2 Under 2: Two Country Houses Under 200,000

PROPERTY # 1: Rural property in northern Silves. 185,000 €, 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 133 m² built/plot of 7,720 m² (2 acres). Near the Ribeira de Odelouca (Odelouca River).

Listing on idealista. Advertised on KW Flash - Keller Williams.

From the idealista post:

"4 bedroom villa located in a quiet area, offering a panoramic view of the countryside and the Ribeira de Odelouca (Odelouca River).

Sapeira is a small village in the parish of São Marcos da Serra which is located in the northern part of the municipality of Silves, being located in the transition between the Algarve and the Baixo Alentejo.

The villa consists of four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The living room is quite generous and is equipped with a fireplace. Also has oven and barbecue and an enclosed garage.

Zone of easy access and asphalted road.

This is the ideal place for anyone looking to live in the countryside...

133 m² built

T4

2 bathrooms

Land plot of 7,720 m²

Parking space included in the price

Second hand/good condition

Orientation East, West

Built in 1951

Energy efficiency rating: E (ECI not indicated)

Access adapted for persons with reduced mobility

Home adapted for persons with reduced mobility

Garden"

Nice little property - a fair size at very-almost 2 acres, the interior is dated but well-finished and well-kept. There is a significant slope to the land, but not enough to be a problem; it would probably help with drainage and potential flooding. I'm a little perplexed by the condition of the land, though. The ground is very stubbly with very short grass, but it doesn't look like it has been mowed recently. Granted, we don't know what time of year these pics were taken, but I have additional images from Google Map Street View that look similar. Here they are:

For context, the above view is one approach to the property (there are 3 on Street View). The house in question is under the asterix and the property is above the dashed lines.

See what I mean? Does that have implications for the fertility of the soil? Is it a lack of irrigation during the dry season? Dunno.

This is a 7 minute walk away. Again, look under the asterix:

So, the immediate land/water-scape is pretty great. That's the Odelouca River, a very long dam-created river. I want to emphasize the closeness to this significant river/lake, because the property is a very long way from the coast. It's a 40 minute drive to the closest ocean beach, so you had better commit to some river recreation during the hot season.

- 8 mins to São Marcos da Serra

- 18 mins to São Bartolomeu de Messines

- 30 minutes to Silves

- 45 minutes to Faro airport

More emphasis on the Odelouca River. Doesn't it look nice? :

Photo, Barragem de Odelouca 6 May 2015 (J).JPG, by Kolforn

I'm going to include a couple of Google Map satellite shots. They are interesting.

The magenta area is for sure included, and some section of the amber area also, I think. The magenta part does not look like 2 acres to me, so I imagine some part of the amber area is part of it, probably left of the diagonal line that looks like the crease on a peach. I just dropped a dotted line next to it to show what I mean. No indication of a well or borehole - maybe where that clump of trees is? Let's have a closer look:

Hard to say. It's remarkable just how few large plants there are. Hm. Clearly, whoever lives or lived here has zero interest in gardening. But there is a lot of potential. The outbuildings are useful.

***Edit: I found an online acreage calculator that uses Google Maps: Google Maps Area Calculator Tool

That is 1.9 acres. So there you go.

Conclusion

I like it. I like how close it is to the river and the "mountains" (said the guy from BC). It has quite a few neighbours in the area - the village of Sapeira is on your doorstep, for what that is worth. The very crappy Energy Efficiency rating of E is concerning. Who knows about internet - I really do have to take a deep dive into satellite uplink services. Very important. As it stands, privacy is actually quite limited - the clearness of the land means everyone can see what you are doing. But plant a couple of tree lines, some semi-walled shade areas, put in a tiled/paved terrace. It could work. At least you have a pretty nice place to live in while you work on it, and only a short walk to the river for the times you need to cool down before the pool goes in (or at least inflated). Because it's going to get hot way up here in the boondocks. Wheelchair accessible. And the price is certainly right. a fixed rate mortgage at 2% for 20 years with a 20,000€ deposit results in a monthly payment of 871€. That's very close to what we pay for rent at the moment.

PROPERTY # 2

Now we head west and even further north.

São Teotónio - 175,000 € (was 195,000 €, reduced 10%). 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 separate dwellings (one main, one very small), 124 m² built/plot of 80,000 m², kind of a pool. Beautiful views.

Advertised by Carmen luz & Simões lda. From idealista:

"8Ha farm with two houses: A 2 storey main house of 2 floors, isolated, with excellent sun exposure in the municipality of Odemira. Comprising hall, living room with fireplace, kitchen, pantry, three bedrooms and a bathroom. Large patio with great space for meals and socializing. The second house is composed of ample space with a beautiful mezannine and a swimming pool outside. Property located in the rural area of São Teotónio, Odemira, surrounded by green spaces and views over the countryside and mountains. Located about 13km from São Teotónio and 26km from Odemira by national roads and 18km by secondary road...

124 m² built

T4

2 bathrooms

Land plot of 80,000 m²

Fireplace

Second hand/good condition

Fitted wardrobes

Built in 2010

Individual heating: Propane/butane gas

Energy efficiency rating: (ECI not indicated) Swimming pool"

Check out that view. Fabulous!

Suspiciously few photos of the interiors. I think these are from the small annex.

From Google Maps:

I can't find this place yet, very frustrating. The ad mentions 13 km from São Teotónio, as reflected in the circle on the map below. When I have time I will do the same for the 26 km distance from Odemira.

Jeez, that's a lot of area. The one aerial shot provided by the advertisers will help, but still. All those groomed mountains as seen from space get mesmerizing after a while.

***Continuing a bit later***

Hold the bus! It would appear that there is a major discrepancy between what the Google Maps measuring tool indicates for distance and the scale provided when you screen cap a map into a pdf. The above distance radius is wildly inaccurate. I should have seen that right away. There's no way that circle is just 25 km across. I'm going to explore this next with a new post.

***More about the property later***