Leaving for a new quest…

We found a private land, with about 2 hectares, which was situated on a plateau. there was no electricity, Water, nor access path. initially asked 4000 thousand usd and we were very happy with this price, despite the large investment we would need to make to bring all these utilities on the ground.

after the first date, the owner of the land told me that he needed to get the whole family together to ask the consent of all his children for the sale of the land. After a week, called me to tell me that the children did not agree with that price and that they wanted 25 mil usd. After many negotiations we arrived at the 15 thousand usd and we agreed to go together to the Land and Property Department of Gleno to verify that the land documents were in order and if in fact he was the owner, effective, the same.

After confirming the authenticity of the land documents, we agreed to proceed with the purchase of the land and two days later the land owner called me to inform me that the eldest son, who was working in England, no longer agreed with the agreed amount and wanted 45 mil usd.

Sad and bitter, we realized that we still hadn't managed to solve the problem of our land and we left, again, for a new search...

After much searching, we came to the conclusion that many Timorese did not want to sell their land because it had sentimental value., for being a family heirloom. However, we found another plot of land in the same district of Gleno, with about 3,5 hectares that initially asked us 400 thousand usd and after due negotiations we reached the 40 mil usd!!!

Again, I was informed by the landowner that I should wait for his final response, after gathering your entire family to receive general consent. After a few days , called to let me know that they agreed and we agreed to go together to the Land and Property Department of Gleno to do the necessary checks and after verifying that everything was in order, we proceed to gather the necessary documents and arrange an appointment with the notary to set a date for the purchase and sale agreement.

The next day, the owner of the land called me to say that after all the family no longer agreed with the agreed price and they wanted to ask again 400 mil usd.

Another discouragement and frustration for our collection! Now writing this past story even gave me grace, because I smile at the rhyme that came out, but at the time i didn't think it was funny, quite the opposite…

Months and months passed, however, the idea of ​​buying a plot of land persisted in our mind…

I left home early in the morning and arrived at the end of the day, yet it was presented with fabulous sunsets.

after a lot of searching, I finally met a gentleman who told me he had a plot of land with 2,5 hectares situated near Gleno, in an area conducive to our project. We went to see it and it really was located in an ideal area.. After several negotiations we reached the final value of 16 mil usd. Again, we went to the Department of Lands and Properties for the thorough checks and after receiving confirmation that that gentleman was the owner of the land and that the documents were in order we proceeded to pay for the travel of a registration team, not ground, to make final measurements and set boundaries with neighbors around the same.

After this work carried out by the registration team, we went to the notary to verify the documents of the land and we agreed a date for the execution of the purchase and sale contract.

Nonetheless, two days later I proposed to my wife, celia, to get a better look at the terrain and when we arrived at the place we saw a gentleman, who had a doubtful face and an inquisitive look, who kept some cows. After greeting him he approached us and asked what we were looking for and when explaining that we wanted to buy that land he explained that it did not belong to just one person, but yes it had several owners!?! We were very confused and asked him to explain better who the real owners were and he said that the land belonged to 4,5 people…

After all he showed us another land he had, right below this one and precisely with the area we were looking for, near 3 hectares. We were upset and disgusted with that embarrassing situation when we realized that that man wanted to sell us a plot of land with 2 hectares, being the only owner of the 500 square meters and at the same time surprised and delighted to find a piece of land of the size that we were so keen on and at such a low price… 25 mil usd!

 The same gentleman showed, still, another land he had to 3,5 hectares with coffee plants and other large trees. asked us 400 thousand usd for this land and I was very surprised by the big difference between the two. we doubted, once again, in good faith from this man. To Celia, every time you remember this episode,  tell me she never liked his face!

Finale, we came to know that in fact the first seller was a dishonest man and in trying to see if he could establish contact with the real owners, I came to know that each wanted a very high price and one of them, the middle one, I didn't want to sell.

Therefore, I oriented myself towards the land of the 3 hectares, located in the lowest area, between two streams, that that man had offered us, because it was the only alternative we had left. We understand why this land is so cheap, because we learned that in the year of 2004 the large river had flooded half of this land and, taking this into consideration, after rigorous negotiations, we agreed to buy/sell this land for 16 mil usd.

According to Timor law, foreigners cannot acquire properties, so we formed a Foundation with young Timorese and, with our few resources and those of our friends and partners Andrada and Luke, We were able to purchase this much sought after land!