VILLAGE FARMHOUSE

The buyers

The buyers are a British couple, who have been visiting Cesky Krumlov regularly for several years. X is a chief executive of a small company, working in inner city regeneration and Y is a freelance editor with several publishing houses. In Britain they live in a small town in the Cotswolds. X decided that she wanted to have a base here - somewhere which could be a retreat from the stressful nature of her work. She was very clear that she wanted it to be close to nature and away from Krumlov's tourists, having had enough of tourists in her home town. She would have been happy with a cabin in the woods, but Y as an editor and writer of books on the history and restoration of buildings expressed an interest in having an old building. A secondary consideration was the possibility of using the property in some way to help create a pension for the two of them.

The initial budget was 1,000,000 kc (then around £23,000) mark, although X was interested in the property being a restoration project over several years and so the final budget would be greater. Other criteria included access to public transport, including the train line.

The search

After scouring the estate agents' books and the internet sites, our lead came from local connections. Often properties never make it to the open market in the Czech Repulblic. but rather are sold through word-of-mouth. Our contact showed us around a number of properties and X fell in love with a  property in a small, up-and-coming village on the edge of the Sumava National Park, half way between Cesky Krumlov and Lake Lipno. The property is an old 5-bedroom farmhouse with two-storey barn and orchard nestling into the hillside overlooking the village. The house is typical of the German-style farmhouses of the Sumava area - with large well-proportioned rooms on both floors and a loftspace the size of a large-sized flat. The house comes with free water supply, electricity but no gas. The property was slightly over-budget, but the buyers considered it well worth the extra, as the house gave them a range of unlooked-for options. The train station is at the bottom of the road, a leisurely half hour walk away, with direct links to Ceske Budjovice, Cesky Krumlov, Lake Lipno and the Sumava.

The result

Two years later the work on the farmhouse is complete, and the place feels like a home from home. X's original idea of doing nothing to the house and just camping in the house for a few years was abandonned rapidly. Central heating has been installed, new wiring and plumbing, two new bathrooms, a kitchen and new roofs (for house and barn) have been added - the total cost including house purchase has so far grown to about three times the initial budget. X and Y continue to keep their options open, having built into the works the plumbing and electrical wiring needed to turn the house into three self-contained flats should they wish to go into holiday rentals market - the area is popular with Dutch tourists. Another option they are considering is renting out their Cotswold home and living in the Czech Republic for the season. However currently they simply want to enjoy the fruits of their labour and share it with family and friends. As for the large two-storey barn and loft they will have to wait until they decide what they want to do with it. They have produced a blog about buying their house and life in the Czech Republic - http://czechproperty.blogspot.com

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