A guest on A Place in the Sun has opened up about their “up and down days” amid a health condition. The Channel 4 programme returned with a repeat episode on Monday, August 24, as host Laura Hamilton helped buyer Jan look for her dream home.
Mum-of-four Jan and her son Jordan were looking for a holiday home near La Duquesa, on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain, after enjoying memorable holidays around the Mediterranean. Laura introduced: “She loves the laid-back lifestyle and the mild climate. Now she’s retired, she’s looking to buy a bolthole of her own, and southern Spain ticks all the boxes.”
A retired call handler's search
Jan, a retired emergency call handler from Yorkshire, had a budget of £120,000, and wanted to host her sons, seven grandchildren, and cockapoo Bailey at her new dream home. She’d chosen the location despite never having been there before, explaining: “The region looked pretty, from what I’ve researched.”
She went on: “It has a lovely little marina there which looks lovely, it did say that it’s fairly quiet, which sounds nice, and the heat, obviously. I’m looking forward to having some sun on my back.” Explaining why she brought son Jordan with her, she added: “I’m ruled by my heart a little bit, Jordan is ruled by his head. He’ll keep me a little bit grounded, which is what I need.”
Health and property concerns
At one point, Laura asked Jan: “I’d like to address that you’ve got a walking stick at the moment, haven’t you? You don’t have it all the time?” Jan replied: “I have up and down days, I do have a couple of joint issues.” She went on to say that the heat “absolutely” helps, adding: “That’s another reason why I’d like to come here.”
However, during the search, as Laura offered Jan one third-floor apartment that had a lift, the buyer said: “Not so sure about having to use a lift so regularly. I’m not great in lifts, I can do lifts no problem but it’s not my favourite pastime.” Laura replied: “One of the benefits of being that bit higher, of course, you’ve got the views.” But Jan and Jordan ultimately decided against the property, worrying they’d need to do too much work in the kitchen. “It’s not really doing it for me at the moment, I don’t have that nice warm feeling,” she confessed.
Offer and outcome
By the end of the search, Jan decided on putting an offer into the final property Laura had showed them, but wanted to negotiate a lower price. “We can try, it’s a very, very buoyant market at the moment and properties are getting snapped up, but it’s a good offer,” Laura said, before admitting her “slight concern” that the property had only been on the market for a few weeks.
However, the sellers refused to reach Jan’s price, as Laura said: “Unfortunately, the offer of £125,000 hasn’t been accepted. What she said is, the owner does believe it is too low and won’t be coming down to £125,000 at this stage.” Jan replied: “Because of the amount of work that needs doing, at this point, leave it with them and see whether they change their mind.” As Laura relayed the message to the sellers, she added to Jan and Jordan: “I am gutted because I wanted to secure it for you, thank you so much and good luck.” A Place in the Sun is available to watch on Channel 4.
