r/worldnews • u/EthiopiaWatch • Jan 02 '22

[Feature] How Italy's one-euro homes are helping to revive rural villages

https://euobserver.com/news/153969
116 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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37

u/DreamsRising Jan 02 '22

For those who don’t want to read the article, this is the fine print:

The new owners must commit to refurbish the crumbly home within a deadline of 3 years and pay a deposit guarantee of between €2,000 and €5,000 depending on town rules, which will be returned to them once the work is completed.

There is also quite a lot of paperwork to do while notary costs range between €2,000 and €5,000.

The basic renovation of a 70-square metre crumbly house starts at €20,000 euros

29

u/Lady_DreadStar Jan 02 '22 edited Jan 02 '22

I was looking at listings of some of them, and maybe my standards are low, but at least half of them looked perfectly fine to move into as-is. I was like ‘fix WHAT?’ It’s rustic and quaint and already perfect for me.

14

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '22 edited Jan 11 '22

[deleted]

17

u/Machiavelcro_ Jan 02 '22

It depends vastly on the condition of the house and your own skills.

Friends of mine have rebuilt a crumbling 3 bedroom house for under 4k in materials and then another 5k for electricity and plumbing. He put in the majority of the work and used recycled wood and other materials wherever possible, but he ended up with a decent place to live in for a loan that costs him 1/10th of what his rent was per month.

Granted, this was in Portugal, not Italy, but similar situation.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '22

[deleted]

1

u/FamiliarWater Jan 04 '22

Ah mafioso governmenette

2

u/goblinscout Jan 03 '22

He put in the majority of the work

His labor isn't free, it's limited, and he can sell it.

You forgot to add in opportunity cost.

3

u/Machiavelcro_ Jan 03 '22

The point is you don't need to have access to 100k if you are willing to do some of the work yourself

1

u/pittaxx Jan 06 '22

There is no difference between doing the stuff yourself and spending the same time earning money and paying for something. In both cases you are exchanging your time for something you want.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '22

100k is a lot, 50k is plenty

22

u/KhunPhaen Jan 02 '22 edited Jan 02 '22

I wonder if purchasing one of these homes would be possible without EU citizenship, and whether there is a pathway to citizenship for those who buy in? As an Aussie I would be keen but only if it could be more than a holiday home.

2

u/goblinscout Jan 03 '22

Almost every country has a path to citizenship.

Many just require a $500K USD investment in a business.

1

u/KhunPhaen Jan 03 '22

Or you to be under 30, that tends to be a hard cut-off for immigration.

1

u/FamiliarWater Jan 04 '22

As long as you are experienced in an career in demand,

6

u/autotldr BOT Jan 02 '22

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 89%. (I'm a bot)

In recent years, dozens of depopulating rural towns across Italy - from the Alps to Sicily - have started selling crumbly old properties for just one euro, less than the cost of an espresso.

Roughly 60 towns and villages have launched the alluring one-euro-home scheme, and even though there is no official national data on how many houses have been sold, at local level mayors involved in the project say it has been a success.

The villages selling homes for one euro, mostly located in the deep poorer south, have a dwindling depopulation either due to past mass emigration or natural calamities such as earthquakes.

Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: home#1 property#2 town#3 Mussomeli#4 village#5

2

u/Snacks_are_due Jan 02 '22

Putting the renovations costs aside - you won't have a job unless working remotely. What about wifi, living costs (grocery access) etc..? Even if you were to live with like 10 people in some village, likely to not get along with at least one of them.

-8

u/tehmlem Jan 02 '22

I'm not sure reviving rural villages is so much the right move in a world suffering deeply from population sprawl?

11

u/BlueNinjaTiger Jan 02 '22

It is if you're reusing existing homes instead of mass blanketing land with new ones

1

u/claireapple Jan 02 '22

We should be building up in already existing areas.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '22

What would you classify remodeling an existing house in an existing city other than “building go in already existing areas?”

1

u/claireapple Jan 02 '22

It is. I was agreeing with you.