From $35,000 to $446,000: What it cost to renovate a $1 home in Italy

Buying a home in the Italian countryside for cheap comes with a catch — in one case, to the tune of nearly half a million dollars.

But that wasn't on the radars of Meredith Tabbone or Rubia Daniels, who in 2019 both learned about homes being sold for 1 euro (roughly $1.05) in Sicily.

Since then, the two Americans have paid for extra real estate fees and major renovations to secure their new homes abroad. Here's how much each person really spent on their Italian dream homes.

Tabbone, 44, from Chicago, decided to buy a home in Sambuca di Sicilia, which was auctioning off abandoned homes starting at 1 euro.

When she found out about the auction in 2019,Tabbone had just learned her great-grandfather was from the town and took it as a sign to go for it. "A lot of people warned me that it could be a scam [and that] I could end up losing a lot of money," she recalls.

She placed a winning bid for 5,555 euros, and with taxes and fees, spent 5,900 euros (roughly $6,200) to secure the property.

Tabbone flew to see her new home for the first time in June 2019. She then bought the building next door through a private sale with the owner for 22,000 euros (just over $23,000). 

The additional purchase meant more space to build her dream vacation home. It also meant much higher renovation costs: She initially budgeted 40,000 euros to renovate 620 square feet, but that grew to 140,000 euros to cover 2,700 square feet.

Over the next four years, Tabbone visited Sambuca for weeks at a time and oversaw a local crew for the overhaul: They knocked down walls to join the properties; leveled the flooring across 18 small rooms; reinforced the structure against earthquakes; added two large terraces; and opened up the kitchen, dining and living rooms. 

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