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Friday 25th August 2023
I'm going to offer space on the land for people to come & stay, hopefully long term for the right people. I will give them a section (area) & they can do what they want with it, (within reason) farm it, put up a tent or park a caravan or campervan. Possibly even build a log cabin, yurt or some kind of semi permanent structure. As long as they maintain their area & maybe help out with some of the work on other areas.
It's very much getting the right, nice people, quite, calm, respectful, friendly & maybe fun people. People who have ideas or just want to relax & take life at a slower pace. No rush on jobs & work, as long as the essentials are done. I also envision a shared kitchen / social area on the main field where we can meet to eat, chat & just hang out.
This will of course all take time, If this is of interest to you please contact me & we can chat.
I will be here until early November 2023, then back to the UK & then back here in March to really get going.
Thurs 24th August 2023
Well I am terrible at updating my log. It's now 24th August 2023. I arrived in Portugal today after taking the ferry from Portsmouth, UK to Santander, Spain, (28 hours). I set off on the 21st Aug & the ferry departed 4 minutes early at 21.26. Great way to travel. Bars, restaurant, outside deck for sunbathing & whale / dolphin watching. Far better than flying & able to take the car which I had packed to the limit with tent, power tools, gadgets, log burner, stuff, stuff & more stuff.
I stayed at a wonderful airbnb with a lovely hostess, Lola, spotless & peaceful apartment on the 23rd & then drove on to Portugal on the 24th. Here's the link.
I couldn't wait to see the land so I drove over on the afternoon & wow, shocked. The land has been desecrated by fire, what was last March, green, wild & overgrown is now black, barren & sooty. Destroyed trees & bushes. Looks very sad but as people have pointed out, a blessing in disguise that has cleared the land & will rejuvenate it over time once the rains arrive. see the gallery page for some dark & gloomy pictures.
Weds 21st May 2023.
Now the sale is complete I have put a few posts on Facebook, had some nice responses, seem to be some nice people out there just looking to live quietly & off grid. Hopefully some will come over, help out & new friends to be made.
Mon 19th May 2023.
And we have completed. I transferred the money to the solicitors account via online banking, no banking fees surprisingly! The solicitor I used was Liliana Solipa, good communications, got the job done in 1 month. The legal fees worked out as:-
Taxes IMT and IS € 696,00
Land registry € 800,00
Notary fees € 535,00
Solicitor fees € 550,00+vat 23%= 676,5
Tues 13th May 2023.
Flurry of legal activity, various questions answered & a load of maps marked with the plots of the land. Seems I have bought 9.75 acres. I now need to sign some legal papers which means, printing off, signing, scanning, & sending back. What a waste of paper!
Monday 29th May 2023.
Quad bike. I want one to help with land management, now is it best to buy from Portugal or buy from the UK & either have it shipped or ride it over? Not sure yet but have spoken to Graham at Godstone All Terrain who is very knowledgeable & helpful. If I buy from the UK I will get from these guys, most likely something from the CFMOTO CFORCE Range.
Monday 22nd May 2023.
Googling lots to find a Portuguese solicitor who can deal with the land purchase. Seems strange that quite a few want to charge around £300 for a 1 hour consultation fee at which point they will give their price for dealing with the land purchase. Sadly they are not going to get my work.
I've so far received 2 quotes, 676 euros & 540 euros.
Friday 19th May 2023.
I've just agreed a final price with the seller to buy the land in Castello Branco, Portugal. I have a Portuguese Nif already which was a quick & painless process using these guys. NifOnline
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