A WOMAN has revealed that she bought an entire abandoned home for just 85p, and has transformed it into her dream home, which is now worth £384,000.
Meredith Tabbone, 44, purchased the home in Sambuca di Sicilia, Italy back in 2019 and has spent the last few years completely transforming it.
She first heard that abandoned homes in Italy were being sold off for a euro after a friend showed her an article about the scheme.
Meredith is from Chicago, but her family is originally from Sicily, and the village that her Italian home is situated in is the same village that her great-grandfather came to the US from in 1902.
She had been planning on buying a property in Europe, so decided to put in a bid for a property, despite never having seen it and never having been to Sicily.
A few months later, she got an email saying that she had won the bid, and spent £4,900 to take ownership of the property.
In June 2019, Meredith visited the 17th century home for the first time, and said that the condition was “dire at best.”
“There was no electricity, there was no running water, there was an asbestos roof,” she told CNBC.
She added that there was also “two foot of pigeon poo” on the floor.
In August 2020, Meredith decided to purchase the house next door, for £18,290.
“The reason I did that is because the one euro home was pretty small, which initially I didn’t mind as I was just thinking of it as an apartment to visit infrequently,” she said.
However, she soon fell in love with the village, and decided it would be nice to have more room, as she planned to spend more time there.
Meredith initially only planned on spending £31,000 on the renovation but ended up spending over £384,000, transforming the two properties into a four-bedroom, five-bathroom property.
She hired a team of builders to help with the renovation, and would fly between Chicago and Sambuca during the process.
A few of the major renovations that she undertook were levelling out all of the floors, adding electricity and water and adding lots more windows.
She plans to build a wine cellar and a walk-in wardrobe, and then the property will be complete.
YOU don't have to spend loads to give a room a new look. Here are five other home renovation tricks you can try.
Kitchen cupboards
One way to give your kitchen a complete transformation for less is to change the look of the kitchen cupboards. There are loads of different vinyl coverings out there to choose from, and it’s a quick and easy way to update your home.
Handles
Another thing you can try that won’t break the bank is to change up the handles. You can pick up relatively cheap handles in DIY stores, or even in the charity shop. Adding new ones to your kitchen cupboards, or doors in your house, can be extremely effective.
Leftovers
Most of us have old half-used tins of paint in the garage, but they’re often forgotten about. However, there may be enough in the pot to paint a feature wall in another room, and you won’t have to spend a penny.
Freebies
It’s worth checking your local Facebook Marketplace, or Freecycle, to see what other people are getting rid of. As they say, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. And if someone’s planning to revamp a room, they might want to get rid of a sofa, or a coffee table, which you could use to give a lounge a new look.
Her home even has a sauna, as well as a library and a balcony.
Meredith plans to spend four months a year in her Italian home and is currently learning Italian.
She has also purchased another home nearby, which she plans to use as a guest house for any friends who come to stay that have children.
“I will never sell this house,” she said.
Meredith added that once she passes away, the home will be donated to the village.
