George Laing, 32, who splits his time between Mussomeli, Sicily, and Eastbourne, East Sussex, bought his derelict, three-storey home for 85p in Italy, back in December 2022
A British man bought his first home for just ‘one euro’ and now he’s got queues building up of people keen to rent it.
George Laing, 32, sealed the deal on his run-down, triple-level abode for just 85p in Mussomeli, Italy, as of December 2022, all thanks to a local council initiative aimed at reviving forsaken properties. Adding in admin charges, agent fees, and energy certificates bumped the final tab to 5,000 euros (£4,300).
Yet George – splitting his time between Mussomeli, Sicily, and Eastbourne, East Sussex – has deftly kept refurbishments under his £10,000 ‘shoestring’ cap. He’s tackled everything from a leaking roof, sorting out the electricity and restoring water, doing up most of the home himself.
George has shared his renovation story on social media, especially his Instagram page @george_laing_. He says that a hefty 500 of his social media followers have lined up via his webpage to book a stay.
He enthused, “I love it, it’s been the best decision I’ve made. I’ve got a waiting list of more than 500 people waiting to rent my home out. I just use my website and a booking form, I don’t have to use Booking.com or Airbnb – it’s edging up to nearly 600 people now.
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“It’s the power of social media. It was about a year ago that I launched my Instagram – I’ve got 164,000 followers there and 70k followers on Facebook. I think it’s a load of people who are saying that they’re following my dream and want to rent it out when it’s finished.
“You can do it without a lot of money behind you, but the backing from social media has definitely helped, because I also make money from content creation. Now, I’m in the process of buying another one euro home. It’s a five minute walk from mine, and overall it will cost me four grand – a similar price to the first one.
“This one should be slightly easier. I got pretty lucky, it’s structurally sound, it’s huge and it won’t take too much work. That project will start in the next two to three months. Whether I go for another property on top of that depends on how much money I make from the first one. If I have the money I would love to have whole rows of one euro homes – I could buy a whole community, that’s the long-term goal.”
George faces a requirement to complete the renovation of the property’s facade and roof within three years under the one euro home scheme; failure to comply within this timeframe could lead to a fine of up to 5,000 euros.
Despite the looming deadline, George – an antiques dealer after a pandemic-related redundancy – remains optimistic. He views the rule as a safeguard to prevent foreigners from buying up properties only to abandon them. George is determined to see his project through. He sees the scheme as a chance to restore beautiful homes at a low cost, thanks in part to the power of social media to bring attention, and hopefully, income, to his restoration ventures.
He’s keen on ensuring his ventures contribute positively to the community and is already eyeing up another business opportunity in Mussomeli, this time outside the property sector, which he believes will benefit the local area. George revealed: “Another venture is that I’m going to open up an antiques store.”
George’s home wasn’t just cheap, it contained unexpected treasures. “Funnily enough, in my one euro home, there was about £4,000 worth of things – I found an 18-carat gold solid chain which I’m keeping, but I could get at least a grand for it,” he said.
“I found an 18th century 14-carat gold ring which is also being kept. But I have sold an antique clock, and 1920s gold earrings. I’ve made roughly £2,500 which I got for free with the house – from the beginning it was self-generating cash. I’ve had so many people asking me to clear out their properties and I have accumulated a great collection of wonderful antiques from that too.”
Despite his successes, George faced challenges early on, recalling a particularly tough moment: “At the start, it was two o’clock in the morning, and there was a torrential storm and there buckets of water coming into my house – I managed to salvage it, but that definitely got me stressed”.
“The only light was from the moon, it was freezing cold and there was no electricity, I hadn’t had a shower for a few days, there was no running water, and so it was baby wipes instead of showers for seven or eight days. I wouldn’t say it’s a completely glamorous lifestyle, but it’s definitely a rewarding one. But at least the leak gave me a shower.”
George still insists that life in the UK is ‘unbearable’ and favours the Italian way of living over the British struggles with the cost-of-living, particularly with the support he gets from the Agenzia Immobiliare Siciliana, who manage many of the ‘one euro’ projects.
He expressed: “Eventually in the long term I do want to buy a countryside house in the UK, but property is so expensive, and there’s such a disparity between wages and property prices. I’m in a position where I am savvy enough and not scared of taking risks and could come here, but life for most people in the UK is unbearable right now.
“No one is thriving, everyone is just surviving, taxes shouldn’t be getting to 40%, and after rent, bills, national insurance, the UK has become crazy expensive. A coffee costs £5, a pint is £8, it’s £10 to travel around London, nobody can afford anything – the average person is struggling.
“When you go to Sicily, the difference shows in how slow everyone walks. It’s nicer to take your time and enjoy life. It’s a shame because the UK has a lot to offer, but it’s almost like the government doesn’t want people to succeed, as everyone’s struggling.”