A BRIT who bought his first home for €1 now has hundreds of people wanting to rent it out.
George Laing, 32, bought his derelict, three-storey home for a bargain price of 85p in Mussomeli, , back in December 2022.
He bought his home under a council scheme that encourages people to renovate abandoned .
With admin fees, agency costs, and certificates added, the total cost was €5,000 (£4,300).
However George, who lives between Mussomeli, , and Eastbourne, East and works as an antiques trader, has managed to keep the less than £10,000.
There was lots to do from fixing the leaky roof, the property also had no electricity and had to have the water supply reconnected.
George did the work almost all on his own but hit some hurdles along the way like when a storm hit early one morning and “buckets of water” fell into the house.
He said: “I wouldn't say it's a completely glamorous lifestyle, but it's definitely a rewarding one.”
George documented his project on social media, and now claims more than 500 followers have signed up through his website to a queue to rent the home in support of his journey.
With the response to his first project being so positive, he bought a second €1 home in the Mussomeli area in April 2025.
George said: “It's been the best decision I've made. I've got a waiting list of more than 500 people waiting to rent my home out.
“I just use my website and a booking form, I don't have to use Booking.com or – it's edging up to nearly 600 people now.”
George added that his second €1 home is a five minute walk away and it will likely cost him the same as the first.
But it should be slightly easier to transform as the house is “structurally sound, it's huge and it won't take too much work”.
George's long-term goal is to buy a “whole rows of one euro homes” to have his own “community”.
One condition of the €1 home scheme is a three year to renovate the facade and the roof.
If the owner does not carry out this work within 36 months, a fine of up to €5,000 can be issued.
But that didn't scare George, and now he's even looking at opening p an antiques shop too with Mussomeli being the perfect place.
George explained that for €5,000, he can buy a 200 to 300 square foot shop, which in the UK could be between £200,000 and £300,000.
So far there aren't any antique shops in Mussomeli so he believes it could be a good venture.
It wasn't just the one euro house deal that persuaded George to head over to , the was also a big factor.
George said that prices of living in the UK has become “crazy expensive”.
He'd love to buy a property in the countryside, but would struggle to do so at the moment because of the “disparity between wages and property prices.”
This woman bought an .
Another .
