WHY ARE YOU HERE?

WHY ARE YOU HERE? After Years of being busy bee’s, they are finally taking a small step back to enjoy the life they have made here in the beautiful Algarve. Meet Roger and Judith, owners of forever interesting House�House

Where are you from? We´re both from Fleet in Hampshire.

Your profession? Roger was IT Director for a large UK Insurance Company and I was head of Marketing for a Software Provider.

The first time you visited the Algarve and why? Roger came on a golfing holiday with 3 friends in 2000 and I hadn´t been prior to our coming out on 2002.

Three things that made you fall in love with the place? Obviously, the weather, lifestyle, cost of living and general pace of life but also the proximity to the UK and the fact that English is widely spoken and it is considered a very safe environment to live in.

How many times did you visit before you decide to make a move? Like we mentioned earlier, Roger had been once on a golfing holiday and I had never visited. We’re both adventurers at heart and decided the time was right to take theplunge! Portugal certainly seamed the ideal place to retire to, although obviously that didn’t happen.

Did you rent/buy/build - where? After our decision to leave UK and drive to Portugal Roger put an advertisement in the Portugal News online for possible business interests here. He had 12 responses one of which was Zonda the BBQ Shop, which had been set up at the end of the 2000, but mothballed due to bad management. It happened that the owner lived just a few miles from us in the UK so we got together to explore the possibilities. The then owner had a villa in Vilamoura which we used until we found our own property to buy, a dilapidated villa in Quinta das Raposeiras which we spent the next few years renovating.

Algarve it is difficult to name “a favourite place”. At different times of the year most people will favour different areas. The beaches are wonderful all year round but obviously in high summer not necessarily the place residents wish to be. At this time of year the countryside and winelands are much more appealing and we have spent many weekend breaks visiting vineyards in the Alentejo and as far north as Porto.

Your perfect day? We are trying to slow down a little in order to enjoy the lifestyle Portugal has to offer. We have a lovely home and garden which we both enjoy enormously and what can beat taking the top down on the car and enjoying a leisurely drive through the hills.

What did you decide to do here in Portugal and why We arrived with 12 possible business opportunities to explore but very soon saw the potential for Zonda, which we opened just 3 months after arriving. This business was very successful for us and a couple of years into this I saw another opportunity in the used furniture marketplace. We started House2House in 2005 in a small warehouse, thinking this would be an interesting part time interest. Very soon we realised the demand was bigger than either of us had expected and House2house as you now see it was born. The business has grown from strength to strength over the years and has a wonderful “family feel” to it. We have a fantastic client base, which we value enormously and 4 fulltime members of staff who really are the backbone of the company. Many clients have become friends of the business over the years and it´s lovely to see them pop in for a chat and to catch up, often several times a week. Our multi-lingual staff speak English, Portuguese and French and everyone is always welcome.

General Auctions Plus Antiques and Collectables General auctions are held on the 1st Saturday of the month and Start at 10:00 am.Viewings on the Thursday and Friday before the Auction between 09:00 and 17:00.

WWW.AHALGARVE.COM Open: Mon - Fri 09:00 - 14:00pm Sat: Open Auction days Email: valuations@ahalgarve.com Office: 289 832 380 Tel. Mark: 914 774 438 Sitio do Besouro, Conceição, Faro FURTHER DETAILS OF ALL AUCTIONS ARE ON OUR WEBSITE

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WANTED! ANTIQUE AND VINTAGE JEWELLERY AND HALLMARKED STERLING SILVER.

Do you have antique and vintage jewellery you would like to sell? Have you got some hallmarked sterling silver items you no longer want? These items are creating a lot of interest at Auction at the moment and are achieving realistic prices.

Why not give us a no obligation call to discuss what you may like to sell? We offer honest valuations and free advise to all potential sellers.