I have an Australian Client for whom I refurbished their house on Lake Como, now they are living in Italy for over 12 months, and in their Pension years.
Hello all, I am writing asking the forum for help on behalf of an Australian client for whom we are refurbishing her house in Italy. The Australian lady bought the house to refurbish wanting to take up Italian citizenship.
Hi all I have a very basic question on using this forum: How do I send a Personal Message to someone?It would seem if I hit "reply" and send what would appear to be a message which only to recipient would see, is instead visible by the whole foru
Hi Maurice,I have no problem with clients opting for a local tecnico. From your message I cannot understand if you used two different builders that the tecnico recommended after a tender process based on prices from more than one or that he simply recommended a builder to you. What I dislike, and which seems to be pretty common practice in Italy, is to approach only one builder for a job, unless for small jobs, this is just not done outside Italy, and for very good reason, because: (i) the client cannot hope to get a true competitive price; (ii) there is also a possibility of the tecnico getting a backhander from the builder and (iii) finally it is always good to talk to more than one builder about how they would do the job resolving the various logistic and other problems, in order to be better informed.I don’t know in which part of Italy you have your house, but I was also referring the Lake Como building market, which has a limited amount of good builders and there is a pretty big demand, very often with foreign clients. I know of a certain Lake builder whose business plan appears to be to exploit foreign clients – locals never use him, I know of other good honest builders in the area - but I would still not trust them to give me a competitive price if it were not clear to them that other builders are competing for the same work – the areas is very touristy and awash with money – the more money around the more greed there is. Anyway it is heartening that you have had a positive experience with refurbishment, as I have heard from so many (Italian and non-Italian) who have had bitter experiences with builders if not managed well. All the best Conor
Hello Nigel,I don’t know if you have already commissioned your “tecnico”, but on the same lines as choosing a builder it is advisable to speak to more than one option, and get a written quote for their services and a good written description of what those service entail, so as to instill some competition in the process and understand what you are getting for your money.We will be more than happy to offer you a price for our services and our services would include appointing the right builder for your needs, on the basis on a detailed cost estimate produced by chosen builders based on the detailed description of works and specification produced by us, also we will manage the building contract for you, to ensure that costs and time are kept to minimum.It is to be avoided like the plague the choosing of a builder that is recommended by a local tecnico, which at first seems a cheap option, then when works start there are a lot of surprises and extra costs and so often proves to be very expensive.Best regards, Conor
Hello Nigel,I do not want to be a damp squib, but as Alan_H mentioned there is likely to be a numebr of bureacratic problems that may get in the way.Certification of electrical and heating plants need to carried put by a professional registered in Italy, there may be other issues such as building site health and safety paperwork.I do not know enough about the works that you require doing to make any significant comment.If you want to contact me via the email info@rinovoprojects.com I can try to understand more details of the nature of work from you.Where is the house? Are you there now? Or are you back home? Best regards, Conor
Hi Kittersasp, I am an architect, from UK, living in Italy. I often work on projects on Lake Como, but I can honestly say that I have never come across an ex-pat builder in the area.If you need one for small works I can try to recomend some that may be suitable - for larger works - it is better to carry out a competitive tender process, getting prices from at least three bullders, as builders in the Lake Como area are not famous for being cheap, if they do not need to be competitive they will end up charging you a fortune.Best of luck Conor
Hello Barry. Good choice Pallanza.Excellent advice by Italyprogetti - also check out www.enelservizioelettrico.it Seems to be only in Italian though.Regards, Conor
Well Done Ugo for being on the ball! I had got wind of Barclays selling their African interests, but had not yet heard that they had ALSO sold their Italian interests (assuming that that is the case).regards, Conor
Hi Sandra,
I will be in the area very often supervising a building site in SanSiro (on other side of the lake). Happy to give you a quote, if you send me more details of the work required.
Contact me on info@rinovaprojects.com and we can take it from there.
Regards
Conor (UK-trained Architect)
Hello I am an english speaking architect and will be in the San Siro / Menaggio (CO) zone on a weekily basis in the coming months, so I can definitely help you find your properties. If you would like to email more details to info@rinovaprojects.com and w can take it from there.All the best,Conor
Comments posted
Hi Nigel, it is rinova not rinovo. Therefore info@rinovaprojects.com
Ciao hope to hear from you
Conor
Hi Maurice,I have no problem with clients opting for a local tecnico. From your message I cannot understand if you used two different builders that the tecnico recommended after a tender process based on prices from more than one or that he simply recommended a builder to you. What I dislike, and which seems to be pretty common practice in Italy, is to approach only one builder for a job, unless for small jobs, this is just not done outside Italy, and for very good reason, because: (i) the client cannot hope to get a true competitive price; (ii) there is also a possibility of the tecnico getting a backhander from the builder and (iii) finally it is always good to talk to more than one builder about how they would do the job resolving the various logistic and other problems, in order to be better informed.I don’t know in which part of Italy you have your house, but I was also referring the Lake Como building market, which has a limited amount of good builders and there is a pretty big demand, very often with foreign clients. I know of a certain Lake builder whose business plan appears to be to exploit foreign clients – locals never use him, I know of other good honest builders in the area - but I would still not trust them to give me a competitive price if it were not clear to them that other builders are competing for the same work – the areas is very touristy and awash with money – the more money around the more greed there is. Anyway it is heartening that you have had a positive experience with refurbishment, as I have heard from so many (Italian and non-Italian) who have had bitter experiences with builders if not managed well. All the best Conor
Hello Nigel,I don’t know if you have already commissioned your “tecnico”, but on the same lines as choosing a builder it is advisable to speak to more than one option, and get a written quote for their services and a good written description of what those service entail, so as to instill some competition in the process and understand what you are getting for your money.We will be more than happy to offer you a price for our services and our services would include appointing the right builder for your needs, on the basis on a detailed cost estimate produced by chosen builders based on the detailed description of works and specification produced by us, also we will manage the building contract for you, to ensure that costs and time are kept to minimum.It is to be avoided like the plague the choosing of a builder that is recommended by a local tecnico, which at first seems a cheap option, then when works start there are a lot of surprises and extra costs and so often proves to be very expensive.Best regards, Conor
Hello Nigel,I do not want to be a damp squib, but as Alan_H mentioned there is likely to be a numebr of bureacratic problems that may get in the way.Certification of electrical and heating plants need to carried put by a professional registered in Italy, there may be other issues such as building site health and safety paperwork.I do not know enough about the works that you require doing to make any significant comment.If you want to contact me via the email info@rinovoprojects.com I can try to understand more details of the nature of work from you.Where is the house? Are you there now? Or are you back home? Best regards, Conor
Hi Kittersasp, I am an architect, from UK, living in Italy. I often work on projects on Lake Como, but I can honestly say that I have never come across an ex-pat builder in the area.If you need one for small works I can try to recomend some that may be suitable - for larger works - it is better to carry out a competitive tender process, getting prices from at least three bullders, as builders in the Lake Como area are not famous for being cheap, if they do not need to be competitive they will end up charging you a fortune.Best of luck Conor
Hello Barry. Good choice Pallanza.Excellent advice by Italyprogetti - also check out www.enelservizioelettrico.it Seems to be only in Italian though.Regards, Conor
Hi DavidIt is Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Liguria, North East Italy. beautiful magical place (there are no cars), CiaoConor
Well Done Ugo for being on the ball! I had got wind of Barclays selling their African interests, but had not yet heard that they had ALSO sold their Italian interests (assuming that that is the case).regards, Conor
Hi Sandra,
I will be in the area very often supervising a building site in SanSiro (on other side of the lake). Happy to give you a quote, if you send me more details of the work required.
Contact me on info@rinovaprojects.com and we can take it from there.
Regards
Conor (UK-trained Architect)
Hello I am an english speaking architect and will be in the San Siro / Menaggio (CO) zone on a weekily basis in the coming months, so I can definitely help you find your properties. If you would like to email more details to info@rinovaprojects.com and w can take it from there.All the best,Conor