Cortijo Finito

It had been a frustrating few weeks for me in Cadiz province as the house had been finished just before the birth of Florence Lucia on September the 14th. The exhilaration of the birth of my daughter was overwhelming but so was the responsibility to mother and daughter as we adjusted to our new status in the flat in Vejer. A period of quiet and calm was necessary to acclimatise Florence to this brave new world and this meant of course I could not rush of to see the newly finished house and to pay Daniel some outstanding monies.

However, after two weeks of chill and contentment and the baby happily ensconced in her routine I felt I could grab a few days away to check on the Cortijo. I was somewhat nervous anticipating my feelings towards the house. Would I be elated or deflated? Would I see it as a burden due to the money tied up in it or a sound and profitable investment? I wouldn't know until I saw it and so off I trundled on my now familiar trek cross country passing by Arcos, Olvera, Antequera, Granada, Guadix and Baza before dipping down into Almeria through Oria to the Rambla and La Ermita. I needn't have been worried as the house more than lived up to my expectations, all the finishing work was up to the usual high standard, the kitchen finally done and the concreted patio with retaining walls looking stunning as the night shot here shows.

So I slept peacefully and awoke next day with a full list of snagging and finishing jobs to tackle. Firstly I stained the wooden backing to the kitchen island incorporating the oven before using the same stain to coat the beams in the upstairs bedroom. Next the remaining new doors needed treating with a pine wood stain. I called Jo the estate agent (Daniels girlfriend) to arrange for her to come round and see the house, take photos and put a valuation on the house. My new plan was to put the house on the market asap to test out the waters as I don't want to feel trapped within it knowing it could take a year to sell in this climate. With the birth of Florence my new responsibilty meant I wanted to realise some profit and move onto a new project nearer home base ideally. Of course the scenario that would most suit me would be to have the cortijo in Vejer where it would be worth at least 3 times as much as Almeria.....but that wasn't going to happen, unfortunately.

Off to Albox the next day, stocking up on plants, olive and a lemon tree for the patio plus lots of paint to tidy up the front patio area. A twelve hour work day saw me painting the stairwell a crisp white, and over two days giving two coats of lemon paint to the kitchen door and two coats of black to the dowdy front door, whilst also freshening up the patio with a stone colour touch up. I also purchased a wicker chair and table perfect for the bedroom to gaze out over the olive fields to the Ermita opposite. The house was now looking and smelling fresh and clean and furnished to my taste with a combination of Daves stuff with my slightly more classy pieces!

Jo turned up camera at the ready and we discussed the state of the market generally before I took her for a tour of the house. She hadnt been round since she sold it to me almost a year ago so she was most impressed, especially with the new 30sqm winter lounge and the patio leading off from it. Discussing the cost of the renovation and the sale price she said a fair market price of around 135,000 euros would be a good starting off point, which is what I had envisaged. Still lots of work to do for my next visit repainting both lounges, touching up outside walls, painting garage doors green, stripping some old interior doors and windows back to bare wood. Also need to bring the rest of my large Moroccan carpets and Moroccan prints down to the cortijo to finish the dressing up but for now......its all good. Will probably spend Xmas here with the family, roaring log fire, mulled wine, mince pies...can't wait.