“I am a pensionado, 69 years old, single and have bought a house in the town of Pedralba. About 35 km from Valencia inland. Match Better Valencia guided the whole process and always stood behind me. That gives a very safe feeling. I recommend it to everyone!”

Thus Rob Maatman, former teacher and youth worker. Rob headed south in his Volkswagen van in search of a new, relaxing and sunny place to live. In his journey along the East Coast, Rob found Valencia and Match Better Valencia.

“Valencia has amazing advantages. It is a very big, but also very relaxed city. Very different from Barcelona or Madrid. The microclimate is great: never too cold, too hot or too wet. The people there are friendly and it buzzes with social and cultural events.”

Rob got in touch with Match Better Valencia through a former acquaintance.

“Marja Beerens, together with her colleagues Julian and lawyer Virginia, helped me tremendously with searching for houses, researching the state of construction, requesting quotes from contractors, arranging the legal piece, applying for NIE number and residencia up to going with me to the urgencias in the hospital! I know they are always there for me no matter what.”

After a search, Rob found his perfect home in Pedralba. A finca with 1 level of living space, an attic on top and a roof terrace. Rob enjoys the large piece of land, 3,600 m2, which surrounds the house, overgrown with beautiful local plants and trees. In his search along with Match Better Valencia, Rob has also had some setbacks that prevented the purchase from going through.

“Sometimes a house looks much nicer and better on photos than it really is. And sometimes the price suddenly turns out to be higher than initially thought (even though you’ve almost bought it already). There are a lot of traps in what is offered here. You really need a party here that looks with you, thinks with you and knows how the lines run. We all know the images of I’m leaving… I don’t have to worry about broken roofs or crumbling damp cardboard walls!”

Rob happily recommends Match Better Valencia:
“When I see that people who would like to emigrate are holding back on it for whatever reason, I invite them to my place. Come here and contact Match Better Valencia: they guide the whole process for you, they are reliable, thoughtful, friendly and it’s not expensive.”