# Wood Houses like rusticasa on land with Ruins



## pawpaw1000 (Dec 13, 2015)

Hi,

So I gather it is quite a pain to get permission to build on land so I was thinking whether I was allowed to buy land with a ruin on it and then instead of fix the ruin, put up a nice wooden house like those sold buy rusticasa.pt?

Also, has anyone got any experience with the wooden houses? I have always dreamt of living in a wooden house and I see for a modest one, they are asking around 40K plus I guess another 30 - 40k to set up? 

My idea is to buy land and go solar self sufficient and debt free (happen to be coming into some money which allows that). 

will the 4G dongle be cheap enough for every day use or is there another option? Internet is very important to what I will be doing.

Thanks in advance!

J


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Welcome to the forum.

A lot depends on area & land designation....... if the land is classified as 'rustica' for example then you can't usually build any human habitation on it.

Wood can be a problem here because there are so many types of wood eating insects here as well & whatever you build or rebuild, you'll need to put plenty of insulation & good heating in, especially if you're in the northern or central zones........ speaking of which, the total budget you mention of about €80k is enough to buy you a habitable house & land with all the correct designations anyway so that might be an easier plan to make.


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## pawpaw1000 (Dec 13, 2015)

Amazing! thanks for the help friend. Thing is, I am looking to get at least 2 ha of land and can't seem to find one with a house I like so thought it'd be easier to just buy the land and put on a wooden house.

Surely they are protected against insects etc?

Thanks again for your help!


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

I don't want my post to be construed as commercial because it's not but in my area, you can buy a biggish, habitable house that'd benefit from improvements as the agents say along with maybe about a hectare of land for a little over €50k.

You can buy treated wood here but it ain't cheap and it ain't easy to get hold of. 

What part of SA are you from?


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## pawpaw1000 (Dec 13, 2015)

Port Elizabeth but studied in Cape Town. Wanting to live free in portugal ;-)

I'm worried about properties that need fixing as I've heard bad things about trying to get builders to help you out in Portugal or am I mistaken?

I'll be needing at least 2HA to be able to implement my permaculture project and want to be a bit off grid with Solar electricity and maybe my own water.

Still learning as i look here. started learning a couple of portuguese words to understand the property descriptions. Also looking at spain but think portugal is cheaper? Better agricultural land?


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

PE is a nice part of the world.... We stayed just outside White River close to the SW corner of the Kruger Park so a loooong way from your neck of the woods. 

Gotta tell you an awful lot of people come here to try to do what you plan and most fail and go home or elsewhere but the other side of that coin is you might be able to buy a part completed project from someone....... don't expect it to be an easy or a profitable way of life though. 

As for builders, they often/usually have to put their name to at least some of the work to stay legal so although some will work with you, and good one will have standards they like to maintain, especially when it comes to unknown quantities such as new immigrants. 

As for Spain, we considered it but preferred Portugal and that opinion hasn't changed.


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## pawpaw1000 (Dec 13, 2015)

Yeah, PE is amazing, like the whole garden route really! 

I'm not looking to be profitable, just cover the costs and have some surplus to barter with. My income will be buy internet ;-)

I can't see anyone making a living off the land and being able to live well without at least a community or a hell of a lot of experience! 

I'm spending 2K euros a month on food and housing where I live, find it ridiculous! Want to be able to eat my own produce, keep a couple of animals with a fish pond and do my thing over the internet.

No debt either so will have almost no over heads. Surely that can be done? I'll have 5 years living expenses to get the thing up and running and become more self sufficient over time.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Only one way to find out I guess but don't expect it t be easy and if you need good internet, be prepared to pay for it and don't expect it to be available in all areas, especially rural areas.


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## pawpaw1000 (Dec 13, 2015)

Jeepers, then maybe Spain would be the better option? Or buy a already installed Quinta? See there are a couple of nice ones for under 160k? 

I'm looking for freedom, not constant struggle ;-)


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## pawpaw1000 (Dec 13, 2015)

travelling-man said:


> Only one way to find out I guess but don't expect it t be easy and if you need good internet, be prepared to pay for it and don't expect it to be available in all areas, especially rural areas.


So you would say it would be better to buy a quinta already established and then fix it up. I would prefer the builder to the work but am worried about costs? I guess it depends on how much work there is. 

Just worried the language will be a problem and the guy will take me for a ride (stereotype coming through)...


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

You should easily get a decent quinta for less than the figure you mention.


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## pawpaw1000 (Dec 13, 2015)

travelling-man said:


> You should easily get a decent quinta for less than the figure you mention.


That would be amazing! I'm looking on casa.sapo.pt... 

Is there a better place to look?

Anyways, thanks soo much for your help, really cleared the fog for me!


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

If I were in your situation, I'd look for something like I mentioned previously. Buy a quinta near a bit of a village for something in the region of €50k-70k, spend a bit on it to make it comfortable, maybe buy whatever agricultural kit you need & away you go.

Feel free to PM me if you need more detail but I can't mention that kind of stuff here because I don't want my comments to be construed as commercial because they're not.

I have however been through many of the kak things you'll go through & been helped & sometimes hindered by various people & it's nice to be able to help others by passing it (the help) forward.


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