An abandoned home on Geraldine Ave in St Louis. Photo / Google Maps
An abandoned home on Geraldine Ave in St Louis. Photo / Google Maps
Have you fancied entering the property market but found the million-dollar three-bedroom homes of Auckland are a stretch too far?
One US city has decided to shake things up and is selling 522 homes for just US$1 (NZ$1.48).
St Louis officials are looking to save their town from decay, with many homes needing renovation work.
According to city officials, the 522 vacant single-family properties will be sold to bidders so long as they provide a detailed plan and budget to fix up the homes.
In a guide to the programme, the St Louis government says it is "always seeking new ways to sell more of the buildings that it owns".
"Purchasing city-owned property is an effective way to bring city properties back into productive and effective use and invest in the growth of neighbourhoods."
An eligible dollar home in St Louis. Photo / Google Maps
The application itself costs $US25, and buyers are asked to obtain a $US250 insurance policy.
They are required to pay for a "homeowners counselling class", which teaches them the logistics of owning a home.
Owners will in total be spending about $400 before renovations begin.
Buyers will have 120 days to bring the exterior up to city code and 18 months to renovate the entire property. If they don't meet these requirements, the property will fall back into the city's hands.
The houses range from sweet cottages to warehouse spaces.
The city owns about 12,000 vacant properties, lots and buildings.
If St Louis isn't your ideal location, the Italian town of Locana is offering to pay people more than $14,000 over three years to relocate and take up residency as long as they have a child and a minimum salary of $9000 a year.
The Italian town of Locana is offering to pay people more than $14,000 over three years to relocate and take up residency. Photo / Google Maps
"Our population has shrunk from 7000 residents in the early 1900s to barely 1500 as people left looking for a job at Turin's big factories," Mayor Giovanni Bruno Mattiet told CNN Travel.
"Our school each year faces the risk of shutting down due to few pupils. I can't allow this to happen.
"We're looking to draw mostly young people and professionals who work remotely or are willing to start an activity here," he says. "There are dozens of closed shops, bars, restaurants and boutiques just waiting for new people to run them."
The town may be small but it's wealthy, thanks to the clean hydroelectric energy it sells to Italy's state.
