1662 Buying in Abruzzo

to tell you the honest truth we looked there and i agree beautiful it is...but we went to a place carunchio...or something like that ... and in essence what i have to say will not make you feel any better about your choice... i found the south of abruzzo .. one of the most depressing areas of italy i have ever been in...dour people with no hope.... earthquake damaged building and barren landscapes

i realise this is my opinion only ...and if i could say anything good about the place it would be cheap property and land prices...but there you go...theres always a reason why...

and for those of you used to my polemic arguements on italy and my love of abruzzo as a region you might find it surprising that i have a bad view about any of it.... but im as realistic about this region as any other... sorry if this ruins your dream..but you asked... and we all have different dreams anyway...so whos to say mine is right...

and in reallity if you are planning on using public transport...we have an irish neighbour here...has a holiday home...that has stated if we ever move she will sell up .... the transport system exists for taking children and workers to school or jobs early in the morning....returning in the evening ...or in the case of schools at lunchtime....
and we always pick her up from the rome bus and return her to it whenm she goes home.... in between times she either has to get up early in the morning to tryand go anywhere or rely on neighbours...after a while they soon get bored with the foreigners that dont drive,....

i think to arrive from pescar to your home will take a vast amount of time...i think its the 38 bus into pescara train sation... but anyway it will be the one waiting outside... from there you will pick up a bus to some point south...ie vasto lanciano...and then another change or two down to your home...six or seven hours after reaching pescara you might well be somewhere near home...

... and any estae agent who is trying to sell you a place down there get them to give you a written ARPA timetable ...thats the abruzzo regional transport site...sorry in italian...and explain how you will arrive there...

best choose a tourist resort along the coast if you want public transport... but then... and again a bad comment on abruzzo its not the best in the world...

anyway after all that if you have found the house you really love and have got over the reallity shock...at least my reallity...go ahead and fulfil your dream because thats the right of everyone and good luck with it ... and thats in a sincere sense...

and if you are dealing with any english operated estate agencies who are selling in that area be doubly aware...they have arrangements with the communes ,mayors ...etc etc..geometras... to sell to foreigners...they bill themselves as user friendly and without saying much more i have seen them mentioned here on this forum by others buying and it just makes my heart sink

rgds

ps ... there are some on here that might regard me as a manic depressive...regarding italy that is... so take my views with a pinch of salt please and have confidence it what you have decided

Thnaks for your honest comments, I must admit the transport issue was as we had suspected but as we live in a village in wales with 1 bus a week into the local town we are used to transporting kids everywhere and driving to the nearest shops etc.

I was surprised at the "dour people" as everyone we met was at great pains to speak to us. Perhaps it was because they knew we were looking to buy (or is your pessimism catching).

I see you still brought in Abruzzo so what areas would you recomend?

Regards

Jackie

to me abruzzo is divides into about 4 areas and not just the provincial ones...to the west of the appenines you have the aquila region.... running from the capital to castel di sangro in the south.... all along this side you will find much colder winters than you might have a right to expect when moving to central italy.... i happened to have to visit aquila hospital quite often last winter and every time i left home and drove under the gran sasso i arrived in aquila to find temps of -7 habitually it is one of the coldest cities in italy and most of that side of the range reflects that

so the east of the appenines...you have the deep south which is most probably the poorest area of this region.... when i say dour...we had several conversations with some locals in this carunchio place...they were all very unhappy...all the young people have left the area and there is no work ...were the comments....occaisionally for some reason they get french tourists.... all the properties we saw had earthquake damage... this rarea was affected by the quake in the molise three years ago now i think ...and a lot has never been repaired...so in a sense if you see a property intact ...it just has to be sound ...but it is economically very poor and the infrastructure here is alaso pretty well the worst in the region...unfinished new road projects..... industrial zones half completed under eu grants and never developed...

...the third area is the prosperous and most probably the most populat aerea with italians and foreign buyers alike.... which have both tended to drive up prices.... its the area around pescara and to the south including chieti.... lanciano vasto.... .. i regard this area for me as too overdeveloped....but it is well maintained...better facilities than most probably anywhere else in the region.... all the towns i mentioned are expanding and are prosperous... by being on the adriatic side of the appenines they are all within easy reach of the coast and transport is much better.....

the fourth area in which i live is the region to the north of pescara ...reaching up to ascoli in the marche and into the appenines where you find the gran sasso.... i regard teramo the city as one of the most pleasant and peaceful of all the cities i have ever visited .... a sort of oldmarket town atmsophere exists...but there is a good hospital.... a university ... the whole of the centre pedestrianised... and a wealth of small shops... schools are all spoken of well.... our son attends one .... and will follow thru all his schooling therefrom primary.... transport in this smaller area is good... you can be at rome ciampino airport in 75 mins from our house ...the center of rome by car or bus in about two hours...pescara 45 mins...the adriatic is always within easy reach ..... the mountains also.... massive national parks...ascoli though in the marche .... also another very pleasant small town.... the new part of the motorawy from teramo to guilianova due to be finished this year ...and it really looks like this will happen ....will make it one of the few areas where a motorway crosses italy east/west...so you dont feel cut off from half the country.... the house prices are reasonable although not as cheap as other areas....

in fact there is a fifth area which i realy havent bothered to mention...the coastal strip.... prices around e3000 per m sq...overcrowded...very busy in summer .... but i presumed you might have well noticed this and had discounted it anyway.....

as you are moving from wales... and seem to have been in a rural situation there i would say you understand how the hills and valleys can create very small micro climates.... i often suggets anyone looking for property here if they want a better climeat than the british isles is at least to pick a house where olives are growing closeby..... they only are planted in general in areas where the amount of sun and heat is good...and winters not too cold... ie ...if one side of a hill doesnt have them forget that side....

you are welcome to pm me if you want any further details .... but really i think you have to look at your budget and decide... the south of this region will always provide you with more real estate for your money.... the other areas more quality.... to the west of the appenines more cold...

if you can afford to spend a bit more time looking around.....try to skip all pressurised efforts at selling houses to you.... get in touch with the italian embassy get things like your code fiscale in place for free ... forget about rushing to open bank accounts..... or even paying a company here to do it for you.... a strangers bank account here is useless... cannot write cheques and it costs a lot.... and any reputable deal will be able to take direct transfers of money into their bussiness acount from the uk.... forget about agents that always seem to drag vice mayors around with them....the vice mayors should really be working at the commune ...not promising everything is possable if you only buy this house... and be cautious in any commitment you make... oh yes and forget about any deals on money exchange offered by various reccomended companies...these companies pay large commisions to agents here for supplying clients...so the value will in general not be as good as doing things yourself...

so there you have my candid opinion on abruzzo and estate agents ... hopefully it will help

we are buying in a town inland from Pescara through House Around Italy.The area is close to the Maiella National Park but not actually in it, like John we found some very depressing villages in Abruzzo.If you are using HAI send me an email and I can warn you about some places in S Abruzzo they showed us!!I met a lovely couple whod bought in Civitella Messers Raimondo who said they loved it there and it's in the South!They only went on holidays.

I stayed 2 weeks when I was househunting without renting a car and I must say that public transport is wonderful and very cheap :D .You can get a train from Pescara Staion either up or down the coast and inland too.I used to catch a train to Ortona,walk up the steep path into town and catch the village bus to Villa Ubatti a really TINY place with buses every hour!!You do not need to speak Italian but it's a must to buy your ticket first!! Go to a newstand and buy a ticket then when you get on the bus you stick it in the slot to validate it...on rail stations the machines are close to the entrance onto the platform.
Pescara rail Station has ticket machines so you dont even need to speak to anyone :D

Hi we are searching for a permanent home in Abruzzo with House around Italy and the scouts so far have been excellent. They haven't been pushy but supportive and informative.

We have looked at some good houses in Castiglione, does anyone know anything about the area.

with thanks,

john

[QUOTE=jackie C]
..... public transport, is there an english written timetable as my Italian is in it's infancy to say the least![/QUOTE]

Try the ARPA website. I googled it and got the 'translated version' [some translation I don't think!] on

[url]http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://www.regione.abruzzo.it/turismo/comearrivare/bus_arpa.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3DAbruzzo%2BARPA%2B%26num%3D50%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG[/url]

I have just brought a house in Bomba through house arround Italy, can not praise them enough they have been more than helpful, especialy as I do not speak Italian. They arranged translators, and helped get us help with the building work. The people in Bomba have made us feel like we are one of the community already. Yes it is a quiet area but if I had wanted something English & busy would have gone to Spain.

Just bought a house in Carunchio, Abruzzo. Have a friend living there who speaks italian and sorted out legal side etc ( feel free to email for details). Carunchio itself is a beautiful place and I really love the slow pace of life. Have been 6 times in last year and find the people anything but dour! Taking my sister over in 2 weeks as would like her to buy also. My little slice of paradise cost me 9000 euros and whilst it's no palace it does me!

Couldn't agree more, Jane. we brought in Colledimezzo and have found everyone extremely helpful and friendly. IN fact the local policeman is letting the guy delivering the furniture in on Monday before we arrive that evening and has been happy to keep an eye on things.

Everone has been welcoming and they adore the children!

Jackie

Some interesting discussions and great information. As has been said we are all very different and will have different needs and requirements. I have however been to Teramo and have to agrre with Adriatica, it is a lovely little busy town and being pedestrianised makes it feel very relaxing.

I am moving to Abruzzo in August and renting a place for 6 to 12 months to give us time to find our dream house. Judging by the comments it sounds like I need to view a lot of different areas prior to making any sort of decision, although I do need to be within 20 - 25 mins of the beaches and no more than 45 mins form the airport, mountains I'm not too bothered about but it would be good to be with 1 hour or so. (The kids are desperate for me to take them on a 'bear hunt'!!!!).

Looking at a map I thought L'Aquila would be perfect, but having read before it is known as the coldest city in Italy, did put me off a bit, but I am desperate to visit there. I have never been to South of Pescara, so will take time to explore.

My only concern I have, is there seems to be a lot of Brits and others currently house hunting in Abruzzo and I hope I just don't miss the boat with rising house prices?? Any thoughts? :confused:

Chico

Chico

You will not miss the boat. Your approach is to be commended.. take your time, find the right place and rent while you do it, as planned. Adriatica spoke wisely in his posts above and you will not fail if you bear his words in mind.

House prices do not rise so much and as you are sensibly going to rent first, you will find a lot more property is available within your budget than you ever imagined - whatever your budget is.

:) :)

Hi to everyone looking around Abruzzo for a property, thought you all might be intrested to read the article in the daily mail today in the overseas property section, titled, GET TO THE HEART OF ITALY,might help you all with some advise.:cool:

hi everybody,we have been to loads of different places in italy, up north where property is v. expensive, venice,....you all know these places.we recently bought a house in abruzzo and realized a dream, its near to sulmona and cost 17000 euros.We did it through hai and were very happy in the way they guided us.On returning we bought next door (never intended to!)directly from the owner with the help of a local geometra and notiao we got the house for a third of the advertised price.We are about to buy a third at less than half price.What i'm trying to say is we love abruzzo simply because its very italian the people are friendly,helpful without gushing less flashy than the northerners and in our experience not greedy or crafty.Yes, it has its down sides but so do all places.Go for it you've got nothing to loose and everything to gain and don't listen to the realists, houses abroad are for dreamers not pessimists -they say" Venice is nice, but the smell,the rats,and the bloody tourists not to mention the price of coffee in that big square........" only joking pessimists!;)

I have a house in Teramo and a good friend of mine just bought one in Introdacqua. Possible to get property for around 1100 euros/sq mt with a bit of effort. Agree that personally spending time in area of interest is the key to success.
Free Abruzzo Adverts
[url]http://www.abruzzovillas.com[/url]

to justify some of my old statements...this thread started a fair while back me thinks.... carunchio or however you spell it.... we spent an hour in the bar there waiting for this estate agent to turn up.... we looked at the masive old communal mayors office...very nice building ... the estate agent wouldnt come up to the top of the place with me because he was worried about the massive cracks in the building and the 20 metere drop through.... i reckoned if an earth quake hit whilst i was viewing the place and it all came down i would be maybe the most unlucky person in the world... and i think i am not..... so leapt across the cracks with not the slightest worry... my father in law a geometra wouldnt even come inside the building... but it was cheap to buy... something under thirty thousand euro i think...

whilst waiting in the bar my wife and father in law got talking to the locals... a lament was that the place is dying, the children have nothing to do here...its important for italain families that their children can work and it was all very depressing...see we planned to live where we bought not just visit for holidays....

the other place we saw...had masses of land...again big cracks in the building but rediculously low prices...maybe its all changed now but reading the prices paid in this thread not much... and thats fine i dont want to upset anyones choice but there are and always will be reasons for low prices...its nothing to do with being jealous .... i was there long before you anyway ... i could have bought a small town for what i payed here down there ...but i had things to think of like education and schools, closest university and how on earth to arrive at an airport other than pescara from there....

and so you just dont think its the south of abruzzo i have considerations against because i planned to live a normal life here ... if i look out of the window today...its raining ...in most of italy its raining...but anway the whole of the mountain is covered from 1500 meteres up with snow...yep in june... stretching from here all the way to the molise it snowed...liguria too and perugia i think.... if you think the last three weeks have been plus 30c or so and today its only 18c ... it feels cold here... but on the mountains its pretty near zero...aquila and most of the province on the western side 5 c with a lot lower a snow line than here....

now i like looking out at the snow... and in reallity i find the 18c not too uncomfortable... but if i was to put myself in the shoes of someone coming down here for an early spot of sun and i was coming to anywhere along the eastren side of the mountains i would be saying well ... its a bit grey but its nice to feel warm ...and by sunday the temps will be up and the clouds gone.... but if i was heading to that western side and i got out of the car in my T shirt the first thing i would look for is my jumper then my coat...of course not packed because whoever thought it would be so cold here in june... and i might be slightly peeved... and worse if i want to go to the coast i have to drive round those damn mountains everytime... so i could have picked up a small village in that area for the same as i payed here... but i didnt...

so there you have it... the choice is there... and it comes down to what you want and what you can afford... i bought one house in a place which suited me... payed far more than most of you seem to pay... because it was never planned as a holiday home... but its where i knew i could live easily ... it had all the important things ... transport, airports, schools heaps of restaurants and shops, work a thriving economy ... a view of the mountains with the snow and a view of the sea with the beaches... cold but not too cold winters... hot but not too hot summers...

so i actually applaud all your choices of places to buy at least unlike some you got on and did it and i wish you all as much luck as i have had with my choice

John, mate,

Have you been skipping your medication again? This is not the John we all know and love...far too calm and reasoanble....though glad to see the dots creeping back in...:)

perhaps you need a quick twirl in the spacehip to get you aggitated again? sadly however the crew's not all here this afternoon....Anastasia has been arrested for tax evasion, so is indisposed at the mo...but don't worry, her cousins will sort it all out by tea time....and then we're off..

OK? ;)

'Twas not tax evasion 'twas the VAT man cometh. I spiked his tea and he only managed to find a discrepancy of four quid! :D

Am I in time for tea? Me thinks John is up to somat - still not enough dots.. but fire up the spaceship anyway Tinks and lets have a look at this Teramo place he keeps spouting on about. Must be somat in it.. if it calms him down this much!

Unless he drank some of my tea.. :D

Ay ay ...coming up on starboard

hmm....looks lovely....

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]Oh god John I hope it warms up by next week or 2 weeks 'camping' out in our place will not be as idyllic as I thought!Should I pack my thermals .I only put them away yesterday as in Cornwall we dont cast our clouts till July is out and we put them on again in September!

So at least I dont have to worry about the water being turned off.Just give me a few buckets and I'll soon have eough for my cuppa![/SIZE][/FONT]

[QUOTE=manopello][FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]Oh god John I hope it warms up by next week or 2 weeks 'camping' out in our place will not be as idyllic as I thought!Should I pack my thermals .I only put them away yesterday as in Cornwall we dont cast our clouts till July is out and we put them on again in September!

So at least I dont have to worry about the water being turned off.Just give me a few buckets and I'll soon have eough for my cuppa![/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Given how warm it was the last time I was over I am actually going to be grateful for slightly cooler weather this time round so long as it is also dry...

for weather forecast in Abruzzo, check [url]http://www.tempoitalia.it/meteoregione/previsione.php?reg=abruzzo[/url]

it looks like it'll get better again from Sunday PM - but definitely rain until then :(

3 and a half days of rain here last week, the locals said they can't remember when it rained like this at this time before.
Not complaining though, have'nt had to water the garden, takes 1 1/2 hours every night, still sat outside since 7 o'clock this morning in a pair of shorts.
New snow on the mountains ready for the grandchildren to see next week.
saluti

[QUOTE=manopello]we are buying in a town inland from Pescara through House Around Italy.The area is close to the Maiella National Park but not actually in it, like John we found some very depressing villages in Abruzzo.If you are using HAI send me an email and I can warn you about some places in S Abruzzo they showed us!!I met a lovely couple whod bought in Civitella Messers Raimondo who said they loved it there and it's in the South!They only went on holidays.

I stayed 2 weeks when I was househunting without renting a car and I must say that public transport is wonderful and very cheap :D .You can get a train from Pescara Staion either up or down the coast and inland too.I used to catch a train to Ortona,walk up the steep path into town and catch the village bus to Villa Ubatti a really TINY place with buses every hour!!You do not need to speak Italian but it's a must to buy your ticket first!! Go to a newstand and buy a ticket then when you get on the bus you stick it in the slot to validate it...on rail stations the machines are close to the entrance onto the platform.
Pescara rail Station has ticket machines so you dont even need to speak to anyone :D[/QUOTE]

Hi,
I am looking at some threads from earlier in the year and interested in the area you have purchased.We are starting to view in July but are getting different views on prices we have a overall budget of 75,000 euro but that will include fees which will take a chunk of our money what are are your thoughts and did you resort to employing a lawyer?

Trish

[QUOTE=Trish]Hi,
I am looking at some threads from earlier in the year and interested in the area you have purchased.We are starting to view in July but are getting different views on prices we have a overall budget of 75,000 euro but that will include fees which will take a chunk of our money what are are your thoughts and did you resort to employing a lawyer?

Trish[/QUOTE]
Hi Trish

Where are you looking at buying? We are just about to sign our compremesso for a property nr. Civitella Messers Raimondo with HAI:D . Our budget is less than yours and hopefully we will manage to scrape through (although we will be doing much of the work ourselves.) We had the same dilema re. a solicitor, rightly or wrongly we are not using one. Good luck !

[QUOTE=adriatica]so there you have it... the choice is there... and it comes down to what you want and what you can afford... i bought one house in a place which suited me... payed far more than most of you seem to pay... because it was never planned as a holiday home[/QUOTE]

I think that when looking for a property to buy, I think this approach is by far the most wise. I haven't read all this thread, mainly John's post, so excuse me if i have missed the point here.

For me, i chose an area south and West of where John is. It's just north of Sulmona.

I looked there primarily because of the cost, but also because of the accessibility. I felt that a single flight a day from Stanstead was not enough to make it viable for weekend travel. Accessibility from Rome was a big issue and it's about 1.5hours away on a good drive, meaning that i can stay at work until 5pm and still get there at a reasonable time from most of the London airports. It is also about 20mins off the Rome-Pescara motorway.

As well as that, i am not really a sunseeker. I was bought up (or dragged up, depending who you speak to) in Bolton, with access to rolling hills, the peak district and a view across extensive farms. Now i live in London, i miss this and wanted somewhere like that.

I enjoy sports such as mountain biking, skiing, walking and so on and i can walk out of my door and do most of those. The furthest i have to travel is about 20minutes to a ski resort. I can just go out and walk/cycle up the nearest mountain without any problems with driving etc.

Because we are on the east face of the mountain, we are shielded from the worst of the weather. At new year, we had temperatures of about ten degrees, whereas over the other side when we were driving to Rome, we saw that there was 30cm of snow just down the road.

As well as all this, when i go with the kids, the beach is about 40mins away, with local pools and water parks dotted about. They also like to see the Roman architecture and are very impressed with the ampitheaters and villas on the way from rome.

Oh and we have the rome-pescara train line about five miles away too and the Sulmona-Aquilla train line about five miles too.

In all, it suited me and my families needs, didn't cost the earth. Maybe John has buckets of cash and could buy the whole village. From my point of view, i could have only bought about half of it. That said, I only bought one. I am considering one of the flats next door, just to expand the possibilities of holidays with family etc.

Andy

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]The problem with Abruzzo as far as I can see is that as there are plenty of cheap houses of the type us Brits adore it's easy to get carried away.

We originally thought of buying a place for 30,000 euros and spending possibly 20,000 doing it up! What a laugh!

We are now facing rising costs and luckily I've been able to put some more funds in which I couldnt have a year ago!We paid nearer 60,000 euros in the end.

I stayed in our house for 2 weeks in June and fell in love totally with it and Manoppello and was upset to leave.I think we have been very lucky with the house and hopefully with a lot of work from us we will get a beautiful historical building with heating and wood double glazed windows,new roof, new bathroom 2 bedrooms and olive grove, outdoor studio and workshop for under £70,000! Not achievable in the UK or any other part of Italy I suspect.

I cringe when I think of some place we were tempted to buy for 30,000 euros.God knows what bills we'd be having now probably a total rebuild!And also how impractical the places were compared to Manoppello where we managed without a car for one of the 2 weeks. Buying all our food fresh in town and even stocking up on DIY basics at the merchants right at the bottom of our hill! In fact the 1pm bus to Pescara drops you at the airport in time for a sumptious cake feast at Caprice in the Auchan Mall (the strawberry tarts are to die for)And theres a bus at 6.40pm stops outside the airport to take you to Manoppello.

Its true Abruzzo is heaven!But be practical!

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT]

[QUOTE=Trish]Hi,
I am looking at some threads from earlier in the year and interested in the area you have purchased.We are starting to view in July but are getting different views on prices we have a overall budget of 75,000 euro but that will include fees which will take a chunk of our money what are are your thoughts and did you resort to employing a lawyer?

Trish[/QUOTE]

Hi all,

first of all I have to say you that I was born in abruzzo and now I live in Rome but almost every week-end I go back home. Reading to this thread it's surprising for me to find out how much you are well informed of Abruzzo. The photo done by "adriatica" is quite realistic although some time he/she is too hard. Also In my opinion Abruzzo can be divided in 4 districts and they are 1.L'Aquila-Sulmona, 2.Teramo, 3.Pescara - Chieti and 4.Vasto Zone1 is a "mountain" zone and it is a good one for people who love mountain, nature and fresh air also during summer. There are several small village and most of them were going to be deserted, 10-15 years ago the situation was even worst; then these villages (expecially those close A24-25 motorway) were discovered by people living in Rome who started to buy houses and restore them and now these villages are restored but populated only during holidays. The slang is close to the one they speak in lazio and in some parts in le marche. You can buy properties at a good price.
Zone 2 It is a zone closer to the sea well developed and in a good position from where you can reach the coast and mountains easily. Tourism is also well developed and that changed a bit the original landscape. At the end it is a good place in abruzzo but prices are a bit higher than in the other part.
Zone 3 is the zone where I was born. In this part of Abruzzo you have two main cities Pescara and Chieti where you can find most of the services present in Abruzzo. Around these two cities there are several villages those are not so crowdie and well connected to these towns and you can easily reach the coast and the mountains. In my opinion this is also a good zone to buy a properties because you are close to the main services, sea and mountains and you can still find same places that have the right quietness and cost of life (properties included).
Zone 4. It includes Vasto and partly Lanciano. This part is a bit far from the heart of life in Abruzzo but it is quite and you have nice beaches it is cheaper than the others and the way (slang included) of life is closer to the other region in the south (Molise and Puglia). So I hope I gave you some useful info. Because someone of you are looking for some properties to buy I would like to let you know that I have one on sale. It is a house build in 1930 it is a detached house of 120mq with garden of 440mq with olive tree (more than a hundred year old). Now it needs to be restored (original photo and materials still available) it is in Ari and you can have a look to this village at the following web site: [url]www.comuneari.it[/url] .

Saluti a tutti

Docco

[LEFT]docco

interesting post and pretty good english

i agree i can sometimes make points in such a way as to seem dead set against many of the areas of abruzzo.... your right.. a bit hard on some areas... i do it a a sense to show why there are serious considerations and choices to make... you would maybe be amazed at the amount of people that buy here in italy that think the winters are going to be almost tropical and my points are often made...though actually very few seem to believe that winters west of the appenines here are almost polar or at heights above 600m very cold on both sides... with quite large amounts of rain... and very long winters..

what i liked about your comments... i agree with the four area breakdown ... is also at long last the fallacy of the foreign buyer being the only person interested in the old cottages being put to bed i hope... at least in this area... there are more and more romans beginning to buy here as holiday homes... in direct competition with the foreign buyers and ... and in all honesty they are much easier to sell to because they actually understand the system and generally know the place quite well...

in english terms where we live would be termed as an easy commute... ie 75 mins along the motorway and you can be in rome.... so i wouldnt be surprised soon to see whole famlies moving out of the city for the life style here and the father/mother doing a daily commute...

only one thing about your english and i am not really saying it to criticise hopefully to help.... "slang"... should be "dialect"...

thanks again for your insight ... hopefully we will hear more from you[/LEFT]