Is there a catch to these houses?

28 comments

1. It is 130 years old an pretty badly insulated. But for a location like that it seems like a fair price. Difficult to migrate to Norway

2. The catch is that it’s in the middle of nowhere and nobody wants to live in the middle of nowhere.

3. You’ve got EU/Norwegian citizenship? You can’t just buy a house and move to Norway without the proper visa.

4. I think the catch is simply that this place is in a rural area. Most people do not want to live in such a place.

   There may also be related issues, for example it may be quite difficult to get around in winter — but that someone else would have to report on.

5. In all probability every school, shop, clinic or any other amenity will be 10 km away. You will also have to look forwards to the government royally fucking all house owners over with a compulsory order to insulate their homes within a year or two.

   If you move out here you are doing Norway in hardcore mode.

6. It is a house from 1894 with poor insulation (G) in an area which can be very cold at winter. The price itself seems fair in this area which is remote.

   And keep in mind that there is less jobs in rural areas, especially those high skilled jobs your need to get a working visa as an non-EU resident

   That being said, the only real catch is that you should expect high upgrade costs due to poor insulation. Like atleast 1 million

   An added one, since you’re an Australian, is how you deal with winter, because the inland is a lot colder than by the coast.

7. Remember if it is a real farm (landbruk) you need to have education as a farmer. This is not a farm. All info is in “komplett salgsoppgave” remember TG3 can mean old, not broken. If you have a lot of extra money after buying a house like this, maybe ask a local craftsman what it will cost to redo/add the insulation. You can also do it yourself, just make sure that you use propper norwegian building techniques or you can get mold/rot problems.

8. Easier for an Indonesian fisherman to get residency in Australia than for you and your family to get the same in Norway.

   As for the house, supply and demand.

9. Distances dont mean the same (culturally) in Europe as they mean in Australia or US. Half an hour to the nearest town with shops is a nightmare to most Norwegians. And the range of food available in a small convenience store in a mountain would be… a terrible shock to you.

   Add to that you probably need a special 4×4 vehicle to drive around in the snow in the winter there.

   I wouldn’t live there with children. It’s very isolating. Also it’s not normal (not sure but I think it isn’t allowed either) to homeschool in Norway.

   I would assume that a Norwegian who purchases that house would be for vacation only (even if it’s a couple weekends and holidays)

   The others have also mentioned the need for repair (not immediate, but in the mid term) roof, insulation, baths. Thats adding 1-2 million.

   And yes you cannot just purchase a home and move to Norway without a long term visa

10. Check page 10 of the sales report, there are several major renovations expected. 4 items expected to cost more than 300 000 NOK, and 2 costing between 100 000 – 300 000 NOK. So you’re looking at renovations coming up costing 1-2 million NOK, or possibly more. Definitely need to read those reports in detail.

11. The “catch” for this house and your background is having to drive for an hour (unless there is snow, about a third of the year) to a place where you could reasonably find a job. Your kids moving out at 16 because there is no videregående (ages 16-19) nearby. Never going to the cinema, bowling, bar, restaurant,… because those are also an hour away. Not have any other entertainment then going for endless walks, except in spring when the entire area smells like fertilizer and you can’t breath. Oh the house is also old and likely badly isolated and as my Australian colleague told me: “The coldest day in Australia is still warmer than the hottest one in Norway” (fair enough, he’s from Darwin).

12. By norwegian standards that’s not far from the middle of nowhere, and both houses are due for a full renovation from my quick look at the paperwork. Expect to spend at least another couple of million on renovations, especially bathrooms and windows are mostly way past what’s cosidered their usable life and/or of unknown age and without documentation. That area also get’s pretty cold in winter and the central heating is busted… Also, it may have schools and a shop within reasonable distance, but what about work? Depending on your fields that may be a big issue. Probably a good idea to double driving times to account for winter conditions too.

    If you consider buying a house in Norway, get a Norwegian carpenter or someone else that knows Norwegian buildings to come with you at the viewing, I suspect a lot of things may be different from what you are used to so having someone to ask for advice and explain things will probably be well worth the cost. And visit the area beforehand, check out the shop, schools and so on, they may be different from your expectations and what you are used to.

    Looks like a lovely place with a lot of potential thought!

13. As mentioned here already, the cost of this property will be double, if you want to live there all the year!

    There are several «catches», from what I read the will be a powerline built on the property, and I suppose it is one of the big ones.

    A lot of work/renovation need to be done with the buildings, there is water leaking into a basement, so the outside draining need to be fixed.

    The basement in the barn is full of shit from animals, that is a big bonus if you want to feel like a real farmer!

    For me all of this is a red flag!

    I hope you downloaded the PDF and translated it, to understand what this property is really like..

14. Many good comments here. Sounds like with your budget and expectations you will definitely find affordable housing to your liking in Norway. Even so, maybe rent for a year or two before you commit to an area and a house? 🙂

15. Depressingly small lot no woods to take firewood from

16. Heating a badly insulated house may cost 30.-60.000 nok per year.

    The few hundred meters of private roads will come at a cost of 5.-10.000 nok per year for hiring someone to shovel snow.

    Water, garbage, and sewage are nok 16.-17000 per, and the cost is expected to increase with 50% in a few years.

    Even if you invest in roof and insulation, you may come out with a loss if you must sell within a few years, as new jobs come mainly in the cities.

17. It’s Svatsum, there is nothing there. I have family in Follebu a bit further south, so I am familiar with the area. In this case the closest school is probably Forset, 30-40km away, and jobs will be a bit further away. Maybe even in Lillehammer if you dont work in retail, in the school or in the ski resort at Skei. With a car this will take you about 30 minutes to the school, and then 20-30 minutes to work. That isn’t too bad, but you are probably talking the same distances to your kids’ friends, football practice, skiing etc. You’ll be perfectly fine living there if the house is solid, but you need to spend a couple of hours driving around every day. Not the end of the world, but most people would rather not. The nature is gorgeous though, especially if you like skiing. That’s what the do there. Ski in the winter and pick rocks from the fields in the spring.

18. There are similar houses near or even just outside cities, around 3-4 million nok. If you are ok with a house that needs fixing, you can find. In winter it will get very very cold inside…

19. A half hour DRIVE to the nearest school? Probably even further to a high school. Jobs are far away….. nearest airport? I bet it is freezing in the winter.

20. Lack of accessibility during winter (which is half the year) and lack of any sunlight for most of the year are common reasons why property is cheap. Watch “Der ingen skulle tru at nokon kunne bu” on NRK – its a show literally about ppl buying these kind of places!

21. The reason these places are cheap are always the same: they are in the middle of nowhere in places nobody wants to live cause it is not practical to live a place there are no to few jobs, far to the closest mall or airport.

    You should also know that the speed limit in many places is 80, sometimes even as low as 60 on country roads. Due to how mountainous Norway is, a place might not look far from the nearest city on a map in airline, but in reality it could take hours to drive there

    Also the energy rating is G, which means that the electricity bill will be extremely high. It can be snowy here half a year, and to keep a big old house like this warm will be costly.

22. In Norway, this location is considered a bit remote.

    It is an old farm building split off from the original farm, I assume the farm land was merged with a neighbor.

    You will find properties like this many places in Norway, in similar conditions and at similar prices. Just be aware of the additional cost of required repairs and maintenance. And keep in mind that Norway is a high cost area, so repairs will be costly. If you are handy and capable of doing some of the work yourself you can of course save some money that way.

    The price level is this low because fewer Norwegians want this kind of property as their primary residence. Those who do want one already got one. The rest of these properties tend to end up as someone’s vacation home, and those will be priced lower.

    As you are used to the Australian outback, the remoteness will not be an issue for you. The winters may be an issue, though. It gets very cold and dark, and you may be snowed in from time to time. 10km feels a lot longer when the road is not open… Winters in this area are long.

    I would recommend visiting this place (and other areas you may consider) during the worst part of winter, which would be late November or possibly first half of January.

    And most importantly: Find out how you can qualify to immigrate. In general, it is not easy for foreigners from outside of EU.

23. Quick sand !

24. I bought one of these houses. The catch is you live in a small village with weird local folks, quality of school and daycare is average at best, finding a relevant job for any sort of university degree is hard, and you will spend years fixing up the place.
    Driving in the kids around in winter will make you cry, and you will be cold. Winter in rural Norway is pure black, no artificial light, the lack of light will hit you in February-march, and only alcohol will keep depression at bay. You will be cold in the dark, in an old house that constantly need upgrades. Things will break at the worst possible times. Fixing things in Norway in winter can be a complete nightmare.

    I have no regrets, but it’s not for everyone. Watch some episodes og ‘der ingen skulle tru at nokon kunne bu’ for some real-life experiences of life in an old house in rural Norway. I think the last season has a guy from England, he cried a lot.

25. It’s a house from 1894 in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere.

26. My father in law is the neighbour to your example, if you want info, message me

27. I would consider buying many of those 1-2 mill NOK houses on [finn.no](http://finn.no), and it would undoubtedly increase my living standard and daily enjoyment! But it depends on your background. I can fix stuff and like cold and snow and being at the end of the road. Otta, Røros, Tynset, Oppdal, all looks like my kind of places.

    My current house sits at a little over 3000 meters above sea level in a small town; and we still have night frost. I can ski from the front door for 5 months of the year. It was build in 1888 on a rotting wooden foundation and has zero insulation in the walls. It is only 65 square meters with one bedroom, and will likely bring me the equivalent of 5.5 mill NOK today since covid and the unsustainable housing market here.

    Taking that amount of money to Norway and buy a small fjellstugu and still have funds left over is my dream

28. I’d disregard the inland regions, the gnarliest parts of the west and everything north of Trøndelag entirely if I were you. This area is peak winter. I’m talking snow to chest height, -15 to -35 degrees, icy roads, the full package. The roads are crumbling and narrow, it gets dark at like 15:00, there’s no buffer zone between forest and road, and they don’t salt those roads, so you’re driving on ice. It’s nowhere near as far to drive as you’re used to, but you will find driving here more of a strain.

    If you want to move somewhere with harsh winters with six kids – brace yourselves for an early start, because dressing 6 kids for a -20 degree day takes ages, and that goes for people who knows what they’re doing and own the correct types of clothing, too. Imagine what it’s like without. Your kids will be spending 1-4 hours outside every day, depending on their age.

    Rural primary schools are very small, and for older children, they might have to move away to go to secondary school, as these are far fewer and located in larger towns. You cannot legally homeschool, because you’re required by law to teach the same curriculum as the public schools, including Norwegian.

    I’d also skip everything built before 1930, because those are made with general techniques you are familiar with. Older, Norwegian houses require a lot of know-how to maintain and renovate. It is a construction method you don’t understand and you don’t have a local network to help you. These houses tend to toss you curve balls and for every 1 million NOK you expect to spend, you’ll end up spending 3 million instead.

    Foreigners try this every now and then. They move to scenic, remote, cheap, old farms with a dream only to realize the cost is at least threefold what they accounted for and that winter life somewhere with virtually no public services is harder than they imagined. Plus, the locals aren’t interested in getting to know them, so they end up succumbing to homesickness and selling at a loss after less than three years.

    Find somewhere coastal and relatively close to a town. Winters are milder, roads are better quality and the houses are generally better kept.

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