Hi Bibi

The heat can take some getting used to , but I admit don't miss scraping ice of my car on a cold Uk morning .

Good luck with your search , I think you are right best to keep an open mind and heart !
most important is finding the area that is right for you .

Let us know if you in the area , if you want a chat about what its really like living here full time !

All the best 

Tony , Agost Spain


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## Bibi2 (Jan 18, 2015)

Thanks Tony
Will certainly look you up when we get out there as Alicante area is on our list for a visit. Still have to keep all fingers and toes crossed that our plans stay on track but all being well we hope to be renting in Spain around May/June onwards.
Thanks for all your kind help and wonderful information, it's greatly appreciated and as they say in Spain, hasta pronto!- Hope I got that right!


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