Very Nice Situation for a Large Family

Near Paderne - 450,000 € - 9 bedroom, 8 bathroom, 4 (3?) separate units (T5-T2-T1-T0) - 495 m² built/195 m² floor/2,280 m² plot. Pool, AC, presumably internet, borehole, cistern, septic field. Out buildings, storage, room for vegetable garden, established landscaping. Privacy. Nice, relatively recent interior.

This is a very interesting and varied property, you could call it a compound, that does a lot with a little. A large family or a couple of smaller families could very easily establish a great life here. There is plenty of room for a vegetable/berry garden, although you might have to break some concrete to do it. Having a pool is fantastic, of course, although it is an unusual configuration - two levels. I have to drop in a closer look at it because it's kind of weird:

Two different temperatures, maybe? Regardless, a nice little private area to relax and cool down.

Photos and information from idealista, originally advertised by D’Alma Portuguesa ®.

I know that's a lot of photos, but there are a lot of photos to choose from - 151 of them. I believe this is the most photos I have ever seen on a listing. They are pretty good photos, too; standard, but very competent.

From the idealista listing:

"Farm for sale in Ribeira de Alte, in Paderne with Swimming Pool, Exterior Bar, well-kept gardens and several leisure and rest spaces.

The main house is located in the entrance atrium, large dining room with open office, 1 bedroom, fully equipped American kitchen, family bathroom with shower base and bathtub, generous living room with fireplace with stove and bathroom with shower base, games room with direct exit to pool. At 1st floor level it has 4 en-suite bedrooms.

Outside large terrace with barbecue and outside kitchen with electricity in front of the house, marquee with direct entry to independent annex with 1 bedroom in mezzanine, equipped kitchen, bathroom with large shower base, generous living room with fireplace. Game room with fireplace and view to the pool. In the pool area you will find several chill-out areas, outdoor bar covered with electricity, water and salamander, garden with waterfall, outdoor laundry (which serves to support the annexes), generous patio.

In the 2nd independent annex you will find 1 studio with generous living room, wooden ceilings, kitchenette and bathroom with shower base.

The 3rd annex, also independent, living room with fireplace with stove, storage in the stairwell, fully equipped kitchen, pantry and service toilet. On the 1st floor, bathroom with shower base with hydromassage, one bedroom with attic and another bedroom with built-in closets, private terrace with barbecue. In the exterior areas space to park several cars and 3 wooden houses of support.

It has a borehole, a cistern and a sceptical pit. Possibility of mains water.

About 10 minutes drive from Paderne centre with all services available.

Counsel tax: 67 per year."

Location, Location, Location

We are really out there in the deep farmland. This property is surrounded by gently undulating cultivated fields for as far as the eye can see.

10 minutes to Paderne

10 minutes to Alte

15 minutes to São Bartolomeu de Messines

15 minutes to Tunes

16 minutes to the Castelo de Paderne

20 minutes to Algarve Shopping ( a large mall complex)

22 minutes to Albufeira

27 minutes to the beach (many options)

40 minutes to Faro Airport

It looks to me like Paderne is your closest carton of milk and loaf of bread. It's a village with some cafes, a bank, some stores, a police department, and a football stadium (those stadiums turn up in the most unlikely places). There might be something in Monte Brito, only five minutes away, but nothing turns up on Google. The point being, though, that nothing is within walking distance. To get anything involves a car or, at least, a bike. The closest substantial town/city is Albufeira, a relatively considerable drive. Albufeira has a reputation as a party town, and I would imagine that most of the beaches during tourist season are pretty packed. Well, during a normal tourist season. It's weird having to make that caveat all the time.

Zooming around the immediate neighbourhood using Google Earth and Street View reveals a very pleasant agricultural landscape with the emphasis on fruit trees. The closest landmark of any note is the Castelo de Paderne and the Quarteira River. The river cuts through a twisted and steep-sided valley that really stands out on the map. Here is a Google Earth view and here is a great article by Algarve Trails.

The two Street Views below are taken at the spots marked with a white "X."

In the neighbourhood:

There is a lot of this red soil around in this area. I will have to do a little research on this. It is very evident from satellite.

There are a number of houses and families in the relatively immediate vicinity, maybe forty or so within a 1 km radius. The N270 is about 2 km away by road:

Climate/Weather

Once again, we turn to WeatherSpark for weather and climate data, but it's perhaps telling that the closest urban center that is covered by WeatherSpark is São Bartolomeu de Messines.

Here is a helpful summary, but I encourage visiting the WeatherSpark page because there is a lot of information there:

We can safely say that this property enjoys the typical weather of the Algarve's interior Barrocal zone - hot, dry, clear summers, and cool, moist, partly-clear winters. Hey, the pool looks good from the end of May to the beginning of October.

Considerations and Conclusions

While the land plot is actually quite small, very good use has been made of it. Somehow, the designers managed to fit in multiple buildings, a pool with lounge area, landscaping, and what can only be described as nooks, I'm a big fan of nooks, quirky little spots where it is possible to have a some privacy or at least a change of immediate scenery.If you have a big, rectangular backyard with grass in the middle and gardens around the perimeter, there is really only one perspective you can have of it. No matter where you are within that space, you see the whole thing, nothing is hidden. Put a couple of trees and bushes in the middle of that lawn, and the whole dynamic changes. Now put a winding path around those trees that leads to a pond with a small terrace in the bottom corner which is lined with its own privacy landscaping, and you really have something. It might seem like I am harping on privacy, but I believe very strongly that when a group of people live together, it is essential to provide escape zones where individuals and small groups of two or three can get away from people and have a spot to themselves. It looks to me like this property does that very well, despite not having a lot of room.

Though it was built in 1971, the interior does not feel particularly dated. I suspect that the kitchens and bathrooms have been re-done since then, as they look quite modern (bathrooms more than the kitchens - odd choice of colour in the two kitchens shown here). The rest of the interiors have a traditional feel that has clearly been well-maintained. At any rate, this is in no way a fixer-upper. It is ready to go.

On the garden front. I find it quite amusing that the advertiser has chosen to list this property as a "farm." It is undoubtedly in the middle of a sea of farmland, and I would guess that at one point it was a farmhouse heading a significant parcel of farmland, but no longer. From what we can see, most of the exterior has been paved over, with spots left for landscaping. I'm sure that there are currently some small beds available for vegetables and/or fruit, most likely around the inside perimeter, but any serious vegetable garden would either involve removing some concrete or building raised beds. Possible, but with some labour and expense involved.

We should also discuss the ruin factor. This property is fairly unusual in that the main building is only half of a larger building, the other half of which is on the verge of being a ruin. Just to jog our memories:

Hm. I just "walked" to the end of that back lane to see what I could see of the building on the left, and it turns out not much can be seen. Hard to say if someone is living there or not. The roof looks old but sound. This is in contrast with the ruin on the right, across the lane. That is undeniably a ruin, but also clearly being used. Street view reveals a tractor in good condition and a farm dog. I'm guessing that it is used as a base of operations to work the land, but that the farmer lives elsewhere. Finally, it should be noted that the property kitty corner to us is advertised as a tourist residence, Air BnB, what have you: Quinta Laranjeiras.

I like this property very much, despite its location quite a ways a way from anything other than fields. The terrain, as mentioned, is flat, but also gently sloping. This provides some level of view. It would be a perfect refuge for a large family or a couple of small ones. If I could, I would happily move my family in, including my mom and in-laws. It could work.