A FAMILY has traded life in the UK for an abandoned home abroad so they can live “mortgage-free”.
Maxwell, 38, and Leah Jones, 29, bought the deserted house in Bulgaria in January for just £8,000 – and they didn’t even view it in person.
The couple have always dreamed of being mortgage free[/caption]
The house has been abandoned and needs a lot of work[/caption]
The couple said they had always dreamed of living self-sufficiently and didn’t want to spend the next 25 years paying off a mortgage in the UK.
So they decided to take the plunge and buy the three-bed home in Popovo, Bulgaria.
Maxwell and Leah said they started looking at properties just before Christmas last year after seeing others do the same on social media.
Maxwell said: “We were due to buy a house in the UK but it became hard to put all this money out and still be paying it off for 25 years.
“We looked at the price in Bulgaria and it became a no brainer.”
And it sounds like they struck gold, bagging the spacious family home for just £8,000.
Which is a bargain when compared with property prices in their home town in Wales where a three-bed house sells for around £300,000.
While the abandoned home needs a lot of work done, the couple aren’t in any rush.
Leah said: “We want to try and get away from this idea that it has to be an aesthetically pleasing home.”
Maxwell added: “If the kids help out with painting and there are a few brush strokes on the skirting board – that’s OK.
“It will be an ongoing project – it might take years.”
The couple will also transform their garden so they can grow their own fruit and vegetables and have their own animals.
They estimate that it will cost between £15,000 to £20,000.
They added that the cost of living in Bulgaria is a “lot cheaper” than in the UK.
One neighbour told Maxwell that he pays £15 to £20 a month for electrics, compared to the £3,000 a year the couple is currently paying for electric and gas in the UK.
And council tax is only £25 a year.
The couple have estimated they can get by on about £300 to £400 a month in Bulgaria – on a stringent budget.
Which is half the price of the current cost of their UK rent – £680.
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Maxwell and Leah flew out to the house in May with the plan being for the whole family to live there at the end of they year.
Maxwell from Prestatyn, Wales, said: “It was exactly like it looked online.
“Now we’re mortgage-free.
“There is a lot to do – it’s a shell.
“We’re up for a challenge.”
The couple pride themselves on their “alternative” lifestyle and already home school their two kids – Lorenzo, two, and Indy, nine.
They also make sure to eat organically and even make their own toothpaste.
Maxwell said: “Breaking from the norm – as scary as it is it can be rewarding.
“In Bulgaria the kids are playing out all day.
“In this country kids are striving for that next toy or app – it’s constant dopamine hits.
“We want to keep a creative space in our children.”
The family’s home in the UK[/caption]
The couple have an “alternative” lifestyle[/caption]
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