Buy a house cheap as if given away
Rubia Daniels from California (USA) was very surprised when she first heard about cheap houses in Italy. She went to Europe to check it out and "closed the deal" on 3 houses in a small town in the Sicily region in mid-2019. Notably, Daniels only spent about 3.3 USD (equivalent to 77,000 VND) to become the owner of these houses.
Rubia Daniels stands in front of a house she bought. Photo: BIT
According to this woman, the towns in Italy reminded her of her childhood home in the suburbs of Brasilia in Brazil - Daniels's hometown. What surprised her was how warmly the residents welcomed her. Not only did Daniels love the town's rich history, she was also excited about the idea of renovating abandoned houses.
“ This helps the environment. We need to stop building and start repairing what we already have ,” said Rubia Daniels.
⅔ of the house was renovated by Daniels on the outside. Photo: BI
Daniels also has different plans for his three homes: one will be converted into an art gallery, one will be a residence, and the third will be used as a community health facility. The renovations began in 2019 but were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Daniels is currently traveling back and forth between the U.S. and Italy to complete the renovations.
Italy “craves” people to buy cheap houses
Daniels is not alone in buying cheap homes in an effort to revive Italy’s deserted towns. Urbanization has led to a decline in rural populations while cities have become overcrowded.
In 2021, nine villages in the south of the country offered to pay Millennials $33,000 to move in on the condition that they help repopulate the towns. With the exception of Calabria, the villages in southern Italy all offered people under 40 a sum of money to 'migrate'. What they all have in common is that they have fewer than 2,000 residents and could become ghost towns if no action is taken.
Current status of some $1 houses. Photo: BI
Calabria previously made headlines when it sold 12 homes for $1.14 in the village of Cinquefrondi in a race to repopulate. In 2019, the town of Cammarata offered free homes to anyone who wanted to live there, part of an effort to prevent the town from “falling into ruins,” according to Vincenzo Giambrone, the mayor of the town.
You don’t have to go far to buy a $1 house, and the town of Maenza near Rome has put up about 100 homes for sale for “dirt cheap.” According to CNN, the homes were built in the 1700s and have been abandoned for years. The mayor of Maenza insists that “Maenza is not a dying place,” but needs people to renovate and breathe life into the town.
However, living in a $1 house is not easy. According to Tom Murray, a writer for Business Insider , most of these houses are in a state of disrepair and may need a lot of money to restore. So, even if you only spend $1 to buy a house, you may have to spend thousands of dollars more on renovations if you want to move here.
Tom Murray has toured many $1 homes, and he found that unfurnished ones are easier to renovate than furnished ones that “look like they belong in a horror movie.”
The $1 houses after being renovated. Photo: BI
If you are lucky, you can still own a “bargain” of a house that is solid and not too damaged. The towns Murray visited were also interesting, friendly people, rich cuisine and pleasant weather. Residents in the town of Sambuca (Italy) have started learning English to develop tourism so you can completely communicate with them.
Business Insider reporter is optimistic about the future of small towns in Italy, "maybe the day these towns are flooded with Americans, Brits, Russians... is not far away". However, Murray also advises those who want to buy a house to grasp information about the real estate situation and have a reasonable renovation plan.
(Source: CAFEF)
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