Vendors Selling in Spain. Is your Property being noticed ?

Are you serious about selling your Spanish property

The first thing that draws a property seekers eye is the photograph. So make sure the picture is worthy

Many agents in Spain are bad photographers and many upmarket properties are too secluded to be able to take a very good eye catching picture. However if you are a buyer scanning building after building on the internet property portals the eye catching element of building after building soon gets lost and poor pictures of secluded homes get ignored. People looking to buy a house or apartment are drawn to a nicely maintained eye catching design, but just as important is the surrounding area. What does the house look onto or back onto. If you as a seller bought your house because of its location and paid for the privilege of the location then it is important to showcase the position of the property. If you can capture in one picture the house the location and the surrounding scene then it will draw the eye of the discerning property buyer. Here is an example of what can be achieved click here to see this Sotogrande Golf & Sea View Home In todays hard fought Spanish property market if you need to sell your property you have to be a step ahead of the competition. Its common sense that eye catching photographs are the key first stage of attracting purchasers. The importance is to initially draw people to the area after all there are hundreds of locations and communities along the Costa del Sol. If you are to market a property in a great location then you must capture in one picture the property and the essence of where the property sits.

People who are close to the sea with a sea view can now have a photograph of their home encompassing the surrounding area, beach, countryside,river, golf course or forest can be shown nearby. Now with new technology even a house surrounded by trees can be pictured with the golf course in view.

Tailor Made estate agents know that the right photograph on international property portal such as Rightmove Overseas will increase traffic to your featured property tenfold. Yes there maybe several agents showing a picture of your house and it shows up in search to a handful of people each day. The same people searching will be seeing 30 homes in 10 different locations within 10 miles of you. However if your house is say .5km from the 3rd best golf course in Spain and its is photographed with the same golf course behind it and the sea beyond, then those searching will say 'that's the style of house I love and look I can see that fantastic golf course very close by and the Mediterranean also very near'. Now that is an impact no one can argue with.

Many Estate Agents are old school and shy away from Technology. However they are nice guys you have known them a long time and maybe they even sold you the property years ago so despite their lack of ingenuity you have instructed them to sell your property anyway. Nothing wrong with that although when choosing more agents make sure the agency brings something new to the table beyond simply having a website and being based in your location. So how can Tailor Made estate agency provide you with a photograph or even a video that will encompass the home the grounds and the attractions surrounding the property. The answer is simple and summed up in this photograph

This is how we are showcasing vendors homes far better than our competitors.

This week we have arranged pictures for vendors in Marbella, Algeciras, San Roque golf, and San Pedro de Alcantara have also provided other agents out of our area with photographs for their own use.

If you want to improve your chances of selling then show off your property properly and we can organize some wonderful visuals.

More information please contact Tailor Made estate agents 0034 956 790 320 or email sales@tailormadesotogrande.com

Magnificent millionaire Golf Villa surrounded by Spains top 5 golf courses

Magnificent Villa surrounded by 7 golf courses. Location Southern Spain

Are you wanting to live and play golf in sunny Spain. This magnificent house has stunning views and is within 7 minutes drive of 7 golf courses. Five of these golf courses are considered to be Spains top 10.

This location is a short drive west of Marbella located 25 minutes from Gibraltar. This area is not congested or over developed and is probably the largest Private upmarket residential estate in Europe a location where wealthy expats enjoy life amongst very well heeled Spanish residents.

Golf clubs near this property include Club de golf Sotogrande Real, Valderrama, La Reserva, San Roque golf (2 courses), Alcaidesa and Club de golf La Canada. Finca Cortesin is approximately 15 minutes drive

For more information contact Francis Payne of Tailor Made estates agency Sotogrande Spain

Click on this link to see aerial video of the house location and proximity to Golf Course and Sea. You will agree the scenery is stunning.

VIRTUAL VIDEO TOUR LINK

www.tailormadesotogrande.com

Check out Sotogrande Beach & River frontage video

Living and Loving golf in Spain

Well lets face it the sun does shine a lot

More and more couples are looking to take advantage of low cost air travel and play golf in Spain and Portugal with regular trips to their favorite locations. Our golf club see's its fair share of extremely good competitive golfers who have been coming and playing in Spain for many years and finally want to commit to more golf in their favorite location not to mention a wonderful championship course.

There have been so many people inquiring in the last 12 months that this year that the Golf Club have created a more user friendly International Membership to entice them to join the club and many are doing just that. I look back fondly at my golf days in Dorset getting up at 6.30am just to get a tee time and making sure I had my woolen beanie and the single fur lined glove just to keep your hands warm. Not any more, these days on this western fringe of the Costa del Golf if it looks like a few spits of rain we delay until tomorrow when we know that the sun will shine again. The new members under their 6 month membership come and go with the seasons and many take a month at a time before the draw of family takes them back to the Country of origin.

As people become familiar with the club and its members friendships are formed and people suddenly start to book their golf trips in line with club events when they know the rest of the gang are more likely to be there. Some great rivalries materialize and tournaments then provides some great social aspects including the 'after golf' when that couple of drinks on the terrace turns to a few more and a few more. What about when you return home to rain and wind can you forget what you have just left behind. Its hard with all this social media particularly if you are constantly reminded that life in the sun goes on

In Spain we are also seeing quite a few families with talented golf children who look to take a gap year after GCSE's or A levels so that they can practice golf with very little weather interruption. The whole family are often involved and once again find club golf life very enjoyable. So enjoyable that they start to look at the options to continue the golfing lifestyle once the gap year ends.

Club golf in the sun becomes very addictive. I love my coffee and bacon roll in the sun on the terrace pre-warmup followed by 18 holes on well manicured golf course wearing shorts. Our club always runs 2 roll up competitions per week on Tuesdays and Thursdays and fortnightly there is either the monthly medal or the club Ranking competition, throw in a main club event maybe once a month and there is plenty of competitive golf to play. I should also mention the inter-club events as we play all over the coast.

For myself I have not retired yet and need to work. Having said that estate agents in Spain are not the busiest of people in these economic times but we do work very flexible hours so taking a morning off for golf in the week is always a possibility and maybe knocking off at 3pm for some social golf. Very often we like to play the course with a client who maybe seeking a golf front villa or apartment. No point trying to sell an apartment until the client decides the course is good enough.

In our area we have 7 courses all within 7 minutes drive of each other and once you get involved with golf locally you will meet members from other local clubs who will sign you in to play their course at a fraction of the wrack rate. Of the 7 courses 5 are in Spains top 10 so we are very spoilt for choice here. These include Valderrama, La Resrva, Real Club Sotogrande, San Roque New Course & San Roque Old course. Other local courses include Almenara's 27 holes, Alcaidesa beachfront course and La Canada golf. The wonderful Finca Cortesin is within 15 minutes drive.

This morning I met a client at the golf club and whilst there introduced him to a number of members some who had just arrived back in Spain and a few that were departing having spent most of the summer here. These people were all members who had taken the 6 month option but some were already looking to maybe upgrade their membership to full time and spend more time here than back in their country of origin.

My golf club is the San Roque golf club and whilst the majority of members are Brits and Irish there is also a great mix of other Europeans and a few Spanish. The atmosphere is always friendly and very few play and dash off immediately as there is always a drink while waiting the results of the match.

I am happy to chat to anyone thinking about Spain Golf and the logistics of a second home in the sun. One thing I do know if you make the commitment you will not regret it and I still say 10 years on that moving here was the best decision I have ever made.

Isnt it time you discovered the stunning western fringe of the Costa del Sol

article by Francis Payne

Tailor Made estate agents of Sotogrande

www.tailormadesotogrande.com

Golf in Sotogrande Southern Spain

I am a Brit in Spain should I be worried about Brexit

Brexit what does it mean for Brits in Spain

As an estate agent working in Spain its a question that I am regularly asked as people try and decide what will happen to them when UK does exit the EU. On a vist to Sotogrande's KE bar recently a friend introduced me to Spanish politician from Malaga. I took the opportunity to raise the subject of Brits in Spain. His response was that there would be no problems for those that already owned property here as long as they conformed with Spanish obligations. The suggestion was that if you are living here then you must make sure that you apply for residency now and get your status in order before Brexit. For those that have second homes here and come for holidays nothing much will change, after all, he points out English people bought holiday homes here without any issues long before they joined the EU.

The other interesting piece of advice was his view on those thinking of purchasing here in Spain, he indicated that people thinking about buying should do so sooner rather than later because the process for buying as a none EU resident was complex with buyers ending up with heavy legal bill by lawyers sorting out the red tape involved in obtaining a golden visa.

Prices are still low in Spain particular when you consider values in a wealth haven such as Sotogrande where waterside apartments can be bought for around 400.000,00 euros or Golf front home for 350.000,00. Biggest issue for agents is that very few can afford to keep property vacant for long and it results in most owners abandoning the idea of a sale and renting out the property long term. This in turn has left a shortage of long term rentals in the area as people are reticent to move with very little choice of rentals.

So Brexit for Brits abroad as far as Spain is concerned means getting your house in order. Living here already then apply for the residencia. If you do not want to then be prepared for scrutiny by the authorities once Exit starts to kick in.

For those that have been dreaming about a home in the sun and retiring to Spain then now is the time to find a property buy now with prices still low and whilst you are a member of the EU. To delay could end up becoming a frustrating and costly process and as an agent i have seen many a sale collapse because none EU people who want to buy are still trying to sort out a Golden Visa 9 months after getting an offer accepted.

Lets face it for those of us who know Spain is a wonderful place to live or have a second home and since the British referendum its been the Belgium French Dutch German and Scandinavians who have been the prevalent buyers all looking for that superb sunshine and lifestyle.

www.tailormadesotogrande.com Contact us on 0034 956 790 320

Golf Family fun and Retirement you will find the Lifestyle on Costa del Sols western fringe Spain

As an agent working in Sotogrande I find it wonderful to see Grandparents who move to the area planning a life in the sun and making provision for the extended family to enjoy the lifestyle. Recently a client sold their waterside penthouse apartment simply to buy a villa with garden so that the grandchildren could come and enjoy the location with them.

It seems that Joseph & Tanya Kettle realized soon after moving here that it was easier for them to fly the family here to Sotogrande and spend time outdoors in the sunshine having fun instead of traveling back to UK and often spending time stuck indoors watching the rain.

Its nice that since now they bought the villa they see more of the family than ever before. Where once it was the odd visit for to their home in Surrey for a weekend often cancelled due to busy social lifestyles, now the family plans its yearly trips to spend time at Easter, Christmas and of course the Summer. The teenage grandchildren love Sotogrande having made new friends last year. Josephs son also sneaks over on his own for several long weekends to play golf with his father and his fathers golfing freinds at his golf club.

'Buying the Villa has been the best move we have ever made' says Joseph. 'We had started to think our family was going in different directions and we were seeing them less and less. Now here in Spain we eat play and laugh together and I believe we are all a lot closer as a result of moving. Its the best retirement we could have wished for.'

If your looking for a family home and your a lover of golf then this beautiful home is on the Almenara golf Course and a few minutes drive to Sotogrande International school. The property is a very large luxury Villa with wonderful Sotogrande views. The Road is called Formentera where 2 International football players have holiday homes.

To see more information about this beautiful villa click this link Luxury Golf Villa Sotogrande Sotogrande is the largest private residential estate in Europe considered the best location in Spain for golf,tennis, polo and equestrian sports

Francis Payne Tailor Made estate agents

Isnt it time you discovered the stunning western fringe of the Costa del Sol

A stunning villa For Sale in beautiful Sotogrande Spain. An area unspoilt uncongested and not far west of Marbella. This is Europes largest private residential estate a playground for outdoor pursuits with a great European and worldwide community.

When the television promote Marbella for its glamour Sotogrande is frustrated at the fact that much of the stunning film shots are filmed in and around Sotogrande including the Polo



Here you will find 7 golf courses within 7 minutes of eachother 5 of them ranked amongst Spains top 10.

Sotogrande has Beaches , a marina Port, an International School for children ages 3 to 18 yrs. International tennis Academy, Superb equestrian facilities and no high rise development.



Just take a look at the country side surrounding this very stylish elegant top end  Villa then vist our website to find out more www.tailormadesotogrande.com

Sotogrande Spain promoted in Sandbanks Poole Dorset

Property in Spain's upmarket Sotogrande estate is now promoted in Sandbanks Poole

Tailor Made estate agents of Sotogrande now have a dedicated window space in the Tailor Made Sandbanks office located on the neck of this famous UK peninsula. Maybe its time you discovered why this wonderful estate located on the western fringe of the Costa del Sol is such a popular second home destination for the Madrilenos and Sevillanos (those from Madrid and Sevilla)

Now wealthy clients looking at multi million pound homes in and around Sandbanks will also see beautiful Sotogrande homes. Francis Payne of Tailor Made in Spain often describes Sotogrande as the Sandbanks & Canford Cliffs of Spain. Many wealthy people from London love a holiday home in Sandbanks and the same relationship exists between Madrid and Sotogrande.

Clients who buy in Sandbanks and Canford Cliffs for holiday homes love it so much that they often end up living there full time. Once they have made the move to Poole Dorset the same clients look for 2nd homes abroad. Sotogrande is ideal after all its one of Europes largest upmarket private residential estates a playground for the rich and famous. Unlike Marbella Sotogrande is not congested and is not over developed. Those living within the gated estate are surrounded by every activity that can be enjoyed under the sun. For instance within 7 minutes drive there are 7 golf courses, 9 Polo clubs, riding stables, sailing club, marinas and tennis clubs. This really is a warm weather escape for the whole family.

The Sotogrande estate is surrounded by Andalusian countryside and is a haven for wildlife and even in the summer the area is a sea of greenery. Within the estate you will find nature reserves, lakes and a large river. Many homes enjoy sea counrty and golf views and for a family there are plenty of wide avenidas on Sotogrande Costa with very little traffic, wonderful for cycling

Take a look at some of the photos we present on this google plus link to understand more about this unique location reflected in the many of the Tailor Made photo posts.

For more information about Sotogrande its facilities and services please feel free to call us for a chat 0034 956790320 or maybe take advantage of our property search service click on link PROPERTY SEARCH SOTOGRANDE

Buy a Grand Country House Southern Spain

This home is worthy of a rock star

All to often you see these grand houses advertised for sale and find they are located miles from anywhere.

So many people buy isolated homes in rural Spain then hanker to move to a busier location. This property in Southern Spain is located on the Western Fringe of the Costa del Sol and is only 5 minutes drive to the busy seaside town of Estepona

Within the approx 7 acres of grounds you find the following accommodation Grand Hacienda 6 bedrooms Spacious home

Gate House

Pair Semi detached Houses

1 bedroom apartment

8 Studio apartments designed as a Spanish white village

Workshops formerly stables

In the grounds there is a tennis court a wonderful large swimming pool patio terrace with summer house and various other outhouses. You may well think that this may have once been a manor house to a grand estate however this this grand villa has been a holiday home for the present Madrid owners for well over 45 years and is presently maintained by the live in staff who maybe happy to stay on if required.

Malaga Airport 45 minutes Gibraltar Airport 35 minutes

Villa to rent Sotogrande Spain - Long term rental available

Villa to rent available on long term contract in Sotogrande Southern Spain

This is a very nice spacious detached house with 4 bedroom 4 bathrooms set in private gardens and located on the Sotogrande Costa (close to the beach port marina). The house is an ideal modern family home and is within 5 minutes drive of Sotogrande International School.

At this time of year many owners remove their villas from the market to take advantage of bookings for July & August summer rentals a time when a months rent becomes 1 weeks rent. Hence it is not easy for a family to find a house rental for September school term as they are simply not marketed. To find out more about this property and check out the photographs please click on the link Villa to rent in Sotogrande

To arrange a viewing contact Francis Payne at Tailor Made estate agents of Sotogrande

0034 956790320 or email sales@tailormadesotogrande.com

High End Luxury Villas Sotogrande Spain - Property market

Luxury Villas for sale in Sotogrande Southern Spain on Western Fringe of the Costa del Sol

This luxury Villa is over 1000m2 and located in Sotogrande Alto one of the highest points of Sotogrande. The house fronts Almenara golf and has fabulous views of San Roque golf and the Sea. Its on the market for 3.595 million euros. This Road is Millionaires alley and 2 recent homes have been built for owners in excess of 1500m2.

This wonderful Villa in Sotogrande f zone is elevated and has the sought after southerly aspect close to San Roque golf course views looking onto both Courses. The property has a separate guest house and amazing terraces and outdoor areas for alfresco living. On the market for sale at 2.65 million euros.

This Villa is located in the exclusive Altos de Valderrama a gated community within the Sotogrande gated community. In this property you will feel secure knowing entry is only by your authority via 24/7 manned security gate. The inner estate is well established amidst cork oak forest and homes here are enjoy quiet seclusion. This Villa is one where reformation would be perfect and no matter how much you spend on it you will not be throwing away your money. The average property in this corner of Sotogrande is 2.5 million euros. So this house is a snip for just under 900.000,00 euros.

To see these properties you can fly London Bristol or Manchester to Gibraltar airport 20 minutes from Sotogrande or Malaga airport is just over 1 hours drive

Finally one of my favorite Sotogrande Properties a house on the outskirts of a Spanish Village just outside of Sotogrande Port this home has been beautifully reformed in true Andalusian style and has a commercial part to it with a farm style shop a bungalow workshop studio and an office all separate to the main house. For sale at just over 1 million euros with 4000 m2 of land. see link on website for more info

Tailor Made Estates Sotogrande

Francis Payne

Spanish second home on golf course - The upmarket golf end of Costa del Golf

Golf, Spain and the second home market

The turn round is definitely under way and there are now a steady flow of '50 something' people now asking about owning second homes on prestige golf courses in the Costa del Sol. For most the combination of cheaper homes and wanting a Country with location safe from terror has seen the return of the Brits to Southern Spain and why not as prices here in Spain whilst a little bit stronger than they were 18 months ago are still low. In up-market more exclusive areas where values have held a little better property can be purchased around 35% to 40% lower than you would have paid in 2008.

For the Sotogrande area golf is one of the major attractions and within 7 minutes drive of my office in the Port you can find 7 top courses including 5 which are in Spain's top 10 rated. The best thing for people who live here is that the courses are not over crowded and over played. A number of times during the year I play with friends of mine in Marbella 45 minutes east of Sotogrande and need to book tee times well in advance and spend 5 hours playing 18 holes. The Sotogrande area is more of a second home owners golfers paradise as opposed to golf tourism on mass. There are 7 Courses that surround us that most golfers here regularly play if not as a member then as part of a community that interact and invite each other to enjoy each others golf venues and the courses include

Valderamma (memories of Seve Ballesteros Ryder Cup 1997)

Sotogrande Real (often rated number 4 in Spain recently undergone multi million euro makeover)

La Reserva golf (very exclusive beautifully maintained and maybe toughest course in Spain)

San Roque golf estate (2 championship 18 hole courses former home of European Tour Qualifying School)

Almenara Golf resort (High standard pay & play course 27 holes surrounding NH Almenara hotel)

Alcaidesa Golf club (Nearest course to a links with stunning beach and sea views & cliff top fairways)

La Canada Golf (the local municipal golf course held record for producing more Pro's than any other club in Europe)

In the course of a normal year apart from regularly playing my own club San Roque I, like many others are fortunate to enjoy a great golfing social community that means we often play these other courses with members at very attractive members rates. It really means that living here full time or part time you are spoil't for golf

Photo Alboaire golf apartments

Golf here is a changing scene particularly with second home owners appearing in different seasons always looking for a round. I have a friend from Scotland Edd who arrives and stays in his apartment every other month for 5 to 10 days its always good to play with Edd and the mates he brings from Glasgow. Another friend David from London arrives at his golf penthouse in school holidays our families get together for beach dining and fun. Dave often looking to push his luck in playing as much golf as he can get away with . There are also the local societies and once a month the Sotogolfo's meet to play golf drink beer dine and drink more wine and beer, the fun of this monthly event is not one my wife cares to know about when i arrive home slurring

People enjoy Sotogrande because it is scenic and totally uncongested, No Marbella bottle necks traffic jams here. I wake in the morning usually to bright sun and it takes me 8 minutes to travel the 8 kms to my club.Having said that there are of course many who live on the golf course.

I am always happy to chat to anyone who wants to know more about living in Spain and about the golf opportunities here very club is different and I can assist with neutral information about clubs and style of memberships as well as buying property on a golf course or close by. There are many different second home options from large apartment developments to luxury multi million pound villas

Photo on right Lake Almenara golf club

Photo below Alboaire golf apartments in the heart of San Roque old Course

Francis Payne

Tailor Made estate agent www.tailormadesotogrande.com

Looking for somewhere special to live in Spain ? Look no further

Reasons why Spanish mainland provided all the options

So let me raise a few reasons we love living in this beautiful country and why the area we live in Spain ticks so many boxes, far more than we ever envisaged when we moved here

My family are from Poole Dorset and since the late 1960's early 1970s for many people from Poole & Bournemouth annual holidays to Spain often meant a Palmair trip (locally operated air carrier) to Mallorca. The reason for this was that Bournemouth had its own airport and since the 1960s Palmair was a wonderful service to Palma de Mallorca with a great hotel network. So in the footsteps of our grandparents and parents our happy holiday memories were of holidays in the Balearics . So it's no surprise that we dreamed of living there.

As a family we often chatted about living abroad on the Mediterranean sea and regularly suggested to my wife that we consider living in Spain . We began exploring our options starting with Mallorca.

Despite my love for Mallorca, my realization was that Spain was a vast tapestry of Historic Cities and contrasting scenery and we decided that to make a move and be constricted to a holiday island was not what we wanted. Over the 5 years of planning we made many visits to mainland Spain and enjoyed great Road trips through Northern Spain wending our way South and down along Spain's Southern Coasts. We had discounted Almeria as too dry arid and dusty and North of Barcelona was stunning but too quiet and isolated. We liked Javea & Moreira areas but my wife who was tasked to investigate the children's schooling could not be convinced. It was as a result of one of my lads golf trips to Spain that we found out about Sotogrande. I returned home saying that I had stayed in the Almenara hotel and had found a place that was stunningly green, a private estate surrounded by mountains sea river lakes and forests.

My wife started looking into the International School and liked what she found out. (picture of Sotogrande International School)

Over the next few years we traveled many times for holidays and loved coming here particularly when we started to make friends. I would play golf the children loved horse riding and my wife enjoyed the sun. We also liked coming here and exploring villages and towns nearby and soon we discovered the culture history and gastronomy of the Spanish cities. From our base in Sotogrande we would often head off for an overnight stay in Jerez, Seville, Cadiz and Malaga all within a 2 hour easy Road journey. Sophisticated Cities buzzing day and night all on our door step. Sotogrande is Europes largest upmarket private community that we often describe as a bubble. No traffic congestion, beautiful surroundings, wonderful climate and immaculately maintained. The estate has 24/7 security and traffic in and out is monitored and checked on CCTV.

Since living here enjoying Sotogrande we often travel all over Spain and even Portugal only 4 hours drive. In the winter a favorite family half term trip is 1 hour 45 minute up to Sierra Nevada for the skiing. At half term in February you meet half of Sotogrande there. Sierra Nevada is the highest ski resort in Europe and every year I will do several day trips up there with mates . There can be snow there right up until late April

For my wife the Sotogrande area was a great mix of English European and Spanish where she would not feel isolated she even pops into Gibraltar a couple of times a month for her English shop. For me Sotogrande is a very social community where I am spoiled for golf and other active outdoor lifestyle a secure community where the weather lends itself to boating cycling, fishing, racquet sports and hiking. I also love the diversity of the wild life that surrounds Sotogrande.

We have lived here for nearly 9 years and to this day there is no going back. The community we live in is all about meeting up with friends at the beach or at sporting venues or socially and there is always lots going on. We love the lifestyle in Sotogrande but its also great at a drop of a hat to head for the long weekend break to a Spanish city. Our location is perfect as it offers us so many choices and its having these choices that has made our move to Spain so perfect.

Click on this further summary Sotogrande in brief to find out more

Article by Francis Payne

www.tailormadesotogrande.com

Spains best kept secret if you like sophisticated lifestyle in unspoilt surroundings

Spains best kept secret

I wanted to write something brief which sums up this beautiful location in Southern Spain.



Sotogrande is located on the western edge of the "Costa del Sol" just outside the province of Malaga. The Sotogrande estate is approximately 40 minutes drive west of Marbella and 20 minutes from Estepona.



Also in close proximity is Gibraltar and many Sotogrande residents work on Gibraltar or live in Gibraltar and have holiday homes in Sotogrande. My wife likes to pop over there simply for the occasional British shop, its a comfort thing.



Often when the TV flashes up the luxury lifestyle  in Spain the eating drinking dancing are normally images of Marbella. However many of the images that are used of Marbella are infact Sotogrande. Its annoying to a Sotogrande estate agents when the press show stunning scenery shots are shown alongside party people enjoying life in the sun and state its Marbella. All the Polo, Our port scenes, beach scenes, mountains forests are not Marbella. Sotogrande is very unspoilt with no high rise development and no traffic congestion.

Marbella has become over developed crowded and congested and often traffic grinds to a standstill.



All too often those beautiful scenes are photo shots of Sotogrande. The word Sotogrande means "a large wooded area" and that is exactly what it was. A vast valley chosen for its natural beauty and wonderful scenery. The gated community is possibly the largest private upmarket estate in Europe.

Sotogrande is roughly 4 kms wide x 8kms deep and is surrounded by a mountains, native forest and sandy beach's and there is even a large river running through the heart of the estate. Sotogrande has its own Port, an upmarket marina, 7 golf courses within 5 minutes of each other 4 of which are in the top 10 for Spain. There are two tennis centres, 2 International Equestrian centres and two beautiful beach clubs and a great international Polo scene with 10 local polo clubs in close vicinity.

Security is good and  Securitas control entry gates and cctv in and out of the walled estate with regular patrols and are on call 24/7 if needed or worried



Sotogrande is not a mass tourism destination and whilst tourists do come to Sotogrande the main residents are the full time dwellers and the second home visitors with many of the latter often choosing to live here more often than not. For me Sotogrande is wonderful because there is a good community its a place where new faces are readily accepted. Join a few clubs get the kids involved in a few activities and in no time your social life will rocket. The International school is at the heart of Sotogrande as without a good school this place would become a faceless holiday destination. The schools reputation has often been the decider for any parents who maybe concerned at any move that may affect there children's education. With nearly 700 children at the school that's a lot of families all involved in community the life .



A quick drive around Sotogrande is no way to find out what this location has to offer, its so spread out that its impossible to take it in on a single day trip. People who do a day trip may comment that the area is very quiet and maybe too quiet for them. I would respond by explaining that in Sotogrande its not always the most obvious locations where people gather and meet. There is a lot going on here socially and the people who live here are very open and welcoming the key is to make a couple of friends whether its from chatting to other parents while waiting on your childrens activities or your own involvement in golf tennis boating fishing etc and from there you quickly will start to know and understand Sotogrande.

When searching online for Sotogrande via web portals please note that we are on the western fringe of the Costa del Sol infact we are 1km outside the boundary. So property websites such as rightmove overseas, zoopla abroad do not include Sotogrande in a search of Costa del Sol. Its annoying for an estate agent as mentally we are considered part of the Costa del Sol lifestyle yet factually we fall just outside the boundary being in Cadiz province and technically Costa del Luz.



Sotogrande 1 hour 10 minutes Malaga airport, 30 minutes Gibraltar airport



Article by Francis Payne



Tailor Made estate agents based in Sotogrande Port. 



www.tailormadesotogrande.com

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Golf front villa is located in one of Spains best kept secrets

A golf front luxury villa for sale in Sotogrande Spain

To see this on our web page click VILLA SOTOGRANDE ALTO

Tailor Made estate agents Spain

Buy this property in Sotogrande Spain call Formentera Sotogrande Alto