Vocabulary

 

 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

 

The price of buying a home can be daunting for many Americans, but in parts of Italy, they are practically giving houses away. Seth Doane traveled to Sicily, where some bargain-hunting homebuyers are finding a deal with a catch.

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It’s house hunting for the brave.

Justina Sparka, Homebuyer: “The condition is, as you can see, it’s not the best one.”

But Justina Sparka, who’s from Poland and came hoping to find a hidden gem.

Justina Sparka, Homebuyer: “There are a lot of original elements, like the flooring.”
Journalist: “The flooring is beautiful.”
Justina Sparka, Homebuyer: “Yes.”

While some of the decorations or details may not be ideal, at least here the price is right.

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In Mussomeli, a hilltop town in the heart of Sicily, houses are selling for 1 euro. Even with an unfavorable exchange rate, that’s about a dollar and twenty cents.

So far, the city has helped sell about a hundred of these houses.

Journalist: “I’d want to go to this house — a castle.”

And they have a hundred more to sell.

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Domenico Tolomeo, Program Manager: “We have this house . . .”

The goal is to revive the rundown center of this remote town.

Journalist: “That’s another one-euro house. This is a one-euro house, and another one.”

Domenico Tolomeo, who manages the program.

Domenico Tolomeo, Program Manager: “The house becomes yours, so you can do everything you want with your house. You can sell your house, you can make a shop, you can make a B&B, a hotel.”

The fine print: you have to fix it up within three years.

Domenico Tolomeo, Program Manager: “If someone owns this house, why would this person sell it for a euro?”
“Because in Italy, if you have more than one house, you have to pay a lot of taxes, so they prefer to sell houses, and not pay taxes.”

The houses need a lot of work, more than many existing homeowners want or can afford to do. But it’s a different calculation for foreigners.

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The woman who bought this house lives in the San Francisco area, and she’s become a sort of ambassador to this place. Now, a number of her friends and family are buying here too.

We reached some of them by video chat in San Francisco.

Journalist: “Did you all think that you would be homeowners in Sicily?”
Selena Smith, American Homeowner: “Never.”

In all, Rubia Daniels convinced friends and family to buy 13 homes in Mussomeli.

Journalist: “What was the pitch?”
Rubia Daniels, American Homeowner: “Good food, good wine, good gelato. So it wasn’t hard to convince everybody.”

They explained that even with about three thousand dollars in closing costs and tens of thousands in renovation work, it’s still a deal.

Selena Smith, American Homeowner: “Can you imagine, we live in the Bay Area where buying a home is almost out of the question for most people.

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Mussomeli is one of about a dozen towns across Italy to test this out.

Journalist: “Nice house.”
Nina Smit and Bert Van Bellingham, Belgian Homeowners: “Thank you.”
Journalist: “Can we have a look?”
Nina Smit and Bert Van Bellingham, Belgian Homeowners: “Yes, of course.”

And early adopters have become role models. Nina Smit and Bert Van Bellingham read about the program in Belgium, and about a year later, they live here.

Bert Van Bellingham, Belgian Homeowner: “I found a lot of things in the house. I recovered them, I cleaned them, and I used them.”
Journalist: “How different does it look now from when you first bought it?”
Bert Van Bellingham, Belgian Homeowner: “Impossible. Unrecognizable.”

They wound up paying a bit more for this place, which has a stunning view, and did almost all of the work themselves.

Journalist: “There were nightmares of trying to figure things out, find something, fix things up?”
Bert Van Bellingham, Belgian Homeowner: “No, no. You’ve got everything here. Everything. And everybody helps you.”

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They say what’s important here is the buongiorno they hear from the neighbors, the slower pace, and the sense of community.

Journalist: “How do you feel here?”
Nina Smit, Belgian Homeowner: “Happy, happy and relaxed. This is life.

It’s a richer life at a much lower cost.

For CBS This Morning Saturday, Seth Doane, Mussomeli, Italy.

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Questions

 

Cave. Houses in (major cities of) the United States is quite affordable. True or false?

Tent. Are the houses for sale in Italy new and modern, or old and traditional?

Yurt, Ger. Are house in rural parts of Italy cheap, medium-priced, expensive, or practically FREE?

Hut, Grass Hut. Is there a “catch” to the one euro houses?

Cabin, Shack. Do the home sellers want to make huge profits? Why are they virtually giving their houses away?

Cottage. Why do the Americans from San Francisco want to buy homes in Italy?

Farmhouse. Was it very challenging and difficult for Bert and Nina to renovate, refurbish, and remodel their new home?

Terraced Homes, Townhouses. Are the locals cold, hostile, and xenophobic toward outsiders?

Bungalow. Is the way of live in Sicily the same as in Belgium?
 
 
 
Family Home, Detached House. Do you live in the country, a village, town, city, or megalopolis? Is housing cheap, medium-priced, expensive, or “free”?

Low-Rise Apartments. Are there depopulated villages, towns or regions in your country? Is there rural flight?

High-Rise Apartments, Apartment Building. Do many people, including foreigners, move to rural areas? Would you and your friends like to live in the country or in a village?

Mansion, Manor, Villa. What might happen in the future?

Castle, Palace. What could or should people, businesses and governments do?