What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

PSA- Buy a house in Sicily for $1.15 (1 Viewer)

El Floppo

El Floppo

Footballguy
some of you moneybags could even buy 2. make a FBG-only town with goal-posts in back yards and the whole nine.

In some popular U.S. cities, such as San Francisco, the median home value is well over $1 million. But in the scenic Italian town of Sambuca, located in western Sicily, you can buy a home for one euro, or about $1.15.

Residents have fled to larger cities in recent years, and local officials have come up with a plan to sell dozens of homes for virtually nothing in the hope of repopulating and reviving the rural town. The properties range in size from about 430- to 1,610 square feet, so they’re on the small side, but most come with private grotto access.

There is a catch, though: If you purchase one of the houses, you must invest €15,000 ($17,100 USD) in renovations over the course of three years, since many of the properties were abandoned and are cluttered with broken stones and old furniture. You must also put down a security deposit of €5,000 ($5,700 USD).

So in actuality you’ll need to have more like $22,801 at the ready. Still, that’s not a bad deal.

Sambuca, also known as the City of Splendor, was a nominee in 2016 Italy’s Most Beautiful Towns contest.

“This fertile patch of land is dubbed the Earthly Paradise. We’re located inside a natural reserve, packed with history. Gorgeous beaches, woods and mountains surround us. It’s silent and peaceful, an idyllic retreat for a detox stay,” Giuseppe Cacioppo, Sambuca’s deputy mayor and tourist councilor, tells CNN.

Walking the streets you’ll find a mesh of baroque and Arab architectural styles. Tour guides can lead you through the “sunken city,” a labyrinth of underground sandstone passageways. Just watch out for ghosts. It’s rumored that spirits of slaughtered Saracen soldiers haunt the caves at night.

There haven’t been any official sightings reported yet, CNN notes.

Sambuca is not the first place to try and jolt the local economy by offering housing at bargain-basement prices.

Detroit, Michigan, has tried to fill run-down homes this way. Gary, Indiana, recently introduced its Dollar House Program. Officials there used a lottery system to offer home ownership to those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it.

Meanwhile, local communities in Japan have listed vacant country homes for free.

And other Italian towns facing depopulation crises have launched similar initiatives. Last year the Sardinian town of Ollolai announced a plan to sell 200 homes for €1 each. And in 2017 the town of Candela in Puglia announced a plan to actually pay people to move there.

If you’re interested in taking advantage of the offer in Sambuca, you better act fast.

“Some 10 houses have already been sold,” Cacioppo says. “Dozens of others are available but badly in need of a makeover. We’ve been contacted by people from Switzerland, France and Spain and are receiving many requests.”
Click to expand...

 
There are shacks in Detroit and rural Alaska which could be purchased for similarly-low prices. Good luck making a living there.

 
I suspect this trend will continue as folks urbanize.  When I was out in the Scottish highlands those areas are depopulating pretty quickly.

 
there are virtually free houses in most every stone village in Italy. they can't be torn down cuz like nine other houses are leaning on em. i think the govt will pay you to recondition some of em

 
The city I grew up in had this program, I remember as a child a friend of my Dad's bought a house for literally $1 and fixed it up and lived in for years. 

Now the mob took over the inner city, properties are in total disrepair, they just patch stuff up hoping to get someone to sign a lease, and when tenants complain they immediately evict and usually win in court as well keeping the deposit even though they leased an uninhabitable property. Ideally they will rent to a drug dealer or prosititute because then they will never complain. If the biggest property owner in the city is forced to sell his buddies will buy and hold for him. City Council makes excuses for him. Section 8 is abundant and the worst 1 bedrooms go for 750 a month and you will have homeless addicts using in your hallway. 

I was in property management and it is absolutely incredible. Also frustrating when it is hard enough to support yourself without handouts. I live out of the city to save money. Would absolutely love the chance to buy a house cheap and fix it. Instead I spent my summer fixing properties for people whos rent is paid by the government while struggling to keep my own head above water.

 
dotman said:
The city I grew up in had this program, I remember as a child a friend of my Dad's bought a house for literally $1 and fixed it up and lived in for years. 

Now the mob took over the inner city, properties are in total disrepair, they just patch stuff up hoping to get someone to sign a lease, and when tenants complain they immediately evict and usually win in court as well keeping the deposit even though they leased an uninhabitable property. Ideally they will rent to a drug dealer or prosititute because then they will never complain. If the biggest property owner in the city is forced to sell his buddies will buy and hold for him. City Council makes excuses for him. Section 8 is abundant and the worst 1 bedrooms go for 750 a month and you will have homeless addicts using in your hallway. 

I was in property management and it is absolutely incredible. Also frustrating when it is hard enough to support yourself without handouts. I live out of the city to save money. Would absolutely love the chance to buy a house cheap and fix it. Instead I spent my summer fixing properties for people whos rent is paid by the government while struggling to keep my own head above water.
Click to expand...
so how does one take advantage of this situation?  

 
Reality show about turning over sec. 8 rentals was my best idea....absolute mayhem. Could double as an episode of Cops.

 
One time a guy power washed 55 gallons of used motor oil across 3 properties, a car, and about 40 feet down an alley. Would have been absolute gold if filmed. Can you imagine coming outside and someone sprayed used oil all over your backyard and car. I can still hardly believe it.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
when I visited Sicily years ago, my parents to me to abandon town called Forza D'Agro which was set in the mountains. 

It was both cool, beautiful and spooky at the same time.  That is until they took me down a specific street and everything looked amazing.  All old world charm but fully renovated, it was jaw dropping.  My mom told me a bunch of German's were systematically buying and fixing the homes and then using them as vacation spots.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

playin4beer
Any real estate experts in the house?
Replies
11
Views
438
Ministry of Pain
Ministry of Pain
Godsbrother
Recommended Breweries in South Florida?
Replies
33
Views
421
Senor Schmutzig
Senor Schmutzig
nirad3
Curious.... where do people go for "nightlife" in small town America?
2
Replies
53
Views
2K
Manster
Manster

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Top