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Cheap.European.Homes.S03E02
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00:01I'm Maggie Malloy and I'm on a mission to help Irish house hunters discover the
00:05overlooked gems of affordable European property. We're on the hunt in Italy,
00:11Spain, Portugal and France for great bargains. You've definitely surprised us.
00:17Feels nicer in the sun for sure. Property experts in each country will help guide
00:21our search. Vanity and toilet you'll be like 3,000 euros. And our very own
00:27intrepid reporters Kevin McGahern and James Kavanagh will be getting to know the
00:32regions we visit. Can we give it a bit of welly? I suppose we could. Clubs are a great
00:37way to connect with people. They'll be giving our house hunters a head start on
00:41local complexities, customs and most importantly the crack.
00:45Chefe vive! Now what you just said is I want to live! That's wonderful! I want to live here! From
00:50forever homes in Portuguese villages
00:52massive crack. Not in a good way. To sun-drenched Spanish cities. We need to talk
00:58about this price. You could throw anything at me. I'll help find the best homes a
01:03modest budget can buy. It's a cracker of a house. It's massive inside. So grab your
01:08passport, pack your bags and join us on the hunt as we go in search of cheap European
01:18homes.
01:20This time James is joining me in the southeast of Spain. We're beginning our adventure in
01:25the city of Murcia, capital of the Murcia region. It might not be as well known as its neighboring
01:32regions, Andalusia to the west and Valencia to the east, but this area has plenty to offer.
01:39It's one of Spain's smaller regions with about 250 kilometers of coastline known as the Costa
01:46Calida. Move inland and you'll find arid plains, forests, mountains and fertile valleys fed by
01:55the river Segura that also flows through the heart of Murcia city. I visited Murcia before
02:01but it was out on the coast. So it's nice to be starting off this time inland and in a
02:06city
02:06for a change. Yeah, and it is stunning but I'm not familiar with this part of Spain at
02:11all. Yeah, I feel this little area is a bit maybe underappreciated, you know, it just it
02:15doesn't get spoken about enough. Well, I'm really curious to get going and to discover more about
02:20this time I'm on a property search with 47-year-old Carmel Carey and her 23-year-old daughter Cuiva,
02:31from Carrigtul, East Cork. Carmel is a pharmacy assistant while Cuiva is a social media manager.
02:39Carmel and her husband Tony have been regular visitors to Spain since Cuiva was small and have
02:46a long-held dream of finding a home there. Now, Cuiva's made it her mission to help her mum's dream
02:53become a reality. I love Spain. I love the community, the people. I like the food. It's just so relaxed
03:02over there. Any time of year that we go over there seems to be a fiesta, which is lovely. It's
03:08like all
03:08the community get to know each other and they all meet out. It's even like when you go outside at
03:14any
03:14time of the day there's always people together doing something or even going for food or drinks
03:20at every hour. It's just a really nice positive feeling every day over there because there is so
03:26much things to do. Two of us usually would get in a car and just travel. You'll see the skinniest
03:33of
03:33roads like the smallest of Boreens and we go, will we? Yeah, we might as well. Getting lost is our
03:40main thing.
03:42We're definitely outside people because we've been road bowling all our lives. Mum was European
03:49champion in 2012 and has world record holder for the longest shot. You never know, we might bring it
03:57there. With the job that I'm at at the moment they're looking to expand over to Spain so I'm
04:03more than likely we'll end up living in Spain as well. The budget for our house in Spain is £150
04:09,000
04:10and that's including renovations. Minimum a two-bedroomed house. It has to have some type of space
04:17outside. It doesn't have to be a huge garden. It doesn't have to be even a garden. It's just somewhere
04:21I can sit outside. Area, I don't mind. Mercia, anywhere around. I'm really open. It doesn't have to be
04:28coastal. I'm not really a water person. Countryside would be ideal. Renovation will be no problem
04:35because Tony being in construction, he'll be doing it all. I'm really hoping that Maggie will find,
04:41if not the house, but definitely the area that I will be happy to live the rest of my life.
04:53In the past, the Murcia region has been a bit overlooked by house hunters, but things are
04:59changing. Property values have climbed significantly in the last five years, with average prices up by
05:06around 37 percent, though overall they remain lower than the national Spanish average. So there could be
05:13value to be had. Carmel and Cuiva are looking for a property with at least two bedrooms and some
05:20private outdoor space. They're pretty flexible about location and not bothered about being near the coast,
05:27which will definitely help to keep the price down. I'm focusing my search on an area inland west of the
05:34city of Murcia and as far down as the border with Andalusia. The average property price in this area
05:40can range from around €158,000 to €180,000. By casting my net wide, I'm hoping to land the
05:50right property for Carmel's €150,000 budget. So I know you've been to the Murcia region before,
05:57but have you ever been to Murcia City? No, we've only done the coast, so we've never been in right
06:01in
06:02the middle of the city. There's a lot of character and all in here, isn't there? It's stunning, it's so
06:06pretty. The architecture is just gorgeous. So my plan is to help you get to know the area a bit
06:11better and meet the people. Unreal. And of course, I get to show you houses. So I've cast the net
06:16really
06:17wide and I'm sticking inland as well because I want to get the really best value for you. I have
06:22so many cool houses to show you. Can't wait. So excited. Yeah, will you go have a look? Yes.
06:29For my first property, we've headed to the town of Las Palace. This three bed house sits on a quiet
06:36road within walking distance of shops, bars and restaurants. It's about 40 minutes from Murcia
06:43City, 20 minutes to the coast and comes with an asking price of €149,000. We've met up with
06:52architect Marta Woodward, an expert in Spanish building design and construction. She'll be
06:58helping us on this search. Would this feel rural enough? Like you don't have your city, you can't
07:03see your cities from here. So it is rural. So what are your first impressions? It's a really bright house
07:08anyways. It stands out from the rest. Subtle. Yes. It looks a bit small from the outside, but obviously we
07:15haven't been inside yet. But yeah, can't judge a book by its cover. Is this too cramped? It's like too
07:20built up? A little bit.
07:21Yeah. I think the neighbour is a tiny bit too close. Too close, yeah. We both step out of the
07:26door
07:26at the same time. You're like, you're right next to each other. Yeah, yeah. You're such a gully.
07:32Myself and Marta had a look around inside earlier. It is a solid house. It is probably built in the
07:38late 60s. It's well maintained and it's in a good condition. And it seems small, but it's bigger than
07:48you speak. Okay. Yes. I promise it gets better when you get inside. Okay. Yeah. Okay. You ready
07:53to have a look? Yeah. Okay. Here's your notebook. Thank you. Any questions you have for Marta,
07:58write them down and we will meet you out the back in a couple of minutes. Perfect.
08:07Yeah. There's a nice size room in there. Big enough room. Yeah. This room is lovely. I love the
08:14white wall seats. So you can add your own colours and touches to it. And it's a lot bigger than
08:19you
08:19think when looking outside. Yeah. It's a lot more modern, I think. And the finish is very good in here.
08:25Yeah. Yeah. There is a Wi-Fi box. So there'll be service and everything. And I saw the air
08:31conditioning outside, so. Yeah. Yeah. No, I like it. I like this. So far, anyway. Oh, God. I was
08:39expecting just one more room, not a big long corridor. I love it. Nice, bright room. Yeah, it's a good
08:46size. So this is the second bedroom. And yeah, that's one thing. The house, every room seems very bright. I
08:53like the bathroom. Bathroom is lovely. Another room. So that's what? Three rooms. Three bedrooms.
08:58Yeah. That's unreal. Oh, the kitchen. Look at the kitchen. It's beautiful. Lovely and bright. It's
09:05very nice. I love cupboards. It looks very modern. Yeah, it is. Do you want anything all right with
09:11this kind of overcrowding the kitchen? Yeah, I think it's just too big. No, but it's lovely. It's lovely.
09:17It's very, very nice. Really bright. You're getting the light in every room. Yeah. You wouldn't think it's
09:23this big from outside? No. No.
09:29Oh, my God. Now, this I did not expect. That is class. This is unreal. That's perfect where the
09:39table is. Yeah. So we don't need the kitchen table. Don't need the kitchen table. Get rid of the
09:42kitchen table. Yeah. Handle. I'd have to have a handle. Yeah. It's so steep down. Yeah. Do we have
09:47upstairs as well? Yeah, must be. Oh, my God. This was not what I was expecting from outside.
09:53And it looks like there's steps as well or something. Oh, yeah. Down that direction. Yeah,
09:58so maybe that's something I'll ask Maggie. What is that? Yeah, that could be some parts connected to
10:02the house. Yeah. But, like, it's huge compared to what you would see outside. Yeah. I was not
10:08expecting this at all. No, not at all. There's no way this is in our budget at all.
10:15Welcome to your roof terrace. Beautiful. So how do you get on inside? There's a lot more going on
10:20than you think, isn't there? It is amazing. It's incredible. It's way bigger than I actually
10:26thought it was going to be. Like, I was expecting two rooms, kitchen. Yeah. That's it. That pool,
10:32too. Oh, my God. I actually, I nearly died when I saw the pool. It's not looking its best right
10:37now.
10:37You just need a little clean. That's all. Power hose. Yes. Yeah. Dad would love that. Yeah. And
10:43there's, like, steps down to a garage. It is. Great condition. Double garage doors at the back leading
10:48now onto a lane that you can drive a car in. And here, my God, you have such views from
10:54up here.
10:54Yeah. Do you have anything written down for Marta? Um, just the central heating. Is it gas or oil?
10:59Yes. It's gas for the heating and the splits for air conditioning. All right. I was just saying,
11:06the only thing that I would do is maybe a railing just for the pool area. Yeah. I think it's
11:10easy to
11:11change it. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I think Tony would be happy potting around doing little jobs. Yeah,
11:17definitely. The only thing we were kind of saying, it's, it's definitely above our budget. Yeah.
11:22Are you ready then? Right. It's on the market for 149,000. So I'm scraping in. I'm scraping in.
11:32No, I was expecting it to be well above our budget. Yeah, nearly even double because it's just,
11:36you get so much space and so much things. So keep in mind as well that it's acceptable to offer
11:41underneath the asking price in Spain. So even if you went maybe 10%,
11:46Yes. Or you can ask for a 20%. Oh, perfect. Sounds even better. Yeah. Yeah.
11:51Yeah. Yeah. I don't know how you're going to top this to be really honest.
11:55If Carmel and Cuiva are looking for a home here,
11:58they'll want to know as much as possible about this area and its people. So I'm going to pick the
12:04brains of a local. Cathy McGeer moved to Spain from Dublin over 20 years ago,
12:09and is now settled in Murcia with her Spanish husband and two sons.
12:14So Murcia, tell me everything. Yeah. Murcia. Murcia. Yeah. Murcia.
12:20Very good. It's like kind of starting to be discovered, you know, it's, it's still
12:23uh, really authentically Spanish, I would say. So you're fully in the lingo and yeah.
12:28I speak Spanish and you'd need to. There's different accents, I guess, all over Spain.
12:32What's this kind of accent? This is the strongest one, you know,
12:35like it's the strongest accent, maybe the most difficult one to understand.
12:39Okay. If you just have to try, you just have to show them that you're trying to
12:43speak the language and they'll help you and they'll love you for trying as well.
12:45And what's it like to live here? Yeah, it's great. It's got a really nice,
12:49authentic feel, really family orientated place, really laid back lifestyle. It's really nice. I love it.
12:58So do you have any tips for settling in? Yeah. So the thing that you should say to people
13:02is to really think about what your life is going to be like once everything settles down.
13:07Concentrate on building your community, joining clubs, making friends.
13:11People forget about that. You want to know the locals. Exactly.
13:15Is there clubs or, you know, things you could join?
13:18Loads of clubs, loads of clubs. Yeah. I mean, between Spanish clubs, of course,
13:22but lots of the international people also create their own clubs. Walking clubs, running clubs, bowling clubs,
13:29all sorts. And what's the cost of living over here? What's the situation there?
13:32Spain in general is not like cheap, cheap, like it used to be years ago. But Mercia itself is still
13:38one of the regions where it's, it's more reasonable to live by comparison to other places in Spain.
13:43Certainly cheaper than Ireland, probably.
13:44Certainly cheaper. Certainly cheaper than Ireland, yeah.
13:49This is an interesting place. This is the Real Casino, founded in about the 1850s.
13:55It's not actually a casino, though. It's a social club.
13:58No slot machines? No. I don't think so. Let's go in. Let's have a look.
14:04So, here we are. There's a real mishmash of styles in here. You've got the Moorish style, of course.
14:10You've got the Roman style, Baroque style. This is the Arabic court. They say that there's 35,000
14:18and sheets of gold leaf in here. Is that all? Amazing. 35,000.
14:26Oh, wow. Stunning, isn't it? This is a bit of me now.
14:29This is the ladies' powder room. Gorgeous. You see the woman on fire.
14:33She's intense. On fire, yeah.
14:40Would you like to waltz with me? Let's do it. Yeah.
14:49So, this is the Saouda River. It's really important in the region of Murcia. It provides the water and
14:55irrigation for all the farmland. Because Murcia City has a really unique location. It's right in the
15:01middle of what's called La Huerta de Murcia. La Huerta de Murcia. Yeah. So, it literally
15:05translates to like the orchard or the garden of Murcia. Oh, I love that. Yeah. In fact, it's even
15:10known as the, this whole region is known as the garden of Spain because of all the product that's
15:14grown here. Ah. And you might even hear of people being referred to as huertanos or huertanas.
15:20So, it's like people who work the land. Ah, I love that. So poetic. Yeah.
15:26So, this giant fish here is actually a sardine linked to the spring festivals in Murcia,
15:32called the Entierro de la Sardina. So, the burial of the sardine, it's called. Okay. Yeah.
15:38And how does this, do they just carry a fish through the streets? Or what is it? No,
15:43it's like, it like marks the end of Lent. Ah. Yeah. And so, they, they bring this huge,
15:48I guess it's like a papier-mâché, it's huge sardine. Like, it's colorful and a sculpture,
15:52and they bring it through the streets. Okay. I was picturing a tiny fish.
15:56No, it definitely is a tiny fish. And then they burn it outside the, the town hall at the end
16:01of the,
16:03it's really unusual. I love that. I think we even Carmel was, they be into that. Oh, yeah.
16:09Yeah. I be into that. No one knows about it. And once they discover it,
16:11they just can't believe it. They're really cool. Yeah. Wow. Long live the sardines.
16:15Long live the sardines. Yeah. It's been a jam-packed first day. Time to take stock. I've brought
16:22Carmel and Cuiva for a quick catch up with James. Okay. So, first impressions, 10 out of 10. You're
16:28going to love it. There's loads of things to do. Tourism, culture, history. The people are great.
16:34They're big on fiestas. Something I'm looking forward to. Yeah. I'm more siestas, but really
16:40good fiestas. Yeah. And tomorrow, are you up for some exploring? Oh, yeah. I have a very good thing
16:46planned. I'm super excited. Get ready to get lost. Our favorite thing. Yeah. And I've got a really
16:51interesting property up my sleeve. I'm looking forward to seeing what you think of it. That
16:55way? Yeah. I'm going to call it early. I think you're going to love this place. We'll see. We'll see.
16:59I think you might have a lodger. Three bedrooms we're up to now. Yeah. This is the arrangement.
17:05Did you tell them that's what happens? Yeah. We share. Yeah. We're fine with that. Yeah. Bunk beds. Yeah.
17:09Okay. Lovely. James and Maggie. Yeah. You can just put that on the door. Yeah. Don't go in.
17:16Keep house. It's been a really positive start. Property one ticked a lot of boxes for my house
17:24hunters. But for my second, I'm going to change things up. And it has everything that you really
17:29need for a home. While James whisks Carmel and Cuiva off on a four-wheeled adventure.
17:40This week, myself and James are in the Murcia region of Southeast Spain with Carmel Carey
17:46and her daughter Cuiva. Carmel has a long-held dream of buying a Spanish property where herself
17:52and husband Tony can settle down. And Cuiva is giving her that all-important push to finally
17:59make it happen. They're looking for a property with at least two bedrooms and some private outdoor space.
18:06They're not too worried about location. So I'm searching away from the coast where there's better
18:11value for money. Our first property was a three-bed house that had plenty to offer and an asking price
18:19of 149,000 euro. It's way bigger than I actually thought it was going to be. For my next property,
18:26we've made our way to the quiet hamlet of Los Arroyos. It's a five-minute drive to the nearest village
18:32and around 25 minutes to the coast. This four-bedroom house needs a bit of attention,
18:38but has plenty to offer, including just over six and a half acres of land and comes with a guide
18:44price
18:45of 139,000 euro. I feel like this is like a little hamlet. Marta, what would you call this in
18:52Spanish?
18:52It's a aldea. Aldea. Aldea. So what do you think, guys? Yeah, there's a lot to take in in this
18:58one.
18:59It's definitely kind of more traditional. Bigger building as well. Yeah, I think a lot more stuff
19:04to be done. A lot of gardening for dad to do. Or tiling to get rid of the gardening. Yeah.
19:09Yeah.
19:10You'd be nearly better just having a nice surface that fit it in with the style of the building.
19:14Yeah. Yeah. But it's robust. Like, I mean, the roof looks good, Marta, doesn't it? Yes. I think it's
19:18renovated because the house is old, but as you can see, the roof is... It's newer. Yes. I feel like
19:26I could do with maybe a little bit of TLC on the front. What do you think? Yeah, definitely a
19:30bit of
19:30plaster or paint or... I recommend to use a lime mortar. Lime mortar. Yes. As it will bring a unit,
19:38like, facade. And it also works very good for the character of the Murcia area. Yes. Okay. So that
19:46new coat of lime plaster would take care of all of the roughness, the little bits in around the
19:51reveals, the windows. Do you know where you can see the bricks? Yeah. It would tidy up everything. Okay.
19:55But it would also make the building a lot more breathable and a lot more kind of in character
20:00of what should be. What should be. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Maybe it's 10, 20 percent more than the
20:06traditional painting. Okay. Yeah. Will we take a look inside? Yeah, we will.
20:13So we have a great size living room and kitchen back here. We have a bedroom up at the front
20:18door,
20:18another two bedrooms down the corridor and a bathroom. So there's a lot down here. Yeah,
20:24it's definitely a bigger, bigger feel house. Yeah. And this living space is spacious too, isn't it? It is,
20:29yeah. And Scrant laid out tiles, everything. Kind of has everything that you really need for a home.
20:34Doesn't it? I mean, even the size of the kitchen. Definitely more like a cottage than your
20:38average kind of Spanish holiday home that you see. Yeah. Yeah. Any issues, Marta, you can see?
20:44The only thing that I see is the rising down, but you can remove it and put the lime mortar
20:51the same as the outside. Okay. Because you probably wouldn't change much else, would you? No,
20:56it has the tiles, it has the kitchen is perfect as well. So it's a bit of, as you said,
21:02TLC? Yeah.
21:05So we're upstairs now in the bedroom slash study. It's got a nice view. It has a beautiful view.
21:13Love it. It's kind of a waste using it as an office. Yeah. What would you use it as?
21:18A closet, walk and wardrobe. 100%. Wardrobe, walk out, open up, look at the view. Yeah. I think dibs have
21:26been called.
21:28It's a bit fresh up here today, ladies, isn't it? Definitely. Yeah. Well,
21:32the main reason I brought you out here is actually to show you the terrace area below. It's actually
21:37classed as urban. So Marta, do you want to explain what that means? Yes. You can do an extension,
21:42or a pool or a garage so you can build in this building. Okay. Yes. So it's a bit like
21:50what the
21:50neighbors have done. Exactly. I mean, you have a substantial house here. You might need it. Obviously,
21:55the people who own it didn't need it, but you have the choice. Yes. I think that's probably the biggest
21:59thing. Well, I have one more thing to show you. Can we get out of the wind? Yes.
22:05So from the edge of the road, across from your front gate, you have six and a half acres
22:12that stretches right up to the top of that mountain. And it is full of olive and almond
22:17trees. The land goes up to up here? Right over the top of the top. Right over the top. Yeah.
22:23Yeah. Wait, do you mean as in the mountain included? Yeah. Yeah. What? Oh my God.
22:28Kerry's Mountain. There you go. Kerry's Mountain. We have our little farmyard with all our pigs and our
22:34chicken. Okay. Let's talk about this price. All right. Okay. I'd forgotten about that. It's on at 139,000.
22:42Okay. And I'm thinking you could probably be a bit cheeky because there's a bit of work to be done
22:46here. Yeah. Yeah. You know, go in under, account for all the jobs and maybe get a bargain. Yeah. So
22:53overall, what do you think? The area, absolutely beautiful. Yeah. If you could pick up house one
22:57and drop it here. Okay. Yeah. Would be ideal. Okay. All good information to know.
23:06Carmel and Cuiva have said they love adventure and exploring. So I've taken them at their word and
23:13brought them to one of Murcia's many national parks. So you guys love exploring, taking a spin when you're
23:20in a new place, don't you? Yes. We just go down a road, see where it'll take us. Kind of
23:25our way of
23:26discovering the area. We call it getting lost. Okay. Well, you could definitely get lost here
23:31at Sierra Espuna Regional Park because it's 178 square kilometers. Wow. Yes. And I have the
23:38perfect activity so we can see everything. Unreal. Ready? Yes. Sounds great. This is Mark Langton.
23:46Originally from Devon in the UK, he's been running adventure tours here for over 22 years. And today,
23:53he's going to show us around on these bad boys. We're going to go on a gentle quad bike tour
24:00today.
24:00We're going to go onto the Brancas de Hibas, which is a protected park area. It's a moonscape type
24:07landscape, phenomenal views. So are we good to go? Yep. Yeah. We were born ready. Let's do it.
24:56This is magnificent. I feel like I'm on the moon or something. Yeah. Yeah. Could you see yourselves
25:01coming up here for a walk? Oh, yeah. Definitely. Yeah. I think dad would like this as well.
25:07Definitely. How is the landscape formed? It's basically mineralized clay. Heavy rains can change
25:14the format of the whole thing. Is this park open to the public? Yes. Yes. It's open to the public.
25:19Are there any like vineyards or do people grow food here or anything like that? Well, Murthia is
25:24Europe salad bowl. Oh, so you get obviously oranges, lettuces, tomatoes, um, all the citrus fruits are
25:31grown here, olives, of course, then all your nuts. So you could come on a hike and get your bits
25:36for
25:36a picnic on the way. On the way. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. I love it here. I'm not sure that would
25:41be legal.
26:02Mark, I can see why you love it. That view is incredible. I'm in awe of it every day and
26:08yet I see it
26:08every day. Yeah. So it's just a fantastic place to live. Guys, what do you think? Yeah, I could
26:14definitely see myself here. It's lovely. Views definitely are amazing. Absolutely amazing.
26:20And do you have any tips for people thinking of moving over here? Just don't take too long
26:25before, before you do it because property prices in Murthia are rising. It's always been a little
26:30bit forgotten because it's the least commercialized area along the costas, but not anymore. It's starting
26:36to rise. So if you're going to do it, do it quick.
26:41It's time to hit the trail in search of my next property for Carmel and Cuiva. For house number
26:47three, I'm taking them just over the border from Murcia into the Andalusia region, but for very
26:54good reason. I think this five bed, four bathroom house is a great find. It sits in Aurora location,
27:01close to the town of Veles Rubio and is on the market for just €99,950. This house has five
27:12bedrooms,
27:13four bathrooms. It feels rural, but we're still only about 15 minutes away from a very large town.
27:20All right, yeah. So what do you think? Yeah, the house, it looks big. Can't wait to see what's inside.
27:27It is an old house, but it is in a good condition. As you can see, the roof is new,
27:33but let's see inside how it is.
27:39So we've come in through a lovely covered porch with a barbecue, seating area,
27:44great kitchen here. We have a double bedroom to the left, bathroom and a great size lounge as well
27:50over there. Whoa, that room looks very nice. Yeah. Were you expecting this? No. And it's bright too,
27:58it's nice. Honestly, the decor in here is really nice. I think they've done a good job.
28:01Mm-hmm. Love the table. Love the table. I mean, I'm not seeing anything even that needs to be done.
28:06What about you, Marta? No, it seems like someone lives here, so it's in a good condition inside.
28:14It looks more modern than you would think from the outside looking in. But yeah, no, it's nice and
28:19kind of spacious. Everything's kind of where it needs to be. It's lovely. So we've just come through
28:25your lovely lounge. The sitting room area is amazing. It's lovely. And this then, the dining area is good as
28:31well. I love the ceiling. It just adds such character to the house. Marta, is it original?
28:37Yes, and they cover with a lime mortar. Lovely. Are you still seeing good condition?
28:42It is in a good condition. There's no humidity or cracks. You feel very good inside. Yeah,
28:49because you can't see any dampness or anything. No. Which is good. Do you think you keep this as a
28:54dining room? It's a bit of a trek from the kitchen. I don't know. I don't know what else you
28:58could do with
28:59it. Do you know? Craft room. Okay. Yeah. Done. Yeah. We'd call it first. So I'm going to send
29:05two of you upstairs and myself and Marta will meet back up with you in a little while.
29:11Another lounge area here. That's lovely. Double bedroom, bathroom. There's loads of space and it
29:19looks like there's another two bedrooms down there. Yep. And the size, it's really big in here. Yeah,
29:25it's actually huge. Yeah. Different type of beams here. They've left them exposed. I do like the walls.
29:30I like the walls. Yeah. It adds more character. It's very nice. And then there's an outside area.
29:37That's a good sized terrace. Yeah. Nice view as well. This is extra. Yeah. A third floor we have. Not
29:44used
29:45to living in a bungalow for your whole life. No. Wasn't really expecting this. Thought it was just a sun
29:50terrace. Yeah. It's like a self-contained studio. Mad. It does still have the character of the world.
29:55Yeah. And it's still in very good condition. Yeah. It could be like a guest house though. Kind of fish.
30:02Airbnb type thing. But I think it's a lot since we already have three or four rooms below. Yeah.
30:08Yeah. A bit overwhelming really. Yeah. It is a lot. How'd you get on? Good. Yeah. Big. A lot of
30:17house. A lot of house.
30:18There's a lot going on. There is. You have to almost filter it back a little bit. I think it
30:24goes against
30:24everything we believe in to pair stuff back. We always feel like as Irish people we need to improve
30:28stuff. But this has a lot going on. Yeah. And I think you could probably simplify it. Like it is
30:34very,
30:34very comfortable. Especially the like the ceilings. Yeah. They've kept it. Yeah. They've kept the
30:39tradition, you know, Spanish tradition and that and the roof and everything. I've just given you too
30:44much house space. You have. Yeah. Yeah. It's an age old problem. So what about the outside space? Because
30:51we don't technically have a garden here. No. How are you feeling about what you have? I have no problem.
30:57I'm not green fingers. So the top part, because it's covered, I wouldn't be able to kind of use it
31:03as my
31:03sun terrace. You can remove the beans and the cover and have a open terrace. Yeah. That would be
31:10something that we'd like. Okay. So what are you thinking about the price on this one? I'm going to
31:15put it around in our second house. So I'm going to say the the 139. Okay. I think it's a
31:21little bit
31:21over our 150 but just. Okay. It's on the market at the moment for 99,950. Oh wow. And apart
31:30from a
31:30couple of personal possessions, everything is included. Oh God. The table in the kitchen is
31:37included. The table in the kitchen. That's all you needed. Oh my God. What? No, I was not expecting
31:43that at all. Yeah. No. You get a lot of value. Yeah. Once you come out into the countryside though,
31:48don't you? Yeah, definitely. Definitely. You've definitely surprised us. Again.
31:55It's been quite a day for Carmel and Cuiva. They ventured further afield and made some great
32:01discoveries, but there's still plenty to look forward to. So you're happy Cuiva's given you
32:06that push to come over and see somewhere like this? Yeah, I think I needed it. So is she kind
32:10of good at encouraging you to maybe broaden your horizons a little bit? Yeah. I think because we do so
32:15much together. She actually knows me so well that she knew that it was time to give me the extra
32:21push.
32:22Gentle parenting in a way from your daughter. Exactly. Yeah. Gentle daughtering. Yes. Yeah.
32:28So I think we should focus more on community and the locals now. Would you be up for something
32:33tomorrow that's very much focused on that? Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sounds important. Yeah. Yeah.
32:39They've been talking about coming over here for so long, but now that we're kind of over here,
32:45we've seen the areas. I can definitely see dad walking around doing his long trekking like he
32:50normally does and mom just traveling out and getting lost along the views and the mountains.
32:55Like it's definitely a second home to them at this stage. Yeah. It definitely gives you a lot more
32:59color and a lot more perspective when you're outside the kind of the coastal area, doesn't it? Yeah.
33:04Yeah. Like we're very country people at heart. So we like the the valleys and kind of the mountains
33:10and stuff. So it does feel like home, especially kind of what we've seen so far.
33:14Yeah. Well, it's been a great search so far, but we've still got lots more to do.
33:18Yeah. Yes. Can we drink to that? Cheers. Cheers.
33:22We've got just one more property for Carmel and Cuiva to see. First thing I noticed was the fireplace.
33:28It's just, I love that. And Carmel is bringing her champion skills to a local sport.
33:41I'm house hunting in the Murcia region of Southeast Spain with Carmel Carey and her daughter Cuiva.
33:48With a budget of 150,000 euro, they're looking for a home with a minimum of two bedrooms and some
33:55private outdoor space. So far, I think I've delivered. We've seen three great properties.
34:02First, a three bed home in Las Palas for 149,000 euro. Second, a four bed house in need of
34:11some TLC
34:12for 139,000 euro in Los Arroyos. And third, a five bed, four bath property near Veles Rubio for just
34:2299,950 euro. While James takes Carmel and Cuiva on his final escapade, I've seized the chance to visit
34:31a 200-year-old farmhouse nestling in the hills above Murcia that's being restored by Sharon Weiler
34:38and Andy Theaker. Well, this is a gorgeous area. When did you buy here? 2019. Great. What kind of
34:45condition was it in? Well, you had four walls and a roof, basically. Yeah, they had no windows,
34:52no electric, no water, no waste, no sewage. And you thought, this is my dream house? He did.
34:58I was up for the challenge, yeah. We spent the first, was it two years or so, traveling back from
35:05where we used to live to convert the haylof there into a self-contained apartment. I just would not
35:10move in until I'd got a bathroom and a clean bed to sleep in. You're like camping. No. Well, I'm
35:16dying to see this little apartment. Can we have a look? Of course. Go.
35:18Okay.
35:25This is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. Really? I think you undersold it. Yeah.
35:30There's only three rooms. Yeah, but they're good rooms. I love the character. I love how much like
35:36a hayloft it still is. And I love how kind of all the different levels and the quirky shapes.
35:41Not a square wall in here. This used to be a door where they used to bring the goats in.
35:46There's
35:46an animal trust there. You can see the ring on the wall. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And that used to
35:51be
35:52a separate part of the building. That wall was a solid wall. And then that was just full of hay
35:57with a chute that went down into the corral below. Yeah. So we had to knock that through.
36:03Stoned this door up and made a proper door there. Yes. The rebuilding is seamless. The pointing's
36:10beautiful. Like, you're really embracing the building. Yeah. We wanted an old house. So why
36:16make it modern? Okay. I'm definitely ready to see the rest of the house now. Will we have a look?
36:21Let's go. Okay. Wow. Another big size room. You have a great size utility as well. Yes. Off to the
36:28side.
36:28Yeah. That was the old corral that we were talking about upstairs. So talk to me about your kitchen
36:33and things like that. The back wall where the cooker is now, that's underground. It's a bit strange.
36:39Oh. But that wall is all underground and it was so damp because it was plastered.
36:44There was just soil on the floor. There was no glass in the window. No window, yeah. We built all
36:50the walls.
36:50Basically took a year. Really? Yeah. But now that we've pointed it with lime mortar,
36:56we've not had any problem with damp. See, it's absolutely bone dry. Yeah.
37:00Like, the building still works. It still functions. It's, a lot of the time,
37:03it's just what people have put on it in maybe the 70s or the 80s. That's right. Yeah. We reckon
37:08we're about halfway through. We've been five years. Five. Just over five years now. Using lime and stone
37:15and traditional things, it's so time consuming. It is. And if you can't do it yourself as a result,
37:20it's massively expensive as well.
37:24This is so cosy. It's lovely, isn't it? Yeah. We think this was the original house. The shepherd's,
37:30little shepherd's hut with the fireplace and the sleeping loft up there. And then the rest
37:36of the building's kind of organically grown as families got bigger. This canopy is completely
37:42original. That's original, yeah. That's so cool, isn't it? Yeah. And you could never remake that to look
37:47that good. Like, you just couldn't. No. No. No. It's stunning.
37:52Okay, so what did you buy the place for? 30,000 euros. 30,000. That's so cheap. Yeah.
37:58So how much do you think you've spent on it so far? 50,000 euros. You think about 50,000.
38:03Okay.
38:03So far. So far. We've still got a lot. Bearing in mind, we can pick up a lot of the
38:07raw materials from just by walking around and that. 80,000 euro for what you have here at the moment.
38:13Yeah, I would say. To date. We have actually looked into it. And if we'd have had to pay
38:18somebody to do the work, we'd be up to about 200,000 now. Well, thank you so much for showing
38:24me around. You're very welcome. Thank you for coming. It's an absolutely stunning house. Thank you.
38:29Hats off to Sharon and Andy. They've poured all their know-how experience and time into this renovation.
38:36And what they've achieved is all down to them. What a beautiful job.
38:42Mercians are very proud of their region and a history rooted in agriculture.
38:48Ertano or Ertana was the traditional inhabitant of the Huerta de Murcia, the agricultural areas
38:55surrounding the city. Today, it's a term for people who participate in the regional traditions
39:01like this unique form of bowling. With Carmel's road bowling experience back home in Ireland,
39:07this could be an ideal opportunity to mix with the locals and to get to know them a bit better.
39:15Hello. Hi. Hi. Hello. What is this? This game is Bolas Huertanos. Bolas Huertanas? Bolas Huertanas.
39:24Okay. Yeah, it's a traditional game here in Murcia. This starts in the fields, you know. Okay.
39:31Like the farmers start playing this game and now we are trying to keep alive. Why you don't try?
39:37I would love to try. I actually, I have two friends, Carmel and Cuiva, and I think they would like
39:42to play.
39:43Do we have a match right? A match? Okay. Yeah, later. Lock us in. Yeah, of course.
39:48Yeah, I'd love to. Of course, of course. I love it. Yeah. Yeah.
39:50The chance to bowl with the locals is too good to turn down. I think Carmel and Cuiva will really
39:56benefit
39:57from it. And I've brought along my new friend, Cathy, to help us with any translation. Now, Carmel,
40:04I know you're pretty good at bowls. We are going to try some traditional Murcian bowling. Are you
40:10up for it? I'm definitely up for it. I've done German lofting and I've done Dutch, so I've never
40:16tried the Murcian, so we'll give it a try. What do you think she'll be like? She'll be a pro,
40:21a pro.
40:22I think so. Cathy has been getting the low down, so she can fill us in. Okay. This is the
40:27bowl.
40:29I've worked that much out. And it has these grooves in it. That's to age the spin on the ball
40:34when they
40:35throw it. It's made from tropical hardwood. There's nine pins and the aim of the game is to knock down
40:40as many pins as you can. Okay. Okay. Oh, it's heavy. Heavy enough. Do you want to have a go?
40:44What's that in comparison to your ones? Yeah, it's bigger. It's definitely bigger,
40:49but it's not as heavy as the Irish one. So that's a bit lighter. It's lighter. Okay,
40:53you should be better then. Don't worry about that, James. Let's go. Yep.
41:07Fire. Fire.
41:23Fire. Fire.velds.
41:24Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire.arlo and Carmel are totally, like,
41:32making friends here without even communicating through Spanish.
41:41Now I have to go after that. To follow. These kind of clubs are a great
41:47way to connect with people, even if you don't really speak the language that well.
41:50there's still a sort of so I think if you move somewhere like this join a club
42:01join a sports club join bowls and you can make friends without even speaking
42:07how did you find that I know it's not totally the same but did you get
42:11similarities yeah it's definitely because they were asking it to twist so
42:16to pull the bow say left or pull the bow right so that that would be similar but
42:21still totally different yeah and you're only here what like two minutes five
42:25minutes and they've already kind of you're a part of the community like you're
42:28totally wrapped it all yeah they were like they were telling us exactly what
42:32we were doing wrong or what if we got something right yeah they were cheering
42:35us on as well and like giving us high-fives and being like yes
42:50I wasn't great at that stuff now but I'm great at that it's eating and drinking and
42:54having the crack that seems to be what it's mainly about isn't it yeah it's
42:58community the family the friends all gathered together it's it's great and I
43:03think that's why we like Spain so much it's so community first yeah that seems
43:07it's a relaxed pace of living the stress levels are low because fun is high on the
43:12agenda yeah thank you so much for all your help it has been great you're
43:16welcome unreal yeah well cheers for my last property I'm taking caramel and
43:25cuiva to the hilltop village of to Paris situated on the border between Mercia
43:30and Andalusia this five-bedroom two-bathroom house sits in the center of
43:36the village it comes with a large courtyard to the rear plus a private garage and is
43:42priced at a hundred and thirty five thousand euro so another big one yes do
43:47you like the look of it oh you do the little balconies yes yeah yeah the door
43:51the door I like yeah doors lovely Marta doesn't get your seal of approval yes
43:56for sure okay this is a traditional village house late 80 hundred it is in a good
44:04condition the roof is new and it's a double glazed window and it's very pretty yes yes yes
44:17yeah
44:18this is lovely it's stunning it's a bit nice it is yeah first thing I noticed was the
44:23fireplace it's just I love that way that you can see the shape of the chimney and everything
44:27in I love the open plan space so you have your dining living area kind of as one it's great
44:34yeah when
44:35you walk into the front door you have the first of those five bedrooms downstairs here then you've
44:40got living room dining room combined like you said which is so handy yeah and I don't know the
44:46finish is just everything isn't it yeah I love the ceiling and the light coming in from both
44:51directions is beautiful yes I really like it and also it has a patio in this side it brings a
44:59light
44:59privacy secure and cross ventilation also yes the only thing I can see is it needs just a lick of
45:08paint
45:08that's all yeah yeah so we have a great kitchen in here then down the corridor we have a good
45:15size
45:15utility room then we have a double bedroom and two nice bathrooms as well not very good yeah and this
45:22is a lovely kitchen grand and bright again plenty light coming in so we have three very good size
45:31bedrooms up here one double bedroom two double bedrooms this is by far the biggest one it's huge
45:39it's huge it's lovely yeah you can have the other bedroom yeah I want that bedroom maybe you can have
45:46a bathroom here because you don't have in the second floor but you still have a big big bedroom and
45:54again
45:54you still have those two lovely doors your balconies yeah go in my room no you chose the other
46:04so now we have a really big private terrace out here we have a beautiful garage to the side that
46:11links out onto the street a lovely barbecue area you could do so much out here so much my only
46:18recommendation maybe is to plant a tree or something to bring like more life to the courtyard yes what a
46:27great to do list for your husband yeah so this house is on the market for 135 000 okay and
46:34that
46:35includes the furniture oh wow no it's stunning yeah for what you're getting there's so much you're
46:42getting martha do you feel like this is good value for spain yes it is you can ask for less
46:48price
46:50even better yeah martha's a hard negotiator right well we've seen all four houses you have a lot to
46:58think about so why don't you go up and have a chat and i'll catch up with you later great
47:02perfect yeah
47:05we've had a packed few days in spain and viewed four great properties
47:10first was this three-bed house in las palace for 149 000 euro next was this four better for 139
47:21000
47:21euro third was a five bed four bath property near velez rubio for 99 950 euro and finally this five
47:33bed
47:33village house in tapares for 135 000 euro let's see if any of them have proved a hit with carmel
47:42and
47:42cuiva so four great houses but was there a favorite yeah i think definitely we fell in love with house
47:49one i'm not too surprised with that now was it the pool no it wasn't i think it was just
47:56it was
47:56everything like we were saying that there are so many boxes that were ticked that we didn't even know
48:00existed yeah i think it was just the fact that you could just walk in and you're at home great
48:05so
48:05we have a house what's the plan um so i've spoken to tony we're going to come back within the
48:11next
48:11couple of weeks if he loves it as much as i love it we're going to make an offer sounds
48:15like you have
48:15everything worked out hopefully yeah hopefully well i'm delighted best of luck with it thank you and
48:20i'm just going to keep my fingers crossed that tony loves it as much as we all did yeah yeah
48:24come on
48:25we hit the road thank you what i really enjoyed about this house hunt was that i didn't feel
48:33shackled by a huge wish list and exact locations and that gave me the ability to go find some great
48:40value homes on top of that carmel and cuiva's positivity shone through and if they manage to
48:47secure house one i think they'll make a great go of it well james this has been such a great
48:57trip
48:57it has i have been so impressed by the value of the houses and it takes a lot for me
49:02to say that
49:02now you know my bar is set quite high or low low in a good way yeah exactly exactly but
49:08it just shows
49:09that if you're willing to move in from the coast you can get so much yeah you can and for
49:13me it's been
49:14the people i've loved meeting all sorts of people over here they love their traditions culture i love
49:20the landscape you know it's it's like the moon in parts it's a really beautiful place i think not a
49:25glad place to live have i convinced you to buy a house 100 will i go find you one yeah
49:29let's go
49:46the challenge of turning a dream into reality the great house revival is at 9 30 tonight here on rte
49:531
49:53and rte player and if you missed it you can stream all episodes of turbulence the story of brian
50:01air on rte player now
50:03you
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