Trilocale a Cengio,
Appartamento con giardino Cengio Bormida Appartamento al primo piano di una palazzina di tre piani. L’ingresso avviene dal portone condominiale. Dal soggiorno con cucinotto a vista si accede al giardino tramite porte finestre, raggiungibile anche da un cancelletto esterno. Composto da: ampio soggiorno con cucinotto a…
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
At €56,000 (€747/m²), this habitable apartment is below the local €890/m² benchmark, but allowing roughly €15,000 for routine works brings the effective cost to about €947/m², slightly above it. The very brief description does not state the building year or energy performance, limiting confidence.
More on the house and the area
A solid, genuinely usable apartment with a private garden, bright rooms, and attractive views toward the surrounding Ligurian hills and village church. The interiors are spacious and intact but very dated, so this is a cosmetic refresh project rather than a finished dream home.
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.
- Central heating is disconnected and a new independent heating system is needed.
- Interiors are habitable but strongly dated, with extensive old wallpaper, patterned tile, and worn finishes.
- The garden appears modest and somewhat overgrown rather than being a polished outdoor space.
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 58/100The area sits in the upper Bormida valley on the Ligurian Apennines, with wooded ridges and a river corridor shaped by the Bormida di Millesimo. The Langhe hills begin nearby on the Piedmont side, and the landscape around the village is a mix of valley floor, chestnut and mixed woodland, and small cultivated slopes. Millesimo, a short drive away, has a preserved historic centre and is listed among I Borghi più belli d'Italia. Cairo Montenotte is the nearest larger town, with the main services and rail connections for this part of the valley. The wider area is known for woodland, upper-valley villages and the transition between inland Liguria and southern Piedmont.