A British family have saved themselves £293,000 after ditching their two-bed rental home for a two-acre plot of land abroad.
Lewis Vye, and his wife, Jordan, both 31, decided to leave their families and move abroad after struggling to find a mortgage they could afford.
Successive Bank of England Base Rate rises have sent mortgage rates rocketing since the start of last year and with a two-year fix currently averaging above six percent.
The pair realised a mortgage in the UK would cost them around £300,000 which would only bring more financial pressures.
After having their son at 19, they moved into a flat they “couldn’t afford” and didn’t want to take out a mortgage that would cause them the same stress.
Ms Vye got the idea to move abroad from a friend who told her she had bought a house in the country for just £3,000.
After mulling over the idea and constantly checking Rightmove for properties, Mr and Mrs Vye bought a two-acre plot of land which included a three-bedroom house, a barn and outbuildings for just £7,000 – way cheaper than the £300,000 mortgage they were facing in the Bournemouth.
The couple moved 1,788 miles to Haskovo Province, Bulgaria, in June 2022 – with their two children, Leo, 11, and Fae, two.
The pair explained their quality of life has improved since moving as they have more time to spend with their children and with each other.
Ms Vye said: “We were really struggling with the whole mortgage thing. We had our son at 19 and moved into a flat that we couldn’t afford, it all started from there.
“It set our path for never being able to get a mortgage – it was a really big thing of owning our own home. Even with two wages, it wasn’t something that seemed achievable for us in the UK.”
They were able to purchase the house in Bulgaria for £7,000 using their savings, something they never thought they would be able to do.
Ms Vye added: “We had always wanted to live in the countryside. In Bournemouth, if you want a house in the countryside, it was never going to happen for us.”
Since arriving in Bulgaria, the couple have been doing all the renovations themselves – spending around £5,000 so far.
Lewis said he aims to have the whole project finished in 10 years.
The former engineer said: “It is going really well. We got in the house pretty quickly from the caravan even though we weren’t really expecting to.
“I remember pulling up in the caravan and we parked it in the middle of our land and we were unpacking. I remember looking at all of our stuff with flies all over the food and I thought ‘what are we doing’.
“The number of times I have said that I want to go home but we are in such a different position now.
“When we arrived, people realised we were struggling so people would turn up with bags of vegetables. It was lovely, the day we pulled up, next door came round, and they were all helping to get us moved in.”
“It hasn’t been easy but there is such a great community here in Bulgaria. It reminds me of what my grandma would use to say when she lived in Bradford.
“It was a community, it was a village, everyone knew everybody, everyone helped. We had so many people when we arrived offering to help us.”
