When the cost of living drove Londoner George Laing out of the UK, he struck gold – quite literally – in Sicily
When George Laing followed his dreams of buying a one-euro home in Sicily, he was prepared for the hard graft that would follow. Instead, he found he had also purchased a small treasure of old jewels and artefacts – some of which he has now sold for €2,500 (£2,100), which will cover a significant chunk of his renovation costs.
Laing, 32, an antiques and jewellery dealer from Eastbourne, bought the abandoned house in 2022 in the Sicilian town of Mussomeli.
The local authorities had launched their branch of Italy’s popular €1 homes scheme, where buyers pay a symbolic sum to purchase a dilapidated home to renovate – and Laing’s was certainly that.
“It needed everything done: electrics, plumbing, new bathrooms, structural repairs, and a roof update,” he told The i Paper. “It wasn’t liveable at all when I bought it.”
For the past year, Laing has been able to live in the house while renovating it as he has almost finished the top floor. He is doing the work himself and estimates final costs at between €5,000 and €10,000. “Someone else renovating the exact same property could have easily spent €40,000 or more,” he said.
The four-bed house covers 1,291 square feet over three floors with two bathrooms and a small terrace with views over the town.
Finding treasure was an extraordinary stroke of luck for Laing – not only in terms of value but because he had just the expertise to identify it. He found a purse of gold jewellery in a bedside table and, in a padlocked chest in the kitchen, a biscuit tin with eight ring boxes.
The main pieces he unearthed were an 18-carat gold chain valued at €1,000 and a 19th-century 14-carat emerald stone ring with pearls valued at €700. Having worked in Hatton Garden, he could identify the material, grade and stones.
“This is what I do on a daily basis,” he said. “It was amazing to find these things.”
Although Laing has kept some pieces for his personal collection, in total, he has auctioned about €2,500 of the trove.
These include a vintage 1950s hen clock sold for €60, a collection of postcards for €40, 1920s rose gold earrings with some rubies missing for €250, religious statues, hand-painted ceramic tiles, crystal vases and an antique gilded mirror.
According to Italian law, as the new owner, Laing is entitled to keep what he found.
“I worked with the local comune (town hall) and legal representatives to ensure everything was above board,” he said. “The house had been abandoned for decades with the heirs having no interest in any of the personal belongings in the house. Under local law, the contents were included with the purchase.”
Laing embarked on his €1 home adventure because the idea of restoring something forgotten and bringing it back to life spoke to him.
Mussomeli in particular had a magnetic mix of historic charm, community warmth, and raw potential, he said.
However, the biggest reason he did it was to find a more affordable place to live.
Having grown up and worked in London his entire life, he highlighted the “ridiculous” increase in the cost of living.
“I was spending well over £1,300 a month for my small one-bedroom flat. The private water and electricity companies have increased their rates by 400 per cent over the last five years. The UK taxes me 40 per cent on my wages. A cup of coffee is £5.
“Once you add this all together I was just about surviving in London even though I was working full time and doing other projects on the side to make money.
“I decided a change needed to happen. A big one. I wanted to thrive not survive.”
Laing believes the €1 homes are much more than meets the eye. They’re a trove of secret wonders just waiting to be found – ones that buyers don’t even know of until they start renovating.
“These homes are time capsules. You never know what you’ll find: old photographs, original tiles, antique furniture. It’s part of the magic. You’re not just buying walls, you’re uncovering stories.”
In a stack of belongings, Laing found a black-and-white photo of a boy in uniform. One day, while he was standing outside the house showing the photo to a film crew, an old man walked by and, looking at the photograph, exclaimed “That’s me!”
That man, now 80, used to live in Laing’s new house when he was younger. The Londoner’s new home is filled with surprises – and stories to tell.
