Let’s Revisit

My first “kiwi4everhome” blog post was uploaded on the 26th of March 2020: Three years ago today!
Subsequently, on the 26th of September 2020, we boarded our Gatwick to Catania flight: Six months to the day after I began this blog!
So…

In my first ever blog entry, I wrote of €1 houses for sale in Italy?

Mostly found in the South, with the majority right here in Sicily.

Remember this?

I first started noticing them when articles began popping up on mainstream press sites, after we’d settled back in the UK in 2017. Although this phenomenon had actually started way back in 2014, in Gangi (population around 6,500), located 80km southeast of Palermo.
So, after actively thinking about buying one, why didn’t we?
The answer is mundane: Even the most cursory research told me these ‘pre-loved’ properties were for sale in photogenic but emptying, semi-abandoned villages in the rural heartland. Now that I ‘know’ Sicily, it’s not as romantic as it sounds, trust me!
The nearest big supermarket is a long-ish drive away; the medical facilities are rudimentary; the local infrastructure is crumbling; and you’re surrounded by equally-decaying houses.
More research revealed a majority of those buying in such places appeared to be at least middle aged, and looking to either retire or semi-retire … or in search of cheap holiday homes.
There are other catches, and of course! Most comuni (councils) would want you to establish a commercial enterprise (shop, B&B, etc.). So, if you’re simply looking for a second home, you could well be waiting for a while.
Then there’s the real costs: Notary fees, taxes, registration charges, etc. And not forgetting renovations could easily cost you €100,000 to €150,000!
Over the years, my opinion of them hasn’t changed.

My Initial Research

Now, problems notwithstanding with them, my interest had been (at least) piqued by those €1 houses.
As I’d written at the time, if’n you have any sort of interest in Italy, then surely this must be the case?
First things first though, I was then, and am still now ... somewhat ... annaly retentive. When any sort of a decision needs to be made: I’d always fire up a Word document and/or Excel spreadsheet. In my defence, this is the result of over 30 years in IT.
Sorry. Not sorry!

€1 house in Mussomeli

Anyways, once I’d firmly established to my satisfaction that these €1 properties weren’t any sort of scam, I began looking for ‘catches’. Because there had to be some. Once again, the result of decades of employment in big business!
It didn’t take me any time at all to find some. Although, at that time, these seemed entirely reasonable to me. Let’s put this down to ‘youthful exuberance’ okay? As I was only 61!
My research told me these properties were in that state estate agents used to call “a handyman’s dream”, “doer-upper” or “needs some TLC...” That’s because they’d been abandoned. Sometimes for generations.
Undeterred though, I’d mentioned my interest to Alice. Who, to my surprise, hadn’t dismissed the idea out of hand. Unsure of whether she wasn’t paying attention, or whether she was genuinely interested, with this outright and assumed permission, I’d charged ahead with even more detailed research.
There’s no fool like an old fool!

More Research

Given my penchant for creating files, I’d put together one imaginatively named ‘Living in Italy’.
And yes: Although renamed, I still have it! Anyways, into this, I’d downloaded all sorts of documents relating to €1 homes.
Although in Sicily only. An important decision this! I mean: I ‘knew’ the Veneto, having lived there for several months many years before, and most of Alice’s family still live there. But, even at my most optimistic, I knew it’d be too expensive to (early) retire there.
So, it had to be Sicily.

Y’see, we’d visited back in 2001. In fact, it’d been our last family holiday prior to moving back to NZ from the UK. Additionally, It was the only place in southern Italy we’d been, and we’d loved the climate, people, and the cannoli, of course!
Now armed with more detailed research, I’d delivered my now more detailed dissertation to my wife. Outlining what I saw as the pros and hurdles; folding in our current financial situation; and even mentioning that still-dreaded ‘B-word’: Brexit!
This time, however, my efforts were met with a more … muted … response.
Undeterred though, I’d resolved to change direction. And redouble my efforts! Especially given I’d noted how some who’d visited Sicily to buy a €1 home, had ended up buying locally. Only not the €1 ones. Instead choosing to buy still uber-cheap homes in rather better states of repair.
And six months later, in September 2020, we’d landed in Catania.
I’ve no regrets!

More Soon...