Norwegian holiday home on sale for just 5p

How would you like to own a holiday property on its own secluded island - complete with your choice of beautiful beaches? If you have 5p to spare, then it could all be yours. There are just a couple of things you need to know about the property first.

As you can see from the photo above, the house itself needs a tiny bit of work. In fact it currently looks on the verge of collapse, because nobody has lived there since the last tenant moved out some time in the 1970s. One of the conditions of buying the property is that you have to commit to bringing it up to scratch.

This task is going to be made harder by the fact that the island itself is somewhat remote. The island of Buoya is actually part of Helgeland, an archipelago on the edge of the Arctic Circle in Norway, and the house is the only one on the island.

The beauty of the area is a major draw for potential buyers, but it's not going to be easy to run a major building project there.

The house is for sale on Finn.no, a Norwegian auction site. The owner, Kent Karlsen, told nrk.no that he has had over 10,000 hits on the website, and been emailed by more than 200 people who are interested in the property. Among them is an architect in Copenhagen, several architecture students, and people who have previously been involved in government schemes to renovate old houses.

He explained that he had inherited the property from his grandmother, and had originally intended to renovate it himself, but he realised it wasn't going to happen, and he wanted someone else to be able to enjoy the island home. The low price is designed to help him find the right buyer.
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Alternatives

If the idea of a bargain overseas property appeals, but the Arctic Circle seems a little too remote, then the good news is that there are plenty of properties going for next to nothing closer to home.

In August last year, villas went up for sale in a beautiful Sicilian village, for one euro. The downside is that the properties have been abandoned by their former owners.

The homes have deteriorated horribly, and many need new floors, stairs and a roof. It will take an estimated 20,000 euros to renovate each one, and until you have finished, you need to leave 5,000 euros on deposit as a guarantee you're serious about the project.

If a euro sounds a bit steep, then there's always the hamlet of Barca in northern Spain which last year was offered for free to anyone willing to restore it.

There are 12 crumbling homes included in the deal, which will require a major injection of cash to bring it back to life. The local council is hoping someone will snap it up as a tourist attraction or an unusual bed and breakfast business.

But what do you think? Do these incredible bargains appeal? Or does the work involved put you off a 5p property?

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