Do you want to see the 1 euro home I bid on in Sambuca of Sicily?
Actually they were two … 2 euro homes!
I’d like to show you both homes, share why I chose them, and my estimated budget for completing the project.
If you read my last post… You know I made an offer on 2 side by side homes on my last trip to Sambuca of Sicily to see the 2 euro homes.
For those of you who don’t know .. a 1 euro home is the marketing headline here in Italy used to define homes being basically given away in various parts of Italy. It’s organized at the community level and every village that has offered homes for 1 euro creates their own version of the initiative in order to attract potential buyer/investors in hopes to boost the local economy.
In this previous post, I shared a few tips on what to focus on if you are inte rested in picking up one of these properties for yourself, so if that interests you feel free to check it out after.
A 2 euro home is Sambuca’s own little way of increasing the inherent value of their real estate. This distinction is useful whereas Sambuca is unique in the fact that they were the first to auction off 1 euro homes to the highest bidder instead of offering them to the first compatible buyer. Since then other villages have also implemented an auction style sales plan, but none have compared to the explosion of interest that Sambuca experienced in 2019.
This year, I made an offer and recently and want you all to know that I won! For this round. Sambuca had fewer auction participants, especially from foreign buyers most likely due to the fact that potential buyers found it difficult to arrange travel plans for obvious reasons. I do know that they intend to offer a third round of homes some time in the future. I’m really excited for this news since this project will mean big things for this channel. If you’d like to learn how you can get involved fill out your email here and I’ll send you an email once all the details are finalized.
The Homes
Let’s talk about the lots..If you’d like to follow along while looking at the floor plan, and map location, you can access the info used to market them. It wasn’t much to go on in order to make a confident decision and so visiting or having someone visit on your behalf is necessary. Interestingly enough, upon visiting this year, I had made up my mind already on which properties to bid on, but wanted to double check the other options to see if I had missed some important aspect which could sway my decision.
I’ve been sharing those properties one at a time on the channel and though there were some interesting options.. My mind wasn’t swayed and I placed my offers.
Lot #1
Let’s talk about Lot #1.. which actually coincides with the number assigned during this year’s 2 euro home auction. This wasn’t th e first time Lot #1 had been through a 1 euro home auction. In 2019 it actually
received bids and one bidder offered over 3500 euro for it. Unfortunately for them, yet fortunately for me, there were some issues with the lot as presented to the public at that time which had to be addressed before they could officially sell the property.
Lot #1 is approximately 30 sm on the lower floor and 40 on the upper for a total of 75 square meters or 810 SF.
The windows are small, and part of it is tucked between the adjacent property and the street that passes on the alley side of the home. I still need to ask what it was used for in the past, but most likely it was used as a storage/shop. It is only 4.5 meters from one side to the other, so we’re going to have to be creative with how we organize the space.
Lot #2 is approximately 40 square meters spread across 2 floors above ground. It is adjacent to Lot #1 and gives me the opportunity to increase the property to 115 sm or 1240 SF or leave it as an independent home. Both levels have small windows that face nearly due west.
Now that you’ve seen the homes, let me know in the comments your personal thoughts so far. Feel free to jump to the bottom of the page for a moment because next we’re going to talk about why I chose these lots and I don’t want it to influence your comment.
Why I chose them
So I know you think I’m crazy.. But I see a lot of potential in these two properties. A few of the things I really liked about this home were due to the area in which they are located. From Palermo, you arrive at Sambuca using the strada provinciale 70 .. After passing the gas station at the bottom of the hill, there are literally only two turns and you arrive at the houses.
Even though they are 1 min from the bottom of the hill, they have a unique placement on the edge of the hill that puts them with an unobstructed view of the valley. So as opposed to many historic villages, access by car is a breeze. Due to the terrain, there are a few calm streets that are fairly private and have a nice view that I had the opportunity of experiencing on my last visit. And while seemingly far from the main section of town, if you follow the adjacent street it’s only a 7 minute direct walk to the historical Chiesa Madre.
As for the homes themselves.. I like the potential garden space on the west face as well as the potential to expand into either the ruin to the north, or the superior home to the south. For now it feels a bit closed in by the adjacent properties, but expect that is due to how it looks compartmentalized and after the project is finished and everything is unified, I expect it to stand dominant even without adding and additional space. I know I already brushed over it when referring to the area, but it’s placement on the hill really allows the homes an open view of the valley to the west.
Project Plan
Let’s start by talking about how much I offered. It was a 2 euro home auction.. Which means minimum, I could have offered 2 euros for each home. Do you think I offered the minimum?
Well.. I didn’t. Knowing the results of the auction now,… I most likely could have, but I wanted to make sure these properties ended up in my possession… Not necessarily ‘no matter the cost,’ but it was worth more than 4 euros to me for the possibility of following through on a 1 euro home remodel here on the channel. Among other reasons that I have yet to announce.
Especially after seeing that both Lot #1 and #2 received offers in the thousands, I chose to raise my 2 euro offer to 502 each for a total of 1004.. 500 in order to beat any potential low bids and an extra 2 euro in case someone else offered 500 exactly.
Now the homes are mine and there are the next steps to look forward to.
The first of which is to sign a preliminary agreement in Sambuca, I believe within 90 days, where I will most likely pay the 1004 euros that I’ve committed. So Including the 5,000 euro which they are holding as a deposit to be returned to me after project completion, I’ll be in it 6,004 euro within the next few months.
The Rogito, or final deed transfer, and registration tax payments will be done later on. Or in other words, officially the property won’t be transferred into my name until the project is complete. This I know to many is going to be a deal breaker for fear that something sinister is at play. You might wonder why they have so much precaution towards transferring the property immediately to the new buyer.
I admit that I don’t know the official answer of the municipality in regards to this question, but when I look around and see how many properties are left neglected for so many decades.. I’m positive the community merely wants to ensure that progress is made in the community. So if that works for you, then they are happy to have you.
In fact, for what I have planned, I think it works best this way.
The Design
Let’s talk about the design possibilities. If you are good at seeing potential in things, perhaps while looking at photos of these two lots you already have a project idea in your mind. I’d love to hear your thoughts. I welcome all suggestions as we go forward on this project.
Before bidding on the property I threw this model together to see how the properties would work together. When seeing the properties lined up like this, it’s obvious that we’ll face some room flow challenges caused by the narrow nature of the property.
My goal is to integrate the exterior as much as possible as a way to increase flow possibilities from the left to right side of the property. I’m really hoping to connect to nature with the design and utility of the floor plan when it is completed. Creating some type of roof terrace if at all possible will add an additional layer to quality of life.
In order to maximize the use of the exterior, I may need to purchase the ruin next door in order to have exclusive access to the back courtyard. This is a cost that I’m told will be minor, but as you can see, I’ve been toying with the idea of expanding not just to the exterior, but by adding on to both wings of the property through additional property purchases.
Let me know which of these designs looks more functional in the comments below.
The Budget
At this point, I’ve made some general assumptions as to the cost of remodeling this 115 Square meter space. On my visit to Mussomeli, I was quoted approximately 700 euro per square meter. I confirmed that price tag again with Meredith Tabbone’s remodel here in Sambuca. I’m not intending to exaggerate the amenities of the property, so technically, I could lower the price per square meter potentially. As much as I’d like to lower it, the homes are in a rough state, on top of that inflation and remodel quotes have been coming in higher recently due to demand for raw materials…so, I think we’ll stay with 700 euros per square meter.
This will bring the total remodel budget to 80,500 euro on top of the purchase price which I estimate to be around 4000 euro total when all is finalized. Of course in this I am already considering my initial deposit returned. If I purchase the rights to the exterior space or expand into the ruin or superior homes on each side it is yet to be determined. So by the end of the project, I hope to stay under a budget of 85,000 euro.
This is based on my own estimations and I’ll update you as I get better quotes from actual professionals in Sambuca.
The Result
When I compare this project to where I live currently.. The spaces will be nearly the same size. My current home is slightly larger. But the potential for expanding into adjacent spaces is much greater in Sambuca.
Many of you know that I won my current home near Milan for 38k.. After a simple remodel, we’ve spent approximately 50k total. Even after living here for more than 7 years, there are projects left undone, but we are comfortable. So even though the Sambuca project budget is 70% higher than what I’ve invested into my current home, it’s nice that with 85K I will have a home with completed finishes in a nice community within less than 30 minutes to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
Don’t forget to add your email in order to know more about how you can get involved with this project in Sambuca!
