Great idea

The town of Roubaix, in the north of France, offers interested parties to buy a house for just ONE Euro! Of course, this comes with the condition to renovate the house.

Roubaix got the idea from Liverpool in Great-Britain, where it has been a big success.

Here in Belgium a house would cost approximately 200,000 €. For that price you expect a house that is more or less in order. Building a new house would be more expensive. Old, run down houses go for at least 70,000 € to 100,000. And then you have to reckon with the costs of total renovation. From experience, I know this can easily run into the high figures. My house is practically 100 years old and I have spent quite some money on it already. New roof, major renovation including breaking out walls, new doors and windows with double glazing, isolation of the roof, ....

So I think this is really a great opportunity for young people to get a house of their own. When you only need to pay one euro, you can easily find some bank ready to provide a loan for renovation (you even get money back from the government).