English
Español
Paul Whitelock came across the house that was to become Casa Real quite by chance one Sunday afternoon after visiting the house next door in Montejaque.
As I emerged from No. 2 I noticed a private “se vende” sign attached to the rejas of the house next door.
“Oh, it’s for sale!” I pronounced, somewhat unnecessarily.
“Yes, it’s Armando’s house”, said my companion. Armando just happens to be my favourite bar owner in the village. It was still opening time, so off I went straight to his bar to ask whether I could view the property.
“Of course. I shall be closing shortly, so we can go then”.
Armando informed me that the house had been his family home. His parents had long since passed away, so the house belonged to him and his three siblings, the heirs.
I looked at the house and was smitten. I could see its potential straightaway and decided I wanted it. After the easing of the first Covid-19 lockdown, I needed something to do, a project, so I bought it.
The process seemed to take ages, partly because the house had no papers and it was summer and one of the notaries shut for two weeks for holidays. It wasn’t until the end of August that we were able to seal the deal at the notary.
And so to work. The house needed a re-wire and new plumbing, so San Jorge got to work cutting out the channels in the walls for the tubing and electric cables and José Antonio “El Suave” started replacing the old lead piping with copper.
Casa Real, Montejaque
The next job was to remove two tabiques, partition walls, between the lounge and what had been Armando’s mum’s bedroom, and said bedroom and the kitchen, in order to create an open plan, L-shaped lounge, dining room and kitchen.
Then disaster struck …..
To find out what happened and how we solved the problem, look out for Casa Real – Part II, coming soon.
