Ben Morris visited Sambuca di Sicilia, dubbed “Italy’s little America”, to investigate a seemingly incredible €1 home scheme, but he quickly discovered a catch
Around 25 municipalities are said to be offering the €1 homes
(Image: Ben Morris/YouTube
)
A travel vlogger who visited the beautiful Mediterranean island of Sicily to investigate a €1 home scheme quickly came across a major “catch”. A wave of reports advertise small towns in Italy flogging vacant properties for as little as €1 (just 85p in today’s money).
It’s a phenomenon that comes on the back of a reported rural exodus. Young Italians have been increasingly drawn to city life, leaving stunning villages to empty out as their ageing populations dwindle.
Around 25 municipalities are said to be offering the €1 homes, betting that renovated and occupied properties will be more lucrative; second homes come with tax bills.
Ben Morris visited the commune of Sambuca di Sicilia, Sicily, dubbed “Italy’s little America” due to the influx of US property buyers, to investigate. On his self-titled YouTube channel, Ben spoke to a local estate agent about the scheme.
She explained: “So, when they launched the first project, then there has been three: €1 houses, €2 houses, and €3 houses.”
The estate agent went on to say: “The rules are more or less always the same. You have to do an offer of at least €1, €2 or €3, but you know that the higher offer will win the house.”
Returning to Ben’s narration, he stated: “So there’s the catch in Sambuca. Although houses do go on the market for €1, they usually get bid on for up to €5,000 (about £4,200).
“However, the town that we’re going to visit after this actually has houses that you can straight up buy for €1. No catch. And there’s actually places available now.”
Ben then spoke about the home of Meredith Tabbone, who bought hers for €5,000 and later bought the home next door. However, her renovations set her back a whopping $446,000 (about £333,000).
Later, he set off in search of a no-strings-attached €1 home in the town of Mussomeli. Ben met up with a woman named Natalie, who said she’d show him a range of homes, including two that cost just €1.
Once he entered one such property, it was immediately visible that the house needed a lot of work. Ben was advised to only walk on the edges of the floor as he ventured through the property for “safety” reasons.
After he inspected the seemingly dilapidated two-level property, he commented: “And that is exactly why so many of these homes are being sold for so cheap. You’re going to need to do renovations and spend money to make it livable.
“You also have the responsibility to make sure your house doesn’t fall down and like kill your neighbour or something.”
Natalie also explained that, in addition to this, the buyer would have expenses to close the sale. Ben said this was another “little catch”, adding that you’d have to pay for notary fees and certificates.
Speaking previously about the scheme, 1eurohouses.com said in a statement, as reported by the Independent: “We do not need new constructions and new overbuilding.
“The strategy to improve the housing environment and reclaim our cultural identity is to revive the small abandoned centres or to redevelop buildings in a state of abandonment, with a story that is our history.”