3047 Irish family considering buying in Abruzzo

Welcome to the forum, I can't help with your query regarding the agent, but the figure does seem high for buying in the price range you quoted, a couple of thousand would be a fairer commission, BUT, there could be other services. There is a very helpful contributor to the forum called "Adriatica", he knows the area extremely well and lives there, I am sure he will help you, if you go into "members list" top of the page, click on his name and send a "Private message" to him, John will help, I'm sure.

Thanks GeorgeS, appreciate the help.

Will send the PM.

Hello.. welcome to the Forum.

I see you are just starting out on your journey to hopefully buy a property in Italy.

As George has said.. you could PM 'Adriatica' and indeed he knows the area very, very well. I'm sure he would help you with lots of information.

BUT.. I see your situation as a perfect opportunity for everyone.. you are a family at the very first stage of the purchasing processs. :eek:

I wonder if you would be so kind as to consider this proposal..

Rather than using private messages and then posting in different places as and when you require knowledge.. would you consider posting in this thread and reporting on a regular basis on each and every stage of your journey.. asking the questions you need.. reporting on who.. when.. where and why.. good and bad.. right through the whole process until you find and buy your home?

I'm sure you will find many good, knowledgeable and helpful people on this Forum.. willing to help and guide you through each and all of the different things you will need to learn and consider while journeying through this adventure.

I know it would make this thread a type of a blog.. but I certainly would be interested to read all about it.. right from the very beginning.. in detail.. in one thread.

:) :)

That is such a brilliant idea and it would be very helpful for everyone! :D

Sorry to sound like a real grump - could be because I am stuck at work on what should have been my day off ( yes I know by looking at this I'm wasting company time!) but I don't get it!!

What purpose would be served by these guys posting everything they find and their full experiences when there are already heaps of information regarding agents/areas etc - most of which just starts the usual downward spiral into a blazing row between various factions!!

And how could it possibly help Trullomartrinfranca who by the looks of it already has a house in Italy!!

Hope you do find your dream place I'm sure you will find the forum very useful .

The gringe

It wouldn't help me at all but may help new members, which is what this forum is for. It would be an ongoing event that hopefully would supply answers before and not after. We didn't find the forum until later in the process and it was only then that our intuition was confirmed that things were not all as we had been told. Hopefully by having one thread, ok only this perticular purchase but it would be a guide in one place. Maybe just for once all members can put different sides to any situation without causing a blazing row. In that way and of course advice from a professional it will help them to make choices.

Never mind gringy grump off work soon hopefully and I doubt very much that they would want to take up the suggestion anyway. :D

Sure - its a good idea - but I do think - the questions should appear under their correct headings.

However - if someone was to collate a script - of relevant posts - then that could be good - it maybe too personal for someone to give their life blog on here - plus - to access relevant important information - its far easier to read under specific titles - - I suspect one single topic would diverge into too many directions - and people would get lost in it.

I wish you well with your venture - Irish Family!!!

Dear Gringe.. :D

You're right.. there is heaps of information on everything.. everywhere - most of which just starts the usual downward spiral into a blazing row between various factions.. sometimes caused by someone trying to rain on the parade!

I'm sure that you are also right about Trulli - she doesn't need this information.. but she is not as selfish as some and looks at the bigger picture.. for everyone... now and in the future.

Perhaps you are also right about being a grump 'cus you are stuck at work. :p

Glen &Trulli.. understand where you are coming from but 'Nice Irish Family' have already given the budget so don't see how it would be too personal and with a bit of luck.. they may want to do it. I simply thought is would be useful to have it all together!

If we don't ask.. we dont get!

:) :)

Aliena - ok

[LEFT][quote=Buying in abruzzo]My wife and young girl are from Ireland and are looking to purchase a "getaway" place in the centre of Italy....[/quote]

Just wanted to say hi, before the thread gets any more 'off topic', and wish you luck in your search - from an Irish family[based in navan] currently going through the process.... :eek:

Cheers

[/LEFT]

Irish family welcome to the forum, hope you will find it as useful as we have done. Maybe you will even take up the excellent idea that Aliena has mooted.
Also if you are looking for property within easy access of Roma it may be worthwhile taking a look at Northern Lazio while you are over here? Not that we are biased of course. Oh and buy the way that fee you quoted sounds very high!!

Hi , good luck with your search. we have just purchased a house in Abruzzo near Lanciano and I agree that the agent fees sound high at 5,000euros. We used ACA immobiliare in Lanciano found them to be very good, all went smoothly and quickly. If you want their web address it is probalbly a good idea to private message me as I don't want people to think I am speaking out of turn. They helped with everything including Codice Fiscale, bank account etc. I don't know which area of Abruzzo you are looking for but the region has much to offer, mountains, coast, beautiful towns, villages etc once again good luck with your search and enjoy your trip in May, make sure you take acamera and photograph not just the area but the properties also as the memories soon fade when you get home.
Regards
Michelle:)

Also would just like to add that 5000 e is far to much and hope you also find your dream property. :)

dunno about this -

I think - personally - I would use a local Immobiliare -and an English lawyer

Having said that - I used one that is highly recommended on here (and advertises) - but was embarassed when I went to sign - as they said - everything is in order - but still in the Notaio's office I had no paper details of the house (visura etc..)

Fortunately - before handing over the money - the Notaio got it all photocopied - and allowed me to check it over before proceeding

Dear all

having just woken after working what turned out to be 24 hours without sleep I realise that the gringe must die!!

I can see that all knowledge is power and so would like to apologise to all concerned.

One bit of advice - i was at La Dolce Vita last week at the invite of the agents we bought from (Remax Lanciano). I was there with a teacher from London who had also bought through them, talking to people about our experiences and several people returned having visited several other stands to say that ALL of the other agents were telling them they would not get a house under £100,000 (yes pounds!).

I don't know whether there was a general cartel to hike the prices to the unsuspecting Brits, but as usual BUYER BEWARE!

regards

Smiley happy person on day off

Aww, don't worry, not a prob at all.
Good advice the more thats said the less likely people will rush in or miss something because at the end of the day it is buyer beware. :)

Irish family look forward to your posts if you would like to share with us of course and hope it's a pleasant and exciting journey. :D

Hello all,

Thank you for the welcome and the PM's

I will try and contribute to the forum as much as possible and will certainly give a report on the progress we are making. I see that the €5,000 I have been quoted is seen as too high, and as I thought the same, I glad to be backed up.

The current property we were looking at was 50,000 and 5,000 on that is 10% and very high in my opinion. Would like to see if anyone else have used abruzzoproject to see how they were to deal with.

I have looked at the forums other subjects and I see some conflicting opinons which is welcome, but on looking at numerous for sale sites, I have come accross many properties available in my price range, even though many on here have mentioned that a budget of 40-60k wouldn't get much???

Thanks again for the welcome and Im off to search some more - back soon with questions and maybe answers and progress.

I can not say for Abruzzo personally but in general the lower the price the more likely you will have to spend a lot on it. Many rustic buildings do unless recently renovated. Also have you considered all the extra cost over and above the purchase price, fees, taxes etc.

[LEFT]
Just like to remind everyone that the family are from Ireland, so their 40k-60k budget is probably in euro, not sterling.

Just a few points on the website you mentioned.. The one thing that strikes me is the absence of a 'Who are we' page - no names, addresses, company history or qualifications - a single info@... email address. Are the properties offered up to date (some of them seem very cheap)?

5,000 euro in fees is far too much. What exactly is he offering you for that price? If you're interested in a property going for 50k, the commission should be, on average, 1,500 - 2,000 (3-4% - 5% max if they're offering extra services).

I'm assuming you're budgeting for fees and taxes. If you go for a property at 50k, you will need to think about budgeting for something between 7,500-10,000 for commission, notary fees and property taxes. On a property at that price, you should also think about a structural survey (500 euro??).
Obviously you don't need to use a sollicitor; but if you do, add on another 3,000 at least (read over the relevant threads about using/not using a sollicitor). Then, when you have the property, there's the little internal jobs and the furniture.
It all adds up! :(

At the risk of slightly disheartening you, I think your budget might be a little unrealistic for what you're after - but I'll be happy if you can prove me wrong! :)
I think we need some more input from members with homes in Abruzzo.

Obviously, one of my parameters was flight availability from Dublin - taking both long established routes and budget airlines into consideration. And, funnily enough, I ruled out Abruzzo at an early stage because of this. If you think about weekend breaks, Rome is realistically the only airport you can use [long drive - flights expensive at weekends] unless you're willing to fly via the UK.

If you want more info about the process, or just a chat, from someone in Ireland, feel free to PM me.

Cheers, Derek

[/LEFT]

Hello Irish Family.. seems you have your forum name now.. ;)

Dealing with 'Estate agents/Middlemen/go betweens' commission fees only in this post.

The norm for "agents" fees - please note we can use this term for what "we" know as "Estate agents" and "Middlemen" - go betweens ect.. be very clear on which of these you are using when finding/buying a property.

Estate agents.. standard rates seem to be 3% of the purchase price will be paid by you to the 'Estate agent' and an additional 3% will also be paid by the vendor to the agent.

Middlemen/go betweens.. standard rates fluctuate up to about 6% of the purchase price will be paid by you.. unsure of how much vendor will pay, but possibly 3%. However, often within the fee you pay to the Middleman, "extra" services MAY be included. It's up to you to establish exactly what these services are.. and if they are worth the extra % costs.

So.. it seems commission fees range from "Expensive at 3%, but I cant do anything about it" - all the way up to - "Outrageous, I have been ripped off.. I should have been more careful!!

By the way of an example.. I looked at the website you gave and noticed a wonderful Liberty villa (Ref A-27) the price is 2.2 million euro - I wonder if the "fees" would still be the fixed price of 5000 euro that you have been quoted.. for this property.. 'cus if they were.. that would be 0.0025% of the purchase price. See what I mean?

However, there is hope.. for all who enter.. because this is ITALY.. you can haggle like mad.. on everything!

Not confused yet? Give us time.. you will be! :D

:) :)

Hi Again,
Thanks for your replies, but I still seem to be getting the negatitive views on the possibility of buying a property in our price range. I have seen numerous (and I mean at least 20 properties on many different websites) that are realistically in our budget range and Im certainly not going to get downhearted from posts here as I will be off to see the properties first hand in May and can see if these properties are what they are described as.

As for being aware of the costs/charges in addition to the property costs, I believe I have enough awareness about me to prepare properly before signing anything.

The present property Im interested in is €50k and Im expecting costs of around €10k which is definitely in budget and if some property comes along that we are interested in and could cost more, then the budget can be expanded.

Sounds as though you're on the right track all you need now, is role on May! As well as checking out the properties and costs of any work, just soak up the envronment and have a wonderful time. :D

Hi all , just reading about buying in the Abruzzo region , we have recently returned from Pescara after a very busy property tour, we went out with the intension to buy a property , we travelled as much of the area as phisically possible, we met a different scout every day , we had 2 days in Sulmona where the properties are slightly cheaper and are well situated for sking but a good way from the coast , we have bought in Loreto Aprutino , if ou would like to as me any questions about our property tour feel free , i would like to ask a few questions myself if i could , (1) has anyone visited Loreto if so what did they think of the village ,(2) does anyone know where there is an outdoor swimming pool close by (3) if i decide to rent out my property does anybody know what the rentability would be like in this area , i understand that we are about 20k from Pescara so beach lovers would be put off with the distance , so i would be interested if anyone had any knowledge on the area , look forward to hear from you

[QUOTE=derekL][LEFT]
Just like to remind everyone that the family are from Ireland, so their 40k-60k budget is probably in euro, not sterling.

Just a few points on the website you mentioned.. The one thing that strikes me is the absence of a 'Who are we' page - no names, addresses, company history or qualifications - a single info@... email address. Are the properties offered up to date (some of them seem very cheap)?

5,000 euro in fees is far too much. What exactly is he offering you for that price? If you're interested in a property going for 50k, the commission should be, on average, 1,500 - 2,000 (3-4% - 5% max if they're offering extra services).

I'm assuming you're budgeting for fees and taxes. If you go for a property at 50k, you will need to think about budgeting for something between 7,500-10,000 for commission, notary fees and property taxes. On a property at that price, you should also think about a structural survey (500 euro??).
Obviously you don't need to use a sollicitor; but if you do, add on another 3,000 at least (read over the relevant threads about using/not using a sollicitor). Then, when you have the property, there's the little internal jobs and the furniture.
It all adds up! :(

At the risk of slightly disheartening you, I think your budget might be a little unrealistic for what you're after - but I'll be happy if you can prove me wrong! :)
I think we need some more input from members with homes in Abruzzo.

Obviously, one of my parameters was flight availability from Dublin - taking both long established routes and budget airlines into consideration. And, funnily enough, I ruled out Abruzzo at an early stage because of this. If you think about weekend breaks, Rome is realistically the only airport you can use [long drive - flights expensive at weekends] unless you're willing to fly via the UK.

If you want more info about the process, or just a chat, from someone in Ireland, feel free to PM me.

Cheers, Derek
[/LEFT][/QUOTE]

Thanks Derek!

Appreciate your welcome and sorry for only getting a chance to reply to you now.

My parameters for buying in Abruzzo is ease of flights from Shannon as It is very convienent to where I live. Im originally from Dublin, so it accessable aswell - but Shannon Airport is a dream to travel from. No long check in's/cheap parking near my work etc - perfect. So our plans are to fly Shannon-Ciampino and then drive to Abruzzo. The great thing about the Abruzzo region is that we can get there from Pescara via London aswell - so there are great options. The overall plan is to buy a nice small house in Abruzzo and use it as a getaway throughout the year and we plan to buy a car and leave it at the house for easy use. We plan of using it on scheduled weekends and my wife would like to go for a few weeks at a time in the summer with our current child and future children.

I won't be too disheartened by your post as I have found plenty of houses in our budget range and am actually surprised that you don't think I will have many options in that range?

Do you mind me asking where did you buy or thinking of buying? Abruzzo? Would welcome any help and thanks very much for your posts so far

Hope to talk to you over the coming time.

[LEFT][quote=Buying in abruzzo]My parameters for buying in Abruzzo is ease of flights from Shannon as It is very convienent to where I live.

Do you mind me asking where did you buy or thinking of buying? Abruzzo? Would welcome any help and thanks very much for your posts so far

Hope to talk to you over the coming time.[/quote]

Hi there and welcome! :)
I'll PM you sometime today if thats ok. Thats probably more appropriate.

Cheers,
[/LEFT]

Hello,
We're from Wicklow and bought a place on lake Garda a couple of years ago - not your target area but one piece of advice would be 'get to know the ground' - there's no substitute for actually going there, checking the local agents, the sites, which locations are better than other etc. etc. We spotted our place in March and closed by late June - fast by normal standards. But we had been visitng the area once or twice a year for 15 years and knew it very well. Good Luck.

Thanks Ciaran,

Yes our plan is to visit in May and have a good look around if possible and choose the area's we are definitely interested in. Looking on the Web only gets you so far

Thanks

Hi, congratulations on your purchase, We looked at Loretto too and thought it was a lovely town but ended up buying elsewhere.

Regards renting out your property, we spoke to the agent we bought through regarding rentals and he was very honest. He said that it was unlikely any Italians would rent properties in small rural towns, they prefer to be slap bang on the beach or at least in the centre of things, However, he did say he felt the Brits would love the area (quite right) and that would probably be our market.

Personally a twenty minute drive to the beach is absolutely fine and the beautiful countryside would be a great attraction to walkers etc so I am sure you would find there is a market for renting out your property.

I seem to remember reading something on the forum about regulations regarding letting out your property ( probably very much like in the UK re furnishings, gas appliances etc) and it would be worth your while to look into this first before you get started.

In any event we have decided not to go down the letting route as hand overs and cleaning etc can be onerous. We have invited friends to use the house on the basis that they make a contribution to the utility cost (electric esp) and the wine cellar!! That way we don't have to worry about arranging for beds to be made up and hopefully there will be a steady stream of visiters all year round who will enjoy using the local facilities and contribute to the local economy.

Good luck

Jackie

Just remember that car insurance is very expensive in ITaly!!!

If you arent visiting regularly its often best to rent each time!

Its probably also worth considering getting [url]www.insurance4carhire.co.uk[/url] - £49 for the year - then you dont have to worry about the excess - and can get the cheapest deals - on my first rental - I saved - the cost of the insurance

What is expensive for the car insurance?

Ireland is considered very expensive for car insurance - what would typical car insurance costs be?

[QUOTE=Buying in abruzzo]What is expensive for the car insurance?

Ireland is considered very expensive for car insurance - what would typical car insurance costs be?[/QUOTE]
My wife's fiat punto costs about Euro 800,00 mine bigger costs Euro 1.600,00
it is customary to remove fire/theftclauses from policies after a couple of years to reduce insurance costs....(thats with 20+ years of driving in italy without accidents and abiding in a rural (quiet area) if one was under 25 in certain parts of country (naples for example) a peugeot 206 would cost as much as Euro 2.000,00 +.........you can shop around for telephone insurance if you have the time/desire

You can check this out on [url]www.6sicuro.it[/url] by entering the usual things like your age, what the car is.
This particular site didn't ask for "full details" (like the number plate), so I hope it hasn't become more fussy in recent months!!
If you are asked for a "number" for your bonus-malus, I suggest entering 13, which is (I think) the normal entry point for a first time car insurer. In theory there are ways of transferring your UK no-claims to Italy, but I have never found anyone who has done it.
As a ball park figure I pay 750 Euros a year on an A Class Merc from 1999, with a six year perfect driving history...........................wait for it............that is third party only!! Not even fire and theft!! Expensive.

[LEFT]
There's been quite a bit of discussion on this topic....

[URL="http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/general-chat-about-italy-italy-magazine-forums/1031-driving-uk-car-italy-more-than-1-year.html"]http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/general-chat-about-italy-italy-magazine-forums/1031-driving-uk-car-italy-more-than-1-year.html[/URL]

[URL="http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/utility-services/1429-car-insurance.html"]http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/utility-services/1429-car-insurance.html[/URL]

In any case, since he won't be resident he won't be able to register a vehicle in Italy so won't, therefore, require Italian car insurance.

I was thinking about buying an old car and leaving it over there. Still undecided. Haven't looked at any insurance costs insuring from Ireland, along with limitations, so [Buying in Abruzzo] let us know if you get any info!

At least in Ireland the NCT (Ireland's MOT) is every 2 years rather every year. That makes things a little easier. :)

[/LEFT]

Rome is only a couple of hours from Abruzzo via autostrada.
We bought a property that needs renovating in a village. we came in well under your budget and intend to do the work over time, helps the budget and also gives a focus for the next few years holidays, thats our theory anyway!:)

I'm pleased for you - your notion of restoring on a relaxed time scale is very good, and if you have some experience of doing house restorations in the UK (hopefully with a major DIY input) it should all work out happily!

One difficulty (simply through misunderstandings, no deceit intended) is buying a "habitable" house. Now most houses described as habitable are just that, except they are probably not up to foreign buyers standards of habitability. If you are relaxed (!) enough to accept that there is only cold water at the sink, and the electrics look a bit dodgy, and the shower is a bit mangey - but we'll cope with that over the next few years - then you will be a very happy bunny. Good luck!!

Relaxed.. your point about experience of DIY in UK is important and I'm sure only those with some experience will take on a restoration job or god help them!

We looked at 'habitable houses' in our budget £50,000 but decided that once we'd removed all the dodgy DIY,nasty floor tiles,wrought iron work,cheap aluminium shutters,concrete, paint etc then gone out and paid a fortune for the original brick,stone and cotto tiles which had been ripped out we would actually be worse off.An unmodernised house in good order (ie a roof and 4 walls) actually looks to offer far more value for money.And you get the pleasure of bringing it back to life again.

Becky

.....oh the truth in that!

Sometimes it's easier to start from scratch than to take a property back to scratch (only to start from scratch again!)

I doubt we'd have had the guts to rip out 'decent' fittings, only to fit 'real' fittings..............

Hi

I'm new to the forum myself, but have recently completed the purchase of a property in Sant Eusanio del Sangro.

After surfing the net for sometime, I came across an independent agent, who, in my opinion, has proved tobe honest and reliable. I have also met a couple of other English families who have also used his services. (Renzo Di Nella, Tel. 337 915689; at [url]www.Remax.it[/url]

We had two four day escorted visits around Abruzzo. (Pescara airport pick-up and drop off and half a dozen properties or so to view each day. He speaks pretty good English and takes a translator along to fill in the gaps.

To give you an idea, after finding our property, after negotiating the price down to E55,000 and considering the reduction we received, we were asked to pay the vendors side of the commission also. This worked out to be a total of 3% of the purchase price ie. E3,000.

On top of this we paid a further E8,000 ish to the notary in respect of his charges and taxes. Job done! We are now the proud owners of two semi detached houses (basically habitable condition; electricty and water conected) set in five acres with 32 olive trees and views to die for!

Hope this helps.

Hi Georgiegirl
We also bought through Remax in Lanciano with Renzo and Giancarlo and can't praise them enough. We paid a flat fee of the usual 3% and they have continued to help at every opportunity. Bank accounts were set up, fiscal codes done and they have even ferried money out to our builders on occassions!

I spent a day with them at the Dolce Vita exhibition and had such fun. If anyone is looking to buy south of Pescara please give these guys a call/email.

Jackie