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Property in Italy for €1 - 5 September 2008

For those who have their eye on a serious renovation project, the mayor of a town in rural western Sicily is proposing to offer houses to buyers for the miniscule price of just a single Euro. The town of Salemi has been increasingly deserted since an earthquake some forty years ago damaged many of the villas and houses, and local mayor Vittorio Sgarbi is convinced this is the best way to regenerate the crumbling town centre.

Much of the local population moved away following the earthquake, but the picturesque town sits between two rivers and close to the Mediterranean coast, and was once the headquarters of Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1860.

Mr. Sgarbi explained to the BBC website that the town council currently owns many of the houses. “There are 3,700 houses owned by the council, almost all in the old town, that are in danger of falling down – of crumbling and dying.” The goal of the offer is to attract people who have the means and the local sensibility to restore the houses in a sympathetic manner.

Here is the catch with the property offer (if there can be a catch with a property costing just €1). The mayor requires that any individuals who are keen to buy commit to completing a full restoration of the property without changing their style, and within two years. Not only will this cost a considerable amount to do, buyers are likely to encounter a significant amount of interference from the local council and its officials at every stage of the renovation process.

“We are thinking of people who have the sensibility and economic resources to embark on this adventure,” said Mr. Sgarbi. “In exchange for a token payment of one Euro we will offer them one of these houses and ask that they undertake to restore them within two years while respecting their original characteristics.”

Among the interested parties are said to be former Genesis star, Peter Gabriel, and one of the first houses was given to Massimo Moratti, Chairman of Inter Milan – though one would think that he could afford the asking price…

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