Real Estate in Portugal

I recently returned from a vacation in Portugal. Although I have traveled through other countries in Europe, I have not stayed in a small village before. I had the opportunity to visit with a family that lives in the States and has renovated the home in which Maria Angela and her sisters were raised.

The most delightful part of the experience was the pride in ownership and in the renovation of rooms filled with so many memories. The home was filled with stories that were retold again and again. Tia Olga, Maria Angela's sister, still lives down the street above the Cafe she and her husband owned. She still owns the building, but has sold the business. Tia tends the garden and cares for the chickens when her sister is in the States. The irrigation system is an amazing series of trenches is the same one her father taught her when she was a small girl...the same his father taught him. The water is collected in a cistern that is also used for washing clothes and cooling off small children before it is released to the garden crops.

As I reflect on what I saw of home ownership in this small town, I could not help but think it had nothing to do with appreciation or market value. It had to do with memories, stories and generations of people sharing space. It had to do with wonderful meals that are still being cooked in a kitchen filled with laughter, tears, gossip and the fragrance of fresh bread hung on the door every morning. The renovations make this home a place that has moved into a new century, but all the old has been preserved within its walls.

I think we have lost sight of what our homes are for...they are not wealth builders or ATM machines. They express our love of people and our love of creating an environment in which we can break bread, console each other and feed our souls. When we return to that reason to purchase a new home, our decisions become less difficult than trying to figure out how much we will make on this purchase and how soon we can sell it.