A Californian woman has outlined her plans to restore three abandoned homes to their former glory after purchasing the properties for a minute sum of three euros.
Rubia Daniels bought three houses, dotted around the Italian district of Mussomeli, Sicily, in 2019, after catching wind of a "great opportunity" online.
She heard that a scheme had been launched to occupy and renovate abandoned properties on the Italian island, and flew out to see them for herself three days later.
Four years on, the smallest of the three houses, which Rubia plans on moving into with her partner Kenneth Pittchs, is in the final stages of completion.
The biggest of the homes will be made into a wellness center, while the third will serve as an art gallery, which Rubia will manage once she has retired.
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The mother of four, 49, said: “You get the property free basically and then it’s expected you to spend 20,000 euros to remodel the exterior.
“You don’t even get a car for $20k in California, it’s a very small investment. We have one mostly completed already when we go, and hopefully the second will be done by October.
“The third house, I haven’t started yet, but that will be my biggest project. The roof is fully collapsed - but it will be so beautiful. I ever felt overwhelmed or fearful about this project - it’s a big task but a great opportunity."
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Rubia and her partner started working on the smallest of the three houses first, as it needed the least work and could be occupied the soonest.
“I packed all my tools, bought a generator and power washer ready to go - by then my partner was thinking ‘this woman is nuts’," she Rubia.
“We went and I flew my brother-in-law over from Brazil to help us with the renovation.”
Since then, Rubia and her husband have continued to fly over to Sicily every few months to oversee the renovations on the second property.
Once this is done, the pair will start working on the third home, which Rubia says will be the biggest project of all three.
"And in years to come I can pass the houses onto my children," said Rubia. "All of this is possible because of the one euro programme."
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