Czech couple buys house in Sicily for the price of a garden plot near Prague

A Czech couple, Alena and Ržihard Krejsa, finally fulfilled a long-held dream this autumn, buying a house in a quiet mountain town in Sicily with views of Mount Etna. According to Alena Krejsová, the property cost roughly the same as an ordinary garden plot in an allotment cooperative outside Prague.

The house stands nine kilometres from the sea and about 45 kilometres from Catania Airport. The couple deliberately chose a location away from the noisy tourist towns and crowded coastline. From the living room balcony — which, admittedly, overlooks a busy road — there's a clear view of Mount Etna, whose eruption the pair witnessed with their own eyes shortly after moving in.

"It happened not long ago, when Etna was smoking — we saw it all firsthand, and the impression was powerful," says Alena Krejsová. She adds that while they respect the force of nature, the calm attitude of their neighbours has rubbed off on them too.

How much did the house cost, and what's behind the price

The couple won't disclose the exact purchase price or the size of the house, but according to Ržihard Krejsa, they managed to buy the property for roughly €370 per square metre, while typical prices in that part of Sicily run around €500 per square metre. Part of the cost was covered with a mortgage.

He warns that the final price of a purchase isn't just the cost of the house itself. Non-residents are charged a tax of 9% of the property's value, plus notary fees and other charges that buyers often overlook.

A year of preparation and the pitfalls of buying property

Ržihard Krejsa, who became the driving force behind the "Sicilian dream" and has been chronicling the journey on his Facebook page, took a year off work to search for, buy and set up their new home. He spent the first six months on preparation — researching online, hunting for suitable properties and building contacts on the island.

He then managed to rent accommodation in Sicily for almost two months, using it as a base for regular trips around the region to view houses. "A lot of people look at photos and the listed specs of a house and are ready to buy right away. I'd talk them out of it. I've seen houses that looked gorgeous in photos turn out to be an absolute dump in reality. You really can't get swept up in that first wave of excitement," he advises.

For legal matters and translation, since their Italian wasn't quite up to the task, the couple got help from a Czech woman who has lived on the island for years and specialises in exactly this kind of service. Thanks to her, the whole process went smoothly. Ržihard also points out an important detail: only someone fluent in Italian can sign the notarial deed at purchase — his own Italian is only basic. The land registry works differently in Sicily too: unlike in Czechia, it isn't public.

In the end, they settled on a two-storey house right by the road, with each floor functioning as a separate dwelling — it used to be home to two brothers and their families. Although the couple weren't impressed by the photos at first, they decided to go and see it in person anyway. They plan to live in Sicily from autumn to spring, while Czechia is in the grip of cold weather, and hope to rent out part of the house long-term in the future.

Read also: Free Czech courses for foreigners: where to learn

Source: novinky.cz