A COUPLE who bought a house for 80p in gorgeous sunny countryside have been surprised by how little work it needs.
Sara and Luca are moving into a home which has been left derelict for more than two decades in picturesque Sicily, Italy.
The couple shared a YouTube video tour of the property they bought for just €1 in a scheme marketed by many Italian villages to help regenerate remote areas.
Their stone-walled new home had been left derelict for 22 years, with the last occupants moving out in 2001.
But the pair, accompanied on-screen by baby daughter Luce, insist they can renovate the place within a year.
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And they believe the value for money - as well as scenic surrounding countryside - will make their decision to move in worthwhile.
They own and work on olive groves a 10 minutes' drive away and wanted an affordable base nearby.
The couple, who share content online under the name "LeAw" or "Leave Everything And Wander", insist making the property inhabitable will be "easy".
They did point out obvious water damage to interior ceilings, as well as patchy flooring, multiple stains on the walls and broken pipes.
But after restoring electricity they claim the only essential works include installing new pipes and giving the rooms a clean.
Luca also said he hoped to "restore" rather than "replace" damaged doors.
And he held out hopes of bringing into use a desolate underground basement, saying it could even become "a second apartment".
The family have recently returned to their native Italy after spending the last few years living in Argentina.
They have latched on to the re-emergence of popular cross-Italy initiatives which offer abandoned homes in struggling villages for just one or two euros apiece.
Yet many local authorities stipulate buyers must commit to renovating the properties within 12 months - and often apply minimum residency terms before the homes can be resold.
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Luca admitted: "All the pipes need to be replaced because they're old and broken - everything is super-old."
But he insisted: "We have some good ideas."
And Sara told viewers of their YouTube channel, which has 215,000 subscribers, how they couldn't resist the home's "amazing view of the sea, the valley and the village".
She said: "It's very unique and we will try to keep as much as possible to keep the history of this house.
"We will keep the doors, we will keep the floors, we will keep if we can the windows and everything that is in here - apart from the pipes that are broken and not working any more.
"We want to keep this ancient vibe."
The couple said the thick stone walls should prove "cool in summer and nice in winter".
'A BEAUTIFUL PROJECT'
Sara added: "This house is not falling apart, it's not destroyed - the structure is still solid, it's sturdy, so we don't need to replace that or intervene.
"We like these projects where we can give a second life to things, a second life to properties - a second life to everything.
"This is a beautiful project."
And Luca, while vowing to get stuck in to refurbishment work within a week, declared: "There's not much work to do on this house to make it liveable straight away.
"It's beautiful, really romantic, really quiet."
But he added: "You need to be a little bit crazy, like Sara and I are, and everything is possible."
The duo did point out both pros and cons of €1 homes.
Sarah said they could be "very reasonable" in price especially to younger people, while also helping repopulate villages which have fallen into neglect.
They can also attract foreigners, with the schemes often not reserved solely for Italians.
But they warned renovation costs can pile up while officials could be strict in enforcing refurbishments and delaying any resales.
Luca suggested people buying a home for just €1 could soon find themselves needing to invest up to another €40,000 in repairs.
There have been plenty more happy customers.
A buyer from Chicago in the United States handed over a single euro for a home in Sicily and suggested it could soon be worth almost £500,000 pounds.
A Brit buyer from Watford in Hertfordshire spent another £9,000 sprucing up his and intends to stay there every summer.
Yet a near-neighbour who moved to Mussomeli in Sicily from London complained his €1 home had become a "nightmare" as he struggled to find a builder to renovate it.
Tourists from abroad have warned of "hidden problems" after being tempted to invest in Italy at what appeared knock-down prices.
One woman who bought three €1 houses said they could end up leaving her £60,000 out of pocket.
About 25 regions have taken part in Italy's €1 house scheme, which was put on hold by many in lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic but is now up and running again.
Commonplace conditions include paying notary fees, handing over an extra three-year buying guarantee policy of €5,000 - though this is refunded on expiry - and starting the project within two months.
