The tranquil town Presicce of Puglia in Italy is going to make you an offer that you can’t refuse. The authorities say they will pay about €30,000 (roughly $30,000) to people to buy an abandoned house and live there.
According to a report on CNN, to qualify for the incentive, buyers must move into Presicce and purchase any one of the properties built before 1991, which have been mapped by authorities.
The houses, located at a prime spot, encompassed by the picturesque nature of the Salento area, in the vicinity of the beautiful sandy beaches and coastlines of Santa Maria di Leuca, are appealing on different levels.
What makes the offer all the better is that the houses up for sale as part of the deal are priced from around €25,000. These houses have been long deserted by their original owners and are among the cheap properties on sale across Italy.
The town’s authorities hope that the cash incentive will help in reviving the depopulating town, where the number of newborns in a year has gone down significantly.
The authorities have also launched various other schemes to attract more residents, including tax benefits to set up new businesses and baby bonuses for families with kids.
It is learnt that the details of the deal are being finalized. The officials will be ready to launch applications in the coming weeks when the information will be made available on the town's official website.
"The total funding will be split in two: it will go partly into buying an old home and partly into restyling it, if needed," local councillor Alfredo Palese told CNN.
The house prices start at €500 per square meter and around €25,000 is needed to secure a 50-square-meter house that might require some repairs, Palese said.