Intero stabile + rustico in montagna
VALLE CANNOBINA, LOCALITA' SOLGIA: Vendesi abitazione singola di 170mq su 3 livelli più rustico adiacente entrambi da ristrutturare. L'abitazione si raggiunge camminando su una mulattiera in circa 15 minuti dalla strada principale, un tempo frazione abitata da più nuclei famigliari, ora usata come seconde case vacanza,…
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 €20,000 for 170 sqm, the asking price is just €118/sqm versus a €263/sqm local baseline, which is a strong discount. But it needs renovation, so the effective cost is about €818/sqm including ~€700/sqm works; access is only via a 15-minute mule track and two lower floors are cellar/work rooms, which tempers the deal.
More on the house and the area
This has real mountain-borgo atmosphere: stone surroundings, a lovely old courtyard feel, rustic beams, fireplace, and a wide valley view. Crucially, it is not a shell — there is a fitted kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and evidence it was lived in until recently — but it is clearly tired and needs substantial renovation to become comfortably livable again. The remote foot-access setting is romantic and special, though it will limit everyday practicality.
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€34,000 – €60,000
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.
- Needs real renovation after being abandoned
- Access is only on foot via a 15-minute mule track
- Only the upper level looks set up for living; lower floors need work
- Adjacent rustico may need separate restoration/planning checks
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 in the Cannobina valley in the Lepontine Alps, with steep wooded slopes and small stone hamlets above the Cannobino stream. The valley runs down to Lake Maggiore at Cannobio, about 10 km away, which is the main nearby town with a lakefront, services and ferry links. The area is inside the Val Grande National Park buffer area and close to the park itself, one of the largest wilderness areas in Italy. The nearest substantial ski area is at Domobianca above Domodossola, roughly an hour's drive. Within this part of the upper Verbano the area is known for narrow alpine valleys, chestnut woods and old mule tracks linking scattered settlements.