#9 King of My Castle
Benvenuto a casa, tutti sono sulla lista
Ciao amici miei,
A late edition today, for a good reason. I didn’t want to hit “send” before putting everything in order.
This letter has a more personal slant than usual, and if that’s not your jam: see you next Monday.
Mille baci 💋
Esther
💰 What I’m investing in
🏰 A house. If you’re reading this, everything has gone according to plan and I am a homeowner as of today — in Sicily. A confounding choice for some, and a stroke of genius for others.
That’s my biggest investment in a single item to date! I wanted to share because we keep hearing news of how stuck the real estate market is, but perhaps it’s worth thinking outside the box.
Technically, it’s my second investment in real estate. Earlier this year, I put a small amount of money towards fractional real estate investing with Harmony Homes. The company specialises in upscale holiday homes, owned by a group of investors who receive monthly dividends and enjoy discounted rates should they want to use the holiday homes themselves. A win-win situation if you ask me (speaking of asking, yes I can give you a referral).
Back to the house I now own in full! Some FAQ:
Why Sicily? I’ve been toying with the idea of buying in Italy for a few years now. My two favourite places are Rome and Sicily. I’m not keen on another capital city to take a breather from Paris, so Rome will remain a weekend destination! Sicily ticks a lot of boxes: sunny 350 days/year, by the seaside, the local cuisine is simple, wholesome yet delicious, locals are incredibly welcoming — and real estate is cheap.
Where in Sicily? Acireale, a stone’s throw away from Catania. If you’re not familiar with the region, the biggest city is Palermo but Catania is home to the busiest airport since a lot of the tourist must-sees are on the east coast: Taormina (Sicily’s answer to Saint Tropez), Syracuse/Ortigia, Noto. Acireale, known as the hundred-churches city, is a fairly touristic spot (good for holiday rentals), has a beach minutes away from the city centre and a small-city feel while still being a short drive away from Catania airport.
Is it a 1€ house? A lot of people have turned their attention to Sicily’s real estate since the advent of the 1€ house scheme. One thing I always keep in mind: when something’s free, you’re the product. These houses are being sold for a symbolic euro, and in return, you’re to bring back business opportunities and life to otherwise nearly abandoned parts of Italy. The scheme is quite the contract: you have tight deadlines to present your renovation plans and to finish reconstruction. Considering a lot of them are nearly ruins, the costs add up. Moreover, very few of them are situated in desirable tourist spots, meaning they’re quite unlikely to hold a big ROI.
How did you find it? I found an agent I felt I could trust. He said no more than he said yes, meaning he had my best interest at heart, over making a transaction at any cost. It took me 2 trips and about 10 house visits before I found The One. By the way, The One isn’t the most charming place I’ve seen, but it’s the most private and the one I could instantly picture myself in and decorate to my taste.
Are you moving there? No 🖤.
Why buy a secondary house and keep renting in Paris? Have you seen real estate prices in Paris? Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of financing — the premise of this newsletter. Instead of option A: buying the apartment I live in full-time, contracting a mortgage + down payment using my savings (an option that generates zero cash unless I frequently leave), I chose option B: continue renting (let’s assume the cost is similar to a mortgage) and use my savings to buy a significantly cheaper place outright. We’re talking <€100k. It’ll serve the dual purpose of being a place I can vacation in or work remotely from, without having to figure out logistics besides flights, while also generating cash when I’m not using it. It’s high time we rethink option A as the sole way of getting into the real estate game. Coming up with different strategies that accommodate our budget instead of the other way around is the way forward. I see fractional real estate (see above) as the gateway before bigger investments such as this one.
When can I visit? The place needs freshening up but no major reno. I’m planning on it being ready in Spring 2025.
📈 Bullish news
Global "low carbon" investment — renewables, nuclear, wind — outpaced oil and gas last year (Axios)
YouTube is gamifying the creator-viewer connection (tubefilter)
Condé Nast from print to screen. The media group now has 14 projects in production or post-production set up with distributors like Amazon, Netflix, HBO and Warner Brothers, plus another 23 projects in development with independent financial backers. (Deadline)
Violet Grey plans on opening up to 20 new stores over the next 3-4 years following their split from Farfetch. (Glossy)
Top Six Media Companies To Spend $126 Billion on Content in 2024 (Worldscreen)
Apple reaches deal to acquire Pixelmator (9to5mac)
Why Surgeons Are Wearing The Apple Vision Pro In Operating Rooms (Time)
Do you dabble in Booktok? Its impact has a non-negligible effect on book sales. (NYT)
Where Some See Taboos, They See Opportunity (NYT) I need to spend more time covering the many businesses Julie Schott has launched. Truly a force to be reckoned with in today’s CPG.
Forget celebrity tequila brands, stars are now getting into the beer business. (This Week in CPG)
Meet the 20-year-old Democrat running a multimillion-dollar PAC targeting Gen Z (NBC News)
📉 Bearish news
Pop-Up Culture: How far will consumers go for free? (Glossy) Re: when something’s free, you’re the product (see above).
Updates, erratum & further reading
Should you want to dig deeper into my “known>new” theory from last week, this quote I read in a Vulture profile of a writer particularly resonated “In a way, Mezrich’s books aren’t even books. What they really are is IP: intellectual property designed for Hollywood adaptation. This has served him particularly well in the streaming era, which has goosed demand for oven-ready content and incentivized writers to thirstily seek a lucrative second life for their books and articles onscreen, ideally by reporting on heists, capers, scams, feuds, and other narratives with theatrical appeal.”
If the subject that interested you the most was how celebrities keep appearing in archival fashion, I have just the podcast for you.
I need to correct myself re: advent calendars (also last week): although I claimed not to know anyone who bought them, I stumbled upon the Amazon France sales figure for the Maybelline one: €161,213. That’s for a single product from a single brand on a medium-sized market, a month out from December. So. Some people must buy them — simply not anyone I’m affiliated with.
Loved this piece, Esther. My partner and I are looking to make a similar investment in the next couple of years—location is still TBC, but Corsica is currently at the top of our list, for very similar reasons to those you mentioned for Sicily (minus 'locals are incredibly welcoming' 😂🤫).
So interesting regarding the advent calendars — I wonder if it's a cultural thing. After 10 years of living in Germany, I can tell you it's super popular gift, from the affordable brands all the way to Susanne Kaufmann's 400EUR one. Luxury department stores' ones like KaDeWe's are always sold out in seconds — which reminds me that in London, Liberty's does some killer beauty advent calendars (multi brand) as well. YOU KNOW WHAT TO GET ME FOR XMAS