Overseas property bargains: Italian country homes selling for $1.50

If you dream of a more drastic move than a local sea or tree-change and want to call Italy home sweet Rome, this could be the solution for you.

According to CNN, historic homes in the town of Maenza are set to hit the market for just one euro. Yep, one euro – that’s about $1.60 Australian. Spend the equivalent of a double-shot latte and buy three.

Maenza is located just under an hour and a half from Rome, and it is expected that there will be around 100 houses up for grabs.

If this is all sounding too good to be true, there is – as there often is with these things – a catch.

The townhouses are mostly dilapidated, date back to the 1700s and are part of Italy’s renovation initiative. For the new homeowners, a deposit of just over $8000 is required and refundable, once the property has been renovated over a three-year timeframe.

New owners must outline to the government how they will be using the property and the changes they plan on making to the dwelling, in addition to implementing more future-focused changes, like earthquake prevention.

Maenza is now joining other more remote areas across Italy that are part of this initiative, but is the most centrally located.

The local mayor, Claudio Sperduti, told CNN that, unlike the other parts of Italy, the offers do not come as a result of a reduced population.

“This is not a dying city, people still inhabit the old district but it needs a revamp, fresh oxygen,” he said.

If you want to breathe new life into an old home, there is more information here.