Rustico in Diamante
Rustico in Diamante. Needs renovation, accesso per disabili.
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Not before the basics are done
In the listingNeeds renovationMust be done first
- Damp
- Heating
- Kitchen
See what needs doing and what each job costs
At €35,000 for 39 m², estimated renovation brings the total to about €62,300 (€1,597/m²), far above comparable Calabria homes at roughly €236/m². The location 2 km from the sea helps, but the high renovation burden makes this a weak deal.
More on the house and the area
This is a modest but genuine small farmhouse surrounded by greenery, with a possible glimpse toward the sea and attractive vintage patterned tiles. It has solid-looking floors, a roof, rooms, and a bathroom, but the interior is currently used for storage and needs meaningful renovation before comfortable full-time living.
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€8,000 – €14,000
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.
Show more
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.
- Needs substantial renovation and cosmetic repair, with visible damp, ceiling damage, and wall cracks.
- No kitchen is visible, and the bathroom appears dated and cluttered.
- The roof and exterior coverings should be checked carefully, including the aging corrugated canopy.
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 72/100The cluster is on the Tyrrhenian side of northern Calabria below the Coastal Range, with steep hills dropping toward the Riviera dei Cedri. The Tyrrhenian coast is within a few kilometres, with the shore around Diamante and Cirella. The Lao River valley and the western edge of Pollino National Park are inland within the wider 15 km range from this stretch of coast. The nearest town of size is Scalea to the north, with rail services and the main coastal services for this part of the province. Diamante nearby is known for the cedro cultivation of this coast and for its painted historic centre; Cirella has the offshore Isola di Cirella just off the coast. This part of Calabria is known for a mix of hill villages, short distances to the sea, and the cedro-growing belt of the upper Tyrrhenian coast.