Dick__Splash

I am buying a winehouse in Hungary, don't know which one yet but buy I will, I don't expect to make a living out of the venture, or should I say adventure. because that is how I see it, another adventure. I am in my fifties happily single, well I have a dog, Shaggy, the Portuguese water dog, he is the best of the many companions I have had, Do you know that in the eight years of our relationship he not once has moaned at me, I cant for the life of me remember him nagging me & and he's at my side constantly. I put that in to give the idea of solitude never being a problem, at least as long as I have my dog Shaggy, why Shaggy for a name, he has shaggy hair.

Well here is what I hope will happen and my questions.

I will buy a winehouse for around £5000.00

Q= Question.

Q. is there a reason I can buy a property for that amount of money (small winehouse with 2000 sq meters of land) caveat emptor, springs to mind.

I still need to work & pay contributions to qualify for my pension, so will have to go back to UK once in a while to earn money, this is not a problem as I am a highly skilled cabinet maker and Joiner, there's a shortage don't you know.

Q. is it realistic to think I can leave my property under lock and key safely, leave vines unattended.

Q. I have read the post on Roma and that worries me, I am not a man noted for his patience.

Q. How do I find out which areas are safe for the Roma's to have me.

As I have said I work as a fully trained cabinet maker/ Bench hand joiner/carpenter. whilst not qualified in the following I could also earn a living as a Plumber or plasterer and have extensive knowledge in electrical work 240 volt, three phase and 12 volt solar panels, also I am an experienced boat builder however I don't think there would be much call for that in a landlocked country, I ran my own joinery business in France for four years, and was a founding partner in a boatbuilding business in Portugal (google "southwest shipwrights" if remotely interested, see Kiilena, for my work) so working in a country with language issues is not something I am unfamiliar with. I don't have great expectations of earning money as compared with the UK, when in Rome.

Q. Might I find, given the skills as stated pick up work in Hungary.

PS
If you find any of the above untoward please forgive me, it is just my weird sense of humour. Oh and did I mention I was a British Paratrooper for 7 years, blame them for the humour or lack there of. How did I did I fit all that in to my 56 years.

scrubbedexpat0105

We get a steady trickle of people inquiring about relocating to Hungary, but you sound to me a more realistic candidate than most! "Adventure" and "isolation" are significant keywords.

Yes. No one else wants it. There are some constraints on what foreigners/non-professional farmers can buy; I think up to 6,000 sqm is OK, but others will know more. The real thing though is simply supply and demand. Twenty years ago I holidayed in south-central France (Corrèze), and it was much the same there at that time: houses not falling down, but in need of total refurbishment, to be had for £10,000. A declining rural population, and far too many of these properties to satisfy the demand for holiday homes.

2000 sqm isn't actually all that much though, and land and properties are so cheap that in your shoes I'd pay more, if you can afford it.

I would say: in principle yes. I'm only there two or three times a year and otherwise my property is empty, and I've had no problems in over ten years. I am however in the part of the country with the lowest crime rate.

I don't think (others may disagree) that vandalism is a particular issue. If you make the house as secure as you can, don't leave valuables in it (what isn't there can't be stolen) and don't leave stuff outside, there isn't really much that can go wrong.

I'm not really qualified to comment on the Roma issue, except to say that I don't think that senseless vandalism is a particular issue in Hungary, and that theft tends to happen where there are opportunities for it, Roma or not.

I see two main problems here. Firstly, tradesmen earn far, far less in Hungary than in the UK. Secondly, if you don't speak Hungarian, it's going to be difficult to find work.

However, it would be a different ballgame if you were to work for expats with properties there (Brits, but even more likely Germans and Austrians). That could actually be a nice little opportunity for someone, but might take a while to build up. If you were to end up in my area for example, I'd be happy to hear from you. (It's actually unlikely as mine isn't the right area for the kind of properties you're looking at.)

Dick__Splash

Thanks for your kind advice watchpost.

I worked in Portugal for 6 years restoring classic yachts, and in France making oak windows, doors & staircases and not once did I have client that wasn't British, in France if you were a third of the price and twice as good skill wise the French would not employ an Englishman. I had French friends and they admitted such.

so yes it would be my intention to work for west European clients in Hungary, who perhaps would appreciate my design work.

mawood47

Ok then have got it write you want to have a income from a Vineyard growing and Producing your own Wine 🍷? If so how many Vines and witch Grapes as my area mostly Black grape witch I think is the Hamburg Grape but this never refined in to a drinkable wine 🍷 it's a rough stuff I glad I am total against alcohol Howe ever I have 300 vines but I give the grapes away but next door he bought getting close hatch and dispatching he has over 5.000 vines press house pinca producing over 2'000 Let. And the son will sell as to much work in the Vineyard digger47

Dick__Splash

In reply to Digger, no I don't think for a moment that I could make a living from a Small vineyard making wine to sell, I'm daft not delusional. however I would like the challenge of trying to make wine that's drinkable. maybe good enough to swop for food I don't know, suck it and see.
I can imagine that it is hard work, maybe I could get some chums have a cooperative and we all get some free wine, maybe make some cider too.

TerryandBrigi

Awesome outlook and expectation shown.
In the South West we are seeing winehouses and an acre of land going for as little as £3k.
Need improvements if for living accommodation, but as weekender, holiday cottage, perfect.
Such a tempting prospect my youngest daughter of 18 is saving to buy one!....haha....18.....saving....hahahahahahahahah a

Peter_in_Hungary

Vandalism can be a problem in some areas, I know someone who had a small vineyard amongst others on the hillside (In a village near Tata). Their wine house and cellar were regularly broken into along with all the others on the hill side to the extent that everything that could be carried was stolen. (Including doors and windows). Eventually all the vineyards were derelict. There are other places where the vineyard houses are empty and left open, if they are locked they are broken into just in case something is inside, (unlocked, at least you don't need to repair the door!)

It depends upon the area and sometimes a surprisingly small distance can make all the difference. It only needs one or two delinquent families in a village to cause problems. (and if they don't have a car - that's why a small distance can make all the difference)

Having said that, as said above, people can and do leave their properties for months at a time without problems.

I agree with above regarding finding work without Hungarian language and would add that in your price bracket of 5k you will probably be restricted to areas that do not have too many foreigners, so working for W. Europeans may not have many opportunities.

Also within your budget the wine house will need repair and will probably be built from adobe mud bricks (vályogtégla) which will has its own special problems and maintenance issues. You can expect electricity but probably nothing else by way of infrastructure, and that probably includes no mains water, probably a well either on the property or within the vicinity.

On the other hand you may be lucky and find that stone built wine house on 3000m2 with power and water within your budget. They do exist but will need searching out - good luck!

jetsam1

I'd second the point about being careful. Hungary doesn't seem to have much street crime at all but property crime is quite high.

For the second time in 3 years we had our bees vandalised. Someone went in the dead of night and sprayed wasp killer into every hive, they left the can beside them and the Police did get fingerprints but............. We are going to be relocating away from Budapest to somewhere we know is good and quiet (even though the derelict cottage there has been broken into by local couples apparently!!) and I can keep them behind a fence with a very big guard dog! I want at least two good sized dogs and am also considering a male goose as that should put anybody off!!

On the same night our van was broken into outside the house. A very expensive evening..........

Just be aware that this can be common and if it's not welded/bolted to the floor it can fly away..... Most of the time there is no trouble though. Just be aware and take sensible precautions.

Dick__Splash

Jetsam1, such a shame to hear about your bee hives, that would wind me up so much, I do hate the fact that people can do such harm to defenceless creatures, how I hate being part of the human race at times. but any way could luck with your move away from the capital.

Peter_in_Hungary, I didn't think I would find work in Hungary certainly not working for someone who didn't speak English I do not enjoy being an employee, working for a client direct is some how to my mind more acceptable, I would rather go without, or travel back to UK for work, a friend has a joinery business, he kindly will allow me to return when I want, (within reason) to work.
the property I hope to by is within 10 miles of the south coast of lake Balaton, are there west Europeans there.

Dick__Splash

I have found a winehouse Less than ten miles from south shore of lake Balaton, 3900 sq meters of land half being grape vines, house 75 sq meters
with a huge celler, well water but that is no issue as where I live in uk I only have water from a large under ground storage tank, the water goes through 7 filters and then through a reverse osmosis system and then a mineraliser, I will just take the system with me and the water tastes so sweet, no chemicals. The price of the property is 2 million huf.

Dick__Splash

cellar not celler been living in Cornwall to long have started spelling the way I talk.

fidobsa

That sounds like a good location as there are Brits around the lake region, some with boats. In my experience, boat owners are constantly upgrading their vessels so there could be work doing that. They are also upgrading their houses in many cases so that could be another source of work. It is possible to make a living just working for expats but bear in mind you will still need to buy materials, tools etc. and that can be challenging, language wise. If you could go back to work in UK each winter you could avoid the colder weather of Hungary and your vines would not suffer. You really need to be around to do weeding etc, from May to October.

Peter_in_Hungary

In all probability you will not be able to register the place as your residence as you can only have a residential property as 'your place of residence' and this property may not have residential status.

This could have implications when you want to live here or buy a car (I think you need a registered residence to buy a car)

You should be able to live there, the Hungarian constitution gives you the right to live where ever you want!

You should check this out with your solicitor when you buy the property.

Others here may be more up to date on this!

A note on solicitors, it is general for both the seller and the purchaser to use the same solicitor and it is usual for the purchaser to hire and pay for the solicitor so I presume that the (your) solicitor works for you as the purchaser. I have never been sure how conflict of interest is managed and I know of one seller who was caught out big time by not having his own solicitor and allowing the purchasers solicitor to do the contract work.

scrubbedexpat0105

Does it have to be a wine house?

A conventional village house would have the advantages of closer neigbours keeping an eye on it when not occupied, probably being more habitable (thicker walls etc), being better served by utilities, and being a fully legitimate residence. Is 2 million the limit of the budget?

There are village plots with 2,000 sqm or more, and an orchard would yield an alternative to grapes for alcoholic beverages. Plum trees in particular grow like weeds on my property.

Just a thought.

Dick__Splash

Hi thanks for all your good advice, keep it coming, the property has residential status, my first question to my advocate was to check this.
The walls to the property are 750 mm thick, that's 30 inches, when inside I couldn't hear a thing when I opened the doors I could hear all the birds singing, next door neighbour's is 100 meters away either side, but that suits me fine.