Rustico in Dorio
Rustico in Dorio. Needs renovation, esposizione esterna, impianto tv con parabola satellitare.
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Not before the basics are done
In the listingNeeds renovationSee what needs doing and what each job costs
At €19,000 (€190/m²), the low asking price is offset by substantial renovation estimated at about €70,000, bringing the effective cost to roughly €890/m² versus a €355/m² local benchmark. The sparse description and only four photos provide limited reassurance, and the listing does not say whether the farmhouse is currently habitable.
Certified wiring, water and drainage, a heat source, a roof that keeps the water out, one working bathroom. Facade, insulation, a second bathroom and the floors wait.
All the services redone, bathrooms, kitchen, windows. The structure is left alone.
Our read of the photos, €700/m², falls in this band.
Turnkey, facade and insulation included.
Materials only, work you may do yourself€20,000 – €35,000
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.
Bringing a house that has stood empty back into service: new water, sewer and electricity, plus the practices. The same sum on an 80 m² house and on a 300 m² one, which is why a €40,000 house is not a €40,000 project.
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Water 1,800 · sewer 2,500 · electricity 700–1,600 · CILA 1,000 · cadastral filing 500 · structural design 700 · Legge 10 report 900 · safety coordination 1,800
No mains drain: add €2,000–4,500 for a septic tank. Listings never say, so ask.
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 89/100Lake Como is at the village, on the western shore of the upper lake, with steep pre-Alpine slopes rising directly behind the settlement. The centre of Dongo is a few kilometres south and Colico, at the head of the lake, is the nearest larger service town in daily use, with rail links, larger shops and road connections. Menaggio is farther south on the lake and provides additional services and ferry connections. The area is known for the lake landscape of narrow waterfront settlements, wooded slopes and mountain backdrops. The nearest ski lifts are in the Madesimo and Valchiavenna area, well over an hour away, so they do not define the immediate landscape.