Its Christmas week, and we’re warming our chestnuts on an open fire (insert smutty joke here), which is all very nice, but really its only a distraction to get us through the winter. Its almost the shortest day, and then starts the slow climb back towards the summer, the sun and hot temperatures everyday. Was it really only 4 months ago when we were all complaining about the heat?

If you have been thinking about buying a property for those sunny summers, now is the time to go about it. Its much easier to visit these places in the winter, and in fact a lot of them are taken off the market by the owners in the summer, as they want to get one last bit of use out of them. For example this great villa in Orba, in the hills outside Denia. About 20 minutes from Denia town and similar distance to the beach.

A perfect sized plot (800m2), big enough for some space but not so big as to be unmanageable. A lovely pool and the house has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms in total, including a bedroom, bathroom and kitchette in a studio apartment with separate access. Guest areas like this are always handy to have, a bit more privacy but also simple convenience for everyone.

The property faces west, and there are views to the horizon, so easy to imagine you spending those long hot summer evenings cooling in the pool while the watching the sunset. A long way from pretending to be excited about a mince pie and watching yet another rerun of Home Alone.