There was a time when Italy was offering homes for sale at prices as low as $1. The offer is still up for grabs if you want it.
So many people actually took the offer and relocated to remote corners of Italy, seeking peace and harmony with nature. After all, if you had the chance to live in the beautiful landscapes of Italy, you’d take it. Many people took this sweet deal, and then Coronavirus struck Italy.
We might expect that those people would have suffered in Italy which was one of the worst affected countries by this deadly virus, but the truth is far more surprising.
Here’s why you should consider buying these houses as well.
Why did Italy start selling houses for $1?
Italian towns have been dealing with the problem of depopulation since a long while, so they came up with the idea of selling houses for nominal prices – one dollar or one euro. Even though people needed to spend a few thousand dollars on renovating these houses, it was a sweet deal.
Living in the peaceful Italian countryside, and enjoying the best of Italian dishes was the dream for these people.
People bought these houses in such horrible condition
After Coronavirus, everyone was quarantined in their shoddy one-dollar houses in the remote areas of Italy.
Even the houses that they bought for cheap prices were in horrible condition. There was no water or electricity, peeling paint and crumbling plaster littered over the broken floor. The wooden doors were rife with bugs, and obviously there was no furniture.
They hardly had any supplies, they didn’t know the language, and they couldn’t go back.
This new life under Coronavirus had all the ingredients of a nightmare.
Then COVID-19 happened
So they shifted to hotels and B&Bs, but when those got closed due to the quarantine – they had to move back to their houses.
But somehow, the people who bought these cheap homes didn’t want to go back. When CNN and BBC interviewed them, they just said Coronavirus pandemic has shown what Italy’s villages really are. And now they are also planning to invest and sell more cheap properties like this.
After buying these homes in COVID-ridden Italy, they still don’t want to go back
Really what changed these people’s opinions was that they were forced to spend time away from television and smartphones, and without electricity, they were also forced to sleep early and wake up early.
They spent their days in learning Italian, cooking Italian dishes and roaming the natural countryside of trees and grass and forests and hills. They also started repairing and painting the house they had bought, trying to renovate it slowly with their own hands.
Neighbours from rural areas were extremely helpful, they even offered heaters and blankets to the newcomers. The local Italians also brought food for the newcomers occasionally and helped in every way they could have.
Americans, in particular, have seen a life here which is not possible in US at all
One of the places with such cheap properties is Mussomeli (means Hill of Honey in Latin) – a hilltown surrounded by honeysuckle and eucalyptus trees. It has a huge fortress named Enchanted Castle, where you could just climb up and enjoy the view of mountains and forest gleaming under the golden sun.
One of the Americans who relocated here in the early 2020, is extremely grateful to be here.
“They’re wonderful, I know everyone by name. I’ve got no words to describe how grateful I am of having them and don’t know how I could ever repay them for all they did.”
He had bought two houses, and now he’s planning to buy a third.
“I love this town and the people, even if they don’t know you, they help you out. It’s like being in another world. You don’t get this in the States”.
So, will you move to Italy to live in a $1 house, if you could?
All Featured Images Courtesy: CNN