Bensafrim e Barão de São João - 475,000€ - 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 330m²/1,254 m², pool, mighty view, beautiful gardens, relative privacy. Really does a lot with not much land.
The following photos are lifted without permission or authority from idealista, where this property is advertised by a couple of agents. Here is the Casas do Barlavento listing, from which these photos are hosted. There is also one from Engel & Völkers here.
From the idealista Casas do Barlavento listing:
"Traditional style villa located between the village of Bensafrim and the town of Lagos. A peaceful and quiet location in an elevated position, the villa enjoys stunning south-west views over the surrounding countryside. There is a large entrance hall, with curved staircase leading to the 1st floor with master bedroom, and large covered terrace. Three further bedrooms & bathrooms are located on the ground floor. The open-plan living room / dining area with fireplace, adjacent to a large and sunny family size kitchen. Immaculate mature gardens with some fruit trees, a barbeque area, and garage. Only 10 minutes drive to Lagos, and 5 minutes to the village of Bensafrim. Perfect for a permanent home, or holiday lettings."
"2 floors
330 m² built
T4
3 bathrooms
Land plot of 1,254 m²
Second hand/good condition
Built in 1991
Energy efficiency rating: in progress"
There's more information on the idealista Engel & Völkers listing:
"House of traditional lines, located in a peaceful urbanization 6km from Lagos. This villa develops on two floors and has four bedrooms, two of them en-suite. As we enter in the house through the hall that distributes the house, we find a living room open to the dining room with connection to the kitchen. In a more reserved area we have three bedrooms, one of them en-suite. From the living room we have access to the large terrace that connects to the outdoor area where we find the pool, the mature garden and from where we enjoy the unobstructed views. On the first floor there is a master bedroom en-suite, which opens to a terrace with ample views. The house has air conditioning, heating by water radiators, fireplace, solar panels for water heating and borehole. The property is fully fenced, has a shared bore-hole, and the gardens with irrigation system are perfectly mature and surround the villa."
Location
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According to Google Maps:
- Less than 10 minutes by car to Bensafrim: Either a large village or a small town. At least one market, a post office, a pharmacy, some eating options.
- Less than 15 minutes to Odiáxere: Larger than Bensafrim, with more options. Campo de Futebol do Clube Desportivo de Odiáxere, for your football. Transit, too.
Photo: muffinn from Worcester, UK
- Less than 15 minutes to Meia Praia (pictured above).
- Less than 15 minutes to Lagos, with all that Lagos has to offer.
- Close to the A22.
- Half an hour to the Barragem da Bravura, a dam that forms a reservoir with some good hiking. (Regarding the previous link, this looks like a good site: Walk Algarve - I think this site will be getting it's own blog entry).
- Less than half an hour to Portimão, the second biggest city in the Algarve.
- 40 minutes to Sagres.
Photo: Freebird from Madrid, "Green town house on Praça Luís de Camões, Lagos"
Features and Conclusion
There's a lot to like about this property. At 330 m² built and 250 m² interior , the building is relatively spacious, with a m² cost of 1.439€ - less than the Algarve's average of about 1.7€/m² (I should have a reference for that, but I have misplaced it - sorry). Four bedrooms give some options, three bathrooms is nice, but the things that sell this place for me are the terrace/pool/view/privacy combination (fabulous) and the fantastic use of land. Mature trees and very interesting landscaping create a lush pocket of greenery. Solar, shared bore hole for irrigation, air conditioning, radiant heat. It's located in an urbanization, which means full access to infrastructure amenities (i.e., internet, power, water, sewage). The interior design is bland and I could use some high, timbered ceilings but hey, that's just me - this style appeals to many, which is why so many house interiors look like this.
If you paid full price for this, idealista suggests a monthly mortgage of 1.106€ (assuming a down payment of 142,500€ and 2% fixed for 40 years).
I really like this place, and could easily see our family living here.