If you’ve seen these headline about houses in Italy for sale for €1, you might have been asking, whats the catch? Well, of course, if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. But.. There are some definite pluses to these headline grabbing offers.

The Town of Cinquefrondi is just the latest in an increasingly long list of Italian towns selling off houses for cheap.

In 2019, the province of Molise got the headlines by offering people €27,000 a year to move there on the proviso they bought a house and set up a business.

So, just what is going on in Italy? And should you be shelling out your €1 on these Italian bargain houses?

What do you get when you buy a house in Italy for €1?

You can be sure that a house in Italy for €1 won’t have a view of the canals of Venice or the Duomo in Milan. In fact, you’ll probably be quite a long way from these two dream destinations.

Most €1 houses in Italy are in very rural locations and are often very run down. Some of these houses are shells, but others are decent structures that just need a bit of TLC.

If you did get serious and look into buying one of these bargain Italian homes, this is what is normally expected of you:

• A deposit of between €2,000-10,000 which is normally returned if you renovate the house as promised
• Proof that you have funds to renovate the property to a required standard
• Some will also require that you take out an insurance policy before any works are undertaken (around €250 a year)

Bear in mind also that €1 is often the headline price. Sometimes they’ll go for auction, so you might end up paying closer to €10,000 or more. However, there are plenty of homes available for the actual sum of one euro.

Sounds fine. Where are these houses?

The vast majority of the €1 houses in Italy are in the south of the country. Although stunningly beautiful, the south of the country has suffered from years of low employment and a drain of people to the wealthier north.

There are currently offers for €1 homes in:

• Sicily
• Calabria
• Campania
• Sardinia

However, there are also occasionally houses that pop up in coveted places like Tuscany or Genoa. The trick is to keep an eye out.

A lot of the houses are in villages or towns that are desperate to reverse their decline, so they might not be the most buzzing locations.

However, with the influx of renovations and expats, perhaps they can also be the new front line of tourism in Italy?

Many of the towns are just as pretty as Cinque Terre, for example, but off the beaten track. Make sure to do your research on the town and the location before you make any decisions!

How much will it cost do renovate a €1 home?

This depends on a lot of things of course, but there are reports of people spending anything from €10,000 to hundreds of thousands.

The trick is not to buy blind. Make sure you go and have a look before you lay your one euro on the table, as the reality can be harsh.

But… If you have a few grand in the bank, and some experience with renovating homes, a one euro home in Italy could be a dream come true.

Where do I find these one euro homes?

The headlines pop up every few months, so keep an eye on the news.

These websites are also worth keeping an eye on:

• https://1eurohouses.com/
• Case1Euro
• PropertyUnder20k

You can also check out sites like Idealista for property in Italy, Spain and Portugal. You’ll often find bargains under €10,000 if you know where to look.

The post A House in Italy For €1? What’s the Deal? appeared first on Gone Travelling.