When we spontaneously decided to start a new phase of our lives here in 1992 during a language holiday in Malaga, the course was already set.
Competa appealed to us immediately, as the town is not far from the coast but has managed to retain its typical character.
The openness and friendliness of the inhabitants impressed us just as much as the tropical vegetation and the mild winter climate, so that we immediately forgot the weather that is common in Germany at this time of year.
After buying a finca, many organisational things still had to be done in Germany. It took another year and a half until the company was sold there and all other things were organised to move to Spain. During this time we had already started to develop our finca for rentals. Next to the original old house, 2 flats and a pool had been built. Later we had another house built with 3 flats and a painting studio. The basis for a new beginning was created.
With the flat rental we quickly reached a high occupancy rate throughout the year. My wife gave painting courses for groups and soon had her own exhibitions of her paintings in local galleries.
During this time, the idea matured in me to start my own construction company, as this way I could completely realise my ideas and my joy in designing myself.
In addition, more and more people asked me if I could help them with their new buildings, extensions, pools, renovations and so on.
Shortly afterwards, an interesting opportunity arose:
A Spaniard who had been in the construction business in Competa for 40 years retired and I was able to take over his long-standing and experienced staff. The reaction was overwhelming. My meanwhile good knowledge of Spanish and contacts to all craftsmen in the village helped me to carry out the first projects to the complete satisfaction of the clients.
In the meantime, many houses, extensions, pools, garages etc. have been built.
In 1999 we sold our apartment complex Monte Pino, because our ideas in this area had changed over time.
After a long search, we finally found our Finca Maroma on a plot with a fantastic view over the green valley and the surrounding mountains down to the Mediterranean Sea.
Although the finca is very close to town, it is as quiet as the countryside, with an incredible number of trees such as oranges, avocados, nisperos, olives, plums and its own vineyard all around. There is also water for irrigation from old irrigation canals. This was the ideal place to put all the accumulated ideas into practice.
In the summer of 2000 I started to rebuild and extend the old existing house as a residence for us. We have been living here since January 2001 and feel completely at home. Besides the building activity I started to design and constantly update the web pages for our marketing. Working with the new media and photo techniques has become an attractive field for me.
In the meantime, a small holiday complex with 2 houses and a flat for rent has been built on our finca. You can find more information about it here: Holiday homes on Finca Maroma
For those who prefer to spend their holidays by the sea, we have built a new holiday home there. It is situated on a large natural plot near Torre del Mar and was opened in April 2003.
After we converted and refurbished Casa Mirador in Competa for rental at the beginning of 2006, I stopped building in order to be able to concentrate fully on renting, maintaining the houses and taking care of the websites.
In 2013, we discovered Nerja for ourselves, as more and more guests asked us for flats near the coast. Our two holiday flats are located in the beautiful San Juan de Capistrano complex.
But we haven't stopped developing new ideas to make life more interesting and enjoyable for our guests and of course for ourselves. Despite moving to the neighbourhood of Nerja in 2018 and withdrawing from Competa in 2021, we will of course continue to be available to our guests with a reduced number of holiday properties.