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Why argue about a cheap potato finca in Tenerife? Could this farmstead be turned into a holiday home?A potato finca in Tenerife is a farmstead cultivating potatoes on the island. Indeed, all sorts of fincas have been turned into marvelous holiday homes. Some of them are the ideal property investment on the island. Many a finca has even been turned into a small hotel with often not more than 5 bedrooms. Large hotels that were former farmsteads are more rare. But, they do exist in Tenerife. The rather small farmstead for potatoes had a fantastic view that could not be taken away, ever.
The sale's prize for the 2000 square meter finca was in today's currency about EU 50000.This may sound cheap.However, renovation for this Tenerife finca could have been rather costly. It might have set us back a good additional EU 30000 with labor as many basics were missing and the roof was bad. By the way, the owners were desperate to sell. They needed money for cancer treatment. We could have squeezed the sale's prize. That, however would have been a nasty thing to do. My hubby would have never done that.
The potato finca in Tenerife was pretty high up, right there in the mist belt. Its surroundings didn't only produce food but, were generating water for the island as well. We found it during our 1997 Tenerife vacation when searching for North Tenerife property. How did the finca get its water? The pine trees were right in the back of it. Some belonged to the small farm. They were catching the moisture from low hanging clouds which cling to the slopes at that altitude at least once a day. It only really rains in winter. However, much water is produced by the pines. The moisture gets caught by the trees, drops down and feeds avid ground beneath. It actually does more than that. The pines that catch it almost supply the whole island with its water when it gets channeled underground. It would probably feed entire Tenerife if too much wasn't needed for millions of tourists and golf courses. There is a fountain with fresh mountain drinking water just below the finca. What I will never understand, though, is that those free Tenerife fountains have no tabs and the water virtually gushes to the ground. The trees near our finca were in fact the Canary pines. It had not occurred to me then, that mist belt also meant forest fire danger, especially in the case of the potato finca. Please, go to wildfires in Tenerife to hear how many fincas which were too close to forests on the island got burned. However, fire damage may be avoided. It's actually much easier than one would think. Please, go from finca in Tenerife to fire protection with photos to see how even a rural holiday home in Tenerife might be kept safe from flames.
The view from our small finca in Tenerife was very similar to the view on the photo above. Many fincas were scattered around ours. By the way, I've never found the place of the farmstead again since our holiday in 1997. I met the agent the other day. He told me that it was by Cruz Santa.
Some other little detail about our potato finca comes back to my mind. There were two lemon trees in front of kitchen and, living room. I remember the glossy, green leaves and, huge, bright-yellow lemons. The ripe fruit gave off such a strong, refreshing perfume like I never smelled before. The lady gave me a couple to take back to our hotel. Well, those are the surprises you have during Tenerife country holidays.
This potato finca had some charm, indeed. Well, I suppose that all fincas in Tenerife have something special.
Nevertheless, I had to argue with my husband because of this isolated, small farm. But, not so much because of that fact than for other reasons. Did you know that the Canary pine is an indigenous tree? I am not only sure that indigenous trees and plants are fire resistant but, that they need it to thrive better in the long run.
"Please, Pete", I said to
Sonia implied that farm winters could be unpleasant on steep Tenerife mountain slopes.
"Heaters? who wants heaters? That's The finca heater matter didn't worry me. My hubby would use one while I didn't. He likes to sit by an open fire with only a t-shirt on. He hated jerseys. The photo above shows a simple far,, very similar to the one we had found. Only, ours was covered with a light-green paint on the outside. All those farmsteads had one thing in common. They had land. My husband liked land. So do I. With land I mean property with space, not just 500 m2 including the buildings. A farmstead or, finca in Tenerife has more than that, normally. Therefor, fincas are almost always a good property investment for Tenerife because, land is the best investment.
Pete kept on rubbing Now, he brought up another point "Look Mrs", (he often called There is too much distance between all the farmsteads. With magic view", he concluded.
"Yes dear, nobody will see you gobbling up a whole packet of chocolates, all by yourself either, dear Pete"...
Indeed, those were all good arguments. My hubby thought, he had the last word. Ha! "What you are saying, dear Peter, makes all perfect sense. For people who want to settle on a finca", I said. "Mind, we don't know either what it implies to do major changes to a finca (farmstead) in Tenerife", I implied. In fact we had no clue about renovation in Tenerife.
It was a fact that the buildings of our potato finca in Tenerife needed a lot of repairs and alterations
The roofs were leaking for starters. The ceilings were stained ugly-green by mildew. The kitchen was almost bare The bathrooms were... Oh, forget it, you know...I can't even remember those. Everything inside and outside the farm building was very Spartan. Too much time and, money was needed to give "our finca in Tenerife" a basic standard.
It, certainly, might have been worth renovating, had we stayed on.
How would we employ workers? The next day, my hubby did not say often "no problem". The day before, he had found it easy to organize workers for the finca in Tenerife. Why? No problem... In Tenerife, the locals would help, he said. Had he some doubts by now, that nothing was that easy?
But, how supervise artisans while far away on another continent? That was our case. That was the big problem. Yes, it's often better to do things in construction more slowly. But, being too far away and, wanting to do Tenerife finca building alterations was not a good idea. This was not just a case of simple renovating. I know that my hubby would have smoothed out eventual hurdles with the finca building regulations inspector the Latin way by inviting him for a delicious lunch with a good vino (wine)cooked by himself.
My husband might have come to check up on the farmhouse renovations while coming to the island on business. But how often? Sometimes, on the spot decisions might be necessary to buy special tools or building material. We might run out of money and might need a finca mortgage. Besides, how does one communicate with rural house building workers when not speaking Spanish? Some of them might not even know how to read and write.
"What about the potatoes 'in your finca', was my next question". "No problem... No problem", was Pete's reply... "The farm neighbor of our finca in Tenerife will take care of that", was my husband's answer.
"The good man who owns the finca
"Look, why not", my husband added. "Do you remember Murcia on mainland Spain?" "In Murcia the co-ops handle the farming for you, if you so wish.. That might also be an option for farming while away from the island. Co-ops exist in Tenerife, too. What's wrong then with a finca All good arguments... But... Above, right: A Spanish ancient water channel, constructed during Moorish occupation..... Plastic pipes that are running above ground are, usually, seen on a finca in Tenerife. This country place for potatoes was special. It would have been ideal for a relaxing Tenerife vacation. It was also lovely for eating outside under the trees. The finca had this "cool" country flavor.
Now, I bless the day when I achieved that. Why? My husband passed away, 4 years later. I would not have liked to be on a little farmstead all by myself.
It would never have been the right holiday home on the island for us, anyway. Also, there was no time left to hunt for another finca in Tenerife.
Friend Richard was dreaming about a finca in Tenerife with viticulture which means farmsteads with vineyards. That now, sounded more interesting! Why?Because, Richard planned on living after retirement on it, anyway. So, for time being, the hunt for our holiday home in Tenerife will still go on. One more week, until deadline... We shall have a great holiday in Tenerife at the same time, for sure... We know how... We are the four of us, we are friends. What are we going to find and buy in the end? Will we make the deadline? No problem? Nope, no problem...
In case, you are tired from so many arguments, please, go back to HomePage...
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