Why We Say No to Most Cheap Houses
A cheap house that needs €80,000 of work is not a cheap house. The rule we use to decide what goes on RealHunt, and why we turn most listings down.
RealHunt Research · 2026-09-23
The internet is full of cheap houses. Most of them are cheap for a reason. The €1 houses in Italian villages come with an obligation to renovate, usually within three years, and the renovation costs far more than €1. The Japanese akiya you see in videos often need new roofs. And a lot of the American homes under $50,000 are listed for investors because they are not fit to live in.
RealHunt is for a different question: what can you buy for under €100,000 and live in, more or less as it is?
The rule
Every home is looked at by a person before it goes up. We say no to:
- homes that clearly need major work: a new roof, rebuilt walls, no kitchen or bathroom
- ruins and shells, however pretty the stone
- land on its own, or land with a trailer or a shed
- listings with one photo, or photos of the town instead of the house
- anything over €100,000
Old is fine. Some of our favourite homes were built in the 1800s. What matters is that someone has looked after them.
In practice this means we turn down far more than we publish. Right now there are 140 homes on the site and 446 listings that were submitted or imported and turned down.
Where the homes come from
Some are found by our own research on public listing sites. Some come from people and accounts who post homes they have found, and every one goes through the same check. Signed-in members can open the original listing and contact the seller or agent directly. RealHunt is not an estate agent and does not sell the houses.
How the ranking works
The order on the front page comes from votes. Each week starts from zero, and the homes people vote for most rise to the top. There are no paid placements in the ranking. Where there is a sponsored card, it says so.
What we get wrong
Photos can flatter. Listings go out of date. A house that looks fine may have a problem only a survey will find. If you see a home that is sold or not what it seems, use the report button on its page and we will check it. And before you buy anything, anywhere, get an independent inspection and a local lawyer or notary.