From North to South, Italy is full of wonderful and precious chests rich in art and history, delicious foods and ancient traditions. Special places where heritage and landscape are in complete harmony: a journey through time which, unfortunately, is not able to stop the depopulation that these places are forced to suffer, mainly due to the lack of employment opportunities.

Thus, primarily in order to face the abandonment of these beautiful villages, the impoverishment of the territory and with the aim of relaunching the local economy, many Italian municipalities have taken the lead of selling abandoned houses, in bad condition and to be restored, for only 1 euro.

In Italy there are 51 Unesco heritage sites, and among these many abandoned places that need to come back to life. In this perspective, the project “Houses at 1 euro” wants to offer a real property opportunity to young people, since the possibility of having access to a mortgage is often an hurdle obstacle, but also for those who want to relocate in Italy and take a unique opportunity.

Municipalities are not only auctioning for house projects, but also for the establishment of tourist activities, B&Bs, or larger projects that may affect more properties within the same country with the possibility of creating a widespread hotel.

The houses for sale

The houses affected by the “Houses at 1 euro” project are owned by private individuals who often want to discard them so as not to pay taxes and more. We are talking about dilapidated or unsafe properties that need major renovations.

The properties are sold as a donation to the municipalities which, through a public procedure, sell for the symbolic amount of 1 euro. In other cases, it is the municipal administrations who act as guarantors for the owners of these properties.

The obligations for the buyers

Of course, there are commitments for those who buy buildings related to the project, since the buyers must guarantee:

• forecast of a house renovation and revaluation project within 365 days of purchase;
• payment of the notary fees for registration and transfers;
• two months to start the work when you have all the permits.

To guarantee the safety of the purchase by the buyer, the Municipality asks to take out an insurance policy of 5 thousand euros for a duration of 3 years which is then reimbursed upon expiry. For details, it is necessary to contact the building departments of the municipalities concerned directly and carefully view the relevant calls.

The advantages of the offer

All taxpayers subject to income tax can deduct part of costs incurred to renovate homes. Specifically, the tax deduction is 50% of the expenses incurred, with a maximum spending limit of 96 thousand euros for each real estate unit, and is applied for related interventions:

• extraordinary maintenance;
• restoration and conservative renovation;
• building renovation.

In addition to the 50% deduction, it is possible to benefit from a reduced VAT and deductions on interest expense on mortgages.

The areas and villages included in the project

Here are the villages are interested in the “Houses at 1 euro” project:

Tuscany
Vergemoli factories – Lucca
Montieri – Grosseto
Piemonte
Borgomezzavalle – Verbano Cusio Ossola
Lombardia
Milan
Marche
Cantiano – Pesaro Urbino
Puglia
Taranto
Caprarica of Lecce
Calabria
Rose – Cosenza
Campania
Teora – Avellino
Bisaccia – Avellino
Zungoli – Avellino
Sicily
Racalmuto – Agrigento
Troina – Enna
Itala – Messina
Cammarata – Agrigento – Sicily
Saponara – Messina – Sicily
Bivona – Agrigento – Sicily
Sambuca – Agrigento – Sicily
Mussomeli – Caltanisetta – Sicily
Gangi – Palermo – Sicily
Regalbuto – Enna – Sicily
Salemi -Trapani – Sicily
Termini Imerese – PA – Sicily
Sardinia
Montresta – Oristano – Sardinia
Ollolai – Nuoro – Sardinia
Nulvi – Sassari – Sardinia
Abruzzo
Lecce in the Marsi – Aquila – Abruzzo
Lazio
Patrica – Frosinone – Lazio