FenTiger

Does you wife have siblings? If yes, how do they feel about your plans? Obviously you'll get the property cheaper than if it sold on the open market. A sibling/s may ask for a share of any profit if you sold it later because it was their father's house for which you bought with a favourable discount. You may have to check local laws on this. Get any agreement signed off. We nearly went down this path but when the word 'increase in value' was mentioned I backed off because the house we are living in needs alot of work, including replacing roof timbers, new roof tiles, electrics, the list is endless, on top an extension is needed.

Just in case you haven't seen my other posts we found a house in Malyi and already put down the first payment. Hoping to move next two months but depends on the chain higher up. It needs some work but not as urgent as where we are living. Long term will be easier to maintain.

FenTiger

House prices - Difficult one. I've been monitoring Hungarian property values for years. It's difficult to compare prices here with UK because it depends on where you live in UK. I've heard of a guy on a Hungarian FB group who only paid £5,000 . I've no idea how big it is but they seem to have a very large garden.
​​​​

The Duck 1969

sounds similar buddy.
yes, she has a brother and a sister, the brother is sorted as he got their granny’s house, so the plan would be to buy her sister out. Re: signed off.... yep, the wife made her brother ‘sign off’ any claim to the house when he took the granny’s house.... so I make you right - seems this is commonplace there huh?
the house needs a lot of updating, yup electrics, bathroom, kitchen, flooring.... and cellar (I like the idea of a cellar - but it needs some work). And an extension, as it’s only 4 rooms and a bathroom.
still, I reckon after some investment and love - it’d be a great house for a whole lot cheaper than uk.

town is ‘Hatvan’, not too far from Budapest, but MUCH cheaper.
plus there’s a tesco there (if I get homesick) 😀

The Duck 1969

ive seen some of those super cheap houses.... I’m sure they’ve seen many murders...... grim.....

FenTiger

Eeekkk! I think we paid a fair price for our new house but you got me worried because when we viewed it it was spotless, suffice to say we did also view quite a few spotless houses but some were so messy it was unbelievable.

Jack_Russells4ever

I only paid 21K for my place in Somogy County in a small village, Sure it needed a lot of work, but to get over 4000 m2 of land, a large barn in decent shape and a livable house that needed a lot of work it was worth it. Sure, I have had to upgrade the electrics, replace some fencing, upgrade the kitchen and bathroom. Most people do that anyway, I still need to make more repairs and upgrades but not owing a bank for my property is a good feeling.

You can get a livable property for cheap but expect to spend money to make it comfortable and presentable. If you want a property with little to no work needed you should expect to spend probably 50K or more depending up the location.

FenTiger

I would have gone down your route if my wife was still driving and wasn't worried about being isolated.
For those not aware two four bedroomed properties we viewed went for £125k and £150k. Both had similar plots of 500 sq.m. First one needed renovations finishing off and second one a much bigger kitchen so despite those prices further money still needed to be spent. That would have shot to pieces our targeted budget. Around here properties being south of Miskolc are in demand. Luckily we acted quickly and got our two bedroomed house. Yes, needs some updating but there's no rush.

Peter_in_Hungary

Yup, It's all about..................Location, Location, Location. !! The three most important thing about a property, anything else can be changed

FenTiger

Yes, the location easily trumps the other two more expensive houses we viewed. A property I viewed back in November 2019 has come back on the market which I assume is because the owners have finally found a house. This has a tiny kitchen too with a very poor layout and is around £150k for equivalent floor space we have bought our property at less than half.

cathyg

Have some friends who live near Godollo not too far from Hatvan. You could maybe find work in or near BP if you don’t mind a commute. But as others have said if you are having work done on your house you need to be there to watch over what is done. My husband acted like a labourer for anyone we had in to help with renovations. Get neighbours to help you find good tradespeople. You might have to wait as there is so much building going on at the moment that it is hard to get anyone.
I would say that food costs are the same as the UK and in some cases UK is cheaper. How I wish we had an Asda here! But council tax is really cheap. So swings and roundabouts. We use wood in the winter. In general gas is expensive. Second cars are very expensive here but we just had to bite the bullet in the end. Some people go to Germany to buy but then you have the hassle of importing said car.
Hungarian is a hard language but I don’t think you will have many problems because of where you will be living, in that corridor to BP. Having said I am really enjoying learning the language and it’s really interesting.
We have been here eight years, moved here in our early 50s and have no regrets.....

Sachina

I only paid £6000 for my house on half an acre of land, which needed extensive renovation, but that was 14 years ago. You can however still buy houses in this region in some of the more remote villages for a similar amount.

Jezzza

Hi,
I am planning to move to Hungary in about 3 to 4 years time . My wife is Hungarian and we will be moving to her town of Tata . Have you any idea about the rules for moving to Hungary since Brexit . I'm looking on websites and have seen some conflicting info. Do i need to become a citizen ? Can i only stay for 90 days if not ? One site says because we have been married for over 10 years i can just move there no probs . It's all confusing ! I'm not far from you in Pontypridd .

Cheers

Peter_in_Hungary

Look at the Hungarian government website concerning residence for family members here

Residence of family members of a Hungarian citizen

Bottom line you get permanent residence because you are married to a Hungarian.
You should be able to sort out residence through the Hungarian embassy in London before you move because this might make life easier in the hectic days of moving if this is one item that is sorted
If you go down the route of getting it sorted before you move your wife will need a valid ID card or passport (i.e. in date) before you start the proceedings.

Jezzza

Hi,
Thanks for that

scrubbedexpat142

Small store (not a supermarket) in Buda -

2 tins tomatoes
2 small tubs tejföl
Small tub margarine
Half litre milk
10 large eggs
1 litre detergent
1/2 litre washing up liquid
500g loaf
bag frozen french fries
1 bottle rosé plonk
1 bottle red plonk

Total 6495 Fts, at my "standard" rate (400 / £) = £ 16.24.