Casa indipendente con laboratorio artigianale in Val Bormida
A Mallare, alta Val Bormida, in una zona tranquilla di taglio agricolo a pochi minuti da Carcare e Cairo Montenotte, si presenta un'occasione difficile da ignorare per chi cerca spazio, indipendenza e un investimento con margini reali. Parliamo infatti di quasi 280 mq complessivi distribuiti tra un appartamento…
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Move in as it is
In the listingNeeds renovationThe photographs say otherwise, and we go by the photographs.
See what needs doing and what each job costs
The €53,793 asking price is only €224/m² versus about €538/m² locally, but renovating roughly 240 m² at an estimated €700/m² brings the effective cost near €924/m². The listing also gives conflicting size figures and claims three bathrooms while the headline data records none, so the apparent discount needs careful verification.
More on the house and the area
This is a very large, independent Ligurian townhouse with a private garden, workshop, cellar space, and an exceptional amount of accommodation for the price. The interiors are cluttered and dated but appear to be a functioning home rather than a ruin, with kitchens, bedrooms, bathroom facilities, and heating visible. Its strongest appeal is space and value in a quiet mountain-valley setting, not high-end beauty or memorable historic character.
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€48,000 – €84,000
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.
- Clearly dated and in need of substantial cosmetic renovation and updating.
- The listing states three bathrooms, but the photo gallery visibly shows only one; verify the layout and legal status.
- Snowy, narrow access paths may be inconvenient in winter.
- Heating appears to rely primarily on a wood-fired boiler; confirm utilities and operating condition.
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 61/100The cluster sits in the Ligurian Apennines above the Bormida valley, in a landscape of wooded ridges and small valley settlements. The Bormida di Pallare runs nearby. The area falls within the Adelasia regional nature reserve, known for beech and chestnut woods and old charcoal-making landscapes. The nearest larger town is Cairo Montenotte, which has the main everyday services and rail connections in the upper Bormida valley. Savona and the Ligurian coast are beyond the hills and matter for access, but they are outside the immediate landscape. This part of inland Savona is known for forested uplands, scattered hamlets and the old route between the coast and Piedmont.