I have posted photos before, of our home, but I have just made a short video...so welcome to a tour of our little home
Sometimes I just want to give up, but I won't give in I still have LOADS to do, as you can see. But remember...when we bought this house 10 years ago, it was just a shell, and had never been lived in. I have made so many adjustments and alterations in the last 3 years, just trying to maintain some kind of parity in value against the plummeting market here. 3 years ago, without all the work I have done in those 3 years, it was worth around 275,000 euros, or $400,000. In the same state as it was THEN, as of today, it would have dropped to 155,000 euros. WITH all the work, when finished, it will still only be worth around 200,000 euros. Disheartening to say the least BUT, that 45,000 euro increase in value has only cost me 4,500 euros in materials, and labour (mine ) was free Sorry if you clicked on this, and have seen most of it all before . Nick
Hehe!! It WAS going to be, Mike, but LOCAL PLANNING PERMISSION WOULD NOT ALLOW IT!! So I am just leveling the floor from front to back, and also getting access to the foundations which need underpinning quite seriously Arn...the lower floor was going to be made into an apartment, like the first floor, but it seems it would be impossible, or at least VERY expensive, to get the Deeds of the chalet changed into two seperate living abodes. So I am going ahead with making downstairs into a 20ftx20ft living room, two bedrooms, and stairway to the upper floor, and an American style kitchen, and a bathroom. That way, I can then make upstairs into 4 bedrooms, and a 10sq yard sunroom and another bathroom. Then the living space on both floors will total 1100 sq ft, 6 bedrooms, vast dining room, modern kitchen, 2 bathrooms, sunroom/recreation room and an entrance lobby. Why 6 bedrooms, you ask? Spanish pay more money for more bedrooms!! Coupled with 3000sq ft of land, by the time I get it finished, it should be worth double what it is now. Sell it, stick the money into another property that needs renovating for a cash purchase, and flip that too!!. IF the housing market ever recovers, that is If I can't get employment here, I'll just create my own!! Nick
[This message has been edited by fierofetish (edited 05-02-2011).]
Thanks Scott In the 'still' on the youtube link above, our land goes down to, and includes, the green almond trees at the bottom. The RHS boundary is the white wall which I built, all the way down to those almond trees, and the other,LHS, includes the fir tree you can see through the bedroom window , from the road down, again, to a line behind the Almond trees. It is so hard to work around all my tools etc in the lower floor Haven't anywhere to store them whilst I am working, and I keep having to uncover them to do small jobs to earn a little 'materials' money Nobody said it would easy now, did they? I am thankful Ellie has at least summer season work, or else we would be sunk by now. I am still holding out some hope that at least ONE of the contracts for work that I submitted will come up trumps...but I ain't holding my breath (except when I might have to breath in construction dust!! ) Nick
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09:11 PM
Bradley Jay Member
Posts: 794 From: Redlands, CA Registered: Jun 2008
Thanks for the tour Nick. Great views and some nice work. Kept looking for that steel beam we worked so hard at getting elevated and into place. Whew! That one just about wore me out.
Tell Ellie I said Howdy.
------------------ Ron
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 05-03-2011).]
Thanks Scott In the 'still' on the youtube link above, our land goes down to, and includes, the green almond trees at the bottom. The RHS boundary is the white wall which I built, all the way down to those almond trees, and the other,LHS, includes the fir tree you can see through the bedroom window , from the road down, again, to a line behind the Almond trees.
I still have LOADS to do, as you can see. But remember...when we bought this house 10 years ago, it was just a shell, and had never been lived in. I have made so many adjustments and alterations in the last 3 years, just trying to maintain some kind of parity in value against the plummeting market here. 3 years ago, without all the work I have done in those 3 years, it was worth around 275,000 euros, or $400,000. In the same state as it was THEN, as of today, it would have dropped to 155,000 euros. WITH all the work, when finished, it will still only be worth around 200,000 euros. Disheartening to say the least 
. 
So I am just leveling the floor from front to back, and also getting access to the foundations which need underpinning quite seriously 
Haven't anywhere to store them whilst I am working, and I keep having to uncover them to do small jobs to earn a little 'materials' money 
