Yahoo Finance This 72-year-old man is moving from LA to Italy after purchasing an old home in Latronico for just $8,726
Bingwa Thomas snagged a cheap old home in Latronico, Italy, for €8,000 (about $8,726 USD) and is planning on making the move from Los Angeles this summer.
Thomas, 72, says the hilltop town’s cheap home prices means he can finally turn back from a lifetime of having to rent.
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“I have always had to choose between buying property or investing in projects for the community,” he told CNN. “In Latronico, I can do both.”
To be clear, Thomas’ move isn’t just about the money.
“My main reason for establishing a residence in southern Italy was to have better access to the African continent,” he says. “To be able to use my pension to create, fund, network and volunteer with programs on the African continent.”
Latronico is selling cheap old homes starting at €10,000
Americans have been snapping up old homes for as little as €1 in Italy — and are then spending money on renovations.
Latronico, which began advertising homes starting at €10,000, or nearly $11,000, a few years ago, began this housing initiative in order to revitalize and repopulate the community.
“When the old people die, the descendants of emigres don’t even return during summer, their family home lies abandoned, shut and decaying,” former deputy mayor Vincenzo Castellano told CNN in 2021.
“It makes no sense to keep empty dying properties as frozen assets so we decided to involve old owners who showed interest in this project and are eager to cooperate in recovering the urban landscape.”
Castellano said the housing prices were all negotiable — plus, there would be zero taxes for 10 years for anyone investing €20,000 in dilapidated buildings, to incentivize these purchases.
Thomas, who says Castellano supported him throughout the home purchase process in 2022, has budgeted about €20,000 (around $21,808) for renovations, furnishings and appliances. He’s completing most of the renovations himself, but has hired local businesses to help with things like plumbing, while his friends in Italy take care of the electricals.
“I wanted a residence that I would not have to spend a lot to make habitable, so that I could have more money for the African projects,” Thomas explains.
He’s also planning on creating an arts center on the ground floor of his house in the future.
“As an artist, I love the challenge of taking forgotten, under-appreciated or discarded items and repurposing them,” he says.
Thomas doesn’t plan on residing in the property permanently, however. He’s offered to donate the home to a nonprofit, bicycle co-op in Los Angeles and is currently in the process of buying a second property for €39,000, or $42,568, in Varrazzo, a hamlet about five miles outside of Latronico.
He plans to convert this second property into a multi-purpose arts complex, with accommodations for international youth and adult artists.
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Better quality of life and closer access to his activism work
One of Thomas’ primary motivations for moving to Latronico was to enjoy the region’s healthier, slower-paced lifestyle.
Latronico is known locally as the “village of wellness” for its thermal spa and clean, fresh air, which is believed to have recuperative properties.
Thomas points to the life expectancy rate in the U.S. compared to Italy — where the rate lies at nearly 81 years for males, according to CIA data.
The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention places the life expectancy for American males at around 75. For a Black male, it’s closer to 70.
“I’m already two years past my expiration date,” Thomas says. “But in Italy I can get 10 extra years.”
Thomas plans to officially move to Latronico in September and make the town his semi-permanent residence on a visitor visa. The rest of his time will be spent in Africa, where he plans to volunteer on projects in villages in Cameroon and Senegal.
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