We are thinking of buying a house in Monovar.

Hi there. Was there a specific reason you were choosing Monovar as it doesn't appear you know much about the location?

I would never recommend you purchase a property in an area you have never physically visited.

I would suggest you contact Lydia at Carousel Homes Spain (www.carouselhomesspain) as she is a very trustworthy agent in the area and covers Monovar.

One main consideration for that area relates to the type of property you are thinking of buying. IF you are looking to do any sort of reform (refurbishment / don't it up) or additional building work, then you should know that Monovar town hall has a reputation as being really very strict authority and quite difficult to work with.

Hope it helps

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Alicante-Airport-ALC/Mon%C3%B3var 

https://ugeo.urbistat.com/AdminStat/en/es/demografia/dati-sintesi/monovar-monover/20249255/4 

It would help if you could tell us why you have chosen Monovar and if it is for a holiday home or a permanent move.

Tony and Sue,

I agree with the comments above, and here are some specifics as to 'what it is like':

The town has around 10k people re population so not large but not tiny.

There are plenty of amenities, great supermarkets and regular fetes, parking is easy too.

There isn't a big UK ex-pat community unlike, say, Pinoso but nothing wrong with that, our neighbours are Spanish with a scattering of Dutch, German and other people. That said I've seen 4 people on this forum in Monovar who are English but not met them as yet. There is a group which meets up on the 1st Monday of each month at 3:30 in Cafe Ole of mixed foreign nationals. Sounds fun and useful.

The Monovar people are lovely, really friendly! They will meet you half-way in terms of language, and then some.

There are hills but not too steep. Sax and its environment (another lovely nearby town) has more. We chose to buy outside of town (2km away) and there are walking trails passing our door which are very popular. Nearby Salinas is flat / less hilly but has mountain views too.

Property is less expensive than nearer the coast, typically / as always, and Alicante is only 30 minutes drive away. As to a bus service, I understand there is one but I don't know the frequency or cost. May be able to find out through our Spanish friends.

T'internet out of town isn't sparkling but at 10-15GB down it does sustain conference calls and facetime. We use Cableworld (but it is not cable, just small sat dish) and there are other providers. The mobile signal strength is good too.

There is a notaire in town and the town hall people are very helpful...we are looking forward to the Spanish classes there.

PM us  or post here if you have other questions. Hope this helps and that you find your ideal place. We did.

Best wishes

Thanks Uk handy man .........90% of the work we need doing is internal cosmetic work mate, we may need to plaster 1 wall inside but it looks quite ok inside the property I must say.....marble floors etc .....we just need to paint a wall or 2 .....surely that’s ok .

that’s very kind thankyou for your responses .........perhaps Pinoso maybe better for us with a few more ex pats to chat with ??? Is Pinoso also close to Alicante airport and does Pinoso bus go direct to Alicante airport I wonder.....

Thanks to all for your kind words

Sue and Tony 

Most probably a permanent move .......

Rather than rush into buying, it would be an idea to rent first before committing. I'm assuming you don't know the area well and living in Spain is very different from holidaying, especially the further inland you go as language will be a barrier away from the ex-pat areas. It also feels very cold indoors in winter due to the inferior construction methods used here as they are built to keep the sun out rather than the heat in and damp is a problem in many homes.
Read Jim's Guides which are in a tab at the top of the page to find out the processes you will need to go through.

A very good tip there, although after paying rents for 4 long expensive years in London ......we are both rather keen to avoid renting.......although London was probably 4 times as expensive.....thankyou for the decent tip ......you have a good point.

I totally get what you mean about ending rental having ourselves rented in London amongst other places for the last 16 years or so. As others have recommended though, making the move straight off the bat is a massive step.

We have been renting for nearly 4 years and recently purchased a plot and commenced a build. We had lived in big cities in the UK and elsewhere and it is a huge difference to living in Spain, let alone a move inland. That said, we love it! We love the life and are making the move permanent also.

I wish you the very best for your adventure but would urge you to consider the points from others, even if you just have a couple of viewing trips, which I recommend you book yourself and then align with an agent.

Hope it helps