You Can Buy A $1 House In An Italian Town That's Bragging About Being COVID-19 Free

This is a pretty sweet deal. Cinquefrondi homes for sale for just over $1 and all the town wants is for people to buy a place and then renovate it. Plus, the town is boasting that it's COVID-19 free.

Located in Calabria, a region in southwestern Italy, Cinquefrondi is putting homes up for sale for €1 which is just a little bit more than CA$1.

If you've been wanting to start over somewhere else, this might be your chance.

The hope is that this offer will entice people to reside in the town to reverse the depopulation caused by younger people leaving to find work.

It's even been given the code name Operation Beauty.

The town's mayor, Michele Conia, told CNN that this is serious business.

"Finding new owners for the many abandoned house we have is a key part of the Operation Beauty [mission] that I have launched to recover degraded, lost parts of town," he said.

With the project, new owners have to pay an annual €250, or CA$380, policy insurance fee until the renovations are finished.

If the work isn't complete within three years, there is a fine of €20,000, or CA$30,409.

Conia said that the cost of fixing up one of the homes is less than the fine for not finishing the work.

Since the homes for sale are about 40 to 50 square metres wide, it makes it easier to renovate.

All of them are located in the historical ancient part of Cinquefrondi and some have a balcony that offers a view.

"We rise between the refreshing hills and two warm seas, a pristine river runs nearby and the beaches are just 15 minutes away by car," Conia said.

The town overlooks both the Ionian and Tyrrhenian coasts and is nestled along the sprawling Aspromonte National Park.

Along with the homes being $1, the town reporting zero COVID-19 cases among residents might be a selling point for people.

Cinquefrondi isn't the only town that has offered up cheap real estate.

Other towns in Italy have also promoted similar deals on homes so long as you renovate them.

If you're not quite ready to leave your life in Canada behind, you can still go to the European country for a simple visit.

Italy has allowed international travellers to visit once again and one region will actually pay for part of your trip there.