Looking for property on camino de Santiago

[tony downey]

We are looking for a property on the camino de santiago. Any suggestions or ideas. A lot of the sites on google say they are on it, but are actually 10km away. We may be opening an Albergue but we may just open our house to pilgrims to stop for a cup of tea. So we will consider anything in any region. Just struggling to find properties.

 

[AZgirl]

How wonderful! I wish I could help you, but all I can really offer is good thoughts. Just curious are only looking at the Frances? Or any of the routes?

 

[SYates]

Have you looked at idealista.com ? Buen Camino, SY

 

[Castilian]

A lot of the sites on google say they are on it, but are actually 10km away

You have more chances of avoiding that problem by looking for properties at specific Camino towns (I know, it takes much more time). Check too if the search engine(s) that you are using allow to look just for properties in the town you selected without showing nearby properties if there weren't properties available on your selected town.

There are many enterprises in Spain that sell properties, so to look at several of them takes time too but it may worth it.

Otherwise, to walk the camino and look for on sale letters on properties and/or to ask locals in small towns if they know someone on town who might be interested in selling one if his/her properties might be a good idea too.

 

[SYates]

As far as I know Albergue El Pilar in Rabanal del Camino is still up for sale.
Buen Albergue, SY

 

[Old Crow]

The site Aldeas Abandonadas has frequent listings of properties along the Caminos, especially in Galicia. Sometimes Albergues.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

We got back from our camino last year to hear a story on America's National Public Radio (NPR) about whole villages being for sale for cheap in Spain (mainly Galicia) and one was even offered for free. A webpage for that with text, pictures and audio is at http://www.npr.org/sections/paralle...llages-are-up-for-sale-and-theyre-going-cheap and a follow-up story is at http://www.npr.org/2015/08/31/436377471/foreign-buyers-scoop-up-abandoned-spanish-villages

Or you can search the internet for: Spain villages for sale

 

[Jeff Crawley]

As far as I know Albergue El Pilar in Rabanal del Camino is still up for sale.
Buen Albergue, SY

No? What's happened to Maria and her brother?

 

[Jeff Crawley]

We are looking for a property on the camino de santiago. Any suggestions or ideas. A lot of the sites on google say they are on it, but are actually 10km away. We may be opening an Albergue but we may just open our house to pilgrims to stop for a cup of tea. So we will consider anything in any region. Just struggling to find properties.

Can I suggest spending some time as a hospitalero before commiting? There's a vast difference between walking the Camino and working on the Camino.

If you go ahead (and good luck to you if you do) search for a decent gap between existing facilities . . . . oh, and start thinking about what your sello will be!

 

[SYates]

No? What's happened to Maria and her brother?

Nothing serious as far as I know, I think they are simply thinking about an exit strategy when they grow older. The sign was already up as I passed there in 2014, seems there is no real urgency, just an exploring of their possibilities.
Buen Camino, SY

 

[Seabird]

I snapped these two pictures that might interest you. P4220885 is after Cirauqui; I think before Lorca but definitely before Villlatuerta.

I took P5060031 as I was entering Castrojeriz, just before Iglesia de San Juan.

 

[SYates]

Also albergue F&M in Cubo del Vino on the Via de la Plata was up for sale/rent as I walked by there this spring.
Buen Albergue, SY

 

[whariwharangi]

Ciruena. If I didn't know better I'd have thought the place was called 'por venta'.

 

[tony downey]

Can I suggest spending some time as a hospitalero before commiting? There's a vast difference between walking the Camino and working on the Camino.

If you go ahead (and good luck to you if you do) search for a decent gap between existing facilities . . . . oh, and start thinking about what your sello will be!

Thanks for the comment Jeff. We have ran a gite and been a hospitalero for a very long time in France, so are use to the work and the commitment needed to do the job. We have only been in Spain for 2 years and miss the job so much that we need to get back to doing it. There is something great about making people stay a memorable experience and something ( i hope) we have been doing well for years. It was only having walked the Frances way that we thought of a few ideas to make a stay enjoyable for other pilgrims. We have stayed in a variety of places and can see some run down, some penny pinching so much you feel guilty using a bed, some dirty, overcrowded........Having said that, we have seen many wonderful places too, so we want to pick the best bits of each one and have that as our home and work. We are fortunate enough that we do not need to make huge amounts of money doing it and the rewards for us will be the happy faces of the pilgrims as they carry on wards. We noticed many walkers would walk the extra few kms past a stage to stay at well known Albergues and word got around and they were usually booked up too.

This is only a dream , but big things come from dreams. We may not be able to find the perfect place to buy, but at the very least we will have a couple of spare beds and refreshments.

All we need now is the property

 

[Yallah]

Somewhere I saw that Albergue Maralotx in Cirauqui was for sale. I stayed there in 2009 and thought it was lovely.

I'd love to see a private albergue open in O Cebreiro! Considering how saturated some areas are, I've always been surprised nothing has opened there, though maybe there is a good reason (no properties available or somesuch).

 

[mcopeland]

You might check with Ashley at Casa Lucero in Samos. She just opened an albergue on June 1 and may have come across other offerings.

 

[jimabfalter]

Somewhere I saw that Albergue Maralotx in Cirauqui was for sale. I stayed there in 2009 and thought it was lovely.

I'd love to see a private albergue open in O Cebreiro! Considering how saturated some areas are, I've always been surprised nothing has opened there, though maybe there is a good reason (no properties available or somesuch).

We had a such a good time and at such a reasonable expense in O Cebreiro. The people were marvelous! And the cheeses? Fantastic!

 

[danielc]

We had a such a good time and at such a reasonable expense in O Cebreiro. The people were marvelous! And the cheeses? Fantastic!

However the restaurant near the main roadway has very poor service - especially at breakfast

 

[jsalt]

There is something great about making people stay a memorable experience

The absolutely best run albergue on the camino frances is La Casa Magica in Villatuerte:

http://alberguevillatuerta.com/

They really understand what the pilgrim needs.

They were reputedly up for sale not so long ago . . . . maybe they still are?

 

[fraluchi]

Check the Spanish TROVIT site for properties to rent or buy. You'll have to specify the region/town of your interest.
The subject of buying an albergue on this Forum has been on discussion since 2014.

 

[tony downey]

Check the Spanish TROVIT site for properties to rent or buy. You'll have to specify the region/town of your interest.
The subject of buying an albergue on this Forum has been on discussion since 2014.

TROVIT is absolute rubbish, put the town, region and there are thousands and thousands of houses, but not one way to narrow it down to places on the camino. Even if you search for camino santiago there are hundreds and most are usually miles away.

 

[fraluchi]

Spend time doing things constructive rather than judging others: try perhaps Pisos.com ? Or other agencies in Spain ? You no doubt speak and understand Castillano and with the right keywords Internet is a treasure grove.
A good approach is: first to define the location(s) which interest(s) you. Then visit these and talk to the locals: at the municipality, banks, shops, hotel operators, etc. explaining what you are looking for. Ultimately inspect, negotiate and take a decision.
Do note that the track is well beaten and that every seller has $$$-signs in his/her eyes!

 

[Seeker43]

The absolutely best run albergue on the camino frances is La Casa Magica in Villatuerte:

http://alberguevillatuerta.com/

They really understand what the pilgrim needs.

They were reputedly up for sale not so long ago . . . . maybe they still are?

Even if they are, will that world class cook be included?

 

[fraluchi]

http://alberguevillatuerta.com/ The world class cook is open to proposals. The banks are probably less elastic

 

[PLOK]

We are looking for a property on the camino de santiago. Any suggestions or ideas. A lot of the sites on google say they are on it, but are actually 10km away. We may be opening an Albergue but we may just open our house to pilgrims to stop for a cup of tea. So we will consider anything in any region. Just struggling to find properties.

I walked the Camino in May and as a sort of 'Proprty nerd' always had my eye open for things for sale. I saw literally dozens of properties with for sale signs the vast majority in a fairly ruinous state but with huge potential. My advice would be to choose a few locales that you are particularly taken with ideally go there and sit in a bar and start asking. Looking for property in Spain on the Internet is actually quite hard work but there are a few sites that do work. Try kyero.com who have very comprehensive listings. Not sure that searching with the words Camino or Albergue will really help. Best of luck.

 

[PLOK]

I walked the Camino in May and as a sort of 'Proprty nerd' always had my eye open for things for sale. I saw literally dozens of properties with for sale signs the vast majority in a fairly ruinous state but with huge potential. My advice would be to choose a few locales that you are particularly taken with ideally go there and sit in a bar and start asking. Looking for property in Spain on the Internet is actually quite hard work but there are a few sites that do work. Try kyero.com who have very comprehensive listings. Not sure that searching with the words Camino or Albergue will really help. Best of luck.

There are several Albergues for sale on a website called thinkspain.com including one in Samos, and one in Triacastella

 

[marian55]

http://www.galicianrustic.com/en/
maybe these? http://www.galicianrustic.com/en/ca...r-sale-directly-on-the-winter-jacobean-route/

if it fits you... next to an old the roman road and bridge, water, garden. I would love to be your first guest

succes

 

[Gareth Griffith]

This solid looking property is on one side of a square in Castrojerez. You can ring the estate agents from the number shown on the sign. It is bang on the Camino. I wouldn't mind putting in a bid for it myself but.........................

 

[Thornley]

The absolutely best run albergue on the camino frances is La Casa Magica in Villatuerte:

http://alberguevillatuerta.com/

They really understand what the pilgrim needs.

They were reputedly up for sale not so long ago . . . . maybe they still are?

http://alberguevillatuerta.com/ The world class cook is open to proposals. The banks are probably less elastic

When i found out the story a few years ago now about this albergue i nearly cried.
The Banks murdered them because of the GFC.
They were successful but the banks required a bigger deposit than the one already paid a year earlier and the loan term was decreased
How
The Banks just revalued the albergue .

Have cash and buy Bank shares , have nothing to do with them

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

If you do get an albergue here is something that would be easy to do at first but harder to add later: put an electrical outlet in each locker for charging electronics.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Nothing serious as far as I know, I think they are simply thinking about an exit strategy when they grow older. The sign was already up as I passed there in 2014, seems there is no real urgency, just an exploring of their possibilities.
Buen Camino, SY

The sign was up,when I stayed there in 2012! Clearly an illiquid business. For some reason I learned they were asking for 800k€ at the time, or at least that's what I remember.

 

[supersullivan]

Somewhere I saw that Albergue Maralotx in Cirauqui was for sale. I stayed there in 2009 and thought it was lovely.

I'd love to see a private albergue open in O Cebreiro! Considering how saturated some areas are, I've always been surprised nothing has opened there, though maybe there is a good reason (no properties available or somesuch).

Stayed in Albergue Maralotx in 2013 and just happened to notice in a town a little further in an estate agents window that it was for sale. The quoted price then was €600,000 !

 

[Thornley]

The sign was up,when I stayed there in 2012! Clearly an illiquid business. For some reason I learned they were asking for 800k€ at the time, or at least that's what I remember.

Stayed in Albergue Maralotx in 2013 and just happened to notice in a town a little further in an estate agents window that it was for sale. The quoted price then was €600,000 !

Cirauqui figures would be very good.
A popular place , accommodates 40 people.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Was talking with the owner of tne albergue I stayed at in Fisterra. His family has owned the building, so while it had to be converted they did not have to buy it. He needs 8 pilgrims a day, year round, to break even. That means many many more guests than the 3 of us who were there in May during summer months.

 

[Smallest_Sparrow]

If you're still looking, I saw another post, Someone selling their cafe/house with room to make it an albergue. I'll try to find the thread

Cafe and house for albergue for sale:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...ife-and-live-on-the-camino.42826/#post-440531

 

[Rebekah Scott]

As far as I know Albergue El Pilar in Rabanal del Camino is still up for sale.
Buen Albergue, SY

Update on Albergue El Pilar: after all these years, a buyer has been found!
Jorge and Sonia, who have run Hostal Moratinos for the past few years on the Meseta, are returning to the Montes de Leon as new proprietors at Albergue El Pilar.
Despite what the rumor mills have generated about German hotel chains and high-end B&Bs, they intend to keep things simple and open up the closed-in spaces a bit more, offer private en-suite rooms in addition to the dormitory spaces, and not mess too much with the success that put this old-school place on the albergue map.
(Also please note: El Pilar is NOT "the original" albergue in Rabanal. Pilgrims slept in the abandoned schoolhouse before it was turned into the municipal albergue, but the first real place to stay was Refugio Gaucelmo, the "British albergue" that started the international amigos-administered trend back 30+ years ago now. )