An Italian village is selling homes for 1 euro — that’s about $1.53 in Canada.
And it’s not a joke or a trick, but there is some fine print involved.
The Italian village of Ollolai, located in the interior of Mediterranean island Sardinia, is selling about 200 historic homes for the ridiculously low price. (Check out the video above for a look inside the homes.)
Applications to buy one of the stone-built homes, which close on Feb. 7, are pouring in from around the world, according to local reports.
The real estate sale is meant to repopulate the small village, which has been increasingly deserted as people move to larger cities. The current population of is just 1,300.
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Efisio Arbau, the mayor of the region, said the village prides itself on preserving history and would like it to stay that way.
“My crusade is to rescue our unique traditions from falling into oblivion,” he said, according to CNN. “Pride in our past is our strength.”
The news outlet reports that Arbau reached out to the homes’ previous owners, many of whom were farmers, shepherds or craftsmen, and had them sign the homes over to officials.
“They’re picturesque old buildings made with Sardinia’s typical gray granite rock that grows on mountain peaks and shores,” Arbau said of the homes.
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But region’s history also means that the buildings are old — and the homes for sale date back about 200 years.
That’s where the catch comes in. The homes can only be bought for 1 euro on the condition that the new owners will begin renovating them within one year, and complete upgrades within three years.
The region’s government estimated in a press release that renovations for the homes would cost 20,000 to 30,000 euros, which is about $30,000 to $45,000 in Canada.
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And once you become the owner, you can’t sell it until five years later.
Now, those catches may deter some potential buyers. But there are several tempting factors to owning a home in Ollolai.
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For one, the region is known for its mountainous views, greenery, and is not too far from Sardinia’s breathtaking beaches.
And while Ollolai isn’t too busy of a tourist spot, Sardinia’s coastal towns are ripe with sightseers.
Check out these photos:
While Ollolai’s real estate trick is garnering attention, it’s not the first Italian town to pull it off.
In April 2015, a similar sale was held in the National Park of Abruzzo. And in 2014, the region of Gangi, Sicily put at-risk historic buildings on sale for the same price.
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