'A life changer': Why Italy's $2 homes aren't always too good to be true Great article showing, what the deal is for those houses
"Now he's living the dream. " "He expects to spend between €15,000 and €20,000 (AUD$24,800 and AUD$33,000) on renovations" "within the next three years though, planning to live in the house and set up a health food or cafe downstairs." He is not living the the dream, so far he is living in a dream. “I’m getting a bit deep but it really has been a life changer.”..."I can’t wait to go back there." Yea, you just wait till you go back. I won't spoil the surprise.
From an Italian guy who moved here 9 years ago... Yes renovation cost can be right if you give an hand and depending on the condition of the property. Especially in those areas, you can pay a specialised labour at Euro 100 / day. 3 guys by 8 weeks + material?!?! It is only in Australia that you pay an entry labour $80/hour and fingers crossed he does the job. I guess the question is: would you want to live there? no. Easy to rent? No. A lot of paperwork to be done? Yes. Holiday house? Maybe. "Case a 1 Euro" is definitely a thing in Italy at the moment. Bigger cities like Taranto are joining too.
Le Marche is nice but a fault line runs all along the coast. The other side is nice too just outside the major centers. These places are cold in winter! I was talking to someone in Turin on the phone a few mths ago who said "its nice and warm today here 19 deg..." I was cold with the heater on, also 19 deg. The south (Naples and below) is better when it comes to Jul to Sept summer holidays, the rest of the year boring. The south has very bad infrastructure as well, and very poor services. Buy an IP and rent in Italy? No way in hell. Summer holiday beach house in the south? Sure if you have contacts. Just never leave anything valuable inside...
i have family in north but just wont do it. I expect would remain empty most of the year Tuscany was the go years back, now too expensive
In a moment of madness,ive thought assuming the reno costs are what they quote and decent quality, Why not have it as a holiday house and on the assumption these 1€ houses all sell, it will turn back into a non abandoned town, property prices stabilise, I become a italian slumlord, especially if i took the plunge and bought more than 1
One of the old towns just inland from Genoa done something similar a few years back and it attracted a lot of interest. Even around Tuscany their are quite a few abandoned hilltop towns. Quite popular with people from the U.K looking for a lifestyle change and also have a trades background and want to escape the rat race and crappy weather. I think these properties have to be used as a PPOR.
In recent years I have been learning Italian, hoping that one day I can speak like a paesano. I have visited the Campania region in southern Italy and have thought about buying a small apartment in Naples. But I have heard about some of the corruptiion that goes on in southern Italy, and that's enough to put me off.
Naples puts many off. Its a congested and someone dilapidated filthy place. Out of all of Italy I have seen its probably the one place I could never live or really desire to revisit. Lacks wealth and infrastructure and has even been a dumping ground for toxic waste. Even the local mafia dont respect the place and control the waste industry which explains the frequent rubbish collection strikes. Its only corruption when they get caught. Otherwise its just economic activity. The Comorra are pretty strong around the mezzogiorno region
You will love this, I have seen it now at least 3 times Benvenuti al Sud - Wikipedia translation- welcome to the south
You wouldn't buy a cheap house in the middle of nowhere in Oz, or in a dying town...why would you do it overseas?
I have trouble finding time to drive to my holiday home that is 90 minutes away. what is Tuscany - 20 hours? If you buy in Italy you must have a good local tax advisor. Their tax system is mind blowing.
Many of these towns arent in the middle of nowhere, there in well populated areas, thats what makes them popular, many small towns and villages in Europe were built in hilltop locations because they offered really good defensive locations and you could see an invading force from a distance , long before they burnt down your house , killed the towns population and took all your animals, especially in areas without a strong central government, most worked on the land for the wealthy landowner, but were trapped in a system that kept them poor, especially in Italy .This system started to breakdown after WW1 and the final nail was after the end of WW2 when the mass migration to the larger towns and cities in search of work and a better life . Even today many young people dont have cars, especially 4wd for the winter snow , so its all about living in the bigger towns and cities where the jobs are , or for millions of others they simply left the poverty behind and migrated overseas
