My Experience – Why Hurghada is now home to me
Phil Cotton from Stoke on Trent has just returned from a Discovery Tour to Hurghada on the Red Sea coast of Egypt. After searching for the perfect property abroad he and his family have purchased 2 bedroom penthouse apartment in the superbly located Red Sea Pharaoh development. Philip tells us why Hurghada is now home to him…
As a natural born diver and sun lover it has been a lifetime dream of mine to live and work by the sea and the Red Sea in Egypt is the biggest and best fish tank in the world! The realisation of our dream began when my father sadly passed away last summer and left an inheritance to my and my family (for which I will be eternally grateful) which allowed us to purchase a property in Egypt and start our new lives.
My wife and I knew that Egypt was the right country for us having visited Sharm el Sheikh and Taba in the past. The year round sunshine, the first class diving, welcoming local people, an established expatriate community and being not too far from the UK were all important factors to us. Added to this, we have seen property values rise over the last couple of years which is a key consideration seeing as this property is our personal pension.
We did a lot of research into potential areas in Egypt in which to relocate and Hurghada kept cropping up. We found Experience International through recommendations in A Place in the Sun magazine and browsed through their website finding that they were one of the better agents with useful information, a wide range of properties for all budgets and a freephone number which was a great plus. I took the plunge, completed our details and waited for the call…
Our dedicated property consultant based in their central London offices was Shaz Yaqoob. Having worked in overseas property for many years we were very impressed with the way he worked with us, answering all our queries faultlessly and never once pressuring us or giving us the ‘hard sell’ which would have made us back off right away.
After considerable discussion with Shaz we felt confident to go ahead with the £2000 reservation fee and booked ourselves on a Discovery Tour to Hurghada. The Discovery Tour was faultless with Hurghada airport functioning very well both ways even though it is still experiencing some upgrades. On arrival we were welcomed by Experience International’s Regional Manager, Ross Donaldson, who took us to our hotel, located in the immediate area to where we would be viewing our selected properties.
After settling in Ross took us on an Orientation Visit around Hurghada to familiarize us with the various suburbs of the city. On the second day we looked at a selection of different properties deciding not to go for the one we had reserved but spend that little bit more for our dream home.
We purchased outright a two bedroom, top floor apartment in the new Red Sea Pharaoh development for £50,000. Our property comprises a master bedroom with balcony, a second bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and living room with free use of a private beach and swimming pools across the road which we can see from our bed!
The apartment affords fantastic sea views from our balcony and the massive roof terrace which we can use at any time of day. Our new home is very well located being in the Arabian area of Hurghada, just a short five minute walk up the coast road, north of the main Hurghada sea port.
The main appeal of this area is that it is as close to the coast as you can really get, other than in the beach-fronted hotels with fantastic, uninterrupted sea views of the islands off the coast and no buildings being built any higher than ours to spoil the views.After the excitement of selecting our property it was time to consider the practicalities of purchasing a property in Egypt. Ross firstly helped us open a bank account, making himself totally available to us pending other work commitments.
The buying process was very straightforward and we completed all the legal paperwork whilst there including signing of the contracts, applying for a residency visa and arranging the power of attorney for our lawyer, Hesham Alnaggar. We introduced to Hesham a local lawyer who has returned to his home town of Hurghada to practice law having been resident in Italy and Switzerland for a number of years. The wording of the contract in Arabic is the most important part and he noticed there were certain items not quite worded correctly and other things that needed including rather than just relying on a verbal agreement. For his diligence and professionalism we would wholly recommend him; he is a very genuine, personable and pleasant man.
Following the legal requirements, Ross took us to choose all we needed to fully furnish the apartment and he will have it ready to inhabit when we go over to start our new life there in April. Ross really went the extra mile, above and beyond the call of duty for most, which says a great deal about the customer service and commitment available through the team at Experience International.
We returned from our Hurghada Discovery Tour confident that we had made the right decision both in terms of the location and our property. Our plan is to relocate from Stoke on Trent to Hurghada in April this year, starting a new life for us on the Red Sea coast which I’m sure my late father would have been pleased to see. Being a singer and entertainer by trade I hope to be able to add a taste of the UK’s favourite songs the Hurghada nightlife and will be looking for good venues to perform in.
My advice to others considering relocating to Egypt… if you are ever in the same position as we are and have always had a secret dream , you are never too old to follow it through if you really want it. Use your head, listen to your heart, think of the positives, calculate the possible risks and make a balanced decision. I would most definitely invest again through Experience International due to their excellent service both in London and in Egypt and their professionalism throughout. To buy a home off plan is a risk so my advice to you is to go on a Discovery Tour with Experience International because they are totally on the level and only deal with reputable developers and lawyers in Hurghada; we know for sure they are reliable and trustworthy.
Look forward to seeing you in Hurghada soon!
Filed Under: Case Studies • Lifestyle News
