2653 So where to start?

[CENTER][CENTER][COLOR=black]Hi, Have you tried the search facility, on green bar above? There are many threads relating to all of this but it is time consuming! A simple answer is it may be feasible but possibly a little pie in the sky, not likely to get rich quick.;) Everything is surrounded by many rules and regulations that all take an extremely long time to sort out, from purchasing property to running a business. From our experience, it is true that [/COLOR][COLOR=black]Italy[/COLOR][COLOR=black] has a very laid back attitude which is great when everything is sorted but a little frustrating when trying to achieve it. [/COLOR][/CENTER]
[CENTER][COLOR=black]At this stage, your best bet is to research where you would actually like to live. It has been said the further south the cheaper the properties but it has also been said that there are reasons as to why the values drop. I'm sure others on here will provide further information than me but at least this will give you something to think about until then. [/COLOR][/CENTER]
[CENTER][COLOR=black]Happy searching and hope you find your dream! :) [/COLOR][/CENTER][/CENTER]
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Thanks for the reply..All I've got to do then is make a commitment to start. Does seam very daunting though. As I said earlier though, I'm not after making money, other than enough to live....

Steve:o

Agree that it would helpful to visit some potential areas and see which one(s) are most appealing to you. There are several here who are biased in favor of Abruzzo. That said, Teramo is a university town of about 53K with an active and high turnover rental market of students. Housing prices are reasonable. A triplex or quadplex within walking distance of the university might be something to look into.
Casale in Abruzzo [url]www.angelfire.com/film/casale[/url]

If you are looking to live off of rental income - you might consider looking for somewhere with a 'double' holiday season [Summer Sun and Winter Skiing]

Thanks for all the replies, a lot to concider.

After much thought the view is moving towards a house for the family (in need of redecoration - but liveable) + adjoining properties close by for renovation. I like the idea of winter/summer lets (thanks Alan) probably less trouble than students.

Steve

In France - tenancy has some quite strict rules I belive such that it is normal to have students for several years - instead of the more usual 6 month let in the UK.

I dont know what Italy is like.

Rental contracts in Italy are usually 4 years at a time. Depends on the type of client you want to rent to. Italians are generally used to this 4 year contract.

Majority of houses or apartments are unfurnished too. No Kitchen, no cooker just an empty room with a lightbulb if your lucky.

It seems the most popular way to rent out your property as most italians have there own cooker, kitchen etc...

There are also furnished places for rent and yes you pay more but most people who rent prefer the unfurnished. (Im talking about Italians not expats here and renting as a non holiday home)

Please look at other posts concerning B&B.Personally I would think opening a B&B in Italy is a short cut to either a nervous breakdown,a marriage breakup or possibly both!That from my limited experience over nearly 2 years of talking to owners in Abruzzo.

While in the UK you may talk to people running B&Bs with no problems and actually making money in Italy you have so many more regulations and a 'hostile' tax system to cope with.If you read Sebastianos post you'll see how he has been 'investgated' by the tax people for over a week.He also states that he is paying 80 euros a week in nat ins contributions! Thats 80 euros out of your pocket before you've had a single guest!

I marvel over how Italians seem to be running hotels with hardly any guests or restaurants where a superb meal costs less than £10 with wine! But they are Italians and must have ways of making the system work for them.

There are all sorts of ways to move to Italy,make money and stay sane its just that you need to make an informed decision before you chose one.I wish you luck and hope you do find a place in Italy for your family.

Unfortunately the returns on Italian rental property dont stack up - maybe if you had fifty to spread your cost base. If you talking hoilday lets, no idea, thats a very volatile market.

An other approach (this is roughly what I did without going into teh complexities) you can sell your UK home and invest half of the proceeds in a UK rental property. The other half you use to buy your Italian home, then you decide what to do with yourself. This has the dual advantage of giving you an income and also a foot in the UK housing market should you change your mind.

On an economic note, the world has been pursuing a cheap money policy for the past forty years, ever since the end of Bretton Woods. This eventually fed into low interest rates and we have seen asset price appreciation on a large scale in the anglo saxon world. We have seen it on a more limited scale on the European mainland but it still has a long way to go. Having said that, Italy still has over a million empty properties and most of them in the south.

Hi Steve, you don't say why you are particularly interested in Italy, do you have family links, speak the language or just like the country?

I would say without either of the first two you may find the move difficult especially if you need to provide a regular income from day one. The cheaper property areas are not particularly tourist driven and the italian holiday season seems to be August and well... August!

Unless you have a large amount of equity in you house and know where you want to be why not try renting your Uk house out and renting in Italy for a while? I think there are one or two members of the forum who rent and say that rental properties can be fairly cheap and it will give you chance to try La Dolce Vita without too much commitment!

With four little ones I am sure you will slip into Italian life easily as children are a great introduction to local life!

Good luck

jackie

Steve

We have four little boys and emigrated specifically for their education and it has worked out ok. We were in London and found ourselves competing for the best bad school. Even though I am rabid anti socialist, my one and only leaning in that sense is I will not pay for schooling.

So its all ok right now but my wife, an Italian brought up here does not think much of the school system from 14 onwards. You have to specialise at too young an age and is very rigid. We are therefore giving careful thought to what to do before we get there and Switzerland maybe the answer.

Worth bearing in mind.