Finca/Country House for sale in Sax, Alicante

If you are looking for peace, tranquillity and privacy but to be walking distance (15–20 minutes at most) to the town with bars and restaurants etc., then this property, with its incredible 55,000 m2 of land full of olive trees, has to be considered, especially at the newly reduced price.

The views are as good as any you will ever see. The 13th century castle of Sax could not be clearer and at night, when the castle is lit up, you can see the most amazing sight and it seemingly floats in mid-air.

All around you are mountain ranges and it is almost beyond belief that you are so close to the town yet you could easily be in the middle of nowhere. The views of the rows and rows of in-production olive trees are just wonderful.

The access to the property is a feature in itself; the whole way from the town is by tarmac roads and when you pass through the private gates you have a beautiful 350 metre drive to the remotely controlled main gates of the property, and you are driving through an olive grove.

Before entering the property, the other features are the massive private swimming pool, which measures around 18 x 7, perfect for swimming lengths for exercise or just relaxing. There is a small pool house with a pump and filter. The pool is fenced off for the safety of small children and pets.

The garage is enormous, more like an aeroplane hangar. Within is the heart of the central heating system to ensure economic warmth through the short winter period.

The sheer size of the garage means there is the potential to convert space to a guest apartment or two and still have space for a car and a workshop area.

The property is entered at the far end passing through a lovely covered terrace area offering shade and an excellent outdoor dining opportunity where you can sit and constantly say “look at that view”.

As you enter you are in a very large lounge/diner with a fabulous feature: a wood burning stove and fire in the far corner. Further ahead is a relatively modern kitchen which is practically unused as the Spanish do most of their cooking when in the countryside, outside of the house. The kitchen is surprisingly larger than most Spanish kitchens and can easily absorb a table and chairs, however…

In the next room is a massive dining table and chairs and this is really a second lounge/diner, as big as the first one, and off here is the downstairs bathroom. This room has had the windows updated to uPVC.

Back to the kitchen where there is a utility room and a walk-in pantry and access to a large patio area where there is a BBQ and the superb old fashioned style with a bread oven. This is where the Spanish do nearly all of their cooking. This then leads through to another entrance to the garage.

Returning to the house and, at the entrance, to the right is a staircase leading to a landing where there are four double bedrooms and the second bathroom.

All the bedrooms are proper doubles and the principal bedroom has a stunning large balcony from which the views are even more stupendous. The balcony has some of the best ironmongery I have seen; it’s almost a tourist attraction.

So, what are the negatives? The property is tired and needs some love, plenty of love. Structurally, it is in excellent condition and there are no signs of the damp usually seen in houses of this age. There is nothing that has to be done to start living there and that is always advisable; give it a good three months before you start changing anything so you can have an understanding of the changes in the way of living in Spain.

The upper floor, the bedrooms, would all love a couple of coats of white paint. The master bedroom could easily accommodate a dressing area and an en-suite if you wanted to splash out.

Otherwise, it is a case of modernisation.

Why Sax?

There are no traffic lights. It has a 13th-century castle, one of seven on the castle route, and there are no traffic lights, parking meters and hardly enough crime to even mention, due to the town having full employment.

Sax is so popular because it is far enough inland to be “inland” yet it is only 30 minutes to Alicante Airport and 35 minutes to the beach. Access is by the A31 dual carriageway Alicante to Madrid autovia (motorway) which runs just outside of the town, by rail and coach from Alicante, so you can go to the beach and not have to take your car. It is also only eight minutes’ drive away from the AVE station at Villena.

The AVE is the high-speed train from Alicante to Madrid which has only four stops. From boarding the train you will be in Madrid in 2 hours 9 minutes for as little as 9€ if you are lucky enough, but around 25€ if not.

Sax is dominated by its 13th-century castle known as the “Headlight and Guardian of The Border”, a landscape of history and rock. When driving back home to Sax after daylight, the sight of the castle fully lit, and seemingly floating in the air is one of the most welcoming sights.

Commercially, it is the home of major international businesses selling “persianas y toldos” (window blinds and sun canopies) and a shoe industry that means if you recently bought a pair of shoes in a UK Department Store, for example, the chances are they could have been made in Sax or nearby Elda.

Sax and the smaller town of Salinas, just eight minutes’ drive away, have close to full employment and lots of opportunity, which means crime statistics are very low.

Sax has plenty of amenities including supermarkets, schools, pharmacies, and restaurants and bars. There are restaurants and bars aplenty with prices that are at first beyond belief, and a three or four-course lunch of good quality can easily be found for 13€ or less. For a special occasion, there are restaurants at the hotel Fuente del Cura.

Nearby Villena, about ten minutes up the A31, has some excellent restaurants. In Elda, about ten minutes in the other direction, there are several well-regarded restaurants.

Sax is served by schools and language options, and nearby is the University Hospital El Virgen de Salud in Elda, plus other healthcare services in the area.

If you are looking for somewhere to live with the balance of town convenience and countryside calm, Sax and this property are well worth considering.