I ditched London to buy a house in an Italian village for 88p – it sounded like a dream but came with huge hidden costs | The Sun

A CHEF who ditched London to buy a bargain house in Italy has told how the move came with huge hidden costs.

Danny McCubin, 60, bought a house in Mussomeli, Sicily in 2020 after his friend told him the town was offering homes to foreigners for just €1.

Having worked alongside Jamie Oliver in London for 17 years as a chef in the bustle of the big city, Danny wanted to quit full-time work for good.

When his pal told him about the town in Italy offering cheap homes to foreigners, Danny took the plunge and decided to move to Sicily.

But the move came with hidden costs – and Danny's plan for a stress-free life didn't initially go to plan.

He told The Sun: "A friend told me ‘look there's a town in Sicily where you don't have to have any real criteria or there are no restrictions about buying'.

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"So I took my first trip in May 2019 and I moved in December 2020."

Several towns in Italy have been offering one euro houses and other incentives to attract people to move.

A decrease in population and rise in unemployment have contributed to more and more places turning into ghost towns.

Some towns have restrictions with a minimum deposit on the house, while others had a lottery system where you put up a certain amount of money to get a good house.

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That is, if luck is on your side.

In Danny's case, the requirement was to complete the renovation of a property in three years.

Otherwise, he was told he would have to pay a fine of €5,000 to the town municipality.

"These houses are crumbling, they've been abandoned," Danny said.

"So the town really said 'look, if you buy this one euro house, rather than just sitting on it, you need to start renovation'."

Danny signed the papers and paid his 88p to the municipality – but it turned out there was lots of paperwork to be handled and it cost him £2,400 to hire solicitor to deal with it.

He also had to stump up £437 for the estate agent to help him find the house.

Adding in the cost of renovations, the true cost of the bargain 88p house came to £20,000.

"You're looking at around €20,000 minimum to renovate a €1 house," Danny said.

"And for that money, you can buy a house in Mussomeli that maybe just needs a bit of cosmetic work."

Danny decided to pay £7,000 for a liveable house that needed only minimum repair.

And he found his dream in a community kitchen that he opened in a more central location.

"I didn't want to take on a renovation project," Danny said.

"I already renovated my house in London, and you know, no matter where you are, renovations can be stressful.

"And part of my reason of moving to Mussomeli was to lead a stress free life."

He sold the 88p house but doesn't regret the decision of moving to the remote town.

"I was able to get my Italian residency," he said.

"So even though I lost €2,800, I didn't mind because some people have to pay lawyers to get a visa to live in Europe now and to be a part of the EU."

But he now wants to warn those who buy into the dream advertised by Italian government to not jump straight into it.

With a population of 10,000 people, the unemployment rate is 50 per cent for young people.

Danny said: "A lot of them need to be able to survive financially so if they're independently wealthy or if they work online or work remotely then it's a perfect town to live in."

But he said those who dream of opening an AirBnb in their €1 houses should avoid starting businesses in Mussomeli.

"I am always very honest with the foreigners when they ask me about opening a business," the former Londoner said.

"I said 'well, look please don't do that because you'll be taking away business from the locals'.

"But then secondly, there's just not enough people to start viable B&B."

Mussomeli sits 800ft above the sea and has beautiful views – but it also makes the town hard to access.

"It's not the most accessible town, but for me that's part of the appeal because I wanted to live somewhere that was remote and quiet and tranquil and, and you know, away from everything," the chef said.

"But for a lot of people, it's just too remote for them.

"Those eager to buy one euro houses also don't realise how small the town is.

"It has one cinema that opens up every month, couple of restaurants and no high street.

"I've met some foreigners who sort of think there's going to be more to the town, and when they come there, they realise that it really is a quiet town.

"It's possibly not for them."

Danny also recommends potential newcomers to visit the village in winter to see what it's really like for most of the year.

"It's easy to be fooled by the vibrant town during summer days when it's flooded with relatives visiting locals or tourists," he said.

"Most of the houses don't have heating.

"They're all farmhouses, so they would have farm animals in a stable attached to the house to heat the house up."

And despite Sicily having relatively low living costs compared to the rest of Europe, heating costs can get expensive.

"Be really careful what streets you're buying in, because you might buy a house that has a beautiful view, but then you have no neighbours,"

Despite all the difficulties, it didn't stop Danny pursuing his dream life in Italy.

"People are kind, people are generous, people talk to you in the streets," he said.

"After London I wanted that, I wanted that sort of lifestyle for sure."

Now, Danny has opened a community kitchen that feeds Ukrainian refugees, elderly people and orphans in the town centre.

"I don't know if I would move here if I didn't have a passion project like the good kitchen," he said.

"I couldn't just sit and do nothing."

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