Ciao!
I’ve been researching your area of interest for the past few months. Good luck with your farm acquisition. I have been in home construction for many years and now a manufacturer of solar products, in San Francisco Bay Area, California.
What I have learned about the stone dwellings, near Castello Branco, is that they all need French drains. The surface of the interior walls opposite the exterior, also, need a vapor barrier and insulation, to prevent condensation and black mold. They also need interior reinforcement, for preventative earthquake damages. I will be moving to Portugal and have been researching the earthquake zones and find that the areas nearest the Spanish border are least affected by earthquakes. You can find an earthquake zone map of Portugal, searching Google. I’m planning to restore a granite ruin. I will use a boring machine and bore footing bores in each interior corner of the dwelling, then install rebar cages and post beam brackets in the cemented bore holes. I will install 6 inch square steel vertical tubes in the corners and fasten horizontal beams against the walls. All of the electrical wiring and plumbing will be installed in the 6” wall space. I will then cover the stones walls with plastic film, then spray 6 inch thickness high-density foam, then cover the insulation and steel beams with 1/2” plywood. The plywood will then get an antiqued Italian plastered finish. The outside of the walls will get a white cementious lime stone repointing. The exposed interior stone walls, that are not sharing the exterior stone walls,will get the same repointing. All of the floors will be removed, 20 mil plastic liner installed on the excavated soils and concrete floor installed. Then covering with Schluter radiant foam boards, that have grooves for in-floor PEX radiant tubing. This can be covered by tile, bamboo or any other flooring. Since I’m in the solar design business, I’m going to bury an insulated 5,000 gallon solar storage tank, ground mount ten 4ft. X 10ft. medium temperature glazed solar collectors, to provide heating for the DHW and in-floor radiant heating. The wood-burning stove will have a titanium heat exchanger installed, to supplement heated water to the solar water heating system, as well. I have been designing these hydronic heating systems since 1978. I’m also building a commercial- sized underground greenhouse, into a south-facing hillside, to support a vertical garden and aquaculture design. I can grow crops, year-round, utilizing solar heated in-floor radiant systems, with an underground geo-thermal heating and cooling system. I’m planning to make this into an agri-tourism learning center, with architectural, agricultural and mechanical engineering seminars, inviting professors from EU universities to conduct the seminars. I’m very excited and anxious to get the land and begin construction on the projects. My Italian grandfather helped build the famous Fresno Underground Gardens, in Fresno, California. This is where i was educated about how efficient underground greenhouses are.
You can search YouTube for videos on the Fresno Underground Gardens. My grandfather was friends with Baldassare Forestiere, original builder and was childhood friend with my grandfather, in Sicily.
Cheers!
Giovanni

What a huge property – the Yurts are interesting. A way of adding to one's income, but there is a lot to be finished on this property and it seems as if the 'extras' still to be added (such as the batteries, etc.) will come to a massive expense. Lovely property though. Still prefer the renovated property you viewed on Day 3 in 'Guarda'? Very excited to see the next episode!

Run away too much money and a lot of work too far away from everything👎✌️🤙❤️🇵🇹❤️

Good luck on your hunt but if you are interested in the place with the yurts i would ask if he has permission for them to be there or to run his airbnb as many out here have done these things without permission, you could be buying a legal nightmare.
Running any type of campsite requires a huge financial investment, fire points, borehole for fighting fires etc, parking, fire truck turning spaces and could not see any of that there.
Check all properties with a lawyer first, there can be some legal nightmares when buying properties out here and make sure if you do buy somewhere the lawyers check for bank loans against the property as when you buy the property you also take on their loans against it.
Good luck

I find it amusing that people say the weather around Guarda is extreme. I was there in December and it was 18C. Yes, I know it can snow. But I live in Alaska where we have 6 months of snow and it rarely climbs above 0. And I like snow, I just no longer want 6 months of it. I look at a lot of properties online and might be able to suggest a place for you. How much land do you desire?

Well done for chronicling your search. Good output of vlogs with updates and good dialogue/commentary, if a little difficult to hear in places – using earphones worked for me.
Appreciate you may have limited resources whilst travelling and just starting out with vlogging, your vlogs would be enhanced with photographs and maps to illustrate the talking parts.
Your accent and tone is much sweeter than a lot of SA's, is is distinctive of your home region.

Having a ready to go business (as long as it has all the correct permissions/tourist licence , same as for the build, it's a newbuild with permission, but it is going to pass inspection?) is worth quite a bit, even just the cost/value of the Yurts could be 4-5k each (and bases 7-800eu each) so that is a big chuck of the difference in price. Plus hopefully that would give you the additional income (as long as the world sorts itself out) to do all the internal finishing on the house.

You can always change a house but never the surroundings or climate 😉

Unless there is some urgency in making a purchase, do consider renting in the town nearest the area you wish to buy in. Let the locals know what you want down at the local tavern. You might be surprised at the properties that could be for sale to the right person which are not listed. And of course, situations change; people die, estates get settled, divorces happen, kids grow up and leave home.

Hi i have followed you in your prop hunt you asked about thoughts regarding the 2 properties.the one for 195 has got no income possibility whilst the other on has. living on solar is free .so whoopy you might have to buy two more batteries to increase your capaity.
you have that money back in a no time from rentals. to finish off the building at 15000 euro is not that bad and there are enough SA people and others in that area that can help you find the right people for the job .and that can be sorted whilst the transfer etc gets done.
if i do my sums i would go for the new house with much more potential and a bit more to pay. just my opinion. regards from C/T sa

Hi thank you for sharing this with us. It is giving me more hope that my dream will come to pass one say. Good luck and may you find what you are looking for soon! Well done you are very brave

You really get a lot for your money, happy hunting

Just stumbled on your channel. Love it. Great to see the buying process first hand. If you go off grid or partial solar, it is sooooo important to understand how many watt/hours the system is capable of and how many watt/hours is typical at different times of the year. Batteries run the extremes in price and availability (low to high). Also, more battery storage may require more panels. Sizing of systems and matching of components is important. Solar can be wonderful when everything cooperates. And a burden when things don't go as planned. The generator, is it automatic? Will it come on, by its self, when power is low or do you need to fiddle with it? Is it designed to charge the batteries…..power the home….or both? How many hours has the generator run? How many hours does it run per year? It is a car that doesn't move….oil changes and maintenance. Bottom line….subtracting small maint. costs your power is free and that is pretty cool. Best of luck, looking forward to the installment!!!

I am excited about which farm you choose. Its all up to you if you need the income from tourism or if you can do the renovation yourself. I believe it is hard to find reliable help especially if you don't speak the language. Views are important to me. But what is important to you? Take care and good luck! Can't wait to see what you do. See you next time.

Not sure if you have made an offer yet…………but……… every asking price is very negotiable. And remember in winter one day is cold and wet, the next is blue sky, cool and sunny.

Wishing you lots of luck……..

May I suggest you touch base with some of the people who have already been through this………sure they have lots of advice.

Whatever you do, don't rush into things. The perfect property will be there – even if it takes a while. Take a day or two off, recharge the batteries. Last thing you want is to regret your decision. Bon courage en veels geluk…..jy sal jou droomhuis en grond vind….😍

Your Vids are really informative. We will be visiting next month to look for farms in Guarda and castello branco, preferably Fundao or penamacor. Like someone else said, the unfinished property allows you to put your own stamp on it. Maybe the owner will take a much lower offer. The extreme weather in Guarda maybe a concern but the property is ready to move in with no work needed. Take your time, don’t rush in to anything.

Do not go tropo . You will know the one when you see it . You will feel it. The house complete is ready to go. So offers the easy option. The weather may be the draw back.
The last house looks good but is more money. However as it is unfinished inside you can put your own stamp on it. Which I personally is a good thing sometimes. Please do not rush in where fools fear to tread. Good luck. 🐕✔

Hi, hello good morning just go with your hard and injoy the day, me to wishing to bee there xoxo.

Don’t make decision yet. I know your tired but it’s only been a week. Take a few days off and explore the town near your favourite lands😊. Get the feel of it. Talk to people there.

It sounds like a cold and windy harsh place in winter on top of Estrela.
Soon you will find your property and decide.
Wish I were ready for farm hunting yet. Fundao is the favorite region for my farming.
Best greetings from Germany.
Wuff, wuff to the dogs.