By Megan Harwood-Baynes, cost of living specialist
When Jake Goodwin saw a house for sale for 85p, he had a feeling it was too good to be true.
“I was a bit sceptical, but I kept reading about it,” the Oxford-based stone mason told Money.
Homes in the Italian town of Mussomeli (around 40 minutes from the Sicilian coast) were being offered under the country’s one-euro housing scheme.
As young Italians migrate to the city, many remote villages are being abandoned, with houses left to fall to pieces. Elderly Italians find they have no one to leave their homes to, and for younger citizens, because having a second home means more taxes, selling these houses off cheaply can often make sense.
So, around 25 Italian municipalities are selling homes for the symbolic price of one euro. The idea is that having these homes improved and occupied is worth more to the towns than selling them off at full price.
After a few years of mulling it over, Jake took the plunge.
“Some of the homes in the area were £17-20k, but then they showed us the one euro ones. We stepped foot into my one and it had the most incredible views over the landscape,” the 30-year-old said.
Walls of solid stone were crumbling, but Jake reckoned he could do plenty of the work himself.
He took the estate agent to one side and asked what he had to do to make it official and, as of 16 May 2024, the three-storey home was his.
But even though the overall costs were low – Jake spent a few…
