How to buy a $1 home in Italy in 2024 (step-by-step)

Buying a $1 home in Italy sounds like a dream come true. Have you ever fantasized about owning a vacation home in Italy that you can escape to when life gets stressful in the U.S.? Imagine how much more appealing this scenario is when the home costs just 1 Euro, or 1 dollar.

No, this isn’t some internet scam concocted by a fake prince in need of emergency cash. You can actually buy a 1 dollar home in Italy, with a few stipulations.

Many struggling Italian towns are offering investors the opportunity to buy 1 Euro houses in Italy. For the cost of a Dollar Tree trinket, you could be the proud new owner of a charming villa in the Italian countryside. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Well, not entirely.

There are several stipulations that can drive up the cost of a 1 dollar home Italy significantly. Here’s everything you need to know about buying one of these distressed properties in the Italian countryside:

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The story behind 1 Euro homes in Italy

Once-thriving Italian villages like Sambuco have seen a mass exodus of residents who left in search of a more viable life in the city or abroad. Their properties were abandoned and the economy suffered

Local leaders decided the best way to revitalize these areas was to sell the abandoned houses for 1 Euro.

The scheme worked because buyers from around the world flocked to these Italian towns to buy these bargain homes. While homeownership is becoming increasingly unattainable in the U.S., Americans are finding it much more affordable in Europe.

The 1 Euro homes in Italy project became successful because it fulfilled a need on both ends of the world: a shortage of affordable homes and a need to repopulate struggling small towns.

The hidden cost of buying a $1 home in Italy

You know the saying: If something’s too good to be true, it usually is. As you can guess, these 1 Euro homes in Italy cost more than 1 Euro. There are many hidden costs to these 1 Euro homes in Italy – you might end up paying more for one of these houses than you would back in the U.S.

Here’s a look at some of the expenses you should add to your $1 home budget:

1 Euro homes in Italy are sold via auction

It’s important to note that you can’t outright buy a $1 home in Italy. These homes are sold via auction and $1 is merely the starting bid.

While it may be possible to end up paying just $1 for your Italian country home, demand has skyrocketed thanks to vast media coverage over the past few years. Increased buyer interest in these homes will likely drive up the price.

You have to pay a 5,000 Euro deposit for a $1 home in Italy

Are you ready to submit a $1 wire transfer and secure your Italian villa? Well, you need to add another 5,000 Euro to that sum, because that’s the amount you need to put into escrow to “secure your bid.”

You also have to submit a 25 Euro administrative fee. This deposit is good for a bid on up to two properties: Your main property and a back-up option, in case the first bid isn’t successful.

If your bid is rejected, your 5,000 Euro deposit will be returned to you. In theory. But what’s the recourse if some corrupt official decides to pocket the money? Or even worse, if you’ve got incompetent bureaucrats who are just too lazy to follow through on their jobs. Maybe I’ve spent too much time at the DMV, but these are things to think about.

Renovating a $1 home in Italy can be costly

Most of the 1 Euro homes in Italy have been abandoned for years and are not exactly in turnkey shape. They need extensive renovations, which can be costly.

One stipulation of buying these $1 homes is that the property has to be renovated within a specific time period. Buyers are required to spend at least 20,000 Euros on renovations for these 1 Euro homes in Italy. That could be a bargain on a villa, but if you’re renovating a tiny 1-bedroom apartment, it’s quite a lot.

Once your bid is approved, the 5,000 Euro deposit will be held in escrow along with an additional 15,000 Euros for renovations. The 15,000 euros will be released after you make the necessary improvements to the property. Since you don’t get that money back until after renovations are complete, you need a total of 40,000 Euros (or $45,000) on hand to buy a $1 home in Italy.

The cost of living in Italy to oversee the project

If you snag one of these 1 Euro homes in Italy at rock-bottom prices, there’s still one major consideration: Your living expenses while you oversee the renovations. Are you ok handing the project off to a contractor in Italy and staying in the U.S. while the work gets done? The language barrier might make this challenging.

You may have to move to one of these abandoned towns and pay for accommodations while waiting for your $1 home to be renovated. With many of these towns being largely abandoned, you might find it challenging to find livable accommodations.

While you can virtually oversee the project from the U.S., you might still have to make the occasional site visit to ensure everything is up to par.

Regardless of how you approach the renovation project of your 1 Euro home in Italy, you’ll probably need a translator on the ground. Unless you’re fluent in Italian, communicating with contractors will be difficult. You’ll want to factor the cost of an interpreter into your renovation budget, so there are no major miscommunications.

In what city in Italy can you buy a house for $1?

Many cities sell 1 Euro homes in Italy. They include numerous towns throughout Sicily, Abruzzo, and Piedmont. The local governments in these towns have resources available on their websites on how to purchase 1 Euro homes. In addition, there are websites where you can search listings for 1 Euro homes and find translated information on how to buy them.

I’ve linked the different government websites below, when available. I’ll go over where to find listing for 1 Euro homes in Italy in the next section.

In the meantime, here are some examples of places that sell 1 Euro homes in Italy (broken down by region):

Northern Italy

Northern Italy has several towns offering up $1 homes, most of them located in Piedmont and Liguria. Even the picturesque Aosta Valley has 1 Euro homes available in the sparsely-populated town of Oyace. Here’s a complete list of 1 Euro homes in Italy’s northern region:

Aosta Valley

• Oyace

Liguria

• Pignone
• Triora

Piedmont

• Albugnano
• Borgomezzavalle
• Carrega Ligure

Central Italy

Central Italy has an abundance of $1 homes available in desperate need of revival. You can live out your Diane Lane dreams in Tuscany, with a dozen towns offering homes for the cost of a dollar tree trinket.

Abruzzo

• Casoli
• Lecce nei Marsi
• Penne
• Pratola Peligna
• Santo Stefano di Sassanio

Lazio

• Maenza
• Patrica
• Santi Cosma e Damiano

Marche

• Cantiano
• Monte Urbano

Tuscany

• Fabbriche di Vergemoli
• Montieri

Southern Italy

If you want lots of options for a $1 home in Italy, look no further than the south. Southern Italy has the most towns offering 1 Euro homes in Italy, making it an excellent place to search. There are currently 26 village offering up 1 Euro homes. Most of them are in Sicily, which has seven towns in distress.

Basilicata

• Acerenza
• Chiaromonte
• Laurenzana
• Ripacandida

Calabria

• Albidona
• Belcastro
• Bisignano
• Cinquefrondi
• Maida
• Rose

Campania

• Altavilla Salentina
• Bisaccia
• Pietramelara
• Zungoli

Molise

• Castropignano
• Sant’Elia a Pianisi

Puglia

• Biccari
• Candela
• Caprarica di Lecce

Sicily

• Cammarata
• Caltagirone
• Cattolica Eraclea
• Mussomeli
• Pattineo
• Taranto
• Troina

How to buy a $1 home in Italy in 2024 (step by step)

If you’re willing to accept the risks and are ready to buy a $1 home in Italy, here’s a step-by-step guide on exactly how:

Step 1: Find 1 Euro homes in Italy

You can purchase 1 Euro homes in Italy by checking listings on various Italian city websites. Below are a few websites you can browse to find 1 Euro homes in Italy:

• Case1Euro
• Renovita

To ensure you don’t miss out on the latest firesale, consider setting a Google Alert for “$1 homes in Italy.” Other struggling European countries, like Greece, also offer distressed properties for $1. I would widen the search to “$1 homes in Europe.”

Step 2: Submit the application

If you find a property you like, you can download the PDF application form and submit it via email. You’ll need to pay the administrative fee too.

Step 3: Pay the deposit

Once you submit an application, you will receive email instructions to wire your 5,000 Euro deposit. If your bid goes through successfully, you’ll put the additional 15,000 Euros into an escrow account until the renovations are complete. 

If you’re unnerved by the idea of buying a house in a foreign country without setting foot on it, there is another option: You can simply fly to Italy, meet with local real estate agents who specialize in $1 properties, and hand-pick your property. That’s probably the best way to reduce risk and make sure you get your money’s worth.

Should you buy a $1 home in Italy?

While the process for buying a $1 home in Italy is clearly outlined, there are several challenges to be aware of. For starters, some of the websites and paperwork are completely in Italian. Sure, you can use Google Translate to get everything in English, but some of the translations end up very unclear. 

The city of Sambuca made it easy by providing English application forms, but I’ve also encountered cities that publish everything (website and paperwork) completely in Italian. Even when I managed to submit an application, I got a response back in Italian. So be prepared for that and consider hiring an interpreter.

The last thing you want to do is wire 5,000 Euros to a government office in another county, fill out the paperwork incorrectly, and end up in limbo. After all, what’s to say the language barrier will get any easier?

Another thing to consider is the time and effort spent in finding and hiring a capable contractor to renovate the property. You’ll likely have to hire a translator/assistant who can research local contractors and help oversee the project. That could get costly very fast. But if you can pull it off, I’m sure you can make your 20,000 Euro investment back quickly.

Bottom line

Buying a $1 home in Italy can be a good investment but it carries numerous risks and expenses. As long as you’re willing to accept these barriers (and work them into your budget), it can be worth it.

It goes without saying that tourism is a huge industry in Italy. With so many entrepreneurs buying up $1 houses to revitalize these small cities, tourism will surely follow. But there’s always risk involved and a project like this isn’t for everyone. I’ll do it eventually, if only as a practice run for bigger projects stateside. But for now, I think if I do travel to Italy, I’ll be staying in someone else’s Airbnb, Not my own.

Frequently Asked Questions

This story was originally published on December 19, 2019. It has since been updated with the most current information.