A Change in Plans

As part of our adventures in Portugal we spent about a month driving and staying in many cities and towns. When we found the Douro we knew this was the area that we wanted to purchase a small self-service rental. Initially we were looking for a small property anywhere in the region with a stretch goal of something between Pinhão and Peso da Régua.

Previously, we stayed in a converted schoolhouse and reached out to Francisco Abrunhosa who had built the property. Francisco was very knowledgeable about the real estate market and warned us certain properties are difficult to find and purchase. 

It was a dream if we could find a small lot with an existing structure that had some history. Being in the UNESCO World Heritage area makes building very difficult and highly regulated so your best value to find an old structure and build.

Charlotte and Francisco spent months searching for possible properties and the range was from small lots to existing wineries. The goal was to get an idea of the market values so we could identify if something was a good deal. We had a small budget so buying right was the only way we could force some appreciation on the property. 

Charlotte flew to Porto and met with Francisco sorting through a list of properties and their respective agents. The most promising properties on paper ended up being a disappointment in person and many properties were either over priced or in the wrong location. 

By chance a Quinta had fallen out of escrow and the team went over to walk the property. That property was an old winery that was no longer operating and was called Quinta de Santa Clara. The property has an amazing location near the town of Peso da Régua, which has a train station, many restaurants and services, and a five minute drive to the world famous 6-Star hotel, Six Senses Douro Valley. 

We were not quite sure what a Quinta even was let alone what they did. Quinta is the Portuguese term for a farm or farmhouse and it has been used to describe vineyards in wine regions. Quinta also means a fifth and in feudal times farmers in lieu of rent paid a fifth part of their product to the landlord. Now we knew what a Quinta was we had to figure out what to do with a Quinta.

With 1,000 feet of river access and multiple structures including an old wine facility we knew this was the property with a story that needed to be told. The problem was it was much bigger, more expensive and much more complicated than our previous plans of doing a small project. So, sometimes life happens when your busy making plans.