OUR STORY

How did it all begin? That’s a good question.
As a daughter of an entrepreneurial family, I had already decided from a young age, that I will NEVER be an entrepreneur. Spain as a country of residence on the other hand was clear as day ever since I was a little girl. And the older I got, the harder it got to deal with the dark northern polar nights. I was familiar with Spain due to numerous family holidays, and the dream of moving to Spain got stronger, year after year.

The first taste of living in Spain was in the late ’90s, in the tatty but charming city of Malaga. I was studying the language at the University of Malaga, participating in classes that were meant for foreigners, and I enjoyed the local lifestyle. The year went by really fast, and with tears in my eyes, I returned to Finland. Life, however, threw me to rainy England to study business. I don’t know if I could’ve tolerated the grey and rainy weather of this island if I hadn’t just spent a year in sunny Malaga? Probably not. But this time, the homesickness hit hard! Luckily I managed to get a transfer from England to Finland, to Laurea’s university of applied sciences, where I started in the middle of the semester, right after Christmas. So the windy and rainy weather changed into the proper dark polar nights and sleet. :D

I returned to Spain due to an internship in 2002. And again, life was full of smiles & sunshine! I was working in Mallorca, in Sol Melia-hotel chain’s 4* hotel, doing PR-duties from spring ‘til autumn. After I graduated, I started looking for a job from anywhere in Spain. In autumn 2003 my dream came true, and I moved to Spain. I was offered a job in Torrevieja.

In January 2005 I sat in a notary’s office, setting up my own business, Zariko. The daughter of an entrepreneurial family, who swore that she would never be an entrepreneur, was somehow starting a one woman’s business in a foreign country.
In the first years, I worked alone with partners. In the year 2009, I opened the first office in Torrevieja, and at the same time, Jesús Del Pino Galerón, experienced in Spanish real estate, joined Zariko’s team. Year after year the team grew, and in the year 2014, we opened the second office in Lo Pagán, in Murcia.

From the beginning, it has been clear that Zariko is providing services for all foreign buyers, tenants, and house owners, not just Finnish. Our clients have always been very international, mainly Europeans, but we have also provided services for Russians and even Americans. Our services have developed to meet the needs of our clientele. Our multicultural team can serve our customers currently in 5 languages (Finnish, English, Spanish, Swedish and Estonian).

With kind regards,

Heidi Saarikko

CEO, Founder