Property Description

Two-bedroom Sea-view Home near Palermo, with Roof Terrace and Three Balconies

A bright and airy property on two floors, with multiple balconies and a roof terrace which all offer great views of the sea and countryside, Casa Salvatore is a really attractive proposition for an international buyer who wants an affordable home in a traditional Sicilian setting.

Just a couple of hundred metres from the sea, in the lovely coastal community of Sant’Elia, the two-bedroom sea view near Palermo, it offers plenty of space indoors and out. On the second and third floors of a smart modern building, you will find two bedrooms (one is currently being used as a dining room), a living room, a large open kitchen, two bathrooms and a storeroom.

The sea-view terrace is a particular highlight, opening directly off the kitchen and therefore a perfect place to eat al fresco from April right up to November. Afforded partial shade in the height of the day by a fixed canopy that covers about half of the space, it is a fabulous spot to relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of the lovely seaside spot.

If you are buying the apartment as a holiday home, its seaside location and relative proximity to the island’s largest city would make it very possible to market it as a rental property when you can’t be there to enjoy it in person.

The Property

Reached up a marble staircase, the apartment begins with a small entrance hall, off which are the bedroom, what is currently the dining room and living room. Each of these is of a similar size, and connects to a balcony. The one to the west, with views of the surrounding rocky hillsides, is deep enough for a table, while the one facing the sea is narrower, but connects the dining room and bedroom – what we would suggest become two bedrooms.

Upstairs on the third floor are the kitchen-diner, and two bathrooms. The kitchen is a great space, one that we feel is being made to look slightly smaller than its true size by a beige tile that covers all four walls. If you were to replace this with a smaller backsplash behind the sink you could take full advantage of the light which floods in throughout the day from the French windows onto the terrace and balcony.

The terrace is really big and deep, over 20m2 with plenty of space for a full dining table. There is even an outdoor sink and space to add a little grill if you wanted. Finally, there are a pair of bathrooms, one with a box shower and the other with a medium sized tub. The storeroom is found on the second floor landing.

The floors are tiled, in a mix of twentieth-century Sicilian scaglietta grain and some more classical prints. The house is served by municipal electricity and water, and has connections for satellite TV.

Surroundings

Casa Salvatore is just 200m from the sea, in the little hamlet of Sant’Elia, a picturesque fishing village just outside Santa Flavia. One of the quietest and most beautiful villages in the area, it nonetheless offers a selection of bars, restaurants and small food shops. You’ll notice it get busier in the summer months, when many Sicilians move out of the city in search of some fresh sea breezes, and a little international tourism arrives. However, many locals do live here all year round.

A rocky bay in the middle of the village is surrounded by old houses and balconies have been built over the water. At a small beach in its centre, a staircase leads down to the water. A cross on the rock at the end of the inlet is a favourite place for Sicilians to propose marriage.

We are about 15 kilometres east of Palermo, and the vibrant Sicilian capital is easily reachable by train from Santa Flavia. If you walk up to the top of Monte Catalfano, a 350m hill and nature reserve at the end of the peninsula, you can enjoy a fabulous view of the city. If you’re not familiar with everything that Palermo has to offer, from its world-class opera house to its bustling Arabian-style street markets, make sure to read our full guide to the city.

The morning market at Porticello, a fifteen minute walk along the coast, is a great place to buy all kinds of fresh seafood from one of the island’s busiest fishing spots. If you’re still learning how to cook like a local, you can treat yourself to a great meal in one of the excellent little restaurants around the harbour.

The nearest airport is less than an hour away.

Potential

The property is in good condition, and could certainly be moved into as soon as you complete the purchase. You might obviously want to do some redecoration, and the third floor in particular does feel a little dated, but everything works and the structure of the building is stable.

If you are planning to move to Sicily on a full-time basis, you might want to address the lack of heating, both by replacing the ageing and inefficient window frames and adding some more two-way air conditioning units. Modern ones with heat pumps, which would allow you to keep a comfortable temperature in winter as well as summer, could be installed in all rooms for an investment of around €4-5,000. For the windows and balcony doors you should calculate something around €8-10,000. Lastly you might want to add a more modern kitchen unit – prices for these will vary greatly according to your preferences, but it’s easy to find cheaper options starting from just a couple of thousand Euro.

If you can show that the energy class of the building is increasing as a result, and you are prepared to move your tax residency to Sicily, then the Italian ‘bonus’ system will allow you to reclaim some of your investment in the form of tax credits over a ten year period.

If you would like any advice about how to plan or budget for renovation work on this great sea-view home near Palermo, or on any of our other properties, talk to our friendly, multilingual team today.