Cosenza Casa in vendita a Serra Sottana
Cosenza Casa in vendita a Serra Sottana. Habitable.
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Livable, but something basic is worn out
In the listingHabitableSee what needs doing and what each job costs
Habitable 75 m2 listed at €25,000; estimate €200/m2 renovation → €15,000 renovation, total ≈ €40,000 (~€533/m2). That is well above the regional median of €270/m2, so the price looks overpriced for Calabria.
More on the house and the area
A simple, habitable village house with intact floors, working kitchen and a brick fireplace — liveable now but stylistically dated. Its main attraction is the broad valley/mountain views and the very low price, making this a realistic affordable fixer for someone who wants to live in Calabria.
Decoration, tired fittings, a bathroom or a kitchen. The house is liveable as it stands.
Our read of the photos is €200/m². There is no published price band below €350/m², so the range is that figure widened by the spread of the lightest band.
Materials only, work you may do yourself€5,000 – €8,000
Wiring, water and sanitary work of any kind, heating, air conditioning and gas go to a registered firm by law, and so do flues and the air openings for gas appliances. That labour stays in the bill. Yours is the stripping out, plaster, paint, floors, tiling and carpentry.
Labour is 61% of a renovation price on average and 67% at the median, across 191 items of the Emilia-Romagna 2025 public price list. Materials are the rest. An averaged price list, not a quote.
Materials you buy yourself carry 22% VAT; supplied by the firm doing the work they go at the 10% renovation rate. On a €30,000 materials bill that is €3,600 of extra tax.
Household wiring installed before 13 March 1990 counts as compliant if it has a main breaker with overcurrent protection, protection against direct contact and a 30 mA RCD. Having a firm bring the existing wiring up to that and certify it is the cheapest lawful route.
- Very dated interior — needs cosmetic updating and modernization
- Only one bathroom
- Street-facing with visible power lines; some nearby outbuildings look derelict
Estimate from the listing and its photos, not a survey. Treat it as the starting point for your own quotes. An Italian builder's quote is normally written without VAT and without design fees, so add about a quarter to any figure a firm gives you.
The area around
Location score 55/100The cluster is in the built-up area of Cosenza, so the resident landscape is an inland city at the meeting of the Crati and Busento valleys rather than open countryside. The Sila massif rises to the east within this radius, with forested foothills and mountain relief visible from the city side. Rende is the nearest town of size in the same urban area, and the combined settlement has the university, hospitals, major retail and the main provincial services. The old centre of Cosenza sits on the hill above the modern city and is known for its historic core and the confluence of the Busento and Crati.