I think the most important requirement here is to get the property assessed by well qualified professionals – there just seems to be an excessive amount of water damage and the general neglect is evident. I know you are already going to do this. Next is the costing to fix it – that is going to be really difficult to assess. It seems like there are going to be many, many costs that you may not even expect.
Regarding the offer by 2 other buyers – I would take this with a grain of salt if I hadn't seen it for myself. This is often used as a means of making a potential buyer think that there are others who feel the property has more value and therefore so should they. In other words, to get you to offer more than you feel is fair.
I wish you all the best with whatever decision you make, but I would avoid.

The bones of this place are amazing. Agreed that the stunning staircase takes up a lot of room which limits the amount of space to be divided off. 
I very much appreciate your being respectful of the current owners. They have clearly had a very long life there. The stench can be managed and eliminated once all of the current owners things are out. As for the price… Agreed it is too high. The children seem to have a lot of expectations.

I’ve been in construction since 1969. The damaged ceiling can be digitally 3-D scanned, then high-density foam panel boards can be CNC carved to exactly replicate the exist artwork. The carved foam boards can be sprayed with a silica based paint, then installed on the ceiling. This is much less expensive. You can find thin veneered marble stone that is backed with Kevlar. It’s reasonably priced and is very flexible and durable. It can be sourced in China.

The property is stunning! I doubt you would get a permit to put an extra floor on a property like that in PT. This alone would drive me away as I don't see how you could get enough ROI bak w/o adding more square footage. It will also take you likely more than 1 year to renovate and even longer in Portugal. So for a full year, you are bleeding money. As amazing as this property is, my guess is you will spend EASILY 1.5M Euros, with set backs, delays, permits, construction, etc. Any budget they give you to renovate, you will need to add an extra 40% and double the time.

Another thought, what is the value of the land? The house is a ruin, if making an offer on the land, the price would be fair. Consider also the price of total demolition if it becomes necessary. I have seen better houses like this being demolished. Like this you don't have any risk.

Josh you need to realize the owner has been pushed by the Estate agent to ask for that value, which I do not consider that expensive really for the house it is in PORTO. Portuguese like to barter, it is in 'our' blood. So get a valuation for the repairs, you need to start with repairs on the roof and re-wiring, these two are crucial – before you do any thing else, All the other stuff seems cosmetic new floors, they look pretty sound to me, these can be done over time, gradually. Use all the expenses quotes to barter. Good luck X:)

Hi guys, wow. My sister restored a house like this. My recommendation is, keep every feature, moulded ceilings, even if incomplete. Faux marbelling, masonry, especially the staircase – leave as is. If anything it will add value for later, if you ever need to sell-up. I do not see ruin but history, so please keep it's original features as much as possible.

$200,000 just to get started on this property

It's so beautiful, a completely fascinating disaster, but the details are amazing and the backyard looks like a park….omg, I just heard the price. That's freaking insane! The staircase and dome above are stunning, too but geez are they nuts with that selling price?

Interesting place. I am Portuguese but 800,000 euros is crazy ( estao a sonhar com ladroes)

Anyway, offer 400,000 cash and i am in.

The Money Pit movie property is a "Villa in Portofino" compared with that dump!!!! I wouldn't pay $50,000 for that dump!!!!!

Run away, run away!!! 😱

This house seems to have lots of potential. I can see how beautiful it must have been. This is a great series!

I feel like the older owners family encouraged them to list the property but they have no intention to sell. They really want to live all of their days in this home. The neglect is so sad, but common. The gardens could be amazing but it’s too much for me to think about renovations. Wow!

OMG on the asking price. Everyone involved in the asking price decision is crazy and should get training on selling Real estate even if PORTUGAL IS A SUPER CALIENTE REAL ESTATE MARKET. Move on, change direction and revaluate buyers wants vs needs-after 2 weeks of living at the property it’s just another house.

Once i saw the basement and you mentioned the terrible smell-I say RUN, RUN AND DO NOT LOOK BACK. This house has seen it’s better day and unless all of the parties have unlimited spending budgets it’s a PASS. I have not seen or heard what the price is, but I am sure they are asking a good chunk of change for a home that has not been kept up through time. Property owners have a responsibility to maintain and keep the property updated through time if they are asking TOP $$$. PASS, PASS AND PASS AND DID I SAY PASS. I am going to fast forward to see if $$$ is mentioned. I would tell my agent are you crazy for showing me and thinking I need to see this property. Happy hunting to all.

Wow. Way too much to renovate. I would rather buy a house in the 250 K to 300 K. Euros in the country. Have an EV car and charge from home. So many options between Porto to Braga at amazing prices. Good luck.

This house is exquisite and hopefully can be restored to its former glory. So sad to see the elderly couple having to live with the clutter. You should also consult with an architect who deals with historic homes. XO Mackenna on youtube just restored a beautiful historic home in Texas reusing a lot of the materials from the home and preserving the authenticity..

Wow. I can picture what it once was. What an absolute shame how it is now. That is one big project my friend.

You said if standing sinc 1890s no structural issues….NO….NOT SO FAST… I work on houses..
I see stuff screaming at me…. Dude, seriously….. don't look at it with illusions……

That’s a gorgeous property
A lot of money to renovate but it’s only…. Money and passion

GUYS.. NO. RUN… NOT FOR YOU. Don't let yourself be distracted by features. ITS TOO COSTLY TO REPAIR… WAY OVERPRICED TO BEGIN WITH, AND WAY TOO COSTLY TO REPAIR…
It would take some millionaire to do it right. And it would be very costly….
Stop going with all these realtors and banks that want to milk you…OK??!!!
Do your own reseach….. You can do it all, and hire a lawyer to put it all together for 200…Ok.
These realtors are showing you way overpriced stuff.. Easy payday for them, and then you
are stuck….. Don't be swayed by nice people…. go on all the websites, idealista, homekey, sapo…
there are literally thousands of houses, and get a more reasonable priced house, in a place with
lower taxes… I think the problem is that you want to be directly downtown and you want to walk out your door and not have to commute…. and there is your problem. the farther you get out of town and into the hills, the bigger and better house you can have for lower price… and you just drive into the city when you want stuff…. and back home…. The burbs are cheaper..
The whole of the north of portugal is double or triple from the middle or south…
If you want to rent houses, do individual house and repair and rent or get an apartment building
or apartment building that is not complete.. I have seen several of them on idealista…
A renovation job is massive, and comes with massive cost…… far cheaper with undeveloped building…… GOOD LUCK….

Have you considered the heating cost for a building like this…high ceilings are heat wasters big time. Some Portuguese winters can be very cold… does it have fireplaces? Still single pane windows. With hardwood floors you may hear the other unit owners above…

NO!!! So Much to say… First Where are you trying to live.. Of course if you are living in downtown Porto its going to be astronomical.. I MEAN SUPER HIGH.. and tight quarters… Go just 30 minutes outside Porto to the burbs and prices drop dramatically… And its still high, but it won't be insane high…. there are many lovely town, and you drive in, or you metro in… com'on. I would not pay that much for that even if it were perfect. Clearly Not… You have extensive damage.. WATER, WATER!!! I have built several houses.. I am a licensed carpenter, mason, electrician and plumber…. I can spot it right away…. First, smell. ROT, behind the walls. Rotted timbers, structural issues… I can spot it all over the place…. ROOF DAMAGE… Clay tile system, once even on tile is broken the roof starts to leak. Cycles of heat, cold, humidity…. MOLD behind walls. Its everywhere, that is why you are smelling the stench…..Ok, its rotting behind the walls… Possibly the structural beams. So it all got to come out…. Rippe out from top to bottom, leaving the house a shell…. and all those lovely features won't matter, because its all got to come out. All of it. Its impossible to duplicate the molding and other architectural features. To build like that would be a fortune.. They built it when wood was cheap, and materials were cheap, and even in that day it was expensive. Today it would be cost prohibitive….. Bottom-line… Its all got to come down… Then you are talking a structural engineer… and planning commission… Good luck there.. Its almost impossible to do an repairs in Porto, let alone a complete gut job…. It can take anywhere from months to YEARS to get approval…. and then you can't do what you want. They have their
snoot in everything an want it turned into a museum…… Adding another floor, changing floor plans and restructuring will definitely require a structural engineer, and gut job to support new rooms and floor… From the foundation up…. Roof Most definitely got to come off……
New roof structures… the walls got to come down…. Rot and mold behind walls… That is where the smell is coming from, not that these people are unclean… Its rot… Then you have to get permits for the garbage trucks to park out front…. And drainage… Seems like everything is going
into the basement or underneath it… That is why its dank there….. Yeah, and don't get me started on the price….. WAY THE HELL TOO OVER PRICED… LIKE SUPER OVER PRICED….RUN.
Yeah Nice features. But ….. It would take a cool Million or more over asking price to do it right.
Not for you….
All those wonderful features would have to be ripped out, to get to the problems, to even begin to
start to fix it… Once you open it all.. you can't put the lathe, and the plaster back… It all has to come out…… From the roof to the bottom, its a total gut job…. Leaving a shell of a building and
rebuild…. that is the only way, to do it safely an securely.. I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND…..
With all these trades I can see stuff just screaming at me, and I really didn't even get into it…
Its not the clutter, that can be solved… Just from you video…. I see structural issues, roof issues,
foundation issues.. That staircase has rot and issues…. it has to come out, you can't replace it…
So much……. Unfortunately, these houses have to be left to rot… People move away and they literally fall apart, for all the reasons above,, the roof collapses and after that in short order they rot from within… behind the walls, and then everything caves in ….. To get permission to do anythng in Portugal is a true nightmare… and that is why house are left to rot….. go see under the
bridge….. entire section is crumbling………

In order to save you money and years of headache… You should move away from the city…
The farther away the better…. the further you go inland the better. Your costs will drop dramatically….. You should consider a MODERN apartment complex that is run down an do that
that would be far easier than renovating in the city…… OR, center of Portugal, or center on south of lisbon Alentejo, but not as far a south of portugal.. There its more reasonable. You could buy 3 houses or more for what you will pay in PORTO…. But again, you will STILL have to repair..
Or get a really Nice ready built house from 70-150,000….. Much lower than that you are looking
at older houses and delapidated houses or ruins…. You don't live in the city, you drive or commute in and back….. Otherwise prices are too high….. Porto is TWICE- Even 3 times more than lisbon area… Outside of the expensive neighborhoods…. Everything in the North is really high……

Great property because of its beautiful details. Unfortunately, it has been severely neglected. I would get an estimator, restorations expert, architect or inspection to give you an idea of what needs to happen with restoration. Or get a bid from a builder just for the material cost, etc. I am sure you know that already…I think that in Portuguese homes the roofs and outside walls have been neglected which allowed for water intrusion? Like across where I live there is a beautiful traditional home but there is an outside wall stucco that is cracked and some weeds are starting to grow in it. The family seems well off but don’t seem to address it and it’s getting bigger and worse… Other than that once you address the cosmetics it will be already a different house. The neglect that goes in with these beautiful homes always frustrates me…often the wrong owners live these houses… you need facts on how much this will cost to restore so you can integrate that in an offer. Price too high, they are using a price that is in good condition? Lol.

You're braver than me if you're taking on that project. Then again I don't know the risk component, but it looks pretty scary.

Crazy asking price is right. I love Portugal, but when I compare the asking prices to France or Spain or Italy, they just seem out-of-line. I can definitely see why locals post about being priced out of the market. Sad. Asking price aside… You are gonna need deep pockets and a lot of tenacity to take on a reno-project like that.

In a video some time ago you mentioned a service to help people with paperwork and visas that was a huge help. Could you remind me the name of the service please?

I’d be surprised if you can get all of that smell out. I’m visiting a house right now that was brought down to the studs and redone and already the mustiness of the basement is starting to come through. Too risky.

A good restoration potential for a multimillionaire. Wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole.

When you showed the outdoor staris to the basement, the first thing I thought of is "does it flood down there?" I also wonder if any facade work is needed. In NYC we've had so much rain that many brownstones had facades falling off and damaging the stairs.

Would value this only for the land and add in cost of new construction

Welcome to another episode of the hoarders!

Well duh!! People like you have broadcasted the great secret and now every moron with a youtube account wants to move there……Increased demand and a select supply equals increases in prices…….DUH!!!!!

Hi guys! Me and my husband are going to Portugal and try to contact real estate agents and ideally a lawyer to guide us in the process of finding a property.
Any contact you can share?
Thanks.

You are looking at a money pit. Buy a restored one, unless you plan to make this a lifelong project.

Wow 😳
Looks like to much work to fix that house 😱. But after everything is done it will look Amazing ☺️ Like a queens place ☺️

I wouldn't pay more than 600.000 euros for that property as is. But it sure had some grandiose details. I could imagine what it looked like once upon a time. And I would NOT add another floor. Restored is would look so amazing, but that is gonna cost a bundle.

unless you completely teardown the interior it doesn’t seem very feasible for your project. The layout with the stairs just doesn’t make it possible to have different apartments, and to add extra and bigger floors you would probably need to reinforce the foundations (at least in the area under the current stairs).

Another fascinating vid. Thank you for taking us on this adventure. Man I love that building and my history loving imagination is going nuts over the stories it could tell. Big factor in reno is not letting the vision of what it could be/once was out weigh the reality of the immense cost. Does Portugal have anything like grants or reduced cost loan for restoring historic properties that you could access? Or funded agencies like the one in Newport RI that helps w preservation. You’ll need some of that Vanderbilt/Astor 💰! Or maybe some This Old House ish production that could film the process for production $$.
Sorry, my brain is spinning.

Thanks for sharing this wonderful video.