4 Bedroom Sax

I think this is an outstanding opportunity to get a foothold in the real Spain, inland Spain, but to be only 35 minutes from Alicante Airport and the beaches and at a truly great price.
The location of the property is fabulous and that is not cheap talk as I was a neighbour for almost 18 years, and this property is a little higher than mine and has even more breathtaking views and perfect tranquillity.
A 4 Bed 2 Bath modernised Finca in Sax at 229,995€ is a rare find so are there any catches? 
No, not really, there is work to do, the second bathroom, en-suite to the Master Bedroom needs finishing off as it is only halfway done. The Walk-In Wardrobe, also to the Master Bedroom needs a little love but the house can be lived in straight away and the improvements can be made bit by bit. 
The house is bright and airy and has been modernised really well with some lovely touches. The Master Bedroom will be excellent when completed and the other three bedrooms are all well sized. 
The lounge/diner is a great space, again, lots of light and it is air conditioned and there is also a pellet fire, the most economical and clean way to heat a house, there as well. 
There is a super new kitchen off the lounge/diner with lots of cupboard space and worktops, and a brand new, spacious, family bathroom as well. 
Opposite the kitchen is a passageway through to the three bedrooms so none of the four bedrooms are directly off the lounge/diner, so sleeping and living areas are separated, a feature I prefer. 
The property also benefits from oil-fired central heating for the winter months, a rare feature indeed for a property under 300,000€. 
Walking past the entrance to the main house, there is a BBQ area with storage rooms and then the biggest outbuildings, a workshop and a garage – admittedly, these are the areas that require the most work but hey also have the potential for change of use and could be changed to a Guest House if required. 
To the front of the property is a relaxation area with a huge tree that provides shade for the hot summer months and space for al fresco dining, and of course, the views, which are really very special. 
The entrance gates to the property can be adapted to open via remote control and there is a side entrance for people who are not coming by car. 
The driveway is long and there is plenty of parking space available. 
Running costs are incredibly low. The “rates” are less than 500€ per year and there is mains water and electricity. Water bills are around 200€ per annum and electricity is the third cheapest in Europe, but so many people install solar these days. 
Why Sax?

There are no traffic lights, it has a 13th-century castle, one of seven on the castle route but ours is the best and there are no traffic lights, parking meters and hardly enough crime to even mention due to the town having full employment. What? That isn´t enough?

Sax is so popular because it is far enough inland to be “inland” yet it is only 30 minutes to Alicante Airport and 35 minutes to the beach.  Access is by the A31 Dual Carriageway Alicante to Madrid Autovia (Motorway to you) which runs just outside of the town, by rail and coach from Alicante so you can go to the beach and not have to take your car, and we are only eight minutes’ drive away from the AVE station at Villena.
The AVE is the high-speed train from Alicante to Madrid which has only four stops. From boarding the train will have you in Madrid in 2hrs 9mins for as little as 9€ if you are lucky enough, but around 25€ if not.
Let us stick with the town of Sax for now rather than escaping to the beach or Madrid.
Sax is dominated by its 13th-century castle known as the Headlight and Guardian of The Border a landscape of history and rock. When driving back home to Sax after daylight the sight of the castle, fully lit, and seemingly floating in the air is one of the most welcoming sights I have ever experienced. It´s a sign we are almost home.

Commercially, it is the home of three major international businesses selling “persianas y toldos”, window blinds and sun canopies and a shoe industry that means if you recently bought a pair of shoes in a UK Department Store, for example, the chances are they could have been made in Sax or nearby Elda and we now supply 60% of the footwear used in all Spanish hospitals. It is an incredible feat. No pun intended.
Both Sax and the smaller town of Salinas just eight minutes drive away have close to full employment and lots of opportunity which means our crime statistics are very low and both towns are safe in a way that is hard to imagine if you have arrived from the UK or Holland. Walking around whatever time of day or night is a pleasure rather than something to fear.

Sax is small enough for everyone to know each other and a family who has a son or daughter who is a criminal brings shame on the family. I suppose it´s like when I was growing up in the North West during the 60´s.

Recently we have seen the opening of a Consum supermarket, the equivalent of a Waitrose or Marks & Spencer Food Hall whilst there has been a Hiperber and Dia, both excellent supermarkets for as long as I can remember, and if that isn´t enough there is a Carrefour (Think Tesco) eight minutes’ drive away within a shopping mall complex that has a cinema showing films in English with Spanish subtitles. There are also six gyms in Sax and a superb one in the shopping mall along with Ten Pin Bowling etc Sushi Restaurant and many others.

Sax is served wonderfully well with schools, our son was eight when we moved here and reluctantly, we put him into a state school, he always went to a private school in Manchester, and within six months he was fluent in two languages and following five years in a secondary school went on to study Pharmacy at Complutense in Madrid one of Spain´s most famous and prestigious universities.

However, he didn´t like the idea of going into pharmacy as a career so he is studying law and working as my business partner. He already has a diploma in Spanish Property Law.

For health, Sax and Spain, in general, is far superior to the UK. In the town, we have a new Health Centre with eight doctors, two nurses, a diabetes clinic and a 24/7 Emergency Walk/In Centre. We have three pharmacies, two of which have at least one person who speaks English and their advice is always excellent.

Ten minutes away in Elda is the remarkable award-winning University Hospital El Virgen De Salud where the surgeons are second to none and the food is atrocious, well it can’t all be good!! Newly opened is the Fibromyalgia centre offering support and therapies for those suffering from acute pain.

There are now three Language Schools in the town and the town hall ran a scheme for language swapping that may be run again. Learning Spanish is a lot less difficult than it may seem and there are new ways of learning that concentrate on conversational Spanish.

There are restaurants and bars aplenty with prices that are at first beyond belief and a three or four-course lunch of good quality can easily be found for 13€ or less. For a special occasion, there is Casa Mami and El Fuente restaurant at the hotel Fuente del Cura which are a little more expensive but great food experiences can be had.  Check out our Facebook page for restaurant reviews and other stuff.

Nearby Villena, ten minutes or so up the A31, has some excellent restaurants including the very fashionable Tita´s Gastrobar and the stunning, in my opinion, Condumio.
In Elda, ten minutes in the other direction there is Xambel, Xhagar, Fabrica, La Sirena and Tenaz, all very good restaurants and surprisingly inexpensive. In most bars and cafes, a coffee and toast for breakfast will cost no more than 2,50€ and the coffee is possibly the best in Europe.

Our biggest challenge these days is finding properties as opposed to selling them as Sax and Salinas as both have become incredibly popular as there are very few building permits left in either of the towns and yet they are growing. So, come look around and enjoy.