'I bought £1 property in Italy - but there was a major catch when I arrived'

'I bought £1 property in Italy - but there was a major catch when I arrived' One person who bought a €1 home in Italy has transformed it into her dream home - but she found a major drawback when she travelled to the property in a small village in Sicily A woman bought a four-bedroom house for less than £1 in Italy - but found there was a major catch when she got to the property. Many Italian towns have struck on the €1 home gimmick to try and entice people to move there. One place involved in the scheme is Sambuca di Sicilia, which has been called one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. The programme includes poor, depopulating towns putting their abandoned or unused buildings up for sale to entice outside investment and new residents. Meredith Tabbone, from Chicao, Illinois, USA, was among those interested parties looking to experience la dolce vita. She had a personal reason for moving to the area though. It was the same village that her great-grandfather left in 1902 to go to the United States. Meredith eventually won the bid for the €1, but it ended up costing her a whole lot more than that. She set herself a renovation budget of $40,000 (£30,200), but she ended up spending a staggering $446,000 (£336,800) to turn her dream home into a reality. Speaking to CNBC Make It, Meredith said: "The condition of this property when I first purchased it was dire at best. "There was no electricity. There was no running water. Every single room had a different level of floor. There was asbestos. And there was probably two feet of pigeon poop on the floor. "A few major renovations that stuck out are: levelling all the floors. The home is two storeys and 18 rooms, and every single one was a different height. "Also adding electricity and water, adding a lot more windows to really brighten the space. Creating more continuity throughout the house to create a more American sort of home." The whole renovation took around three and a half years, and Meredith says that because the work took so long to complete, she didn't have to dip into her savings as invoices were more spread out. The expat still wants to build a closet and a wine cellar but she considers her home "technically" finished. She says that if she were to start the buying or renovation process again, the one piece of advice she would give herself is to have more patience in the beginning. Despite the huge cost of the project, Meredith claims she feels like it is the right place for her - and insists she will "never sell this house". She added: "I want to spend four months a year here. I want to spend more time away from work and complete my goal of travelling to every country in the world and focus more on my personal life in general. "I will never sell this house. I've had many offers. I have a cousin, I've already told her she can have the house if I pass away before her. And after that it's going to be donated to the village. "I think there's a real sense of community here. I definitely think people are very happy here. If you like to be social and you like to be a part of community this is the place to be. This is an easier place to do that than it is in a lot of areas of the United States."