A British-based chef who bought a crumbling house in Italy for €1 has had to get rid of it because he can’t find a builder to renovate it amid a construction worker shortage in the country.
Danny McCubbin, 58, recently moved from London to Mussomeli in Sicily, where he purchased a house in the town’s historical district for a single euro.
The bargain arose as dozens of towns in idyllic locations in rural Italy attempt to stop their populations shrinking by offering foreigners abandoned homes on the cheap.
Many – like Mr McCubbin’s, are badly in need of makeover. The chef – who has worked for chef Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Foundation – was ready to create his dream home in the Mediterranean sun.
However, he ran into Italy’s busy builder crisis – and was forced to sell the property back to an estate agency after only a few months because he couldn’t find a building team to start the works. He recouped his €1 outlay.
The builder shortage is being driven by new tax breaks on home renovations implemented by the Italian government.
It is offering homeowners up to 110% on eco-friendly renovations, and upgrades aimed at reducing the risk of damage from earthquakes.
Households across the country have grasped the opportunity to redo their homes, triggering a shortage of builders and a spike in the cost of building materials.
Australian-born Mr McCubbin waited a year before giving up, saying: “It was very difficult to find a builder and over time the house deteriorated. By the time I did find a building company, it was double the cost to renovate it. I decided it was not worth it for me any more.”
However, he did not give up on his dream and eventually bought another cheap house in Mussomeli for €8,000, in need of smaller fixes which cost him €5,000.
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He was able to find two builders who squeezed a week of work in for him between other bigger contracts.
He settled in quickly and has opened a community kitchen in the town’s main piazza to prepare and deliver free meals to vulnerable families.
“I moved here at the end of December 2020, because I wanted to live in Italy when Brexit happened,” he said.
“I’ve always wanted to live in Sicily, my parents loved the countryside. So I asked myself what was missing in Mussomeli and I came up with the idea of The Good Kitchen.”
He said he loved the quiet and rustic lifestyle, going to bed by 10pm and waking up early to go to the market, and described it as the “polar opposite” of his life in London.
Meanwhile, town authorities have pledged to put an end to the builder shortage.
“Local enterprises, which are busy with renovations until 2024, are forced to turn down new contracts, but soon there will be an influx of new builders from abroad to help out”, said Mussomeli deputy mayor Toti Nigrelli.
Mr McCubbin said the shortage had also sparked a new DIY trend. “Foreigners are buying houses that are not part of the €1 scheme but are already livable, or require a little renovation work which they are often willing to do themselves,” he said.
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