Yours for just $1.50 - world's cheapest houses

Bond Street in Stoke has several abandoned buildings that are part of the project. Picture: Google Street View

• Council sells homes for nominal prices
• Scheme to reinvigorate crime-ridden areas
• Houses available for just $1.50

FOR less than the price of a cup of coffee, you can own your own home in England.

And if an established house with a back yard for a mere £1 (A$1.48) isn’t enough to pique your interest, there’s more on offer. The houses each come with a £30,000 ($44,000) low-interest loan for renovations.

The catch? The properties are being sold in crime-ridden parts of England in a bid to reinvigorate the areas.

Desperate to fill and fix up homes in Stoke, Staffordshire, the local council is trying to attract tenants by giving away property for a nominal fee to turn the fortunes around.

The owner must renovate the house and live in it five years before it can be sold.

Abandoned houses are a huge problem in the area with almost 5000 homes left empty in Stoke - Staffordshire's largest city - as of January 2011, according to council data.

The properties for sale, which have two-to-three bedrooms and a back yard, are in a variety of conditions from liveable to desperately needing refurbishment.

The empty-house plan - a multi-million dollar scheme funded by the British government - aims to "bring empty homes back into use to improve the standard of housing in the city and to bring life back into our communities", according to the council website.

original : http://www.heraldsun.com.au/money/yours-for-just-150-worlds-cheapest-houses/story-e6frfh5f-1226445964681