rural cottage in west Finland (2024)

I have been doing maintenance and renovations for a friend at a rural property in west Finland. the previous owners husband and wire died soon after each other and this place was abandoned since then which was 2011. After cleaning up this place I asked the owners which are the 2 daughters of the last occupants if I can buy it. So they got an appraisal from a estate agent who says its worth around 10k euros! The neighbours say its only worth 1000 euro. There has been alot of elemental damage from water getting through the rooves esp the main house and the other outside buildings are badly damaged by water. The property size is 5000 sq meters.
I will try upload more pictures so the readers can see what this place really looks like.

This place would be perfect to live off grid get some solar panels build a beekeeping compound to make honey and money to live off theres also a well spring.

Its not exactly a small cabin but it is off grid. Kinda.

Should I make a loan and buy this place?

The main problem is getting up on the roof of the main house. Its probably just a couple of loose or broken tiles which need readjusting. Its quite high up there. I could probably cut down some trees and build a scaffolding or something. But to fall from up there is gonna hurt alot.

Ive been here for 3 weeks when I got here this place looked like crap imagine neglect and nature taking over. It looks a ton better and for what they are asking 10k I think this is a dream house and property. It has so much potential. People judge a book by its cover. I am not one of them. This is a once in a lifetime. All I need now is to figure out how to get 10k euros a loan or make a deal with the owners because beekeeping takes at least 2 seasons to make money right? Im also new to beekeeping.

some more pics

Judging from the photos, in most places the house would be considered a "teardown", so it's not worth much more than the value of the land itself. IF the basic structure is sound it _might_ be salvageable, but you'd have serious mold issues to deal with. If not, you would have to consider the cost of demolition and removal added to the cost of whatever new structure you choose to build. With that much water damage it's not just a "few roof tiles"; it will almost certainly need a complete new roof including the decking.

I thought our cabin was bad when we took possession, but this looks far worse.

I have to agree with Fanman on this for sure. I've done reno's on old houses & a couple that had been abandoned. 1st lesson learned is what you see ON the surface is a great indicator of what's underneath. The mould, mildews and rot is very visible. The black mould really shows too and that sh*t is Terribly BAD (use NIOSH Mask when getting that out. IMO that is beyond Rehab... you'll spend more on repairs than the 10K for the property, the neighbours are likely right on this point, that you just want the land.

Having a well etc is great but that will also need a "Good Look" as it may be compromised (safe bet that it is being in a forest).

Another thing to consider as an option, how much can be recovered / reused & how much waste to deal with... then of course access to materials & what that will cost.

Simply put, When negotiating to buy this work under the assumption that the building are of zero value & in fact will cost you to demolish & rebuild and low-ball from the get go. Also look around the area to see what "Land is Actually worth" in that location. I personally would NOT pay above the Land Value.

yes that spring is in the forest.
it sure has a strange smell.
theres probably a lot of dead critters on the bottom.
Its about 4 metres deep.
regardless I still use it to wash myself and sauna.
I just scoop slowly from the top to prevent mixing it.
I first heat it in the sauna boiler as much as possible then use a combo of cold + hot its not bad.

Recovery, repair or renovation of a building like that was the sort of project my brother and I would not take on at any price before we retired and sold the business.

If the land is valued then the land should be purchased for a fair land value. Maybe a discount because of the need to remove potentially hazardous materials? What are Finland's rules on the demolition and disposal of of potentially hazardous waste materials?

I am quite conscious about water. That simple Ground Water well may be ok for "utility" purposes but even then, it can be quite tricky.

So you have a Ground water well and a separate spring ?.. It may be prudent (if possible) to let a couple of water samples from the Spring and get that tested.

ICC raises a really good point on "Disposal. Given the age etc, there is more than likely some seriously nasty lurking in the buildings.