2024-03-24 17:42:00
(CNN) — In recent years, the sale of homes for one euro has aroused great interest in Italy, where dozens of people chose to acquire abandoned properties in some of the most depopulated cities in the country.
But while cities such as Mussomeli, in Sicily, and Zungoli, in Campania, have managed to sell several abandoned homes to foreigners eager to live the Italian dream, others have had difficulties selling their empty houses.
Among them is Patrica, a remote medieval town of just 3,000 inhabitants located south of Rome, where more than 40 abandoned properties were left to rot at the beginning of the 20th century.
Located on a rocky plateau overlooking the Sacco Valley in central Italy, Patrica is an idyllic place, but life here was not easy for locals in the past.
Abandoned houses
The Italian town of Patrica, located south of Rome, is struggling to get rid of its abandoned houses. (Credit: Municipality of Patrica)
Many left in search of a better future, leaving their homes empty for decades.
In an attempt to revitalize this dying town, its mayor, Lucio Fiordaliso, has tried to emulate the success of other Italian towns that put their empty houses up for sale for one euro, or just over a dollar. So far it has had little success.
“First we located all the abandoned houses and made an official call to the original owners to invite them to hand over their ruined family properties, but we only managed to sell two houses for one euro,” Fiordaliso tells CNN.
Although local authorities in cities depopulated by earthquakes and other natural disasters have the authority to put abandoned homes up for sale without the owners’ permission, this is not the case in Patrica and other similar cities.
“First we need the will of the owners, or their heirs, to get rid of their old houses,” says Fiordaliso.
“Only then can we put these properties up for sale with their consent, which makes the process very complicated. Almost impossible.”
Fiordaliso explains that the municipality received a “positive response” from 10 owners after sending a “public call to involve them in our one-euro housing project”, but they withdrew at the last moment. The rest never responded.
Public tender
Many of the town’s families left in search of a better future, leaving their houses empty for decades. (Credit: Municipality of Patrica)
Fiordaliso believes that those who changed their minds may have done so because of problems with other relatives who owned shares of the same property.
Abandoned buildings in ancient Italian cities are sometimes divided between several heirs who own only a part – such as a bathroom, a balcony, a kitchen – and nothing can be sold without the written consent of all heirs, according to Italian law.
In the past, it was customary for children to inherit parts of the family home, including plots of land, wells and orchards.
But it is not always a guarantee that relatives will remain on good terms and/or in contact years later.
“The sale of potential one-euro homes faced a dead end, as most of the relatives sharing the same property were at odds with each other for personal reasons or could not agree on the sale, some barely speaking to each other. or knew each other, others lived in distant cities and even abroad,” explains the mayor.
In some cases, houses were never officially distributed among heirs in the past, so the property line was broken along the way without a clear indication of who the current owner should be.
According to Fiordaliso, locating the descendants of owners who emigrated abroad long ago, mainly to the US, Canada and Argentina, and who perhaps had different surnames, or who may have transferred their Italian properties to foreigners without notifying the municipality of Patrica, it has been a very arduous task.
“It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” he adds.
The only two abandoned houses that Patrica managed to sell under her one-euro plan were 100% owned by two local residents, so it was not necessary to contact fourth cousins or great-great-grandchildren, and they were able to sell uncomplicated properties.
Family ties
The remote medieval town has about 3,000 inhabitants. (Credit: Municipality of Patrica)
In situations of family feud, relatives may decide not to sell their share due to legal issues related to inheritance disputes, or even as a form of revenge.
And original owners who have lived elsewhere for many years may be afraid to make themselves known to local authorities and potentially be hit with back taxes on their property and waste disposal fees of up to 2,500 euros (about $2,730 a year). , plus unpaid utility bills).
Another reason why the one euro plan was never implemented in Patrica could be due to the state of its abandoned houses.
Some are too abandoned to sell, even if their owners were willing to do so.
Gianni Valleco, Patrica’s neighbor, and his two brothers decided to put their parents’ abandoned house up for sale to see what would happen, but they soon discovered that the home was far from desirable.
“We thought: ‘Why not try it?’. Even if it were just for one euro, we would get rid of a lot of useless stones. We were curious to see if anyone might be interested in buying it anyway,” says Valleco.
“We were aware that after half a century our parents’ house had become rubble, it was totally destroyed, as if razed.
“The roof and most of the walls had collapsed, leaving an open-air room covered in grass and bushes. Only a piece of land remained, an ugly garden in the historic center.”
According to Valleco, a neighbor had been using what was left of the house to throw away his old things.
“Then we realized no one would buy it,” he says. “It is a bad investment that requires a lot of money to rebuild the house. It is more worth buying a rural house in the surrounding area.”
Fortunately, not all of Patrica’s abandoned houses that could sell for one euro are in such a terrible state, and some have sparked the interest of potential buyers.
“A few foreigners came to see the abandoned houses for one euro. There was a lot of interest, but unfortunately we had nothing to offer them,” explains the mayor, adding that those interested came from the United States and Europe.
Meanwhile, Fiordaliso has come up with new ways to increase the city’s appeal in hopes of attracting newcomers.
New plan
Recently, the municipality financed the renovation of the exterior facades of some old palaces, which encouraged several residents to completely remodel their old family homes and give them a new use after decades of neglect.
Alessandra Pagliarosi went a step further and converted the 1950s mansion inherited from her husband into an elegant B&B called Patricia.
“We redid the roof, which practically no longer existed, and the interior. The mayor’s move finally gave us a good excuse to completely renovate the property, which had been sitting there unused,” says Pagliarosi, who benefited from the new tax exemptions introduced by the municipality to reactivate the local economy.
Those who decide to start a commercial activity, such as a B&B or an artisan boutique in the old town, will be exempt from paying taxes on waste disposal, advertising and use of public spaces for 10 years, and will be granted tax credits for the costs restructuring.
“In the case of a small B&B, this would mean a tax saving of around 1,200 euros per year, which represents a considerable sum,” explains Pagliarosi.
Foreigners who plan to settle in Patrica and open a small business can also benefit from tax advantages.
So far, two new guesthouses and a restaurant have been opened.
Real estate agent Ilario Grossi, who runs the Immobil Lepini real estate agency in the nearby town of Ceccano, says several American descendants of emigrant families recently visited Patrica to view properties.
But ready-to-occupy homes, with two bedrooms starting at 20,000 euros (US$21,832), were more attractive.
“There is interest, but when many (foreigners) see the poor condition of the old houses, they prefer to opt for turnkey apartments that have already been renovated or that only need small repairs,” says Grossi.
“So it’s much more convenient to buy one of these newer ones than to get an older building that needs a major renovation, where the final cost would end up being much higher.”
Despite these challenges, Fiordaliso has not given up selling some of the city’s houses that have been abandoned for a long time, even if he has to negotiate between warring relatives to do so.
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