Italy giving away FREE houses and/or PAYING YOU to live there! Wow!

[Lucas88]

That last photo looks terrible...Who would live in that place?

I think that the idea is that you are sold the house for next to nothing and then have the responsibility to renovate it yourself.

Such an agreement incentivizes people to look after those properties and prevent them from completely decaying.

You might get a house in a picturesque Italian town for merely a euro but then you have to work on it and make it fit for human habitation.

Not a bad deal if you want a vacation home in the countryside of Southern Europe and are into renovating properties.

[yick]

I don't think you can use them as holiday homes, you have to live in them for a certain amount of time, they have a similar scheme in parts of Spain, you need to bring a family with kids, provide towards the local economy and create jobs and have to show money in the bank - a minimum of 30 grand to be able to do them up - I remember watching a documentary of some Brit who bought one of those one Euro houses in Italy and he said the problem was getting workmen to do the work because you would get workmen and they wouldn't turn up or they would up the agreed price for the work and all other kinds of bushman crap - with those kinds of projects, I think it is best suited to handyman types who know how to renovate houses themselves rather than relying on workmen in a foreign country if you don't speak the language - it would probably end up cheaper buying a house for its proper price than getting one of these one Euro 'bargains' in the arse end of nowhere.

[Winston]

The Young Turks talks about Italy giving away free homes for people who want to leave America because they hate Trump. lol. Spain is another good choice. Cost of living there is much lower than Italy and people are more open and soulful and natural than Americans. If you're a misfit in America then this is the perfect solution.

[Yohan]

Nowhere, anybody will give you any house/land for free if it still has a reasonable value.
Not in Italy or Spain and also not here in Japan.

There are plenty of abandoned houses worldwide but Italy in some areas is known that deserted villages are often a hideout for wanted criminals, for activity of mafia members.

Here in Japan in a rural area there is little criminality going on and you can buy such a house for very little money, but you will face a nowhere location without any public services like water supply, far away from any shopping area or medical clinic and the house is often in a very bad condition.

Of course you need your own car, driving yourself, such places are not suitable for retired people either, for young people there are no jobs.

For the few people who try it out in Japan are also other financial expenses to consider, like to pay for a new land title after a costly survey of the land plot, and most people opt for paying just a little rent and sign a contract for 5 or 10 years. Often these old farm houses have a land title including farm land which cannot be bought by foreigners etc.

Even in EU for foreigners visa restrictions might apply. To buy such a house does not include of course residency permit, working permit etc.

I can only advice in any case, regardless where, not to buy and just to rent, so you are under no obligation and can disappear any time in case of trouble.

[Yohan]

.....rather than relying on workmen in a foreign country if you don't speak the language - it would probably end up cheaper buying a house for its proper price than getting one of these one Euro 'bargains' in the arse end of nowhere.

Very true,

I am living outside of my own country since more than 40 years and I found the best solution for foreigners is to buy a condominium unit. This is what my wife and I did in Japan and in Thailand.

It's not cheap but comfortable, as the house administration takes care of everything - cleaning, roof repair, elevator maintenance, gardening, garage for your car in the house, electricity and gas supply, also swimming pool within the building we are now in Thailand, security against burglary etc. and if you are absent for a while, you find your place exactly in the same condition as you left it a few months ago.

Legally seen condominium units are easier to buy and easier for maintenance as a foreigner, at least here in Asia - Japan, Thailand, Philippines...

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If somebody offers you a house/land for free, something is wrong with it. Either the house is in bad condition, or in a very uncomfortable location, or there might be legal problems, like unclear ownership/inheritance, mortgage, land title issues requiring a new costly survey...