Talk about a deal. French authorities are selling an entire village, Courbefy, at an all-inclusive price of about $440,000 (€330,000), according to Reuters.
Judicial officials in neighboring Limoges are selling the ghost town, which is located in the central region of France, and giving bidders until Friday to submit offers. The package includes the village, tennis courts, a swimming pool and 19 buildings. A bidder has yet to come forward, reports say.
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According to a court ruling, if there are no buyers by Friday’s deadline, the town will fall into the hands of Credit Agricole bank. “We couldn’t buy Courbefy back because it’s too big an investment for us,” said Bernard Guilhem, mayor of the surrounding area, Saint-Nicolas-Courbefy. “This totally abandoned village breaks our hearts and we hope Credit Agricole will arrange something there again,” he told Reuters.
The village was once home to a thriving community, but saw a downturn in the 1970s, when farming in the region declined. The overgrown and barren town is studded with history, including a 13th century church and remains of a castle; the area is described as home to “thieves, ravers and squatters,” one local told the Le Figaro newspaper.
Despite an attempt to revive the village as a holiday destination in the 1990s, Courbefy’s last resident left in 2008.