We bought a house for £4,000! Moving to BULGARIA | FULL TOUR
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2024
- In this video, we'll provide a walk through tour of our new purchase in Bulgaria. Previously, we shared with you our 1.9 acres of land and the beautiful barns we fell in love with. But now it's time to learn more about what the residential buildings on our land are like - eeek!
When searching for our own property in Bulgaria, we loved watching videos of other people's purchases. It's not only fascinating to see what you can get for your money over here, but also how differently people live.
We're Phil and Kayleigh, a husband and wife living in rural Bulgaria with our two children, Alex and Ember. It's always been our dream to live a more self-sustainable life off grid. So, we've sold all our belongings, escaped the rental rat race and bought a plot of land. Complete with a derelict house and 3 barns, we hope to create our new life mortgage free. We've faced lots of hurdles already, so hang on tight as we show you highs and lows of moving abroad and starting again.
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Link:
Link to 'Tractor boy' video. Maybe it was a video of the times but back in the days before smart phones this was as viral as it got!
• TRACTOR BOY RACER - TH...
![ПОЛНАЯ ИСТОРИЯ ЭКЗОРЦИЗМА [Топ Сикрет]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qBySr6Bt0B8/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks everyone for your likes, comments and messages. We've been living over here for a while now and release a new video every other Sunday - so make sure you subscribe and hit that notification bell so you don't miss what we are up to! 😊
I'm originally from Bulgaria, I live in UK right now, but I do own 3 properties in Bulgaria. My father wanted to sell our family house ( the house he was born) for 7000£. Which is ridiculous price, for a house and land which was owned by our family for more than 10 generations. 600 years. As far as we can remember really. So I bought it off him. Nobody lived in the house for at least 15 years. The old side of the house and the barns were falling apart, the newer side was in good shape but needed quite a lot of work. I'm lucky that I have friends which are engineers and architects, and one summer day we decided to fix it. And my idea was to rebuild it from scratch. Called in buldozers, diggers, and all. Separated anything that can be recycled and given a new life, but we brought the house down completely. Brand new foundations, two cellars, as it used to be. One for living in the cold/hot days, and one cellar for wine and compoti and rakia of course :))
Everything was completed in 3 months roughly. Metal + brick structure. Brand new house, with the same cozy layout, as it used to be, but much better. It cost me just a little over 55 000 £. My dad lives in it now, the irony. Good luck with your project.
Lovely story. Glad you managed to rebuild it 😊👍
Having lived in Sofia for years, and completed five apartment remodels, there is one thing that is likely to be common in your challenging 'cello property' renovation with our capital city renovations - that is that Your Support Groups Will be Directly Proportional to Your Successes. If you were to ask me for advice, I would say you need as many Bulgarian friends as possible. And by friends I mean REAL friends. These people will save your lives in many ways.
Hi Rich, yes I can imagine. We've already made a few friends in our village. The local farmer who's hay is in our barns Is already a good friend of ours and has helped us out on a few occasions. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Great project guys!
Location is everything here in Bulgaria! You can change a house, but not it's location 🙂
We have the same key at our house! Our neighbour told us that back in the day, there were only 4 choices of locks, so everyone had the same keys 🤣
Really admire what you're doing and glad there's another young family in Bulgaria!
We have friends with a young kid not far from you, so may bump into you one day for a coffee.
Keep up the good work guys
Thanks Lee yea absolutely we love it here. We heard exactly the same thing that there was 4 choices of keys back in the day haha makes it all pretty pointless really. Always up for a coffee or something. You guys have got a lot of work head of you too. Take it easy mate. 👍
Hey Uden Family!
Phil I know you get your timber from Rother Valley and Know Xanthe and Joe ( who has now retired! ) I’m Xanthes sister and she and Dad have been telling me about your move to Bulgaria and gave me your channel! We’ve been following your videos and your progress and are all routing for you guys! It looks AMAZING!!! We can’t wait to see what you do with your new home! We are loving the videos so keep them up as we’d love to follow your journey with you! Hope all goes well and we wish you all the best and good things there are in life and in your new ventures!!! Xx
Hi Laura this comment has absolutely made my week! Thank you so so much! Xanthe seemed really interested in the move, it's great to see you guys are so supportive! Thank you, it honestly means the world. Phil 😁😁
You've got a great house there with some large rooms. What an exciting adventure you have started! 😀Can't wait to see your renovations.
Thank you. We can't wait to get started. We enjoy watching your videos too 😁 thank you for commenting.
Awesome. Lots of work and fun to come.
Yes there definitely is but we can't wait to get started. Enjoying your videos too 🙂👍
Well we all thought you were mad, now we know for sure😉 exciting few years to come!
Loving the videos guys!
Haha thanks Ben. Every time I watched us walking inside the house I kept think we must be too! Great to know you guys are watching. 😁
“He did not! Look happy!” Loving the videos keep them coming
Haha yea old classic. Thanks for your comment Steve it's great to have you following along. 😁
Having refurbished a 100 year old house when I was younger
I can attest to the fact that it will be a lot of work for you.
But, it is also very rewarding. You can re-do the house
into something that fits your life style.
Off grid is a cool way to go. I am not totally there, but I do
have a vegetable garden as well as solar collectors and
a battery system. In fact this computer is running off my
solar electric system which is totally off grid.
I am older now and although I have dreamed of living
in either Hungary, Romania or Bulgaria I doubt at this
time in my life I will move again. So, I am really
enjoying seeing what you all are doing with this
house you bought in Bulgaria.
What village are you in or
close to??
Huge project, good luck !👍
Certainly is! Thanks for your comment. 🙂
What a cosy layout your new home has!
I couldn't help thinking of the cellar....what a great place to make diy organic wine + woohoo!!!
Thank you for sharing this with us.
Bri
Hi Bri thanks for the positive comment. I think we might need a few more grapes for that though 😁😁
Welcome to Bulgaria. You’ll be busy no doubt. Very nice property. Great video 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thanks very much, yes we certainly will be busy there's loads of work to do. Thanks for watching and for your kind comments.
looking forward to the video on the how much looks fantastic ...and all the very best for the future
Thanks very much indeed. Cost video will be coming soon!🙂 Thanks for the comment.
Goodness Gracious, you are both so brave to take on this project! Lovely site for sure, the house ...oh my word! You sure have your work cut out for you for the next several years. I hope you've got lots of masks and gloves as you'll soon be covered with ancient dust and God knows what! :). I really enjoyed your tour and look forward to watching your journey and seeing how you'll revive this property and land.
Thank you for such a lovely comment. We certainly have got a lot of work ahead but we can't wait to get started. We didn't start doing anything to the house for exactly that reason. We will be buying quality respirators before we start clearing. Thanks for watching 😊
Good luck you guys!
Thanks very much. It means a lot. 😁
Great!
Thanks - be sure to check out our latest videos!
We had to buy a house that didn’t need any immediate attention as we’re not living in it. We’ve had it 3 years but 2 of them with restrictions to travel. Love what you’ve got yourselves there, looking forward to watching all the changes. What part are you staying in currently?
Thanks for your comment Paul. Yes restrictions have made things very tricky, I think most of use have been affected by them in one way or another. We were lucky to get over when we did.
Hiya, we re in vt, you ve a wee gem there. I ll keep watching.
Hi Sandra. Thanks so much, yes we're utterly delighted with it. Thanks for following us it means a lot. 🙂🙂
When you said “ this bedrooms is above the seller” I thought, yep, that’s the Bulgaria I know!😅
😂 wouldn't have it any other way 👍🇧🇬
4:09 hedgehogs are sleeping this time of the year so make sure they are really dead before you throw them away in the cold. If they are not dead I suggest that you relocate them outside under a pile of leaves and branches so that they don't freeze.
Other than that good luck it's a big project! Good luck!
Hi Viktor. Trust me this was definitely dead it was just a skeleton 😄 of course we would absolutely check though and relocate somewhere safe. We love wildlife 🙂
@@OffGridWithTheUdens good to hear. They are quite useful too. If they are around you will no longer have snake problem :)
Hi, enjoying the videos! Looking to do a similar project when in about 2 years when my children fly the coop. Have not seriously considered moving abroad before. What made you choose Bulgaria?
Hi Simon. We came here on a roadtrip back in 2015 and fell in love with it. The people are lovely and welcoming, the countryside is beautiful, the cost of living is cheap, it's much less of a nanny state and blame culture than the UK and they are a lot more accepting of a different way of life. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
I better get back to the farm and hide! He'll have my pants down! 😂 Golden oldie
Also recommend changing your locks, the traditional lock althogh beautifull the keys are all the same, so the set your neighbour has could open your door 😔
Haha you're the first person to mention it it's so old but so good! Haha. Yes the locks were only for the house which looks like it's already been ransacked and there's certainly nothing in there of any value so it was more to keep the door closed 😁. Thanks for your comment.
Needs a lot of work, I'll keep my eye on how you go ...subbed....
Thanks for the sub Mick we really appreciate it. Hope you enjoy the journey. 😁
Once you insulate the house from the outside and protect it, it will stand for another 80 years. My parents bought one, in a bit better condition, and it's almost 20 years now. No movement, or cracks on the walls.
Hi Alexander I'm sure we could renovate the property I'm just not 100% sure it's worth it... We have some BIG ideas in the pipeline ☺️👍 thanks for your comment.
@@OffGridWithTheUdens well, it is a lot of work to be honest. The only reason my parents did it, was because it was in a good shape, but also we know, these walls are very strong. It took us a few hours to drill a hole for the pipes in the bathroom. Good luck with the project.
Thanks very much. Watch this space 😁
Бая работа ви чака ;)
Определено е така. Все пак го очакваме с нетърпение. 🙂 благодаря за коментара.
It certainly does. We are looking forward to it though. 🙂 thanks for your comment.
hahaha "UK Standard" - yeah not much here is anywhere near a UK standard esp when it comes to health and safety 🙂
The house looks pretty decent, its going to make a lovely family home 🙂
Yes thats very true. I think lots of people think things need to be like the UK though which they definitely don't. Thanks we hope we can do something with it 😁
Interesting journey guys. Why are these places derelict with no Bulgarian families living in them. Can they not afford it? It appears to be a very similar scenario to Cornwall where the locals cannot afford to buy (or rent) and the only buyers are out of county. Good luck in your new adventures.
There are many reasons but the ones we have recently heard of include: properties being inherited by multiple family members and disagreeing to sell, younger generations wishing to move to the cities or abroad, the lack of employment opportunities in the area and generations living differently now. 😊
@@OffGridWithTheUdens thanks for your response
Isn't this house beyond saving? Doesn't it need knocking down? How's it going?
Hi Samuel, yes we think it is to be honest and we are planning to knock it down and rebuild. It's going ok thanks a bit manic as we are back in the UK planning another trip out soon with a caravan. But the caravan has needed a fair amount of work so trying to get this done before we go. Hoping to get a new video out soon if I can find the time to edit it. Kayleigh does more regular updates on Instagram @offgridwiththeudens if you're interested. Thanks very much for the comment!
@@OffGridWithTheUdens Thank you for the update. It's an interesting project. I'm searching for my own place now so I'm quite interested in learning more about which buildings need a little work and which ones need rebuilding.
How much did you pay for the house?
Hi Christina we will be doing a video soon on prices and associated costs when we bought the property. So keep your eyes peeled for that coming up soon. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Oh God.
You guys mast be ready for some serious investment in order to make this house ready for living.
It's a ruin.
I really hope you will succeed
Haha it certainly is! I think the house is past it to be honest, so we will see what the future holds. Thanks for the comment 😁👍
Why are you mocking the keys? When I was growing up in Bulgaria 30 plus years ago, we did not use keys. Doors were never locked and if they were the keys were under the door mat or the plant by the door and everybody knew it and did the same. Some places in the countryside could still be still like that. If you have bad neighbors (and that is clearly not the case as everything is still there after all these years), no keys, no matter how sophisticated, or security alarms will save you in any country
Hi Rosista, thank you for taking the time to comment. You are right, we do indeed have wonderful neighbours that have been very welcoming and kind from the moment we arrived 😊
The comment about UK standards is also a bit ridiculous and we know what they are! You have bought a rundown house for a song, which is also very old. By the looks of it. Probably built 1940s earliest, I suspect older. So what Bulgarian standards are you talking about? Clearly no Bulgarian wanted to buy it because it is substandard and a lot of work. Most people would probably raze down the building. I admire your bravery for doing that and for what you are trying to do on the property but please do not insult Bulgaria and our supposedly backward "standards."
Again, thank you for taking the time to comment. Interestingly, our property was indeed originally built back in 1940 and used to be a thriving vineyard, there is a lot of land and indeed a lot of work which of course does not appeal to all. We explain "bulgarian building STYLES are nothing like the UK" and then do go on to emphasise "that actually these buildings have been standing for a very long time and probably with actually very little movement. Alot of it is reliant upon maintenance". I hope this clears up the misunderstanding. 🙂
Stay out its not structurally safe
Hi John. I'm inclined to agree with you it certainly doesn't look that structurally safe. But it has been in this state for a long time and I believe it will stand for a few more years without any interference. I went up into the loft and it was surprisingly sound up there. We will be wearing full PPE before carrying out any major works. Thanks for your comment and concern though. 🙂
It has nothing to do with building standards. You have bought a ruin in a ghost town.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I can assure you we are certainly not in a ghost town - it's a lovely rural village. ☺️
Why are you bothered about locks, I'd pay people money to come and steal from that house if it was mine
We weren't necessarily bothered about the locks, it was more about finding what keys did what. 👍
Guessing youve since decided to level it? very dangerous, wouldn't be worth renovating
The house? We haven't touched the house as of yet. We've mentioned before that we didn't buy the plot for the house though 🙂
@@OffGridWithTheUdens oh I see, I was just thinking it might be cheaper and more sustainable to build on of those pre fabricated ones, super air tight, stronger roof as standard for solar, etc, hopefully there's something like that in Bulgaria. Worst case I suppose converting log cabins could be an option?
@@SustainableGal SO many different options available. It all depends on your budget and requirements really. We will be releasing our plans as they unfold don't worry 😊