You Can Buy a House in This Perfect Italian Town for Just $1

From Prevention

If you dream of owning your own home, but can't afford to buy one in your neighborhood, then consider a move to Ollolai, a small town on the Italian island of Sardinia that is currently selling fixer-uppers for next to nothing.

Located in the island's mountainous region of Barbagia, the town is selling off 200 abandoned homes for just €1 (about $1.24 at press time) in order to attract new residents, CNN reports.

While acquiring a house in Ollolai will cost you less than your daily Starbucks run, buyers must commit to refurbishing the abandoned stone houses within three years, which is estimated to cost about $25,000, which is still a steal considering you'd get to call this beautiful place home.

Formerly the capital of Barbagia, Ollolai’s once busy streets are now quiet after younger residents have moved away to bigger cities leaving behind dwellings that have been lying in ruin for decades. In the last 50 years, Ollolai's population has gone from 2,250 to 1,300.

"We boast prehistoric origins," Efisio Arbau, Ollolai's mayor, told CNN. "My crusade is to rescue our unique traditions from falling into oblivion. Pride in our past is our strength. We've always been tough people and won't allow our town to die."

Arbau has contacted the former home owners to have them sign over the abandoned house to the town so that they can be placed on the market for discounted prices and eventually refurbished, creating new jobs in the community.

So far, three of the abandoned houses have been sold and Arbau has received another 100 requests from places as far flung as Russia and Australia to buy others in the town.

One of the first homes was sold to a retired builder named Vito Casula who lived nearby on Sardinia and had visited Ollolai a few times before.

“One day my wife saw the ad in the newspaper. It was an opportunity," Casula told CNN. "This quiet town is frozen in time. It offers a peaceful, healthy life. The fresh air, zero smog and great views have a healing power. My bones and back don't hurt anymore.”

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