A British man who bought his first home for just ‘one euro' in Italy says he now has hundreds of people queuing to wanting to rent it out - and is now planning on buying another one.

George Laing, 32, bought his derelict, three-storey home for 85p in Mussomeli, Italy, in December 2022, under a council scheme to encourage people to renovate abandoned homes.

Admin fees, agency costs and energy certificates took the total to 5,000 euros (£4,300) for the property.

However George – who lives between Mussomeli, Sicily, and Eastbourne, East Sussex – has so far managed to keep the renovations to his ‘shoe-string' budget of less than £10,000.

After fixing the leaky roof, adding electricity and reconnecting the water supply among other infrastructural issues, George has nearly renovated the entire house almost entirely on his own.

He has documented his project on social media, primarily on his Instagram page @george_laing_.

Now he claims more than 500 followers have signed up through his website to a queue to rent the home in support of his journey.

Buoyed by the response, he bought a second one euro home in the Mussomeli area in April 2025.

George said: "I love it, it's been the best decision I've made. I've got a waiting list of more than 500 people waiting to rent my home out. "

"I just use my website and a booking form, I don't have to use Booking.com or Airbnb – it's edging up to nearly 600 people now. "

"It's the power of social media. It was about a year ago that I launched my Instagram – I've got 164,000 followers there and 70k followers on Facebook"

"I think it's a load of people who are saying that they're following my dream and want to rent it out when it's finished."

"You can do it without a lot of money behind you, but the backing from social media has definitely helped, because I also make money from content creation."

"Now, I'm in the process of buying another one euro home. It's a five minute walk from mine, and overall it will cost me four grand – a similar price to the first one."

"This one should be slightly easier. I got pretty lucky, it's structurally sound, it's huge and it won't take too much work."

"That project will start in the next two to three months. Whether I go for another property on top of that depends on how much money I make from the first one."

"If I have the money I would love to have whole rows of one euro homes – I could buy a whole community, that's the long-term goal."

One stipulation for the one euro home scheme is a three year deadline to renovate the facade and the roof.

If the owner does not carry out this work within 36 months, a fine of up to 5,000 euros can be issued.

George – who works as an antiques trader after being made redundant from his role as a concierge during the pandemic – believes this rule prevents foreign nationals from simply buying up the properties and not renovating.

He wants his projects to add to the community, and has sights on a further venture in Mussomeli outside of the property industry which will add to the local area.

George said: "Another venture is that I'm going to open up an antiques store. "

"For 5000 euros I can buy a 200 to 300 square foot retail shop, which in the UK could be between £200,000 and £300,000 to buy."

"There are no antique shops in Mussomeli, but there are a lot of old nonnas who want to sell things, and there is nowhere they can go at the moment, so I think it could do well."

"Funnily enough, in my one euro home, there was about £4,000 worth of things – I found an 18-carat gold solid chain which I'm keeping, but I could get at least a grand for it."

"I found an 18th century 14-carat gold ring which is also being kept."

"But I have sold an antique clock, and 1920s gold earrings. I've made roughly £2,500 which I got for free with the house – from the beginning it was self-generating cash."

"I've had so many people asking me to clear out their properties and I have accumulated a great collection of wonderful antiques from that too."

However, there have been some difficulties for George, particularly in the beginning.

He said: "At the start, it was two o'clock in the morning, and there was a torrential storm and there buckets of water coming into my house – I managed to salvage it, but that definitely got me stressed"

"The only light was from the moon, it was freezing cold and there was no electricity, I hadn't had a shower for a few days, there was no running water, and so it was baby wipes instead of showers for seven or eight days."

"I wouldn't say it's a completely glamorous lifestyle, but it's definitely a rewarding one."

He quipped: "But at least the leak gave me a shower."

George still maintains the UK is ‘unbearable' and prefers the Italian style of life to the British struggles with the cost-of-living, especially with the help he receives from the Agenzia Immobiliare Siciliana, who oversee many of the 'one euro' projects.

He said: "Eventually in the long term I do want to buy a countryside house in the UK, but property is so expensive, and there's such a disparity between wages and property prices. "

"I'm in a position where I am savvy enough and not scared of taking risks and could come here, but life for most people in the UK is unbearable right now. "

"No one is thriving, everyone is just surviving, taxes shouldn't be getting to 40%, and after rent, bills, national insurance, the UK has become crazy expensive."

"A coffee costs £5, a pint is £8, it's £10 to travel around London, nobody can afford anything – the average person is struggling."

"When you go to Sicily, the difference shows in how slow everyone walks. It's nicer to take your time and enjoy life. "

"It's a shame because the UK has a lot to offer, but it's almost like the government doesn't want people to succeed, as everyone's struggling."