Man clears £10k debt by buying 85p house in Sicily and doubles his income

A man who claims that living in London left him £10,000 in debt has cleared it by relocating to Sicily and purchasing an 85p house – while doubling his income. George Laing, 33, accumulated the debt owing to the cost of living in London and his spending habits during his younger years.

With half his income going on rent and the remainder on bills and taxes, he was accruing £300 monthly in debt for additional expenses such as his commute. Following redundancy from his position as a night shift worker and finding himself £10,000 in debt, he sought a way out and discovered the one euro scheme in Italy.

He purchased a dilapidated three-bedroom property in Sicily in December 2022, spending approximately £2,000 on renovations. George managed to clear his debt within two years by earning more from content creation while paying less to live.

He now owns two properties in Italy and assists others in accessing the scheme. Through sharing his advice in online seminars and showcasing homes online, he claims he earns double his London salary.

George, originally from Camden, said: “I had loads of debts from bad decisions when I was younger – credit cards, phone bills, borrowing from family. London is also so expensive to live in, so I was living paycheck to paycheck and pretty stuck in my situation.

“I just wanted a roof over my head I knew I would always have. I saw these cheap homes and started to message about 40 towns.

“It was between Mussomeli and Bulgaria, which also has cheap houses, but the Sicilian one got back to me, so I hopped on the cheapest Ryanair flight I could find. There were Americans touring with us and he had already snapped up five of the six houses, so I had to beg for him to let me have the last one – and I got it.

“I was staying in the home using baby wipes to clean as I had no water or electricity and I had to sneak into restaurants to use the toilet. I would obviously use a hotel if things got serious, but I always tried to avoid that as it was money I could use to spend on the house.

“I was determined to fix up the house, as I was so sick of working all the time. In London, you get a decent salary, but you are never able to spend it – the expenses are so much.

“In London, I stopped socialising because beer is expensive, you end up spending 50 quid just to sit in a cold room with your mates for an hour or so. London is a lot of fun if you are rich; it has become a millionaire’s playground. I was so sick of paying rent, I just wanted to buy, but getting a mortgage would have been impossible.”

Following his purchase of the property in Mussomeli, Sicily, in December 2022, he took up residence despite having no running water or electricity, dedicating 18 months to renovating it. He acquired his home through Immobiliare Siciliana, emphasising the need to avoid being scammed.

He documented his journey, other properties, and the surrounding area on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, which generated sufficient income to rent accommodation whilst renovating the house and enabled him to clear his debts. George subsequently purchased a second one euro property with three storeys, which he’s transforming into studio apartments whilst residing in his initial home.

He said: “I do all the work myself. My social media, where I share all the one euro houses, completely hit off – I didn’t expect it to go so large. But I use the funds that I make from social media, to pay for my work in the homes and pay off the entirety of my debt.”

George, who holds 100% freehold ownership of two properties, has no intention of selling them.

He said: “I do all of the work myself, I have zero construction knowledge and have made a lot of mistakes along the way. In my first home, I thought cement was made only of sand and water and quickly worked out that it wasn’t.

“By doing everything myself, it is a lot cheaper. I am learning all the way, which will help me with employing people when I make a business out of this in the future.”

George now intends to acquire larger properties to establish his business, renovating homes for sale and rental.

He said: “My goal is to have around 50 places, so I will need to make a team of people to help me, whether that will be a UK-based business or Sicily, I don’t know. I am also looking at buying old orphanages and hospitals to do up, as well as plots of land on beaches.”

George has compiled a 40-page guide on relocating to Italy, priced at £29.99, and has already sold hundreds of copies. He’s also made €3,000 from auctioning items found in his home online.

George said: “I have realised without noticing that people have moved here because of me and all the money I have put into the area, I want to repeat this in different areas. These one euro schemes really work when you have the social media in places like I have done for Mussomeli.”

George is enamoured with the region he now calls home and where he works.

He said: “A lot of the people here are in their 40s or 50s, they have put their kids through private schools, still renting, have £50,000 to their name. They come here because it is one of the only places left where you can buy a nice four-bedroom house for under £30,000.

“Everyone is ridiculously nice and just wants to relax and have a good rest of their life. It is the best thing that has happened to all of us.

“My grandma was the first person in my family to buy a home; 60 years ago, in London, she bought a four-bedroom house for £8,000. You couldn’t do that nowadays, a one-bedroom flat in London costs £500k.

“I was paying £1,300 for my flat in London – now I own my own homes and have a good income. I share seminars to help people do the same as me, it should not be that expensive to live.”

Rent: £1,300 a month for a one-bedroom flat

Bills: £150 to £300 a month

Average rent: €200-400 per month (£174 – £349)

Utility bills: €75-150 per month (£65.50 – £131)

Grocery shopping: €75 (£65.50)

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