Penny's activity

 I know a wonderful townhouse in Santa Vittoria for sale with mountain views and beautifully restored. You may have already seen it. Personally if I was coming to retire I would live in town. Much more sociable being able to walk down to the cafe and see all of life displayed in front of you in the piazza. I have never heard that there are no building plots allowed in those towns. Have you enquired with the comune or are you relying on an agent who may have something to sell? I would definitely check with the comune. For examle if you buy enough agricoltural land and register as a farmer you can always build a home for yourself. I know for a fact this is th case in Marche too. That could be another route. There is also a builder to absolutely avoid in that area. Feel free to PM me for details.

I agree with Ram's thought process. See what happens. The events you describe are not unusual. I have seen it several times when working for an estate agent in Marche. The minute someone shows an interest, the price goes up - even if the house has been for sale for years and the market is slowing/slowed. Unfortunately I have rarely seen it go back down again. I don't think it is thought of by the owners as ripping you off - just that they genuinely think their house must now be worth more. Plus there is the "Giuseppe up the road sold his for 150,000" syndrome. Even if Giuseppe's was a habitable house often they will be considered the same by the owner. Yes, 100,000 is on the steep side for a house to be knocked down in Le Marche unless it has a sea view or is in a truly exceptional location. Only you can know that. Have you any experience of a project like this? Have you had anything similar done back home? My opinion is that cutting your teeth on this sort of project in a different country where you don't speak the language (an assumption on my part) is not not to be undertaken lightly. These things will always cost more, take longer and be more troublesome than expected - all easier to deal with if you have been through it before. Also, are you planning to be living nearby to oversee the project? If not, I would definitely walk away or rethink your plans. You will have to pay to demolish the house and then to rebuild it again. If it were me I would want to know if there are any vincoli (restrictions) on either the building or the area. These might mean that you can only rebuild in stone which you might have to buy more of and is expensive. They might also mean that you can only build something that looks exactly like the original house. Also remember in Marche that you must rebuild on the original footprint too. Renovation costs are around 1500 a sqm and building from scratch can be cheaper but you have to pay to demolish too. If 400,000 is out of your budget for the whole project then I think unless you have a 100% reliable team and are living nearby to keep an eye on things you definitely run the risk of going over. Why not buy a building plot instead? I know several around Amandola that have mountain views and I am sure there are others. Why not ask the comune in your favourite town as they will know. Then you can build the house you like (even a timber-framed fixed-price house) in the spot you like.

I've just been reading a very interesting book called Extra Virginity: The sublime and scandolous world of olive oil by Tom Mueller. It's quite shocking but depressingly not surprising. It certainly makes you look at what oil you buy in a different light.

We used a lighweight concrete on some similar floors with the usual iron mesh. It is by a company called Weber and is called Leca Mix. It is small clay balls that makes a very strong but very light weight concrete. It is not self-supported but will give you strength and a lot less weight than the usual concrete. It is great where you have uneven floors which would usually require inches of concrete in places to even it out.

I got an email saying you had sent me one but never got the actual PM

Karen, I'd be furious with the accountant! You can appeal you know but there needs to be a reason. You can also ask for time to pay in instalments. My INPS form (the one that lists how much to pay and when) has lots of items listed that have no value in so I presume it is a standard document. If you would like to send me your email address I will scan in mine, mark it and you can see where I mean. It is such a lot of money it must be worth a second look. The amounts sounds about right. I don't believe your accountant either. Can you go to one of the unions and ask them to check for you? I have always found them very, very helpful. You could try http://www.confartigianato.it/ They all have their own accountants too who could check all your paperwork. generally speaking they tend to be a LOT cheaper than a regular accountant. I was paying around €800-900 a year and will now pay €190 a year via one of the the farming unions and it only cost €10 to join. I wish I'd figured that out earlier!!

Sorry - I don't know if I was being clear but the INAIL is paid as part of my INPS payments. I don;t pay it separately. On the back of the document from INPS you will find the line that says 'Infortuni'. It's not very clear but that is INAIL. Do you mean his is blank/zero?

If you look at the document that INPS sends you every year saying how much you need to pay each quarter, at the top there should be a line that says 'Infortuni'. This is the amount your husband has been paying to INAIL. I am a registered farmer and I checked my figures against what I should be paying and it is correct. Now, if your husband employs anyone then I believe he will have to pay for them too as he should be submitting a return saying what he has paid his employees. The INAIL site does have info in English here: http://www.inail.it/Portale/appmanager/portale/desktop?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PAGE_HOME_EN&nextPage=General_information/info-702200407.jsp I found a good document detailing what a Coltivatori Diretto or IAP has to pay. If your husband has some other job then tell me what and I will see if I can find an equivalent. If your husband earnt more than the minimum (2011 was €14930) then INAIL etc was due on anything above that at a rate of 21.3% if he is an artigianale (20.3% or 17.3% if he is a Coltivatori Diretto). Could this be the difference they are claiming? Either way sounds like the accountant is at fault as s/he should have declared it.

Rickardo - the price you quote is for housewif/husband's cover only. If you are an employer or self-employed then it will be higher. You've started me thinking now as to whether I have to pay it. If I find any info I'll let you know Karen.

It depends on what you want to hire. There is Pascucci's in Comunanza - just before you get into the town coming from Amandola. You will see big cranes and other equipment set higher up on your left just after a big bend. Or else there is Mattioli just past Girasole shopping centre on the Fermo road going towards Fermo and immediately after the big roundabout on your left on the bend - you'll see some small truck and general building stuff sitting outside. Neither rent things like hand tools but do rent sand-blasters etc.