Hi both,
I agree with all. Spent time exploring the area, stay a few nights in the area you like, a lot are working Spanish villages and towns so bars will shut earlier than you think and places to eat vary on days. We like you visited Pego and loved it but we spent some time looking around and we eventually bought in Villalonga. We found the town houses in our price range didn’t have a lot of outdoor space. It was never our plan to do a reform but you guessed it we fell in love with a totally uninhabitable place in the village with loads of outside space. I did loads of research when it came to solicitors and even went to visit prior to buying to see if we got on and I liked the way they worked. We found Caroline Just Miro in Gandia, she plays straight and gets everything in writing, she is upfront and we totally trusted her. She had our property surveyed again lots of research and had a couple of quotes for renovation. Do Not go with anyone connected to the estate agents in any field, it’s best if they are independent. Take your time deciding and don’t be pushed into it... the right place is out there for you. We found an absoute gem of a builder ( English but been in Spain for 16 years) We did not live there so everything was done via calls and emails etc. We had a great experience through it all...you hear nightmare stories but honestly we did not feel any stress throughout any of the process and I really think that’s because we had spent time researching and through this found the right people for us. It’s a fun process if you get it right. If you need any help or names and numbers just let me know, I could probably even let you see before and after pictures. I wish you well on your exciting journey. Vicki x