We did it! We bought a farm in Portugal!

We did it! We bought a farm in Portugal, or as they are known by here a 'quinta'.

Keys to our house & future

The last two months have been intense and very exciting. Here's the 'what, how and why' of us buying our little slice of heaven in Portugal....

We arrived in Portugal from Spain at the back end of March with the express intention of finding out if we could buy a house on a piece of land that we originally spotted in November last year and fell in love with. We're not entirely sure what led us to Portugal in the first place. I have a vague recollection of discovering Penamacor (our location) online before we went travelling. I liked the name, four syllables which roll nicely off the tongue and a landscape that looked divine. Then, later, when we were in France in the oyster region after grape picking last October, we met a lovely, slightly eccentric young lady walking her cat and three dogs on the beach who we got chatting to; she urged us to check out Portugal, recommending the lifestyle, people and cost of living; so on the advice of a stranger, and a gut feeling, that's what we decided to do!

Our house!

As complete novices when it comes to buying houses we were pretty green to say the least. Neither me or Nick have ever bought or sold a property, in England or elsewhere. We found out early on that in Portugal, before you can do anything such as buy a property or get a bank account, you had to obtain a personal NIF number from the tax office. I'd heard varying reports that this was anything from complicated to straightforward.

On the 1st of April (we're no fools 😜) we headed to the local finance district in Penamacor town. Getting our NIFs couldn't have been simpler, we were the only customers in the office, and were positively welcomed with open arms. Within 15 minutes we left the building with the important pieces of paper in our pockets, ready for step two of the challenge of securing our dream home.

The bus is still our home for now

It took a while to track the owners down, who we met on the land in mid April. The meeting was slightly awkward due to the language barrier and prompted us to contact an English speaking 'Advogado', a Portuguese property solicitor, to help us from there on in. Liliana was an absolute godsend - for €500 she navigated us through the whole process from start to finish, liaising with the owners, checking all the paperwork and legalities and setting up the final meeting with the notary, at which we and the owners would sign contracts and exchange.

Thanks to Liliana all the paperwork was totally watertight and everything 100% legit. A missing certificate held up proceedings by a few weeks, which was a worrying time, as day by day we saw the pound fall against the euro, pushing the sale price up. However, having heard that people often bought land or property, which they later had difficulty selling or getting planning permission for, we were grateful that Liliana left no stone unturned.

A glimpse inside

Making the payment was tense! Online banking proved tricky as not only was our bank's exchange rate even more dismal that the actual rate, but we weren't able to pay it over in one transaction. So we looked at sending the funds via different means, and opted for TransferWise, which worked out approximately £700 cheaper than using our regular bank. We sent the money over to Liliana using this method, who held the money until we were due to sign with the owners a in couple of day's time.

A paranoid forty-eight hours ensued whilst I panicked over paying our life savings into an account of someone I'd never met or signed a contract with, using a method I was uncertain about. It didn't help when our bank called declaring suspicious activity on our account and warning us to be aware of dodgy foreign property deals! However, all's well that ends well and two days later we drove to Castelo Branco, the region's capital city to meet with Liliana, the owners and a notary, the official person in Portugal who approves the buying/selling process and rubber stamps everything.

A beautiful view

The final stage went through smoothly, Liliana translated the contracts and walked us through everything. After about an hour and half when all was signed and sealed, hands shook and hugs exchanged, the previous owner and his wife kindly offered to buy Nick and I lunch but we politely declined (as it would have been difficult to communicate). We floated out of the building grasping some paperwork and two large old keys. The keys to our future no less!

We've been on our land for just a few days now and everyday we discover something new. It's like a gift that keeps giving. We've uncovered an old stone donkey stable that was hidden under brambles, which we will convert into an outdoor bathroom; we found out we can get our grass cut and baled into hay to sell in future years (the previous owners craftily got it done themselves just last week!). We discovered lots of old bits and bobs like enamel plates, a wooden trunk, old metal pots and items that will look great in the house and garden. The well water is crystal clear and the fruit trees are abundant. Our neighbours are a friendly bunch, who deliver home made wine, gifts and offer to lend us tractors, strimmers and impart all kinds of advice. The sunsets are magical, the surrounding countryside stunning.

The Fig tree offers some shade

Of course there are small nuisances - we're amongst farmland so the regular passing goats and sheep attract a lot of annoying flies. On our first day here I tackled a wasps nest that was on the inside of the front door - there are flying insects everywhere - so for a few days I was screaming, yelping and gasping regularly, but I'm getting used to them now. There are small needle sharp grass seeds that work their way into your shoes and clothes which are most uncomfortable and difficult to extract. Plus we're learning to adjust to the heat, up into the 30s this week, which is exhausting to be out in.

But those niggles aside we really have nothing to complain about. We are continuing to live in the bus, just as we have been since last September, only not driving from place to place, so saving on fuel.  Buying the land and house might have cleaned us out financially, but it's given us so much more, not least of all a sense of purpose. We are off to France grape picking again in a few months and meantime I can still do my VA work. Slowly but surely we will do up the house, as and when we can afford it - there's lots we can do that costs nothing, like repairing stone walls, pruning and gardening.

It's like we've suddenly been moved to the front of the queue - I feel both grateful and lucky! We're embarking on an exciting new chapter that we couldn't have foreseen. This time last year we were doing up our bus, now we're doing up our very own house! I don't think it could have come about had we not gone travelling, which opened up fresh horizons and new opportunities.

Sunset through the olive tree and vines

As we sit here now amidst fruit trees and hay bales, in beautiful countryside, in front of an old stone house with a well at the bottom of the garden, its funny to ponder that we would not be here had we not lost Nina on our first day in Portugal last year. The chap who helped us find her is now one of our neighbours. If we hadn't gone to visit him to say hello and thank you after the fateful event, it's unlikely we would ever have stumbled across our property, with its hand written for sale sign pinned to a tree, not listed with any estate agents. That's serendipity for you!

And in the same spirit of hospitality that the lovely community have shown us here, we welcome guests, but be mindful you may get a paintbrush or screw driver thrust in your hand on arrival - friends with practical skills especially welcome!

Finally, as they say in Portugal 'Bom Dia' (Good day)