UK couple's dream move to Spain turns into a total nightmare as they lose £200k

17 February 2024 , 16:36

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Phil and Anne Bulman's dream of retirement in Spain turned into a nightmare that saw them flee back to the UK (Image: Phil Bulman / SWNS)

A Brit couple have told how their dream of retirement in Spain turned into a nightmare after they lost £200,000 due to a dodgy builder and were forced to move back to the UK.

Phil and Anne Bulman, both 71, were forced to swap the Costa Blanca for South East England after run-ins with robbers, cowboy builders and red tape left them severely out of pocket.

The couple moved to Spain in 2004 after Phil finished three decades in the merchant navy with plans to build their dream retirement home from scratch in Almoradi but 20 years later they are back on UK soil.

"It was a dream that turned into a nightmare," said Phil. "We've all had ideas of that idyllic dream - but it just doesn't turn out like that. For us it was an expensive nightmare."

When they first moved to Spain 20 years ago Phil and Anne picked out a beautiful plot in orange and lemon groves, paying £230,000 for their dream home to be built there, the Manchester Evening News reports.

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Phil and Anne Bulma built their dream house in Almoradi, Spain (Phil Bulman / SWNS)

The couple then paid £18,500 for a pool and terraces to be built, and added a second property on their plot for their daughter at more cost, who came out to join them.

All the work was done by the same building company and Phil was sure all the paperwork was in order. But he claims that several years later they had work done to fix a problem with the pool.

Inspectors visiting works on a neighbouring property then came over to see what was going on. Phil claims he was then told the extra house and pool were illegal - and would be destroyed if he didn't pay £30,000.

The couple paid £18,500 for a pool and terraces to be built (Phil Bulman / SWNS)

"It was awful. We'd trusted the builder and hadn't had the solicitor look over all the documents. We showed them all the paperwork from the builder and they said it was all twaddle," Phil said.

"Because the money was owed to tax authorities they just emptied our account - £10,000. Then the builder just vanished.

"He'd built a few houses nearby and left us all with water tanks, no mains connection - it cost us €70 a month to get the tank filled. We spent loads of money on solicitors trying to get mains-water connected."

The couple were shocked to learn they did not have the paperwork they needed for the buildings (Phil Bulman / SWNS)

Dismayed, the couple then moved back to the UK as they needed more money, and Phil started work as a vessel inspector. They let their Spanish home out and rented in the UK.

But a couple of years later, in 2015, he claims their tenant stopped paying - and then left. The couple then returned to Spain to find they had been robbed, Phil claims.

He said: "They had stripped our house and our daughter's house of everything. There was just one small mattress, a few pots and pans, and a few pieces of cutlery left.

Phil and Anne Bulman's Spanish dream became a nightmare (Phil Bulman / SWNS)

"And it was absolutely filthy. This was before we had mains water and it didn't look like they'd flushed the loo in the whole two and a half years."

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The couple piled their car high and restocked the houses from the UK - costing another £7,000. But then in 2018 they found their car gone and the house broken into.

Phil said: "They’d pulled the security gates off and smashed all the patio doors - there was glass everywhere. They took everything of value that wasn’t screwed down.

Eventually the couple sold their properties at a significant loss (Phil Bulman / SWNS)

"It had all been new, including TVs and microwaves. Fortunately the insurance paid out this time but it left us with a very bad feeling."

This was the final straw and they put their dream home on the market. In 2021, it finally sold for €190,000. But Phil says they were told they hadn't paid enough council tax - and they're still waiting for the bill.

Now back living in England, Phil said: "It was a dream that turned into a nightmare."

Phoebe Jobling