It is true that everything is not so simple, because the purchased real estate (NT) will need to be renovated.
However, for those who do not want to buy and then repair the ruins, there is another, also very attractive option.
Much better-maintained homes that don’t require much maintenance are offered for, say, 7k. or 12 thousand euros. In addition, buyers can do whatever they want with them – no renovation is necessary.
Why only 1 euro?
At the moment, on the Case1euro.it project website, around 57 real estates are offered, which cost just 1 euro, and their size can be 75, 100, and 190 square meters. m.
As strange as it may seem, houses are divided for nothing for a reason.
The €1 flats are usually private property and the owners often want to get rid of them to avoid paying taxes and fees.
This is because Italian citizens who own more than one real estate must pay the maximum tax. For this reason, they prefer to sell houses for 1 euro instead of paying an additional fee.
“Usually we are talking about dilapidated or dangerous real estate objects that need to be renovated. In some cases, we are also talking about 1980-1990. built houses – they need less renovation.
Real estate owners give the municipality the opportunity to sell houses for a symbolic price of 1 euro. The municipal administration supports the project and guarantees that the sale, which always takes place between private citizens, is legal,” says the website 1eurohouses.com.
You can turn houses into hotels for 1 euro
This project has been launched in some Italian municipalities also because it aims to fight against the neglect of the population and to revive the troubled areas.
So selling houses for as little as 1 euro is an attempt to repopulate beautiful villages that are being abandoned as the young residents leave and the elderly slowly disappear.
As a result, buyers are obliged to renovate the house for 1 euro within 3 years from the date of purchase.
In addition, many municipalities require interested parties to visit the municipality and inspect the house themselves before buying, to make sure that the buyer is serious.
And although this unprecedented project initially faced difficulties, it has recently become increasingly popular.
This long-term strategy is attractive to those looking for affordable real estate investments in Italy and to restore the prestige of Italian villages, “renowned worldwide for their extraordinary beauty and ancient spirit”.
Equally important is the fact that the settlement of these small villages promotes tourism, reviving the economy of the entire area.
According to the portal, in order to strengthen the tourism economy, the purpose of the purchased old building can be changed and turned into, for example, boutique hotel, bed and breakfast or even create a larger project that includes several premises in the same settlement.
Houses for several thousand euros and no renovation
However, the 1 euro house project is not as popular as one would expect everywhere in Italy. For example, in the Apulia region, in a village called Biccari, 1-euro houses are finding their way with difficulty, writes the portal “Idealista news”.
As the mayor of this settlement, Gianfilippo Mignogna, said, newcomers prefer better-preserved houses that do not need such serious repairs.
“Many foreigners are asking for a house that is ‘more ready’ than a €1 house. They are afraid of the problems associated with organizing serious repairs at a distance.
Since we also had houses in the old town that did not require major repairs, but only minor maintenance, we decided to expand the project to include this type of real estate as well,” the mayor commented to the portal.
Thus, the catalog expanded from houses for only 1 euro to houses for 30 thousand. euros.
G. Mignogna indicated that a total of 40 houses have already been sold and none of them has yet been a house for 1 euro.
He revealed that approximately 650 thousand was received for all these 40 houses. euros. So, on average, each house sold only 16.3 thousand to the buyers. euros.
When asked if buyers are not deterred by the strict conditions obliging them to repair real estate within 3 years, the mayor replied that there are no residence or restructuring obligations:
“People who buy our houses can decide what to do with them.” Even so, we have people who want to move here as soon as they retire. Others simply want to have a second home here so they can come and spend a longer or shorter time in Italy. Still others are planning to rent them out.”
Taxes and other obligations – how much does it cost?
Persons buying a house for 1 euro must:
- draw up a public real estate purchase deed within 2 months;
- to cover all the costs of preparing the purchase deed (notary, registration, transfer, etc.);
- within one year from the date of acquisition of the property, prepare a project for renovation and restoration of the property;
- start work within two months from the date of issuance of the construction permit;
- 1,000-5,000 for the benefit of the municipality. euro warranty policy, valid for 3 years, in order to guarantee that the buyer will perform the work properly. If the successor does not fulfill his obligations, the municipality will have the right to refuse the policy or buy the real estate;
- the house must be renovated within 3 years from the date of signing the deed.
The price of renovation of real estate starts from 100 euros per 1 sq.m. m. (only applies to the width of the facade). If you need to completely renovate the house, the price starts from 700 euros per 1 sq.m. m.
Case1euro.it says that you can renovate the house yourself or with the help of your own staff, and you can choose local engineers and architects. And with a license, the house can be changed according to your wishes and vision.
Although the real estate itself costs only 1 euro, to get the property you also need to pay:
- notary and other fees, ie registration, VAT, etc. (in total – about 2 thousand euros);
- fees of the secretary, i.e. intermediary real estate agency (400 euros);
- warranty policy costs (in Italy, a 5,000-euro insurance policy costs 100-200 euros);
- for cadastral plan documents (500-700 euros) and APE documents (200 euros);
- annual local taxes, i.e. IMU – real estate tax and TARI – waste tax (approximately EUR 300 per year for an area of 100 sq.m.).
The Case1euro.it website states that, excluding renovation costs, the total amount of these costs is from 2.5 thousand. up to 4 thousand euros.
