Sophie Bouali bought a home in Italy. Picture: Supplied
A woman has lifted the lid on how she bought a fully-renovated Italy home for less than the cost of a ute in a bid to escape soaring property prices and bills in Australia.
Sophie Bouali and her tradie husband Adam have made the leap abroad after choosing to forgo rising grocery and mortgage bills for the Italian countryside.
The Brisbane couple recently purchased a two-bedroom home in Tuscany for €55,000 (AUD $90,000) and plan to sell the Queensland property they bought in 2021.
Ms Bouali, 31, said they began looking at overseas living options after realising how suffocating the cost of living crisis was becoming in Australia.
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They bought the property in Tuscany’s Lazio region. Picture: Supplied
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“Australia has been a great place to live and build our lives, but like many Australians, we’ve definitely felt the rising cost of living over the last few years,” she told the Daily Mail.
“We bought a house in Italy for the price it cost for a ute in Australia,
“When I first started looking at properties, I was shocked to see how affordable some homes in Italy were compared to Australia. It made us realise that owning a house outright and living mortgage-free could actually be possible.”
Ms Bouali’s new Italian home is a semi-detached home spanning three levels.
The top floor has two bedrooms, including a balcony to one and a powder room to the other. The middle floor includes the renovated open-plan kitchen and bathroom. The ground floor houses the garage, cellar and laundry.
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The home is renovated already and ready to move in. Picture: Supplied
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“The house doesn’t require any renovation as it was updated around 10 years ago. It has traditional terrazzo floors and a beautiful exposed timber beam roof. It also includes integrated kitchen appliances,” Ms Bouali said.
Despite being happy with her new home just a couple of hours away from Rome in the Lazio region, Ms Bouali said the purchase process in Italy wasn’t as simple as in Australia.
Ms Bouali said buying a home in Italy could take up to six months and include a raft of fees like purchase taxes, notary fees, property inspections and agent fees. For Ms Bouali and her 35-year-old partner those fees totalled an additional $18,000.
That is money, however, Ms Bouali believes they will easily make back thanks to cost of living savings.
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The home is split over three levels. Picture: Supplied
“We really love the slower pace of life, the language, the food and the strong sense of community,” she said.
“When we realised we could potentially buy a property outright and not have a huge mortgage, it felt like an opportunity to build a life with more time to enjoy those things.
“From our calculations, the general cost of living can be around 30 per cent cheaper than in Australia, depending on where you live. Of course, larger cities like Rome can be more expensive, but in smaller towns, the cost of living can be significantly lower.”
Ms Bouali said they plan to buy another property in Tuscany they can renovate and invest in.
Her advice to Aussies looking to make the same Italian leap was to do comprehensive research and utilise a good property agent.
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