Inside the £1 house: what did they get for the money?

People who say that housing is overpriced nowadays clearly don't know where to shop. Jayalal Madde, a 49-year-old taxi driver from Toxteth in Liverpool, managed to snap up his new home for just £1. So what did he get for the money?

Admittedly this wasn't a straightforward sale, it was part of a scheme implemented by the council to bring properties back to a habitable state, and help people find affordable homes. They sold off 20 Victorian properties in Cairns Street in Toxteth for just £1 each - to individuals who met their tough criteria. They had to be local first-time buyers who were in work, who pledged to spend tens of thousands of pounds breathing new life into the properties, and then live in them for at least five years.

Madde's house

Madde was the first to be awarded a house. He took on a major renovation project, as the Liverpool Echo reported that the house had been empty for 20 years. Over the past year has ploughed £30,000 into bringing the home up to a decent standard. Most of the work has been done by Madde himself, who had to install windows, floors, wiring and flooring, because the property was in such a terrible state. It now features a brand new kitchen, bathroom, and fitted bedroom units.
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The finished result is impressive. The four-bedroom double-fronted home has three reception rooms, two bathrooms and a cellar. There's still a bit of work to do, but Madde told the Liverpool Echo that he hoped it would be completed in time for Christmas, so he could move in with his wife and two daughters.

The Daily Mail says Madde has estimated that the property would now fetch £150,000, but he has no plans to sell, as is committed to being part of the regeneration of the area. The other 20 properties have been awarded to buyers and work is expected to start shortly.

More £1 houses

This isn't the only council to try this approach. In July this year a couple in Stoke-on-Trent moved into their £1 house. They were one of 33 couples who were given access to a £30,000 low-interest loan to help them renovate a derelict property, and estimated that after the work their £1 house was worth £70,000.

The Empty Homes charity also started a variation on the theme in Stoke. For £1 people could buy 25% of a derelict property. The other 75% would be owned by a housing association, who would do all the required structural work on the house (which is expected to cost around £42,000), and the owners have to do the rest of the work within 12 months. They will then pay a below-market rent of £75 a week to the housing association, and will have the chance to buy the rest of the property at a later date.

And the UK isn't the only place with £1 houses. In August this year Gangi, a hilltop village in Sicilly, put 20 houses on the market at 1 euro each (which is even more of a bargain). The houses has been handed back to the village after the owners deemed them to be not worth renovating, so in an effort to bring people back to the village, the council hit on this scheme. Anyone buying the home had to pay legal costs of 6,000 euros, plus 5000 euros as a guarantee they would renovate the properties, they were then given five years to bring them up to a decent standard - which was expected to cost another 35,000 euros.

But what do you think, is this a great way to work your way onto the housing ladder? Or would the amount of work involved be too much to handle?

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