Casa Indipendente
Questa affascinante Casa Indipendente ad uso Abitativo situata nel comune di Melissano (LE) è un vero gioiello salentino che offre un'esperienza unica di vivere in un ambiente tradizionale e suggestivo. Con una superficie di 200 mq disposta su due livelli, questa proprietà vanta 6 locali, di cui 5 ampi vani…
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Not before the basics are done
In the listingNeeds renovationMust be done first
- Damp
- Wiring
- Heating
- Kitchen
See what needs doing and what each job costs
The €46,000 price is very low at €230/m², but renovation estimated at about €700/m² raises the effective cost to roughly €930/m², above the local €714/m² benchmark. Traditional vaulted ceilings, terrace and panoramic views add appeal, but one bathroom and substantial work limit the deal value.
More on the house and the area
This is a genuinely characterful Salento townhouse with multiple star- and barrel-vaulted rooms, traditional doors, a fireplace and a panoramic rooftop terrace. It is roofed, floored and structurally presented as a real house rather than a ruin, but the damp, unfinished kitchen, dated bathroom and extensive cosmetic/electrical work keep it well below move-in-ready dream-home territory.
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€40,000 – €70,000
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.
- Substantial renovation is needed, including damp repairs, plastering, wiring and general updating.
- The kitchen appears unfinished and there is only one dated bathroom for approximately 200 sqm.
- The rooftop terrace is spacious and panoramic but currently rough and unlandscaped.
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 53/100This is the Salento plain, with flat to gently rolling agricultural land dominated by olive groves and fields. The Ionian coast is within about 10 km, with the nearest seaside stretch around Torre San Giovanni and the marinas of Racale and Alliste. Gallipoli is the nearest town of size, with a substantial historic centre and port. In this part of lower Salento the area is known for olive cultivation and for summer access to the Ionian beaches.