Kensington2's activity

If i didnt need 10 tons of wood i wouldnt buy it or ask about it. I  have a 500m2 house with a log boiler and 2 esse stoves. This was the estimate from my engineer. Why are you guys so aggressive, this forum is not one that i want to be part of. No wonder people leave. Forums should be a place of support. Well done on your big headed know it all answer Flip. 

Wow....what a good source of information however last year I remember going into my local Consorzio and they only had three varieties. This year I think I will ask what else I can order!! Mind you I have ordered things in the past and have waited 3 weeks only for them to tell me they can't get it!

Ok, so now you have bought your house and you will soon find that your Geometra uses his 'pet' contractors to do the work. You can get other quotes and use those prices to beat down his contractors price. Of course you would need to know who to go to. Try the buying agent. They usually have a list of people who you could go to. Just copy the estimate you have been given, blank out the prices and send it to the other builders or get your agent to do it for you. They all work on a schedule of rates so all the contractors prices should be the same but they wont be. You can always just say to the Geometra that your budget for the work is E6K and you want that work done for that price and leave it to him to negotiate it but don't expect it to be negotiated to 6K but you might get a few thousand off. Also builders are crying out for work now. No-one is spending anything so the builders are now willing to travel and negotiate on costs. Don't be manipulated into paying a local what he wants because you might fall out with him, the Italians are uber cost conscious and other locals would not pay what they consider to be a high price. Everyone plays on the fact that foreigners can pay a premium but often we wont!! Good luck with it ....

You dont say where in Tuscany you are?? That will have a bearing on those who may be able to help you in your search for work.

I have had a quote for PV panels in Tuscany at 4,200 Euros per KW based on a supply of 12KW in total. I am not at the stage of installing but just getting costs so thought it might be interesting to you all. I have also heard of the loan to finance the purchase and installation which seems like a good idea to me. Apparently Italy has a long way to go to reach the EU target for renewable energy so it seems like this deal will be around for some time (i hope). Also the cost of this technology will be coming down the more people that have it.

Fillide....whilst I understand that your comment was written at 2:25am and you obviously have got little going on in your life there is absolutly no need to call me a pillock. My comment is a perfect civil question and does not warrent that kind of abuse. Other questions are asked all the time on this forum and are answered by normal people who wish to give other people a helping hand with their advice. That was all I asked. It is not fair to abuse this forum with those kinds of comments. You will stop people from posing questions and this forum will die. So you know what to do.... 

 What is wrong with Italy mag - when I try to post a new message the message box does not appear and I have to reply to my own thread??? Very confusing!!! I am currently trying to find out what the IVA rate is on new builds. I will be knocking my house down and re-building a new one and I have been told that the rate is 4% and 10%. Does anyone know, for real, what it is??

As I understand it you can do all the work but you must be 'overseen' by a Geometra. You must also build according to Italian Law - which is obviously different to the UK's Building Regulations. All buildings have to be built in accordance with the siesmic laws which change periodically and are getting tougher and tougher! Your first point of call is to appoint a Geometra who will be able to help you. Proably best to get one that speaks English. You will pay about 10% + VAT (Iva) (for fees) of the building costs (based on what a builder would charge) but this might go up slightkly as he would need to provide you with more support/input during the contruction phase.  Good Luck tho!!

 I know a lot of things are talked about in Italy Mag but I thought I would ask a basic simple question regarding residency for EU Nationals. I am a EU National, under 65 and looking to re-locate to Italy. I have already purchased a house that can be lived in. I want to knwo what documents I need to produce to the commune in order to get residency status. Many Thanks

I dont know if it was us or our Geometra but confusion has arisen. The 10% that the Geometra put on the top of the builders quote was his fees (even though we queried this before we put on the posting).  I suppose the moral of this tale is to query something and if you dont like the response, query it again!!!!! Many thanks to all of you who reponded - Happy New Year