For years, Sicilian towns with abandoned mansions and other houses have attracted new buyers by selling properties at the symbolic price of 1 euro. However, this 1 euro can eventually turn into several hundred thousand euros to make the house habitable. 

Meredith Tabbone, a 44-year-old from Chicago, heard in 2019 about a town named Sambuca di Sicilia, auctioning houses starting at 1 euro. "Many people warned me it could be a scam and I could end up losing a lot of money," she says. However, realizing her great-grandfather was actually from Sambuca, she saw it as a positive sign. She bought a house and began a four-year renovation journey. "From the moment I sent the bid and found out I won to the moment the house was ready, there were 4 million moments of disappointment, exhaustion, and thinking about how to proceed," she admits, adding that she now owns the house of her dreams.

What should a prospective buyer know? Houses in Sicily may start at 1 euro, but the cost doesn't stay there. The realtor's fee is at least 500 euros, plus a special transaction fee of 2,800 euros. Thus, right away, the amount is 3,300 euros. And from there, the major expenses begin. Tabbone spent an additional 430,900 euros on complete renovation and furnishing of the property.

Rubia Daniels, a 50-year-old from Berkeley, California, bought three 1 euro houses in Mussomeli in 2019. So far, she has focused her efforts on renovating one of them. Initially, she believed it would cost her 20,000 euros, but she has already spent 35,000 euros on materials, labor, and furniture, trying to keep it under 40,000 euros. She hopes to stay close to 40,000 euros, avoiding luxuries.

It's not just the cost that one has to consider. One of the most important pieces of advice for those who have acquired 1 euro homes is the need to be present for the renovation works. Remote coordination with engineers, builders, and workers simply gets lost in translation.