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Building a modern home in the woods

johnnyrodgers.is

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Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#491

Post by adamcharnock »

Meritiooo wrote: post #460
adamcharnock wrote: post #456

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a fair point on climate change. I'm not really an expert on this, but I'll make some various points... I think winters have become drier, but April can be absolutely torrential. The specific location can also make a difference. I'm near the base of a mountain which I believe can prop-up the underground water table nicely, and can certainly cause more rain. I think Portugal being costal also helps with rainfall,…

How would I be able to check remote if a piece of land will have good or even very good internet? Is 15000 sqmt for 100k possible? Are you aware of any community to exchange experience?

Land in this area is roughly €1/m2, although it will be more if it has a house on it or existing amenities.

Regarding internet access, you can use our coverage checker :-) gardunha.net. We only cover a small area of Portugal.

There are some Facebook groups for people who have done similar things, although they do have some odd people in them. Lookup Pure Portugal.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#493

Post by gideon_b »

cols wrote: post #168

Beautiful house and there was a day I would have been extremely jealous but... I live in Oregon and in 2020 chose to (was not officially in an evac zone but the smoke was awful) evacuate when the horrible Beachie Creek and Lionshead [0] fires ripped through the Santiam Canyon. Houses that my wife and I had looked at possibly purchasing were torched, as well as some of the most pristine ancient forest I've seen [1]. M…

Pemberton had historically high snowfall last month, followed by a massive rain event. If the roof didn't have issues in January it's probably not going to have issues for a very long time. Pemberton is in a rain shadow. Owl creek gets some snow, more than town, but not much. Much less than Whistler.

Fully agree on the fires. I live in the woods on a steep slope and it's not ideal. Pemberton has insane fire risk. The pool might help with that, you can get agricultural water cannons and use the pool water to soak the roof and surrounding land.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#494

Post by brailsafe »

Tiktaalik wrote: post #393
brailsafe wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would be nice if they were a little more transparent about these numbers instead of being incredibly vague. Salaries in Vancouver have not kept up with housing costs.

Your typical senior coder in Vancouverite can't afford a decades old teardown trash house let alone this. haha. This is less due to poor Vancouver salaries and more due to a basket of real estate issues, but yea the salaries aren't that great either.

Well, I think it's probably both. In the same geographic region you see very high homes prices but wildly different salaries for the same companies across the border. I don't know enough about why that is, but there's surely a disparity

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#495

Post by hankchinaski »

adamcharnock wrote: post #218
hankchinaski wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which area of portugal is this? I was looking to do exactly the same. Buy a cheap land and build a small house myself. I am just wary or property tax, bureaucracy and construction costs. Would love to read blogpost about your experience on this

I'm in Central Portugal. It is the Gardunha region (known for its cherry growing). Between Fundao, Castelo Branco, and Penamacor. I don't think property tax is a big deal. Bureaucracy is a PITA, but accountants, lawyers, and architects are cheap. Use them and it'll all be easier, and likely cheaper in the long run. Construction costs are going up around here. The price I heard 4 years ago was €500-€750/m2 of house co…

Amazing thank you so much for the details! I was looking anywhere nearby the sea I am sure it will be more expensive than countryside but still doable. Do you have recommended Portuguese site to search for land/property? Thank you again! I will reach out via email

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#497

Post by Valakas_ »

adamcharnock wrote: post #218
hankchinaski wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which area of portugal is this? I was looking to do exactly the same. Buy a cheap land and build a small house myself. I am just wary or property tax, bureaucracy and construction costs. Would love to read blogpost about your experience on this

I'm in Central Portugal. It is the Gardunha region (known for its cherry growing). Between Fundao, Castelo Branco, and Penamacor. I don't think property tax is a big deal. Bureaucracy is a PITA, but accountants, lawyers, and architects are cheap. Use them and it'll all be easier, and likely cheaper in the long run. Construction costs are going up around here. The price I heard 4 years ago was €500-€750/m2 of house co…

Hi! I love the ideia of an off-grid house. If you didn't get that permit for urban land ("you can build a house here") then the whole thing has no sanitation, electricity or water connected to the main supply right? And are we still allowed to place a building, even in those conditions, in an agricultural land?

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#498

Post by sliken »

pbuzbee wrote: post #259
cols wrote: post #168

Beautiful house and there was a day I would have been extremely jealous but... I live in Oregon and in 2020 chose to (was not officially in an evac zone but the smoke was awful) evacuate when the horrible Beachie Creek and Lionshead [0] fires ripped through the Santiam Canyon. Houses that my wife and I had looked at possibly purchasing were torched, as well as some of the most pristine ancient forest I've seen [1]. M…

Yes, I'm also looking at buying a house in California, but I too am afraid to buy a home anywhere that could realistically burn in the next 10-30 years. It's a shame since it rules out many of the best (and more affordable) areas of the state.

Designing a house to survive a fire isn't that hard. You need a defensible space, pick the right materials (don't go with cheap wood tile that takes 1 oz of burning pine needles to light, like in Paradise CA). If in a particularly high risk area I've seen insurance require things like a watering system for the roof, including onsite water (not depending on water pressure) and pump (not requiring grid power). Not a particularly big expense if designing a new home.

The main problem with these big fires is they can send sparks for a good ways, and most roofs (even with no trees nearby) end up with leaves and/or pine needles collect in the roof, which are great tinder for starting the house on fire. If 50 homes light up within 20 minutes the fire departments are helpless, which then of course starts the cycle anew with a new launch of embers.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#499

Post by adamcharnock »

hankchinaski wrote: post #495
adamcharnock wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in Central Portugal. It is the Gardunha region (known for its cherry growing). Between Fundao, Castelo Branco, and Penamacor. I don't think property tax is a big deal. Bureaucracy is a PITA, but accountants, lawyers, and architects are cheap. Use them and it'll all be easier, and likely cheaper in the long run. Construction costs are going up around here. The price I heard 4 years ago was €500-€750/m2 of house co…

Amazing thank you so much for the details! I was looking anywhere nearby the sea I am sure it will be more expensive than countryside but still doable. Do you have recommended Portuguese site to search for land/property? Thank you again! I will reach out via email

I used Pure Portugal, but I think some more have sprung up since

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#500

Post by adamcharnock »

Valakas_ wrote: post #497
adamcharnock wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in Central Portugal. It is the Gardunha region (known for its cherry growing). Between Fundao, Castelo Branco, and Penamacor. I don't think property tax is a big deal. Bureaucracy is a PITA, but accountants, lawyers, and architects are cheap. Use them and it'll all be easier, and likely cheaper in the long run. Construction costs are going up around here. The price I heard 4 years ago was €500-€750/m2 of house co…

Hi! I love the ideia of an off-grid house. If you didn't get that permit for urban land ("you can build a house here") then the whole thing has no sanitation, electricity or water connected to the main supply right? And are we still allowed to place a building, even in those conditions, in an agricultural land?

Hey! Perhaps send me an email (profile->website), happy to talk more about this.
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