Bought an abandoned house in Italy for one euro - now it's a dream, pure comfort

A woman named Meredith Tabbon, 43, bought an abandoned house in Italy for just £4,400, and has now turned it into every homeowner's dream.

Tabbon, who is originally from Chicago, USA, accidentally bought a dilapidated building in the rural part of Sicily after learning that the councils of rural settlements were auctioning off abandoned houses starting at one euro to help restore the village.

Meredith purchased a 17th-century building that had no electricity or plumbing, offering a price of £4,400, and found out that she had become the winner just a few months later.

The house is located in the Italian village of Sambuca di Sicilia, where her grandparents grew up, and it was originally just "one big room" above the basement.

After the purchase, Meredith discovered that the building's roof was contaminated with asbestos, and she had to spend £661 to hire a team for the safe removal of the roof.

After that, Meredith bought the neighboring empty house for £27,000 and spent 46 months and £210,000 to combine them into a 3,000 square foot four-bedroom house.

Since then, she has acquired two more guest rooms in the same village for a total of £28,000 and an unused building for £58,000, which she is converting into a gallery and café.

She estimates that her investment in the original house for one euro, amounting to £230,000, will be worth around £400,000 when all the work is completed by autumn 2023.

Meredith plans to live in the house part of the time and refers to it as her "long-term vacation home."