Welsh family wanting to be mortgage-free buy house for £8,000 without even viewing it
A Welsh family have spent £8,000 on an abandoned home in Bulgaria without viewing it in person, in a quest to become 'mortgage free'.
Maxwell, 38, and Leah Jones, 29, said their dream was to live self-sufficiently and did not want to spend 25 years paying off a mortgage in the UK.
The couple bought their three-bedroom home in Popovo, Bulgaria in January 2025, a relative bargain compared to similar-sized properties in their home town of Prestatyn, Wales, which have a market value of around £300,000.
Joiner and landscaper Maxwell and Leah, who works in health and social care, flew out in May and are set to move out to at the end of the year.
They say if you were to live on a 'stringent budget' it only cost their family-of-four £300 a month in Bulgaria or £680 for a 'comfortable month'.
This is in comparison to their current £680 monthly rent, up to £200 weekly food shop, and £250 a month they pay for electric and gas.
They estimate it will cost them £15k to £20k to bring the home up to scratch.
Maxwell said: 'It was exactly like it looked online.
'Now we're mortgage-free. There is a lot to do - it's a shell but we are up for a challenge.'
Maxwell and Leah like to live 'alternatively' and already homeschool their two children- Lorenzo, two, and Indy, nine.
They eat organically and even make their own toothpaste.
They have always dreamed of living self-sufficiently and started to realise this wasn't affordable to do in the UK.
Maxwell and Leah started looking at properties Bulgaria just before Christmas 2024 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.'
They found a property online they liked and put an offer in - paying for it in January 2025.
The home has three bedrooms and a barn - which Maxwell hopes he will be able to do livestream DJ sets from.
He will fly out in two months to re-wire the home before the rest of his family join towards the end of this year.
They don't have a set budget or timescale for the renovation - and don't feel any pressure for it to look like a 'showhome'.
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 also have plans to transform their garden so they can grow their own fruit and vegetables and keep their own animals.
They say the cost of living in Bulgaria is a 'lot cheaper' and the weather and pace of life also attracted them to the country.
Maxwell said: 'Our neighbour says he pays £15 to £20 a month for electric.
'We pay about £3,000 a year for electric and gas in the UK. Council tax is only £25 a year.
'We estimated you could get by on about £300 to £400 a month in Bulgaria - on a stringent budget.
'The cost of our rent - £680 - will be everything you need in Bulgaria for a comfortable month there.'
Maxwell says they are lucky that they can work remotely - as he has just launched a wellness supplement brand - which has helped them secure visa's.
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.'
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