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1The true cost of buying a home for just one euro in Italy
Host: Now, if you don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest in moving to another country, how about one euro? Because rural Italian cities in need of revitalisation offer a scheme that allows foreigners to buy an abandoned house for pocket change if they commit to renovating it.
But what's the real cost of buying a one euro home? Our reporter Adriana Abano travelled to a small town in Sicily to find out.
Adriana: I'm in Mussomeli today, a Sicilian town of less than 10,000 people, about one hour from the coast. What you can hear are estate agent Nathalie Milazzo's keys. She's taken me to see what is left of one of Italy's most successful one euro home schemes.
Nathalie: There are only 10 to 15 one euro homes left. Today, we mainly sell newer properties in better conditions because the one euro homes that are left are in bad shape. The newer homes need little work and are really affordable.
Adriana: She's letting me in with a massive ancient iron key, twice the size of my hand. The property is small and abandoned. I can even see bottles of homemade sauce left behind by previous owners. Natalie tells me it needs new wiring, new plumbing and a new floor, which should cost around 40,000 euros. That's roughly the same price of a so-called premium property.
George Lang is from the UK. He has bought four one euro homes in Mussoumeli, which he is now renovating himself. He has amassed over 800,000 followers on social media, where he gives advice to people interested in buying a one euro home in Sicily.
George: Every single town and municipality has different rules and restrictions. You can do all the work yourself as long as it's not structural.
Adriana: With its rugged countryside and almost two hours away from an airport, Moussoumeli isn't always what people think of when they picture Sicily. But many tell me it's the town's community spirit that sealed the deal, even when their one euro home plan fell through. Just ask Danny McCubbin.
It's midday on a Sunday and he's handing out food at The Good Kitchen, the charity he opened in Mussomeli, what happened to his one euro project?
Danny: So my house was in perfectly good condition. But sadly, the houses either side were crumbling and caused a lot of water damage during the pandemic. So the cost skyrocketed from I think 14,000 it was going to cost to renovate it to 28,000. It just wasn't viable for me to continue with that project.
Adriana: So what advice does he have for prospective buyers?
Danny: My advice always to all the foreigners is to come back in winter when it's rainy as well because they come in summer, they see these houses and think they're perfectly fine, come back in winter and there's mold or the roof is leaking and also to spend time here. I think that's the key, just to really decide whether this town is somewhere where you would like to live or whether it's just a place to have a second home.
词汇表
revitalisation [riˌvaɪtəlaɪˈzeɪʃn] n. 复兴，振兴
scheme [skiːm] n. 计划，方案
abandoned [əˈbændənd] adj. 被遗弃的，废弃的
renovate [ˈrenəveɪt] vt. 翻新，修复，整修
Sicily [ˈsɪsəli] n. 西西里岛（意大利南部岛屿）
Mussomeli [ˌmʊsəˈmɛli] n. 穆索梅利（意大利西西里小镇）
Sicilian [sɪˈsɪliən] adj. 西西里岛的；西西里人的 n. 西西里人
estate agent [ɪˈsteɪt ˈeɪdʒənt] n. 房地产经纪人
wiring [ˈwaɪərɪŋ] n. 线路，布线
plumbing [ˈplʌmɪŋ] n. 管道系统，水管装置
premium property [ˈpriːmiəm ˈprɒpəti] n. 优质房产，高端房产
amass [əˈmæs] vt. 积累，积聚
municipality [mjuːˌnɪsɪˈpæləti] n. 市政当局，自治市
structural [ˈstrʌktʃərəl] adj. 结构的，建筑结构的
rugged [ˈrʌɡɪd] adj. 崎岖的，凹凸不平的
seal the deal [siːl] 最终敲定，使成交，最终确定
fall through（交易等）落空，失败，未能实现
crumble [ˈkrʌmbl] vi. 坍塌，崩塌，碎裂
water damage 水损，水渍损害
skyrocket [ˈskaɪˌrɒkɪt] vi. （价格、数量等）飞涨，猛增
prospective [prəˈspektɪv] adj. 潜在的，预期的，可能的
mold [məʊld] n. 霉菌
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