3756 Flying in 2 days and have not arranged viewings

We viewed properties with AbitaItalia and found them very relaxed about the process. You would make it easier for them and yourselves if you could ring the agencies you want to view properties with just to forewarn them.

Hi Sano,

Thanks for that. I think the decent thing to do would be contact them in advance.

Can you answer this: do AbitaItalia charge for viewings? (we will have our own hire car)

I finding it hard to prioritise where to go and visit as we have the week, but we would like to relax aswell and want to take 2 days in Pescara for the beach(we have a young child with us aswell).
Im trying to have this as a holiday that we can casually look at properties and get a feel for the area, instead of rushing around for days looking at houses.

Im planning to spend
1 night in Rome
2 night in Pescara,
1 in Aquila/Teramo
1 in Sulmona

As this is our first visit to this region - is it possible to view property in the agents that are located in the towns and go from there?

Anyone want to advise on the agents available in
Sulmona
Teramon
L'Aquila
?

Thanks

I am sure if you contact the agent we used they would be able to arrange something. They were Remax in Lanciano and you could e mail Giancarlo on [email]jcaporale@remax.it[/email]

I do have Giancarlo's mobile number and plan to see him next week as we are going out for half term. If you wuld like me to get him to make contact with you before you go please pm me with a contact number and e mail address.

Good luck, I am sure you will have a fab time

Jackie

[QUOTE=Buying in abruzzo]Hi All

Due to work/family commitments I haven't been able to properly arrange viewing of property in the abruzzo region and as myself and my wife are flying tomorrow and due in Abruzzo region around Fri/Sat, are we too late to be able to view properties? (we will be there for 1 week, up till 1st June)

Basically Im asking whether agents such as:

housearounditaly
abitaitalia
abruzzoproject
and other general agents
will they accept 2 foreigner arriving at their offices to visit 2 properties in the window or do you really need to book in advance?

If I have to book in advance, should I arrange a mad scramble at arranging viewing's this evening before I go.

....or is it more relaxed?[/QUOTE]

Don't worry. Email or telephone any of them and you'll find somebody waiting for you at the airport, with a smiling, self-deprecatory, welcoming expression, all ready to sympathise with you over the horrors of the cheapo flight, or to be pleasantly surprised that it wasn't all that bad, and suggesting somewhere for lunch or a drink, where he/she can get a better idea of you, what sort of "property" you're likely to fall for (NOT the first you'll be shown), etc.

P.S. One of the first things the agent will want to know is your Christian name, so that you're on "first name terms" and unlikely to go to someone else. Be resolute. Insist on being called Mr, Mrs, Miss, Lady or whatever + surname. Treat the agent as you would somebody wanting to flog you a second-hand car.

[QUOTE=Buying in abruzzo]Hi Sano,

Thanks for that. I think the decent thing to do would be contact them in advance.

Can you answer this: do AbitaItalia charge for viewings? (we will have our own hire car)

I finding it hard to prioritise where to go and visit as we have the week, but we would like to relax aswell and want to take 2 days in Pescara for the beach(we have a young child with us aswell).
Im trying to have this as a holiday that we can casually look at properties and get a feel for the area, instead of rushing around for days looking at houses.[/QUOTE]

Abita Italia did not charge for the viewings. We also had a hire car and went out on the Friday night, viewed houses on Saturday morning to lunch time (1pm) then did our own thing for the rest of the weekend.

I can recommend the beach at Marina di Vasto if you want to spend some time by the sea.

Hi..

Don't have much time to get into all this now, but basically, think about the area.. consider what the place will be like 'out of season' - especially L'Aquila - freezing and lots of snow. Tere are many posts written by "Adriatica" - you would be well served by readingas many as you can before you go - he knows the area very well. Do a search for "Abruzzo".

Also try [url]www.tecnocasa.it[/url] - click on the region you are interested in -see whats available and get guidance on ASKING prices.

Good luck.

:) :)

I can possibly help in the area of Teramo - send me a pm if interested. Viewings would have to take place next week though.

[QUOTE=Sano]Abita Italia did not charge for the viewings. We also had a hire car and went out on the Friday night, viewed houses on Saturday morning to lunch time (1pm) then did our own thing for the rest of the weekend.

I can recommend the beach at Marina di Vasto if you want to spend some time by the sea.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the advice on the beach, as we want to spend time there with our child, I appreciate your help.

Should I spend more time in the "southern" region of abruzzo instead of L'Aquila?

My choice for a home is for small quiet place near to a town and the houses in Sulmona has caught both mine and my wife's eye.

Anyone recommend how long it takes to drive from Pescara to Sulmona?

[CENTER][CENTER][COLOR=black]It looks to me as though your doing all of this in a bit of a rush (learning from my own lessons) I would take a deep breath and chill. Just take the opportunity to look around, pop into an agent if you see one but don't take viewing properties too seriously on this trip, it can be quite exhausting! [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]Have a wonderful time and enjoy! :D [/COLOR][/CENTER][/CENTER]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT]

Thanks,

I can understand that it might seem rushed, but we have been looking at this for months and this is the first time and as much as I want to enjoy the trip and see and "feel" the area's in abruzzo, I don't really want to go home without seeing inside a property that we will like.

Getting excited though and looking forward to the adventure.

I really think Trullo has given you very good advice. It is all very well thinking "Yeah, Abruzzo for me", but it is a very large and varied region, and for this trip just driving around, hopefully finding a village/town which you really fall in love with and think "gotta have a house there" will let you focus your research - and wait for something to come up where you really want to be. Just explore - and don't fret too much about "prices going up" like they perhaps do in the UK - that doesn't happen in Abruzzo. Pazienza!!

I'm sorry if this post may come across as rude.. it is not intended as such, but..

It's this cavalier attitude that worries me the most.

You say you have not had time to arrange things.. have no fixed idea of what you really want.. or even where you want to start looking.. then in the next breath you say you have been looking at this for months and don't want to return without seeing the inside of a house you will like.

You don't know the area - the towns - the culture specific to the region, the quirkiness of the people there.. and it appears as if it is the sterotypical rose tinted DaftBrit spectacle wearer, who will be the first to start screaming if things go wrong.

Your specs are so pink at the moment.. they are cerise! :o

Would you really have this attitude to buying a home in the UK? I doubt it very much.. you would at least look at the local papers.. go to the estate agents and window shop.. gather the details of possible houses to look at and take them home to study.. then make appointments and view. All this would be done in a calm and methodical manner - in a country you know and more than likely, within an area you know very well.

Why would you do differently in Italy? You've been a member here for a while.. you could have read so much information about all this. There is bundles of it available.. there are many members who are happy to help if you needed more in depth details.

You're right.. it is an adventure.. please make sure it is one you will enjoy.

I'm sorry to be so blunt and such a party pooper.. I understand your excitement, honestly I do.. but please.. THINK!

:) :)

Sassy's being blunt as always - but she might have a point, so please don't start throttling her just yet. ;)

I'm sure you've come across many threads on here where people have jumped at chances and came to regret them due to poor advice received or monies lost.

Did you say you've visited the area before? I agree with the idea of a gentle drive around to see what towns or villages you find appealing and then perhaps have a peek into estate agents windows, or ask them for brochures. Collect their contact details that you can follow things up from home and return another time for specific viewing with selected agents in your chosen area.

Should you find places to view at short notice during your week there, keep a clear head and don't sign anything just because 'it might be gone before long'... :)

As said before, keep your business head on in business matters - and enjoy some time at the beach as well! Otherwise you might get so stressed that you stop enjoying yourselves!

Have a lovely week in Abruzzo! :)

I agree with the advice given above.

I have researched Abruzzo for nearly four years now, and still when I visited the region found what I thought I wanted and what I really wanted were two very different things. You do need to take the time to explore the region and get a feel for the communities - if you have young children you also need to look at what communities have facilities for younger children - from what I could see, the province of Chieti was better served in this way than L'Aquila - there just seemed to be more life in the villages and more young people and children about. It is important to be sure you get what you want - and in Italy that really is not a difficult thing to do, just take the extra few days to be sure of the area before you sign.

All of the above is excellent advice. As a former estate agent turned letting agent I find that people often have fixed ideas of what they "think" they want but end up with something comnpletely different!1

We live in a small welsh border town surrounded by beatiful countryside and I still can't the number of people who want to take up the good life and then complain about the noise of the tractors or the smell of the cows/pigs down the road.

Take your time, make a list of what is really important to you and apply this to any areas/properties you are taken to look at. Then go home and think about it before doing a return trip to see if you feel the same way. Properties stay on the books for months here and if by any chance the one you really liked has gone - well be philosophical - it just wasn't meant to be and a better place will turn up!!

Jackie

[QUOTE=Anastasia]I'm sorry if this post may come across as rude.. it is not intended as such, but..

It's this cavalier attitude that worries me the most.

You say you have not had time to arrange things.. have no fixed idea of what you really want.. or even where you want to start looking.. then in the next breath you say you have been looking at this for months and don't want to return without seeing the inside of a house you will like.

You don't know the area - the towns - the culture specific to the region, the quirkiness of the people there.. and it appears as if it is the sterotypical rose tinted DaftBrit spectacle wearer, who will be the first to start screaming if things go wrong.

Your specs are so pink at the moment.. they are cerise! :o

Would you really have this attitude to buying a home in the UK? I doubt it very much.. you would at least look at the local papers.. go to the estate agents and window shop.. gather the details of possible houses to look at and take them home to study.. then make appointments and view. All this would be done in a calm and methodical manner - in a country you know and more than likely, within an area you know very well.

Why would you do differently in Italy? You've been a member here for a while.. you could have read so much information about all this. There is bundles of it available.. there are many members who are happy to help if you needed more in depth details.

You're right.. it is an adventure.. please make sure it is one you will enjoy.

I'm sorry to be so blunt and such a party pooper.. I understand your excitement, honestly I do.. but please.. THINK!

:) :)[/QUOTE]

Maybe its you who should calm down.

Its not like Im going with the money in the back pocket. We are going on a family holiday in order to enjoy myself - if I see something then fine we will have a look, but I do intend having a couple more trips before I would part with money.

As much as this forum is helpful, its also overbearing aswell sometimes.

Im relaxed and looking forward to a nice holiday....let the adventure begin

PS You ARE being rude and Im not british!

[QUOTE=Buying in abruzzo]Maybe its you who should calm down.

Its not like Im going with the money in the back pocket. We are going on a family holiday in order to enjoy myself - if I see something then fine we will have a look, but I do intend having a couple more trips before I would part with money.

As much as this forum is helpful, its also overbearing aswell sometimes.

Im relaxed and looking forward to a nice holiday....let the adventure begin

PS You ARE being rude and Im not british![/QUOTE]

All I can say is that I really hope you will love Abruzzo as much as I did. I expected it to be a nice area but was totally blown away by the scenery and the people. Hopefully you will have a similar positive experience.

Remember to take sun cream though - we found it was already quite warm early in May and expect it would be warmer again by now.

Thanks Sano,

All is packed and we are raring to go!

[QUOTE=Buying in abruzzo]Thanks Sano,

All is packed and we are raring to go![/QUOTE]

Are you flying through Stansted to Pescara or over to Rome and driving across?

[QUOTE=Buying in abruzzo]..You ARE being rude and Im not british![/QUOTE]
Dear "Buying in abruzzo"

Please accept my sincere apologies. I am sorry you decided to see my earlier post as rude - it was not my intention. Believe me, it was not meant in any way to be rude - I had a genuine concern you were getting caught up in the understandable excitement of the visit. Had I intended to be rude to you at that time, I would have made it painfully clear.

The reference to "DaftBrits" within my post refers to the endearing long standing nickname this stereotype has been given here on this forum and I accept you may not be British and did not mean it as an insult.. but I remain unclear on the rest.

Bon voyage. (just in case you end up in France!) :p

[quote=Buying in abruzzo]Maybe its you who should calm down.

Its not like Im going with the money in the back pocket. We are going on a family holiday in order to enjoy myself - if I see something then fine we will have a look, but I do intend having a couple more trips before I would part with money.

As much as this forum is helpful, its also overbearing aswell sometimes.

Im relaxed and looking forward to a nice holiday....let the adventure begin

PS You ARE being rude and Im not british![/quote]

Anastasia and the rest of us had your best interests at heart. I am THE daft brit and yes went out to look and came back having signed, I am normally rational, would never do anthing so stupid back home. The thing is I am not alone, there have been many that get caught up in the excitment. I have got past caring what people think about my moment of stupidity, I just don't want to see others fall the same way. I am sure you will keep your head, if not before the lectures you will now! It's my caring instinct, sorry. :D

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]Hi there

We've bought in Abruzzo and the experience has inspired me to set up a web site for British/US buyers.Should be ready in July.

Its a pity a member called 'Adriactica' has left the forum as his advice on Abruzzo was brilliant!

I will try here to offer my advice for what its worth.

1.Each region of Abruzzo is different.Many cheap houses you see on web sites are often in the Sulmona valley/L'Aquila area or near Lake Bomba.The lake Bomba area is more prone to earthquakes and although the L'Aquila and Sulmona Valley will look enchanting in June they will be very,very cold for at least 4 months of the year and even in the summer there will be frequent thunder and rain showers.

2.You will be told that wherever you look house prices are rising and you need to be quick if you want to snap up a house.[B]Not true[/B],Abruzzo is just not that attractive to buyers in general so you can take your time.

3.Prices for old ruins are absurd!!Period.A one bed cottage no electric no water new road needed nice view 80,000 euros!!!!!!We were lucky to be shown some houses by Italians so we know the ACTUAL prices.Plus you will not be able to do alot of work yourself and have to pay out to get all of the permissions so it all adds up.

I do think you probably are wearing those rose tinted specs but I'm not mudslinging.WE WORE THEM TOO!Most potential buyers do so that to be expected.I hope you have a lovely time ,I'm sure you will do send me a pm if you want any help.

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT]