After months of being stuck indoors, the grass is starting to look much greener outside the four walls around us. However, packing up and moving homes can be expensive – unless you’re moving to this Italian town.
Speaking of lockdown, hear about what life looks like afterwards below:
According to News.com.au, Cinquefrondi – located in the southern region of Calabria – is selling houses for approximately $1.80 AUD. The only catch is, prospective owners will also have to cough up about $415 AUD in annual insurance until the property has been renovated. And if buyers don’t complete renovations within three years, they could be slammed with a $33,000 AUD fine.
Okay, so it’s not as simple as finding a gold coin lying around and flying to Italy. However, there is another major silver lining. Cinquefrondi’s mayor Michele Conia says the community hasn’t had any reported cases of COVID-19.
Speaking to CNN, Conia said it’s all part of ‘Operation Beauty’, a mission to help recover degraded parts of town and find new owners of many of its abandoned houses.
“Too many people have fled from here over the decades, leaving behind empty houses. We can’t succumb to resignation,” Conia said. “We rise between the refreshing hills and two warm seas, a pristine river runs nearby, and the beaches are just 15 minutes away by car.”
“But a whole district of my town lies abandoned, with empty houses that are also unstable and risky,” he said. “We’re just asking for some kind of certainty once a new buyer commits to the project.”
It’s not the first time Italy has offered homes for less than a Maccas cheeseburger. News.com.au reports that earlier this year, the Italian town of Bisaccia had put 90 buildings on the market for just $1.40 – and the same goes for Mussomeli in southern Sicily.
It’s really no surprise Italy is trying to boost its housing market. Over the weekend, the country reported 44 new deaths from coronavirus, bringing Italy’s COVID-19 death toll to 34,345. Reuters reports that’s the fourth highest in the world after those of the US, Britain and Brazil.
If you were thinking of investing in a fixer-upper home, why not embrace a much-needed seachange and score yourself a reno project overseas – this Italian town will be thanking you for it.
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