time to move out, cave or town house

please discuss

Well as this is a Cave Living Forum you might find a degree of bias. There are those with a better experience as they are here as residents but here's my opinion.

Cave's are unique and that appeals to many
If you want to be in the Campo it pretty much will be a cave house. This is fine if you can drive and have a car.
You still get more for your money with a cave house
Outgoings are lower from council tax to heating costs

That's just a few to get everyone going.

Cave for us. We recently stayed at a friends house, and for us the heat was unbearable. Maybe you'd get used to it, but it wasn't for us.
We sweat a lot.

Well, in general terms and with exceptions to every observation   :

Cave: Tend to be old builds. Depending on the level of renovation they could therefore have low door heights (ouch!) ill-defined, contradictory or missing documentation. They also have thick, soundproof walls - which also stop WiFi and mobile phone signals. The rooms tend to be long and thin and they have few windows (which can be a blessing, as they keep the heat out). Cool in summer and heatable in winter. Often on a single level, though sometimes with the odd step in strange places. Whether they are cheaper than a house depends on the deal you make, the location (often out of town) and how much work they need.

Old house: Renovation, documentation, and doors, as caves. Thinner walls, sometimes only 1 brick thick (so poorly insulated - sometimes with no provision to add more). Can be draughty in winter and costly to heat. Tiled roof can be a source of rapid deterioration if the house was unlived in for a length of time. Generally less "solid" than a cave and with greater scope for problems.

New house: Usually in a town or village. Closer to other houses, shops and amenities (and their intrusions: noise, parking, etc.) Not necessarilly built to UK standards, so possibly too hot in summer and cold in winter. Less chance of getting much land with the house (so less weeding?). Usually a more modern, flexible floorplan and with windows on more sides than just the frontage. Pricier on a per-square-metre basis. Easier to get a mortgage on. Availabilty of services (water, sewerage, tarmac'd roads, mains electricity, internet, postal/courier delivery, well defined address & directions) are better in towns.

I have been in my cave house for over 8 years now and wouldn't swap it for all it's faults. Lots of cleaning and 'decorating', paint just falls off a lot of walls. BUT. VERY cheap, in all departments, from utility bills to taxes. My advice :- get a cave, but buy a GOOD vaccuum cleaner.

Is there no way to keep the paint on the walls? How long do they last inside and outside?

TIA

We have a house but with its back to the cliff face, its cold in winter and warm/hot in summer, rooms mostly square we have land as its an x farm close to Galera (we can see it) we have managed to put a second skin wall on inside with insulation so hope this winter is better. our friend has a cave and yes the walls do flake but not as much as others i have heard about, they do get lots of noise from surrounding caves and say there is a herd of animals visit nearby and any drilling type work is heard. so far there is pros and cons on both sides so it leaves you no father farward. Best of luck.

I agree there are many pros and cons and we have both, personally would prefer to live in the cave, for the hot /cold aspect but we are working on the house  and adding  insulation and the downstairs log burner warms both floors, so the upstairs bedroom is always cosy.

Personally I would come with an open mind , the main thing to consider, is the same the world over and that is location, it is the one thing you can't change . Also consider resale, at the moment houses are easier to resell but that can easily change. The Dutch and Germans are the main ones buying around here at the moment and initially they are looking for houses but are slowly being persuaded towards caves , not many Spanish have  been persuaded though.

Most of the issues have been covered with the contributions above...Caves appear to differ from one to another with paint peeling off due to salt attack in the sandstone( salitre )and damp problems on occasions in some caves..We have a cave cottage for sale which is unique because you have a country style cottage with woodburner burner etc and part cave.Someone mentioned about sound travelling this does occur in houses as well as caves unless your living well away from villages ,towns,traffic etc...good luck

It might be a good idea to rent one of each for a while if your budget can stand it. It may well be that someone selling a house or cave would be willing to let first and the one you buy would deduct the rent you paid from the price they want. I'm sure if I was selling a place I would be happy to do that. A 50/50 chance of selling is great odds. I am sure too that any of us cave dwellers would let you come and have a look at how we live, problems etc. As I am not selling it would be unbiased. There are many others in houses that would do the same I am sure. Good luck.

CAVE!!!

the exchange rate is holding around 1.2 so its lookin good. it looks like theres some bargains out there. what do you think buy or wait to see if it gets better. ive seen a couple of caves i like

Go for it! Now is a great time to buy! Good Luck!

I would say with a strong £ and some amazing top quality properties at rock bottom prices, then the balance is strongly in favour of BUYING NOW.  

In the not too distant past the £ was very weak and at one point giving just 1 for 1 and not long before that, when the pound was strong, prices of caves were high, sometimes just one excavated room, on the market for €50,000 So the current good time to buy in Spain, may not last for ever… GOOD LUCK! in what ever you decide.

Bought the house, never regretted it for a moment. Any guilty feelings I get about the money I spent just evaporates when we get out there into the lovely Countryside and area around us. For us, its like going back 30 years compared to the UK, but in a good way. Values (not money), Manners, Humanity, Decency and Family values like you no longer get at home. My Spanish neighbours are quite poor, but would give you their last bit of firewood if you did not have any, try that at home.

Nope, as soon as we can, we are GONE from the UK and over to Cullar, sod the recession, sod the Politics etc etc. Sometimes, its not ALL about the money!!!!! One life, GO FOR IT!!!

And yes, as Gordon says, please PM us if you are over Mid Dec to Mid Jan, we are over and you are welcome to visit the house to see what you can currently get for the money.

Lurchio wrote:Bought the house, never regretted it for a moment. Any guilty feelings I get about the money I spent just evaporates when we get out there into the lovely Countryside and area around us. For us, its like going back 30 years compared to the UK, but in a good way. Values (not money), Manners, Humanity, Decency and Family values like you no longer get at home. My Spanish neighbours are quite poor, but would give you their last bit of firewood if you did not have any, try that at home.

Nope, as soon as we can, we are GONE from the UK and over to Cullar, sod the recession, sod the Politics etc etc. Sometimes, its not ALL about the money!!!!! One life, GO FOR IT!!!  

100% correcto!