WE BOUGHT AN UNINHABITED ISLAND FOR £24,000 — IT WAS A LOT CHEAPER THAN A HOUSE DEPOSIT

Getting onto the property ladder is no mean feat, and saving for a house deposit can be an arduous task, spanning years of hard work.

And even once you’ve managed to save all your money, you might discover that you’re unable to find your dream home, as nothing measures up.

If this is the case for you, then you might consider the example set by one young pair, who have gotten creative with their savings, in order to secure the property they’ve always wanted.

Oliver Russell and girlfriend Helena Tomaszewska used their money to buy an entire island in Finland, and it cost less than a housing deposit.

Oliver, who is half American and half Finnish, spent every summer in Finland growing up, and eventually decided to move from Colorado to Helsinki in August 2022 in order to study, as he’d receive free university education.

The 24-year-old met his girlfriend shortly after and they purchased the island together in March 2024 for $31,000 (just under £24,000).

They’d been looking to buy a summer house together, to enjoy when they weren’t at school, but they never expected to end up with anything bigger.

‘I was looking [at an estate agent website] for fun,’ explains Oliver. ‘And then I found the island. It ended up being cheaper than a normal lot I could afford so we jumped on it.’

The two-and-a-half acre island was uninhabitable and had been vacant for 10 years. It was listed at $36,569, but Oliver offered a much lower price of $31,000.

Despite being successful, it won’t all be plain sailing, as the pair have a lot of work to do in order to transform the island into the holiday paradise they envisage.

So far, they’ve managed to build decking for a tent, as well as an outhouse, but the goal is to build a property and sauna to use for holidays — the sauna is especially important, as in Finland, there is approximately one sauna for every two people.

‘In Finland, the summer cottage life is a huge part of the culture and I would come out here every summer.

‘Every time we go to the island it doesn’t feel real that it is ours — it is so nice to be out there. It is so quiet and because it is an island nobody can stumble across it.’

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The first time the couple stepped foot on the island was in June 2024 and at the time, the land was covered in trees and moss.

Oliver had his work cut out for him, and got started felling trees to make space to camp.

‘We made a frame out of logs and I got some decking from a hardware store,’ he said. ‘We then built an outhouse and I am now trying to build a shower structure so we can wash while we’re on the island.

‘We wanted to get the base camp set up so we have a comfortable place to stay while the big building happens next year.’

Oliver and Helena, 20, spend most of their weekends on the island working on their dream home, and it’s pretty tough as the pair don’t have any prior experience in construction. However, they are determined to build everything by themselves.

Oliver added: ‘We haven’t set ourselves super hard deadlines as there have been a lot of learning experiences.

WE BOUGHT AN UNINHABITED ISLAND FOR £24,000 — IT WAS A LOT CHEAPER THAN A HOUSE DEPOSIT

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