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
Also some hand held showers next to the WC act as a legal replacement for a bidet. However I do not believe that anyone has ever been prosecuted for not having a Bidet.
Talk to the Geometra. The likely reason against you living in your house is that it is still classified as a building site and for Health and Safety Rules you cannot live there, but there are ways around it - legal ones and non-legal ones. The person responsible for the Health and Safety is the one to speak to- most likely your geometra.
Hello TessaD,I am an English mother tongue Architect. I am based in Milan, and work on renovating projects a 2 hour’s drive away from Milan, I have done projects in Lake Iseo, Como, Maggiore and Garda also in Monferrato.If your requirement is a small project or extremely bureaucratic in nature - then a Geometra may be the right answer - otherwise for a standard residential renovation project then either an Architect, or an Engineer or a Geometra are all suitably qualified, no need to limit your search exclusively to a Geometra. Please feel free to send me a message with no obligations to info@rinovaprojects.com to discuss better your requirements.All the best, Conor
Montaione? I recognise that – it is the Comune in which Castelfalfi is situated. I am an architect and many years ago I worked on, or was associated with a large project which at the time was the largest tourist destination in Italy funded by the German TUI tourist agency - it ran into problems with the Soprintendenza (Heritage Body) and was scaled down, it was a commercial blow to the project, but it was for the better in my view. Look at https://www.castelfalfi.com/ it is only 20mins by car from Mura. I remember it as being an enchanting part of the world with beautiful landscape and I am sure you will enjoy your trip.
I am an architect and I was contacted by an American couple who were looking for their deceased grandfather's house on Lake Como. If you would like I can ask them if they are interested in being contacted by you.
I helped them to find the house and explained how to get there. When they came over I was on holiday so I never met them , but I know they found the house and found the experience very emotional. They were a bit troubled as 1. They had been led on a wild goose chase by some dodgy lawyer, which must have agitated things, and 2. they thought that they were entitled to ownership or part ownership of said house, and could not understand why another family owned it.
Until I explained that if – as they had said, the Grandfather returned to Italy and re-married – then on his death the house would automatically go to the wife and his children, but if the children were in the USA and did not get in touch, then when the wife sold it on to someone else – the US children would have lost their share in it. They said that it rang bells of the new Italian wife of the grandfather trying to contact the US family asking them to confirm their right to something or other, but they never did and so that was the reasin why the family were no longer entitled to any of the house.
The house was town house in the centro storico of a practically abandoned hill village on the north west shore of lake Como. It had no private parking and no lake view, so actually it would have been worth very little…..but the sentimental value to them was obviously enormous.
Hello, the house for sale is a very nice renovation job - well done! The price is very enticing also - only draw back is that most people want more than 1 bedroom.But the property market is very slow in more remote rural places due to lots of availability and not much demand. I think Brexit has certainly dented the demand, but if Brexit was not about to happen it would not make a huge difference. If the property was a small apartment in Milan or Rome it would received alot if interest and visits and if priced right woukld sell relatively quickly in the present market. But it is a completely different dynamic in rural areas. Also February is a dead month for selling property. Many Estate Agents in out of city areas go on holiday in February.Also I agree that most foreign buyers are not British. I would say that you might find someone to buy at that price within the year.
Hello David, All the northern lakes are beautiful, lake Como and Garda are perhaps more famous, and certainly the properties on lake Como and Garda are more expensive compared to the other lakes. I am afraid that your budget is too low for lake Como and Garda, or put another way – it is too challenging, therefore I would concentrate your energy in looking around Lake Maggiore, Orto and Iseo all beautiful lakes and still with properties more towards your price range.Best of luck, Conor
Getting back to your original question.....the area that you like (west Liguria) is a good area, there are also many other good areas, almost no end to good Italian areas ....but if you like Liguria, try there first....the idea of renting for a year is a very good,...that way you get to know the market dynamic better. Basically as a general rule any asking price is to be taken with a pinch of salt and an offer of 10% less than the asking price is a serious offer, which usually gets accepted. Properties that have been on the market too long (if they are over priced) deserve offers of 30% less than the asking price, or maybe even a lower price, it needs evaluation. In some areas like Monferrato (which is very nice, but not beside the sea) it is common for a property to sell for 30% less than the asking price, because there is much less demand. It is a no brainer - that if a property is on the market for a long time it is because there is no demand for a property like that with that price.......therefore if you like the property and do your Due Diligence - then make an offer that seems realistic to you but well under the asking price.
Hello JC, Sounds messy, but it is not untypical in buying negotiations in Italy. It sounds like you are still in a relatively good negotiating position.I am an architect and I can recommend some reliable builders in the Canelli area, which is not too far away from Alba. If you send me an email to info@rinovaprojects.com I can reply with their details.However, I sometimes carry pre-purchase Due Diligence for clients and these types of little hitches are very common. What we do is to put them into a report and on the basis of this report and a sum of money we calculate, as reasonably as possible – but in favour of the client (buyer), a discount is proposed to be subtracted from the offered price, with the idea that the house is bought with all these little hitches that need to be sorted out by the buyer, but compensated by the sum of money subtracted from offered price. Why do you not suggest to the realtor to do that? Or walk away, as it sounds as the realtor is not taking you seriously.
Comments posted
Also some hand held showers next to the WC act as a legal replacement for a bidet. However I do not believe that anyone has ever been prosecuted for not having a Bidet.
Read the book - An Italian education by Tim PArks https://timparks.com/non-fiction/an-italian.education/
Talk to the Geometra. The likely reason against you living in your house is that it is still classified as a building site and for Health and Safety Rules you cannot live there, but there are ways around it - legal ones and non-legal ones. The person responsible for the Health and Safety is the one to speak to- most likely your geometra.
Hello TessaD,I am an English mother tongue Architect. I am based in Milan, and work on renovating projects a 2 hour’s drive away from Milan, I have done projects in Lake Iseo, Como, Maggiore and Garda also in Monferrato.If your requirement is a small project or extremely bureaucratic in nature - then a Geometra may be the right answer - otherwise for a standard residential renovation project then either an Architect, or an Engineer or a Geometra are all suitably qualified, no need to limit your search exclusively to a Geometra. Please feel free to send me a message with no obligations to info@rinovaprojects.com to discuss better your requirements.All the best, Conor
Montaione? I recognise that – it is the Comune in which Castelfalfi is situated. I am an architect and many years ago I worked on, or was associated with a large project which at the time was the largest tourist destination in Italy funded by the German TUI tourist agency - it ran into problems with the Soprintendenza (Heritage Body) and was scaled down, it was a commercial blow to the project, but it was for the better in my view. Look at https://www.castelfalfi.com/ it is only 20mins by car from Mura. I remember it as being an enchanting part of the world with beautiful landscape and I am sure you will enjoy your trip.
I am an architect and I was contacted by an American couple who were looking for their deceased grandfather's house on Lake Como. If you would like I can ask them if they are interested in being contacted by you.
I helped them to find the house and explained how to get there. When they came over I was on holiday so I never met them , but I know they found the house and found the experience very emotional. They were a bit troubled as 1. They had been led on a wild goose chase by some dodgy lawyer, which must have agitated things, and 2. they thought that they were entitled to ownership or part ownership of said house, and could not understand why another family owned it.
Until I explained that if – as they had said, the Grandfather returned to Italy and re-married – then on his death the house would automatically go to the wife and his children, but if the children were in the USA and did not get in touch, then when the wife sold it on to someone else – the US children would have lost their share in it. They said that it rang bells of the new Italian wife of the grandfather trying to contact the US family asking them to confirm their right to something or other, but they never did and so that was the reasin why the family were no longer entitled to any of the house.
The house was town house in the centro storico of a practically abandoned hill village on the north west shore of lake Como. It had no private parking and no lake view, so actually it would have been worth very little…..but the sentimental value to them was obviously enormous.
Hello, the house for sale is a very nice renovation job - well done! The price is very enticing also - only draw back is that most people want more than 1 bedroom.But the property market is very slow in more remote rural places due to lots of availability and not much demand. I think Brexit has certainly dented the demand, but if Brexit was not about to happen it would not make a huge difference. If the property was a small apartment in Milan or Rome it would received alot if interest and visits and if priced right woukld sell relatively quickly in the present market. But it is a completely different dynamic in rural areas. Also February is a dead month for selling property. Many Estate Agents in out of city areas go on holiday in February.Also I agree that most foreign buyers are not British. I would say that you might find someone to buy at that price within the year.
Hello David, All the northern lakes are beautiful, lake Como and Garda are perhaps more famous, and certainly the properties on lake Como and Garda are more expensive compared to the other lakes. I am afraid that your budget is too low for lake Como and Garda, or put another way – it is too challenging, therefore I would concentrate your energy in looking around Lake Maggiore, Orto and Iseo all beautiful lakes and still with properties more towards your price range.Best of luck, Conor
Getting back to your original question.....the area that you like (west Liguria) is a good area, there are also many other good areas, almost no end to good Italian areas ....but if you like Liguria, try there first....the idea of renting for a year is a very good,...that way you get to know the market dynamic better. Basically as a general rule any asking price is to be taken with a pinch of salt and an offer of 10% less than the asking price is a serious offer, which usually gets accepted. Properties that have been on the market too long (if they are over priced) deserve offers of 30% less than the asking price, or maybe even a lower price, it needs evaluation. In some areas like Monferrato (which is very nice, but not beside the sea) it is common for a property to sell for 30% less than the asking price, because there is much less demand. It is a no brainer - that if a property is on the market for a long time it is because there is no demand for a property like that with that price.......therefore if you like the property and do your Due Diligence - then make an offer that seems realistic to you but well under the asking price.
Hello JC, Sounds messy, but it is not untypical in buying negotiations in Italy. It sounds like you are still in a relatively good negotiating position.I am an architect and I can recommend some reliable builders in the Canelli area, which is not too far away from Alba. If you send me an email to info@rinovaprojects.com I can reply with their details.However, I sometimes carry pre-purchase Due Diligence for clients and these types of little hitches are very common. What we do is to put them into a report and on the basis of this report and a sum of money we calculate, as reasonably as possible – but in favour of the client (buyer), a discount is proposed to be subtracted from the offered price, with the idea that the house is bought with all these little hitches that need to be sorted out by the buyer, but compensated by the sum of money subtracted from offered price. Why do you not suggest to the realtor to do that? Or walk away, as it sounds as the realtor is not taking you seriously.