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Town offers homes on sale for less than Dh5

Sicily, Mount Etna - The Sicilian town joins the trend of places in the country offering homes for one euro.

A town on the Italian island of Sicily joins is set to offer homes for sale to potential buyers for just one euro (Dh4.4).

According to CNN, Castiglione de Sicilia, located on the slopes of Mount Etna near the island’s east coast beaches, is selling around half of its 900 houses at the symbolic price.

Mayor Antonino Camarda has said that the one-euro houses are old and ruined ones dating as far back as the Renaissance, with houses in the better condition being sold off cheaply at a starting price of 4,000 euros (Dh 17,770).

"We've carried out an in-depth study cataloguing each property based on maps and land registry data. According to their conditions, buildings will be sold at different prices, starting from €1," says Camarda.

Potential buyers must provide a detailed plan as to how they plan to renovate the homes to a special task force that has been set up to oversee the project. There is no deposit payable to guarantee doing the works, but owners must take out an insurance policy from a bank.

"It would cost the new owner €100 per year, which seems a fairer sum than a deposit guarantee," says Camarda. "We have already received many emails from investors and people across the world. There's a wide choice here."

Many other towns in Italy have launched similar one-euro house schemes in an attempt to breathe new life into older towns.