I bought a ‘one euro’ house in Italy for my family – it cost barely anything to renovate and we’ll visit every summer
A BRIT has revealed how he bought one of Italy’s “one euro” homes – and plans to visit every summer.
Hussain Ramzan, 31, paid just €10,500 (£9,000) to buy and renovate the house in Mussomeli, Sicily.
The town launched the one euro homes to encourage foreign tourists and stop the depopulation of the area.
Hussain said he was tempted by the cheap holiday home option after reading about the scheme back in 2019.
While some of the more run down houses are the cheapest options, Hussain paid slightly more for his two-bedroom, 90sqft home.
He told the i: “It was a real bargain, practically an entire building for me and my family.
“The house was just €4,500 (£3,900) then I spent €3,000 (£2,600) to restyle it and €3,000 for the property deed and the whole paperwork, including the notary fees.”
He managed to complete on the property in just three months, right before Covid.
He added that he was also helped by local authorities who had everything drawn up in English, as he doesn’t speak Italian.
He said overall he spent just around £9,000 – and that a similar house in the UK would cost £500k.
Hussain and his father did lots of the renovations throughout the pandemic, although said it needed minimal work.
This included painting the walls and fixing the roof tiles and windows, although they kept the original travertine stone floors.
Hussain, who lives in Watford, said he plans to visits with his wife and three kids in the summer, as well as trips throughout the winter as well.
Being from Portugal originally, he says he can easily visit as much as he wants due to his Portuguese passport.
His future plans even include moving to the area and sending his kids to the local school.
Since the one euro scheme was launched, more than 400 properties have been sold in Mussomeli, with around 50 of them owned by Brits.
Another man bought a one euro home in the same area – but said it was a complete nightmare.
Danny McCubbin bought a house for 85p but said the housing costs meant it “wasn’t worth it”.
He explained: “It was very difficult to find a builder and over time the house deteriorated.
“By the time I did find a building company, it was double the cost to renovate it. I decided it was not worth it for me any more.”
A couple bought a townhouse in Sambuca di Sicilia and spent three years renovating it, but say they love it.
And another woman says she thinks her “one euro” house could be worth £400k after doing it up.