Our housing specialist Bjorn Cocquyt has been visiting leading properties and real estate projects at home and abroad for more than 10 years. In our Pureliving section, he gives his vision of exclusive living.
There’s nothing like sitting on the sun-drenched terrace of your Spanish casa with a tapa and a copa de cava. But it will only be completely carefree if everything around your second home is taken care of for you. From the start of your house search to when you are back home in Belgium after your holiday. Koen De Vos of My Dream Property explains how to do it.
Who already has a second home in Spain or is looking for one, can tell you about it: if you search the sites of dozens of estate agents, you are overwhelmed with hundreds of projects that often come back again and again. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack to find the right house or flat for you among all those ads. “It is indeed stressful or discouraging,” says Koen De Vos. With his company My Dream Property, which has been active on the Costa del Sol for more than ten years, he therefore approaches it differently.
The particular method is immediately noticeable when you surf to the website. You get to see a number of atmospheric images that only heighten the holiday feeling. Only at the bottom is there a reference to a small selection of properties within five price categories. “If you contact an estate agent as a client, you want him to guide you well from the very first minute. You expect him to listen attentively and not just impose projects. That is why we immediately plan a meeting where we go over all the points. These are things that are important to the client, such as the number of bedrooms and, of course, the budget, but also aspects that he does not immediately think about, such as the proximity of water and theme parks in the case of a family with young children.
No rush
The detailed details that emerge from the conversation are then used to arrive at a package of four to five suitable properties for a site visit in Spain. “Such a viewing trip must not be a rush and you must also be given time to get to know the area and soak up the atmosphere. Showing more properties makes no sense.”
In most cases it is about new build. There too, the supply is enormous, but De Vos takes less than half of the projects in its portfolio. “We have a lawyer who thoroughly screens every developer. Only when he gives the go-ahead does cooperation commence.
WithMy Dream Properties, the De Vos guides his clients not only up to the purchase, but also during construction and even after completion. “As a foreigner it is difficult to arrange formalities, such as the connection of the electricity or the internet. And the interior decoration is often a real hassle. For a buyer, it is nice if an estate agent provides these services. There are also service packages to continue to take care of clients afterwards. Then we clean everything upon departure and arrival – we even chill the cava, we keep an eye on things while they are away, we follow up on the administration, …”
Mañana
“I even employ a Belgian handyman, because we Belgians have different standards. We want everything to be done to perfection and we don’t want to have to wait too long for it. It is nice to hear someone say mañana, mañana, but not if, for example, it is your air conditioning that needs to be installed. With such a total approach, the Spanish dream can never become a nightmare and you can enjoy it carefree,” says De Vos.
To complete the picture, he also runs a construction company with DVOS Luxury Building. “Renovating and upgrading existing homes is the future in regions like Marbella where land is scarce. By focusing on that as well, we have come full circle.
More info:www.my-dream-property. com
You can discuss your project directly with Koen De Vos in this way:
Telephone Koen De Vos: +34 677 69 60 92
E-mail Koen De Vos: koen@my-dream-property.com
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