Rustico/casale
Rustico/casale
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Move in as it is
Condition not stated in the listingSee what needs doing and what each job costs
Although the asking price is only €286/m², the vague “rustico/casale” description and absent condition details suggest a major restoration; at an estimated €1,100/m², the effective cost is about €1,386/m². That is far above the local benchmark, and the listing does not confirm current habitability or the renovation scope.
More on the house and the area
A remarkably inexpensive 140 sqm traditional farmhouse with a comfortable furnished interior, fitted kitchen, fireplace, tiled floors, and a large green garden setting. The surrounding farmland and old agricultural buildings provide authentic rural character, though the home is dated and shows visible cracking rather than feeling fully refreshed or polished.
All the services redone, bathrooms, kitchen, windows. The structure is left alone.
Turnkey, facade and insulation included.
Our read of the photos, €1,100/m², falls in this band.
Materials only, work you may do yourself€55,000 – €82,000
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.
- The house is clearly usable but dated, with visible wall and ceiling cracks needing inspection.
- The property includes substantial agricultural/outbuilding space that may require renovation or have separate legal/use constraints.
- The setting is very flat and rural, with utility towers and farm/industrial buildings visible in the wider panorama.
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 32/100The site sits on the Po Plain (Pianura Padana): flat, intensively farmed arable land with a regular field pattern and a network of irrigation and drainage canals. No mountains or natural lakes are within about 15 km; the Apennines lie well to the south and the River Po is farther to the north. Nearby towns of size include Finale Emilia (municipality of roughly 15,000) and Mirandola (roughly 17,000), which provide shops, secondary schools and local services. The provincial capital Modena, with major services and the UNESCO-listed cathedral and piazza, is the nearest large city at roughly 15–20 km and is the regional centre for higher-level services and industry. The area is part of the Modena food-production hinterland (dairy, cured meats and related supply chains). The municipality and surrounding towns were among those affected by the 2012 Emilia earthquakes.