Abandoned houses for sale in Aragon - Spain. I viewed 14 manor houses before buying.

Aragon Spain - good place to live and work remotely? 3,000-mile, 6-week road trip in search of the perfect abandoned house to buy and restore on a limited budget. Do I find my dream home and do the deal? Are they all money pits and need endless restoration?
Labour costs are expensive if you are looking at buying property in Spain. Buying the right abandoned house for sale is crucial before starting your restoration project. This is what this story and journey is about.
I show you houses for sale in Aragon Spain - from €1,900 to €155,000. All houses are abandoned and need major decorating work to restore for living, not structural, this is the key. Some however do not have water and electricity and can’t be lived in from day one. My focus is on 'where to buy property in Spain to restore that are large, affordable grand houses'. I run a coworking coliving business in the UK and this will be our Spanish offering. 600 sqm or larger for under €100,000 is the goal.
The two real estate agents in Matarrana Aragon:
Monica at consultorrural.com
fincasmatarrana.com
The woman who helped me find the amazing cave house for sale in Calatayud runs a great restaurant called Bar El Pescadito Frito in the main square.

[@christinechin1909]

Came here after seeing you on Wandering Turnip in Blackpool. What an adventure you had! Nice one 👍

[@andreamerciar3779]

me too 😉

[@Saturnanian]

And me....

[@ChalkanCheese]

I enjoy your videos and I hope you continue to upload despite the low views. It's unfortunate that so many creators cannot compete against an established algorithm.

[@somewheredifferent]

I don't need to make a living from KZbin so it's ok. I will continue to upload my coliving and restoration videos here. The next one is coming from Egypt. In the process of setting up a new channel for more national geographic style stories, so is a different audience I feel. Easeir to get 1 million views on KZbin than to get published in National Geographic I think.

[@lite6384]

wow what a hidden treasure of a channel. I just subbed after watching this and the wedding suit video

[@somewheredifferent]

Thanks, only started to do it more seriously recently. Getting new cameras soon and have some more interesting projects to film coming soon.

[@user-mt4xe6zg1e]

Good luck to you

[@pabloburgosserrano7142]

Viva Aragon!!!!

[@diegoarelano]

Woww!!!!! Great video, Duncan! But above wall, congratulations on the house. I'm really happy for you! Can't wait to visit you in Spain!

[@howardlake6178]

I am so glad I came here from Turnip video, and watched, until the end. Great video. Good luck. Love the keys! You won’t lose those in a hurry! 😂

[@vp2777]

Brilliant video! Congrats

[@somewheredifferent]

Thanks, it's my first one, investing 6k in new cameras, more to come.

[@carolfarron6176]

Huge congrats. Looking forward to updates.

[@somewheredifferent]

The refurb hopefully starts this summer :)

[@allannadobson4424]

Just absolutely wow 🥂

[@somewheredifferent]

ah you watched till the end, thanks :)

[@KarenBaker-op2bv]

Congratulations your house is amazing

[@finanzferdinand9874]

Not my thing by a long shot, but this was entertaining. Interesting thought that you could sell your 400k house here and live off the interest buying this thing.

[@glennbowditch1277]

Excellent mate

[@somewheredifferent]

It does feel like that sometimes

[@_babyjesus]

Nice.

[@davidcollazoshurtado6643]

Awesome Duncan 😁✌🏼

[@somewheredifferent]

Thanks, there is a bit of a twist in the tale, next few videos will show what happens.

[@LowConsumptionAgenda]

great content on a barren day for content, and great ending to boot. cheers and mucha suerte

[@somewheredifferent]

I screwed up on the radio mic audio quality and some of the internal footage, onwards and upwards :)

[@wanderingturnip]

Here we go 👏👏👏

[@somewheredifferent]

Did you see the 80m tunnel in the basement ? :) Gonna make some good vlogging material that one :)

[@1964DTC]

Well done, really pleased for you.🙏

[@somewheredifferent]

I still can't believe what you can buy for that kind of money in such a beautiful place. Remote working will change all this I think.

[@1964DTC]

@@somewheredifferent I like your concept and you already consider links to the outside world. What makes a place where people will live is a difficult topic and has been discussed by many. Just look at your experience in Spain and similarly in Italy, where the young population has deserted rural parts and migrated to the cities.

[@DIeem2042]

Brilliant journey and amazing house you ended up with. I want to know more about how it's going in your new town and manor. Cheers

[@somewheredifferent]

Bit of a twist in the tale coming in the next few videos. Editing house restorations in the Sahara desert at the moment.

[@Canyella]

congrats. very brave! we need updates!

[@somewheredifferent]

There is a twist in the tale unfortunately, as you will see. But the show goes on. Updates coming soon.

[@ingevansand9180]

The house next to the church... ❤❤❤

[@somewheredifferent]

It's quite something hey. The village is beautiful.

[@mertenspeter4680]

I have the impression that you are not familiar with 'mud walls' (or as they are called in Portugal: taipa walls). Actually, this technique is being used again by more sophisticated builders because of its advantages in both summer and winter. But I think you would prefer a neat concrete or stone house, which gets bloody hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter, to a taipa house. The mud walls can be repaired, so there is no reason not to buy a taipa house. On the contrary, you will be happy in any season. By the way: many agents have a sixth sense for curious people who don't want to buy but only want to have a look inside. That's why the smart ones don't show up.

[@somewheredifferent]

Hi, thank you for your kind words :) I am familiar with mud walls and rammed earth techniques and how they react to different temperatures. We used this technique with internal wall restoration in Romania ( as I mentioned in the video) using straw and horse hair but never on structural walls. The houses I have restored in The Western Desert of Egypt are 100% made of mud but mixed with salt, not straw and load-bearing walls. When it rarely rains there it can easily destroy a house as the running drain off water cuts through the walls like a knife through butter. My concern with the house in the video was, as you say, there is nothing wrong with mud walls, but if they are exposed to running rainwater as they had been there, it can destroy the wall's load-bearing strength and its ability to hold up the roof. Regarding the sixth sense, I am glad the agent who sold me the house I bought at the end of the video doesn't have it.

[@100Noddy]

I thought the fella intuitively understood what benefits mud walls have, perhaps lost in translation of fellas reaction from different culture. In the UK this is referred to as cob, a traditional form of construction that need a good hat and dry feet to remain sound.

[@Ken-gg5kz]

GREAT HOUSE, BRILLIANT BARGAIN AND AN EXCELLENT CHOICE THAT HOPEFULLY YOU WON'T REGRET. DON'T LET THE NEGATIVE REMARKS PUT YOU OFF, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE DONE THE SAME BUT AT 69 I HAVE LEFT IT A WEE BIT TOO LATE. GOOD LUCK WITH THE PROJECT AND I WISH YOU SUCCESS.

[@somewheredifferent]

I am 60 next week. Never too late, get some young guns in and micro manage them. That's how I do it as you will see in furure vidoes. workingtraveller.com

[@Ken-gg5kz]

@@somewheredifferent I am 70 on the 12th July, unfortunately the wife won't have it as she can't deal with the heat and I couldn't deal with her moaning. If I was single it would be a very different matter.

[@somewheredifferent]

@@Ken-gg5kz come over and give me a hand when it's not hot :)

[@ibenglish]

Subscribed 👍🏻

[@Kevin-zz9nc]

33.40 insert picture of Manuel from Fawlty Towers....

[@somewheredifferent]

It feels like that sometimes doing this work :)

[@ibenglish]

The house almost said no you aren’t going to come in here mate! 😂 Nice place for that price wow, well done. 👍🏻

[@somewheredifferent]

It's interesting you say that. I went full asking price and ... months later they still didn't want to sell. Future videos will show what happened.

[@evelynbyrd4961]

Congratulations.....e

[@100Noddy]

Beautiful medieval towns and architecture. Any one of those buildings, in the Cotswolds or Dales, York, Ely, Salisbury, Worcester, imagine the price they would fetch.

[@somewheredifferent]

Indeed, €33,000 for a 1709 manor house in a beautiful countryside village in the UK? No chance. Not to mention how much better the weather is :)

[@TP-3000]

Take a look at Xativa and Carcaixent near Valencia. Train to city centre. Ex papal city. Incredible palazzos for peanuts. Could even be persuaded to JV…

[@somewheredifferent]

I will do, thanks for the heads up. So many amazing places in rural Spain. The trick is to find places near the fast train connections. Calatayud is high on my 'possible' list.

[@evelynbyrd4961]

Thanks for walking up and down down down. ....e

[@somewheredifferent]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/i521ZY1qdr9kntEsi=TbaHsnc20ZF5q61z

[@amylbeam9229]

I just loved watching this video! Congratulations. When did you take possession of the house and how far along are you?

[@somewheredifferent]

I am glad you enjoyed it. I had fun making it :) Still going through the buying process with the house. There seems to be a problem I am told...

[@BarrairesZaragoza]

Entalló Aragón

[@evelynbyrd4961]

The $74,000 had great possibilities as a family home, for all the family.

[@somewheredifferent]

Agree, it has great possibilities. I live on my own, hence I am looking for a big house to run a coworking coliving offering from to add to www.somewheredifferent.com

[@miamianz]

that looks like my great great great grandparents house lol. you can keep that house we are in the states now. id definitely spend a summer there and then decide , also your age and whether your going to put in the house to fix it. so when is the New Years Eve party ?

[@somewheredifferent]

It's not about age, it's about mojo and bank accounts.

[@esperanzamaneiro2628]

Hi there, how far are the supermarkets?

[@somewheredifferent]

Some towns like Flix had many. The smaller villages in Matarrana didn't have supermarkets, local shops with local opening times. Calatayud, the €22,000 house has many supermarkets and is 1hr from Madrid on the fast train.

[@user-fv7gm6wk7e]

So when's your next video? Like to see how things are going for you?

[@somewheredifferent]

Next video I am editing now. It's an update from my place in the sahara desert. There is a twist to the Spanish property story, going out in June to hopefully finally close the deal there :)

[@susanaescriba977]

The poster shows missing people. Not desperate people 😂😂 It doesn't cost that much to look for the translation either...

[@CaptainBlood1935]

How about a video of just the house you purchased?

[@somewheredifferent]

This is the plan. The paperwork has been delayed, so next video will be me getting a house ready in Siwa Oasis, Egypt.

[@ProBioMech]

You did this trip in Oct/Nov 2023?

[@somewheredifferent]

Yes, if anything prices will be a little bit lower now. Many are for sale and no one buying. I think will change once remote workers finally don't have to go into the office once a week :)

[@MsTubbytube]

Not desperate people but "Disappeared" people (kidnapped / missing with no trace)

[@somewheredifferent]

Ah OK. Sad story.

[@evelynbyrd4961]

Truel, a castle for $33,000. Snap it up or you'll regret it....e

[@somewheredifferent]

See future videos to see what happend

[@usoniaboy]

w o w

[@somewheredifferent]

I know i say that a lot :) All those houses, for the prices, really are wow. Remote working is going to change the prices for sure in the next 5 years.

[@Masonic1016]

Great video! I found you from Wandering Turnip's Blackpool video kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHuwpmivoNursNU In 2006, I bought a 21 room Cave House in Cuevas Del Campo with similar intentions, but things took a bad turn with the economy in 2008, making it impossible to continue. Best of luck with your endeavours.

[@Kevin-zz9nc]

That photo montage is likely martyrs who died for Basque freedom..

[@somewheredifferent]

I thought was the people who were staying at the place. A mental home or somewhere for criminals as they had maybe what appeared to be prison cells.

[@atcberlin]

@@somewheredifferent It says "missing persons" "contact national police if sighted" Underneath each picture, there´s their age, date they went missing and the city or town. So yes, it could have been a holding facility or a police station, something of the sort.

[@somewheredifferent]

@@atcberlin Interesting, thanks for that. The cell-like rooms where creepy. Did they hold people in there? Felt like was a place for mentally ill people who where not allowed out in the world.

[@atcberlin]

@@somewheredifferent Did some research and it turns out it was the old barracks for the national Guardia Civil, last used in 2010. In 2012, the municipality wanted to turn it into social housing with at least 5 apartments, however they lacked the funds. In November 2013, the property, alongside other old guardia civil properties was put on auction by one of the government ministries. Auction was in Dec. 2013 and the initial expected amount was 20,000€, the revised amount was 18,000€ with a minimum amount of 1,000€. I think the cells were used as detention cells for criminals when necessary.

[@somewheredifferent]

@@atcberlin Wow, that's really interesting. Thank you so much for solving the mystery. Was definitely not a normal house/business. It's a great building for a group of 20 people to live together, hence that's what it was designed for with the courtyard in the middle etc. So now we know :)

[@pamjacobson6236]

You mean that we don’t even get to see the inside of your house?

[@somewheredifferent]

The inside of the house starts from here kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZSkZayPaZeWrJosi=xIubLLuG2zUA5F51&t=2569

[@courcheval]

I dont like the "predatory" money oriented approach of your vid. Communal projects are meant to create a social experience, not to make a quick quid. This is why the price doubled after your visit, she could feel your greedy motivation.

[@somewheredifferent]

Hi, thanks for your comment. I was/am looking to buy a building to add to my coliving business. It was a 100% business trip. I am not an NGO, charity or a rich philanthropist type. So yes, was/is business-orientated. As for the quick quid... this is a slow-burn lifestyle business model. Buying and flipping properties from people who don't know their value in 3rd world countries etc is the quick quid model. I could do that, but I have no interest in that business model. Hope that clarifies a few things for you :) What all these dying villages in Spain need more than anything is new business models that attract people to come back and live there long term. I believe Coliving/coworking is one of these models. I don't see what I am doing as wrong. Onwards and upwards :)

[@princebuster93]

@@somewheredifferentsounds very communist though, I don’t believe we where created to live as a collective, especially when you may have to compromise your beliefs, morals, integrity etc, I mean, just look at China, and how messed up that place is

[@stevenhombrados1530]

It’s Spain , yes, but banana republic it’s slowly going there, with the socialist communist government! 😢

[@stjut]

Sadly the he UK will soon be following after July 04.

[@stevenhombrados1530]

@@stjut Yup, the Tories a lousy bunch of idiots, imagine how bad the Labour Party has become since the time of Tony Blair. It’s frighting! Nobody will be able to recognize the UK if they win!

[@davidmatthews3093]

@@stjutSadly? Surely you don’t want the country wrecking Tories or bizarre far right to govern?

[@sebic94]

I'm waiting for the "Abandoned houses of Sicily" episode 🤌🤌🤌

[@somewheredifferent]

Is coming this year :)