See the photos
Casa Riccardo – Caccamo
€ 65.000
Caccamo - 90012
#86518072
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5 Rooms
- 1 Bathroom
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69 m²
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Ground floor
Lake and Sea-view Sicilian Country Cottage to Renovate, with a Beautiful Plot of Land and a Tempting Price Tag
With a fantastic view of Lake Caccamo and the sea, Casa Riccardo is a project purchase that's perfect for a nature lover who would relish the challenge and potential of a Sicilian country cottage to renovate.
On sale is an estate of approximately 1,200m2, and a cottage of 70m2 with a covered veranda and an 80m2 roof terrace. This gives you the perfect vantage point from which to take in the gorgeous panorama of countryside, lake and the Tyrrhenian Sea. 430m above sea level, the little house is cool and quiet, but the nearest towns are only a short drive away.
It's in good condition structurally, with no cracking or damp issues. However, it will need to be fully redecorated, and the fixtures updated. The reward, however, will be worth the investment, with all the outdoor space you need and what could be a very charming little retreat in a beautiful part of Sicily.
It's offered including all contents, as seen in our virtual tour and photography, but any furniture the buyer does not want can also be cleared before the sale.
The Property
Facing due east, directly down the hill towards the lake, the cottage is a simple construction in a mid-century design that's very typical of the region. It features a living room with a great view, a central kitchen-diner that connects to all of the other rooms, a bedroom, box room and bathroom. The box room is a nice storage option but could also hold a single bed or pair of bunk beds. The presence of another storage space under the external staircase certainly makes this a little more feasible.
The terrace is almost completely open, save for a corrugated canopy which covers the staircase. It is enclosed only by a low wall, and although it's unpaved it is still in good condition with no signs of infiltration underneath.
From here you get a perfect view of the estate, which spreads over almost a third of an acre down the gentle hillside. The land has been planted with about 30 olive trees and a few fruit trees. At ground level it's mostly grassy with some intermittent foliage that includes wild herbs and a few Mediterranean succulents.
The home is not connected to the mains water network, but has a large cistern which the previous inhabitants would fill from a water truck.
Surroundings
The wild beauty of this hilly spot plays out in all directions. A canvas of meadows, olive groves and citrus orchards runs along the well-maintained provincial road that runs by your front door a scenic drive whether you're heading up into the higher hills to the south, or north down towards the sea. Away to the West is the Pizzo Cane Nature Reserve, over which the sunsets at night are often fabulous.
Only a few farmhouses and cottages dot the landscape, making this an amazing spot in which to reconnect to nature and your loved ones, and let go of the stresses of everyday life.
The property is technically in the municipality of Caccamo but in truth this is a bit of a red herring. The position of the lake means that driving to the little hilltop town would take over half an hour, and the route you would take passes through both Trabia (home to 10,000 residents) and Termini Imerese (with a population of over 20,000) before coming to Caccamo, which is smaller than both. So realistically you won't find yourself needing to go there except for the occasional bit of local bureaucracy, mostly around the time you move in.
Everything you need on a regular basis can be found in these seafront towns, and with Trabia only fifteen minutes away by car you won't feel disconnected despite the rural setting. A 45 minute drive will bring you into Palermo, Sicily's cultural and economic powerhouse, and the airport there can be reached in about an hour. The main E90 motorway which tracks Sicily's north coast will also bring you quickly to the sandy beauty of Cefalù, the baroque villas of Bagheria and to Messina, the gateway to the Italian mainland. The nearest junction is only ten minutes away.
Potential
Obviously there is a lot that will need to be done to turn Casa Riccardo into the charming little country home that it deserves to be. Renewing the electric and plumbing infrastructure will be a priority, and then replastering.
We would love to see the kitchen given some dark wood that would pick up on the rural location, and perhaps a stove for heating to keep it cosy in the winter and make the place a year-round home.
The fact that we're a few hundred metres above sea level does help with the heat and humidity through the long Sicilian summer, but we would still recommend investing in some air conditioning units, which can be bought and installed for under €1,000 apiece, even at the top of the market.
You will want to keep that climate controlled air in with new windows and doors, and perhaps some secondary insulation.
The lack of mains water would be easy to remedy, as pipes do pass along the main road. Laying a connection to this wouldn't need a huge investment, and would be much simpler than calling out trucks. As the supply to this region is not constant but only turned on for a spell every other day, you would need to invest in a good pump to fill the cistern when there is flow. You will need to create a septic tank of some kind to manage waste water.
On the plus side, the electricity is no issue, all you would need to do would be to call the supplier and reactivate it.
You will definitely want to use the roof terrace more, which might benefit from some tiling and maybe handrails. Tiles are not essential, but it would be wise to add a layer of some kind of waterproof material to keep it all free from infiltration.
If you don't want the weight of all of this on your hands, what we're talking about here is exactly the kind of mid-scale renovation project that we have overseen for many customers in the past. We are the only agency in Sicily to offer project management services to all our buyers, and we're very proud of our track record in this area. Whether you just want an informal chat about the work involved or a detailed quotation, please don't hesitate to bring this up with our friendly multilingual staff when you ask about this lovely little Sicilian country cottage to renovate.
Details
- Category:
- Sale
- Type:
- House / House
- Condition:
- Requires renovation
- Availability:
- Free
- Services:
- Outdoor lighting, Fence, Window bars
- View:
- Sea, Mountains, Countryside, Sky, Lake
- Metratura terreno:
- 69 m²
- Areas:
- 69 m²
- Floor:
- Ground floor
- Price:
- € 65.000
- Rooms:
- 5
- Bathrooms:
- 1
- Heating Access:
- Individual
- Water Heating Access:
- Individual
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Location Details
IT, Palermo, Caccamo
Video
Services
- Bathroom
- Bedroom
- Fence
- Kitchen
- Land
- Living room/dining area
- Outdoor lighting
- Storage room
- Window bars
Gaetano VARCASIA 
Agent immobilier