Rustic Country House, 140sq.m, Off Grid Aragón ( Zaragoza 40 Mins) 3,500sq M Plot

Property Description

In the middle of an olive grove, 4 km from the village of Belchite,famous for being wiped out during the Spanish Civil War and a new village built beside the ruins, this beautiful hacienda, single storey Casa Ravilo, is unique in every aspect.

On a plot of 3500 sq m, of which 3,000 sq m is fenced and gated, there are some 30 mature olive trees, 3 almond trees and a small vineyard which yields red wine grapes. The olive grove has several thousand olive and almond trees, tended by local farmers, and for a small fee/olive oil, they might be persuaded to farm this plot also.

Off grid

The property has its own well, 25 m deep with a 1000watt electric pump 13 m down, to feed the household from the tank on a scaffold tower. This needs refilling twice a week, with a simple flick of a switch. The tank holds 2000l of water and takes 40 mins to fill. No water bills.

Equally, the house has all the mod cons, functioning on a top of the range, 48volt solar power system. This is probably the best make there is, 'Outback', with 12 large panels, 240 watt each, 4000watt inverter charger and 24 huge batteries. Receipts available on request. We run lights, TV, fridge freezer, chest freezer, kettle, coffee machine, washing machine, dryer, no problem. No electric bills.

The cooker runs on butane gas bottles, as do the 2 water heaters, and so we have to buy the gas bottles for that.

During the winter, November to March, we light log burners, and we buy the wood each year for that.

Bills/taxes/services

No connections to any utility services, so therefore no bills for gas, electricity or water. We buy butane gas in bottles on demand, 11 euros each, and they last around a month, with 2 people living in the house. We have 3 – for the cooker and the 2 water heaters.

The heating is just wood for the burners. We buy 3 tons of cut wood every winter. The price ranges from 10 to 15cents, which equates to 100 – 150 euros per ton, depending on the type of tree the wood is. So we pay 450 euros annually for the heating.

No council tax whatsoever, as there is no road, no street lighting, no bin service and no postman. No services at all in fact. So no bills or taxes. We put our rubbish in our own dustbins and take them to the village tip weekly, around 3 km away. For mail, we have a box at the Post Office in Belchite, 67 euros annually.

There is an annual tax to pay for the plot and the building, of 57 euros a year.

And that is the sum total of bills for the year.

The Council

Zaragoza is on a different planet when it comes to bureaucracy. Everything is strict, long delays/waiting times for appointments/expensive. Belchite runs a more relaxed ship, where they solve any problems by changing the amount there and then, or altering a name to suit. Relativey hassle-free. Friendly and there to help. No English though! We even got married there and they never charged us a cent! Unreal!

Climate

Online will give you the averages, but it is quite simple really. Very cold winters and very hot summers. We light fires from November until March/April. Snow is rare, but we have seen it a couple of times, but it never settles. The coldest month is February, when it's well below freezing.
Summer is back mid April, with gorgeous mid 20 temps, through May and June, rising to up to 40 in July and August, and dropping to comfortable mid 20s again Sept/October.
The wettest month is May.

We have never experienced flooding, as on the east coast, in Valencia or Malaga.

Crime

A contentious issue, as it seems to be rife in other areas, from all the horror stories we have heard over the years. Not a sausage here. We have that peace of mind that comes from truly relaxing, without the worry that some scumbag may steal it from beneath our feet!




The Property benefits from a new roof.

Open-plan lounge dining room entrance and kitchen
with a huge 4 - face log burner in the middle of the entrance. At the other end of the room, the lounge has a rustic stone fireplace with a second log burner.

Enclosed terrace
leading through patio doors, with dining table and benches, wall seating, garden swing, plants and awnings.

Bodega/second living room

A multi-purpose room or snug, this used to be the garage, with 5 beds, dining table and benches, large screen TV, wine wall, darts, chess, sofa and other seating. A third log burner.

Main Bathroom/Zen room

Shower, W.C, sink and bidet, this is also the massage and treatment room with extra sinks for the grapes etc.

Kitchen
Open plan with double glazed tilt and turn windows, hand-crafted bespoke fitted cupboards with handles from the trees outside.

Doors
All the interior doors have been made to measure, arched, with wood from the garden as handles.

As well as the 5 beds in thebodega/2nd sitting room, there are 2 themed ensuite bedrooms.


Bedroom 1: The Bamboo Room, with bamboo cut from the garden, hand-made super king size four-poster bed, hand.crafted wardrobes, double-glazed window, ensuite bath, toilet and sink and bidet. Loft entrance to roof space.

Bedroom 2; The Forest Room, with hand-made double bed, wardrobe, double-glazed window, ensuite shower, toilet and sink. Aerial for TV.

Outside

The front garden is ideal for badminton or volley ball. There is a stone barbeque, with a bread oven, 2 pergodas, with summer sofas and dining furniture, stored away over the winter.

A huge workshop and 2-car garage. This measures 10.5 m x 6m, including the workshop area of 6m x 3.80. This has its own 12 volt solar system, complete with 400watt wind turbine, which serves for the lights and bench tools, (bench grinder, angle grinder etc). The small battery house is attached to the side of the garage.

Carport

Outside terrace

At the back there is another area we use for petanque/bowls. This has 6 beautiful pine trees, over a small circular pool with slide into it and a swing.

The battery house is just outside the back door, attached to the bodega.

The vineyard, with 2 orange, 2 lemon and 1 lime trees, planted only last year, leads up to the end of the property, where there is a spacious chicken run.


Zaragoza, 5th largest city in Spain, 40 mins.
Madrid 3 hrs
Barcelona 3 hrs
Valencia 3 hrs
Pyrenees/France 3 hours.