‘We are in love with where we live,’ says the family behind Home Costa Blanca, Algorfa

Lee Biddles has only ever worked in property, both before his household became the first English family to move into Algorfa more than 20 years ago, and ever since. Professionally, it’s all he knows, and now Lee has passed on that knowledge to his children James, Bethany and Ebony. Home Costa Blanca really is ‘Your local family run estate agency.’ All the family are involved in the business, and each has a vital role to play.

The Biddles pedigree in property sales and administration is impressive. Lee’s estate agency in Torrevieja has been going strong for 22 years now. His UK background includes extensive experience as a Chartered Surveyor. As his family grew organically into the business, Lee decided they should use their extensive knowledge of life in Algorfa from an immigrant point of view to smooth the process for prospective purchasers moving into the area. By identifying a gap in the market for an estate agency with local knowledge and expanding their business base to include Algorfa, Home Costa Blanca has now made the town their main domain. although they still sell property all over the Vega Baja region.

The Biddles family has grown up in the business, and now every day they arrange purchases and sales for their neighbours. James, Bethany and Ebony each have distinctive roles in the business, yet they also work well together to ensure that each property transfer is as seamless and stress free as possible for their clients.

James

The founding owner of Homes Costa Blanca is responsible for laying the foundations – pun intended – for this young yet successful company. He’s previously worked in customer facing sales and has the necessary experience to advise the team on the finer points of exemplary customer service. His role focuses mainly on guiding vendors through the process of selling their homes and keeping them fully briefed at each stage of negotiations.

Bethany

Connecting prospective buyers with their dream homes is what Bethany does best. The clients love her personal approach, and at the time of writing, she holds the unique distinction of never having conducted a viewing which didn’t result in a sale. She puts that down to her unique approach to each viewing, and focusing on the clients’ best interests rather than closing the sale.

Ebony

Office Co-ordinator, dotter of ‘I’s and crosser of ‘t’s, Ebony is the first point of contact and works with the clients throughout all transfers, providing vital information at every step. She’s also in charge of the stuff the clients don’t see – daily updating major property portals such as A Place in the Sun, Think, Right Move and Kyero. This helps maximise viewings and also attracts international buyers to Algorfa.

As a company, Home Costa Blanca also connect their clients with the essential additional services needed to complete each property transfer in Spain. This includes legal services, currency transfers, property management and key holding, and many more details that may not occur to the client but will ease the burdens of purchasing and selling. They only recommend service providers they know and trust. Having set the bar high for their own business standards and practices, they expect nothing less from the companies and individuals they collaborate with on behalf of their clients.

Since the family moved to Algorfa all those years ago, they have seen a lot of changes Around Algorfa, but the town they call home still holds on to its traditions. Bethany and Ebony briefly left Algorfa to study in London, but soon came back to live here and work in the family business. This gives Home Costa Blanca unique advantages; when families with children want to buy in Algorfa, James, Bethany and Ebony can offer reassuring advice to other families regarding the Spanish education system. They were the first English children to walk through the doors of the village school, and now they are helping parents making the major lifestyle choice to relocate with school age children.

Home Costa Blanca opened their Algorfa office three years ago, not long before the Covid-19 pandemic hit Spain. Like most businesses, they were affected by it, but they found ways around the seemingly impossible practical obstacles to house purchases and sales. People couldn’t come to Algorfa, but the team took Algorfa to their clients, with the help of new technology and virtual viewing. Now life is pretty much back to normal, clients find the virtual tours very convenient and time saving. It’s all about evolving to suit current conditions.

Just as the Biddles family has grown and evolved, in Algorfa and in business, they find the same situation playing out with their clients all the time. Bethany told Around Algorfa:

‘We have many people on our books who initially bought an apartment with us, then came back after a few years wanting something bigger, because their family has grown or they decide to move permanently to Algorfa after having a holiday home here for some time. As a result, they start off as clients and become friends, because they entrust us with sourcing their new property as well as selling the existing one.’

Judging from the testimonials on the website, and the ‘Thank You’ cards in the office, the Biddles clan are certainly getting it right by focusing on their area of expertise and communicating their own love of Algorfa to their clients.

As Lee prepares to welcome another grandchild into the family, he is easing off the pedals and allowing the next generation and the latest technology to assist clients in making the best choices in property and in lifestyle. Home Costa Blanca focuses on teaming the client with the house best suited to their lifestyle and circumstances. It’s not about making the sale, it’s about client satisfaction. Because all the family members live in Algorfa, they constantly see their clients around the town and it’s always a happy encounter for both parties.

Lee may be stepping back, but his extensive knowledge of the estate agency business and life in a small Spanish town is always there for James, Bethany and Ebony to tap into. Here in Spain, the family is paramount, and in Home Costa Blanca, the same applies. Families work best when there’s an abundance of love and trust to cement the bond, and because the Biddles family love their work and their home town so much, it encourages trust in their clients. Let Bethany have the last word on why so many people Around Algorfa turn to Home Costa Blanca for advice and assistance in buying and selling their homes in Algorfa.

‘We are in love with where we live, and always have been. We’ve all made our homes in Algorfa, and it’s our mission to communicate that to our clients. We don’t just sell them a house, we introduce them to the many benefits of life in Algorfa, and we make the process as smooth and seamless as possible, using our extensive local knowledge.’

Image credits: All images by Home Costa Blanca