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| Italy Buying Guide Newsletter |
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| Hello there! There’s no better place to spend a hot Italian August than wandering through the Alps of Piedmont. Fresh air, green meadows with white cattle grazing peacefully, the far-off high-pitched cries of marmots echoing through the valleys, mountain goats peeping from behind rocks perched on precarious precipices (say that when you’ve had a few), a patch or two of snow still visible on the highest peaks, lunching on bread and cheese bought from a local farmer and working up an appetite for polenta and venison stew in the evening, washed down with a good Dolcetto wine…what could be better? As you read this, that is where I’ll be and that is exactly what I’ll be doing for four glorious days. These valleys, depopulated after the Second World War, have now become a summer haven for many Italians, and many of the old stone buildings have been renovated as holiday homes. Winters in these areas are quite chilly – you can see plenty of chopped wood already piled up on many balconies – so few people live in these villages all year round. Even so, local farmers and craftspeople make the most of the summer influx, selling cheeses and cured meats, wooden furniture and woollen garments and running restaurants, bars and B&Bs. The lack of skiing facilities here has had the happy consequence of leaving these valleys – particularly Val Grana, Valle Stura, Val Maira and Val Varaita - beautifully unspoilt during the summer. Just go have a look at Sestrieres – the headquarters of Turin’s winter Olympics in 2006 – in summer to see what I mean. If you ever buy a holiday home there, make sure you only go in winter – there is nothing uglier than an over-developed ski resort in summer. European funds have helped set up some quirky little museums. My favourite is the Museo di Pels, or Hair Museum, in Elva. This unusual two-room museum tells the story of what was one of the most important trades in Val Maira up until the 1950s – farming hair. Salesmen would set off, having shorn every girl in town, to sell their hair for high-class wigs in Paris and London. The local girls would be allowed to leave a little hair around their face so that when wearing the customary head kerchief it would be more difficult to tell that they were completely bald underneath. Moving on... Italy Buying Guide’s newsletter readers will remember back in May our warnings of new regulations coming into force regarding new certificates that had to be included in a deed of purchase. The first involved the energy efficiency of a building and the second the state of wiring and plumbing in a property. Berlusconi’s new government has done something surprisingly useful only months into its mandate, and has abolished these certificates just as they were coming into force! Both these requirements have now been abolished, though the energy efficiency certificate is still necessary in the case of a newly built property. Though any reduction of bureaucracy in Italy is to be heartily welcomed, the Italian Greens, called Legambiente, are protesting that the energy efficiency certificate was in line with European recommendations and was a useful way of informing prospective buyers of the energy efficiency of a property (and therefore of how high their energy bills would have been if they bought it). Not only has ICI tax on first homes been abolished (though not on holiday homes), but also the Dichiarazione ICI has been abolished. This was a long-winded document that had to be handed in to the local council after selling or purchasing any property the July immediately after a sale. Again, a hearty cheer greets this news. Newspapers are now warning that in order to make up the shortfall in ICI income, councils will be stepping up their traffic control and increasing fines for parking in the wrong place, speeding etc, so the advice is to take extra care when driving in Italy in future! Remember, for example, that it is illegal not to have your sidelights lit when driving on country roads, even in broad daylight (an amusing law brought in only a few years ago by the last government). This month’s feature is an interview with Lesley Carter, originally from Portsmouth, who decided to move from Telford to Liguria – two different worlds indeed! – just over two years ago. She offers some interesting insights into the challenges of expat life. With the end of summer in sight, there is a little bit of good news – the price of crude oil has come down slightly, so that Italian newscasters are forecasting higher bills next year but not as high as expected. Small comfort… Greetings and best wishes – please let me know if I can help in any way. I am always delighted to hear from you. Gianna Gianna Williams |
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Moving from suburban Telford to rural LiguriaThis month’s feature is an interview with Lesley Carter. Lesley is 51 and was a member of the armed forces for 10 years, serving in Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Hong Kong and Germany, after which she returned to civilian life, building a long-term career as a project manager for Gaz de France before giving up her job, selling her house and embarking on her Italian adventure back in March 2006. She moved to Italy in order to be together with her partner – now husband – Keith. It was quite a culture shock – moving from suburban Telford to rural Liguria! I asked Lesley to tell us about her experience two years on, and what she has to say is very enlightening.... Q: What did you expect life to be like in Italy before you moved? Different from my previous life, certainly in terms of day-to-day living, as I was giving up a full-time office-based job in England and not moving into regular employment once in Italy. My new life would, essentially, be centred round the house and land, with some home-based work. Although I was looking forward to this, my reservation was that in reality I would get bored with manual labour and that there would not be enough intellectual stimulation for me. As for the physical move to another country, this didn't bother me, as I have previously lived in a number of different countries and experienced different cultures, albeit under the “protection” of military bases. I had, for a long time, felt like I didn't belong in England and I was looking forward to the change. Q: How does that compare with your actual experience, two years on? Practically speaking, there has been no time to be bored. With house improvement projects and taking care of the land, there is always something that needs doing. One of my great joys has been to be able to live for the most part outside and work on the land. Cultivating crops is a whole new learning curve for me and has proved very satisfying. Cooking the fruits of my labours equally so! Also, I have been able to apply my work skills to managing the house improvement projects. Having the time and space to run your day as you please is wonderful. However, without the necessity of going out to work in the morning, there is a tendency to be lazy and a bit of self-discipline is required to keep motivated. Q: What was the worst bureaucratic challenge you had to face? I have been very lucky in that many of the major bureaucratic challenges of living abroad had already been covered by my partner prior to my move to Italy, so the only obstacle for me was getting my residency. I just happened to apply when the process was in the throes of changing, so I ended up being passed from pillar to post before finally getting my ID card. Initially I applied to the main police station with various forms of identification and proof of income. The police (after a very long wait) informed me that my application was now to be processed through the main post office – the new process. So, after completing and submitting new forms given out by the post office, I was then informed that it should be dealt with by one particular post office. Upon presenting the forms yet again, I was then told that the local town council anagrafe office now dealt with this. Another queue, another hour, another day, only to find out that my local council could process the whole thing very easily and speedily, which they did! Hopefully renewals will be infinitely easier! Q: What has been the hardest challenge so far? Keeping my confidence up and not giving in to feeling like a simpleton most of the time. I am generally very independent and living here has meant that I have had to be dependent on a lot of people for support so far, especially my partner. Things that I wouldn't normally think twice about doing on my own have become a two person affair (or three or four, depending on who gets involved) - going to a doctor, a trip to hospital, banking, going to the hairdressers. Even things like organising a service for the boiler or dealing with builders is something I would have tackled without batting an eyelid. Now I have to defer to another for help. I know all of these things will change over time with effort on my part, but it is quite a major blow to be so suddenly dependent and "lost". Q: What do you miss about the UK? There are aspects of convenience and customer service that I miss. For example, the postal service. Posting out from here is usually fine, but receiving mail and especially parcels can be hit and miss. You will get them - eventually. However, put in the hands of a courier, the item may well end up being returned to the UK. Courier companies often sub-contract to local businesses here that may not want to be bothered driving further than the main town. As and when they do, the item can have sat in the main office for weeks already. Another example is shopping. In the UK, shopping is generally easier and more customer friendly. You can shop without fear of having second thoughts on your purchase as there is nearly always a generous returns policy. Whereas here in Italy, once you have bought an item, that’s it, you have very little, or no, room to return or exchange unless faulty. This makes it especially difficult if you are buying for someone else, or if you are buying a DIY item that doesn’t suit your purpose. I also miss polite queuing (a very English thing I know). On a recent trip to the hospital it took a while for me to realise that the fact I had been given a time to see the consultant meant very little. It seemed the more insistent and pushy people were, the quicker they were seen. Not something I could comfortably emulate, but in the end I realised that if I didn’t stand my ground I would have been there all day. Thankfully not every visit was the same and on the whole, the care and service given once you are in the system is (in my experience) fabulous. Q: Are there any TV programmes/radio programmes you miss? Radio 4 and Wimbledon. Apart from that none specifically, except maybe the odd drama on a cold wet afternoon. On the up side, I can now get Radio 4 through the internet. In our current location we are not quite on broadband, but getting there – slowly. Q: What foods do you miss? From a cooking point of view I don't actually miss any foods in particular, but there are a couple of things that I like to have to hand that I have to ask visitors to bring with them, like Marmite, gravy browning and suet. Most other ingredients I have successfully found here, or if not, an equivalent alternative or I have adapted how I make things. Rather than miss anything I am still delighting in using the abundance of new (to me) ingredients to experiment with. From an eating out perspective, there appears to be a lack of multi-cultural cuisine. A recent trip to London, with its endless choices, highlighted this fact. In my main town here, there are only two Chinese restaurants that I know of, and that’s it. There may be more in larger towns. That said I haven’t begun to exhaust the wealth of good restaurants that do exist here. Q: What have you been pleasantly surprised about living in Italy? Most surprising is the amount I play my saxophone. I thought it would end up in a corner of the room, but it - and I - are employed throughout the year via the local band. This has been an invaluable link with the community for me, without which I would not have witnessed or been part of some significant moments in the town’s culture. It has also enabled me to make some very good friends which I probably wouldn’t have done as a tourist or “ex-pat” Brit living abroad. Q: In what ways has your life changed after almost three years in Italy? Irrespective of my current level of language (improving daily) my social life is a lot richer. In the relatively short time I have been here, more people know me and I know more people than I ever did in my hometown in the UK. My diet is also better, although it is easy to overdo the quantities. Q: If you could change one thing about life in Italy, what would it be? My freedom of speech….and I don’t mean from a political angle. Without being fluent in Italian it is hard to strike up a conversation beyond what the weather is doing. I miss having "real" conversations with people and being able to talk freely without first pre-preparing what I am going to say. I have joined the local town band and when we are rehearsing I long to join in with the pre-practice banter that goes on. I can understand some of what is thrown back and forth, but am not quick enough to respond - I also have to remember that most of it is dialect anyway, so I haven’t a hope yet. There are days when I feel incredibly stupid and certainly feel like it appears so to others. On the plus side I know this is something I can change and day by day my language skills are improving. Q: What words of advice would you give to someone thinking seriously about moving to Italy permanently? It isn't all sunshine. Learn the language, learn the language, learn the language – and even then you will need to learn the local dialect! Don't expect anything instantly. There is a lot of leg work involved with almost everything. For me it is worth it. Interesting isn’t
it? Are you thinking of doing the same thing? There are many ways in
which we can help you, both with the Italy Buying Guide and with recommendations
of really good professional people who can help you with your search.
Just contact me at Gianna@OverseasGuidesCompany.com
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A currency strategy – why on earth would someone need this?by Smart Currency’s Charles Purdy.Simple really. When you buy a UK property you know exactly how much you will need to pay for the property and as such you can plan accordingly. With a foreign property you will have to pay in another currency; for example Euros or US$’s, which means changing sterling into that currency at a specific exchange rate. However, that exchange rate moves every minute of the day and sometimes the movement can be quite dramatic. You will have used the rate on the day that you first thought of buying…If the exchange rate moves against you (which has been the case with sterling recently) you can suddenly find that you need a lot more sterling to buy your foreign currency and pay for your property than you had originally envisaged. Hence the need for a currency strategy which will allow you to target exchange rates, focus on timing and secure a favourable exchange rate when available. The currency strategy will take a lot of the risk of increased costs out of the equation and at the same time reduce stress which is always welcome! The best way to develop a currency strategy is to talk to an expert such as Smart Currency and discuss all the different permutations that are available to you. You will then be able to make an informed decision about your currency transaction thus minimising your costs…and your stress level. To read the latest on Serling and the Euro go to: http://www.ItalyBuyingGuide.com/Currency280808.htm
Why
overseas property buyers lose money... This 10-page educational report outlines:
And just a couple remarks about the report from our readers...
To get a copy of the report at no charge go to: http://www.smartcurrencyexchange.com/freereport.htm To get a Better-than-Bank
rate go to: http://www.smartCurrencyExchange.com/smartsquotation.htm
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Beautiful Italian PropertyBorgo Sant’Anastasio
Price:
price on request. Type:
Apartment/villa In a well-tended and well-guarded housing area of 20 acres with a 360° panorama, the highest living comfort within unique and historic surroundings. The former country
estate Sant' Anastasio has existed since the 15th century. The houses
have been built over the centuries, changed and extended various times. The apartments have
one, two or three bedrooms, with large living rooms with fireplace and
a kitchen plus bathrooms as well as storage areas. Different sizes are
available up to 160 sq m. A thoroughly planned distribution of space
and high-quality interior decoration meet the most discriminating demands:
wooden beamed ceilings or splendid stone vaulted ceilings, floors of
hand-made tiles with under floor heating and luxurious bathrooms. Ready by Autumn 2008 If you would like
more information on this property opportunity, please email me with
your phone number and I'll ring you to provide more information. mailto:Gianna@OverseasGuidesCompany.com |
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Financial Planning – make YOUR plan come together….Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together? With August the dampest in a hundred years, wouldn’t it be wonderful to jet away to your place in the sun for brighter times? If only buying abroad was that easy….or is it? Well, 35,000 of us Brits did so last year, according to the ‘Second Homes Abroad 2008’ report. However, has the family agreed on the motive for buying? Is it a heart pounding, emotional fuelled, lifestyle purchase? Or is it a level-headed, pragmatic, money making decision? The majority of people probably want it all - the best of both worlds! However, that peaceful mountain retreat might not rent like the hedonistic beach front apartment…or should it be the city centre apartment which could rent well…but then…do you really want to stay in the business district? Whatever motivates the purchase, there are certain principals that you should bear in mind, namely what liability are you taking on and can you afford it? With 80% of overseas purchases being mortgaged, make sure you choose the correct bank to fund your purchase. This can save you thousands in the long run. Do you need a bank that can facilitate re-finance? What about over-payments, what about off-setting income against mortgage costs? Is there a robust legal process and who should represent you? Cut costs here and you could lose the lot. Also, have you considered what type of property rents well in your chosen area: apartments or villas? These and many other factors need serious consideration upfront. The bottom line is that all of the above involves money and lots of it, so talking to professionals is the key. This is a big commitment with big responsibilities. How does it fit into your overall financial plan? Speak with financial advisors who have overseas property experience (not all do), and are familiar with property investment strategies. Understanding the full financial commitment you are taking on, you can then feel confident that you are buying within your budget and not be in for any shocks along the way. Your plan will only come together if you actually have one…and then stick to it! Even when buying the holiday home of your dreams the numbers must work… you must understand them, work them out in advance, and then confidently buy. Just go to http://www.ItalyBuyingGuide.com/resources.htm if you would like me to put you in touch with a really brilliant IFA… Happy hunting! | ||
Investing Off-plan in ItalyInvesting off-plan is where a purchaser makes a commitment to buy a property from a developer that has not yet been built or is in the process of being built. This type of investment contains a number of risks, the major one being the builder going bankrupt before property completion and the buyer losing his money. The Italian legislation provides a number of safeguards for purchasers of this type of property. For instance Law 122/2005 makes it mandatory that the builder offers a surety bond. This is to guarantee the buyer for the money deposited prior to the transfer of ownership of the property, in case of bankruptcy or default. According to art.1 of Law 122/2005 the builder is obliged to offer such surety bond at the signature of the Preliminary Contract at the very latest. In the absence of such a surety bond the Preliminary Contract will be considered null and void unless the buyer explicitly wants it to produce its effect, in other words unless the purchaser waives this right. Note that the surety has to be clearly stated in the Preliminary Contract. According to article 2 of Law 122/2005 the surety needs to be a Bank, anInsurance Company or a Financial Broker authorised by the Bank of Italy. The surety bond guarantees to the buyer the repayment of the money paid as deposit. In order to request the process whereby the buyer can proceed against the developer, the buyer has to formally withdraw from the Preliminary Contract. A written request to withdraw from the contract from the buyer, together with the evidence of their payments, will be sufficient to activate the guarantee. The surety will be obliged by the law to pay the money back within 30 days. According to art.3 of Law 122/2005 the surety bond will also cover damages as a consequence of building defects of the property, even when discovered after the signature of the Deed of Sale. The building defects of the property covered by art.3 are listed in article 1699 of the Italian civil code. The guarantee for such defects lasts ten years from the finalisation of the building works. In cases where the seller is a different legal entity from the builder of the property, he is obliged to request from the builder a copy of the surety bond and give it to the buyer. This is part of his contractual obligations with reference to the Deed of Sale. As you can see, this can become quite a complex exercise, especially if all contracts are in Italian and you are not fluent in the language. If you are considering investing in an off-plan property in Italy our advice is to contact an independent and separate legal adviser. Remember that this would not be the case when the lawyer is recommended by the Developer or the Real Estate Agent. If you would like
me to recommend you an independent lawyer, please go to: |
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Disaster
could strike if you ignore your overseas property insurance To get a quote from our recomended insurance company simply click here: Insurance Quote
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Before I go, I wanted to ask you if you have any friends that are in the process of buying property overseas, or may even just be thinking of it? If you have, please 'spread the OGC word'. There is no better recommendation than that of a friend and it would be great if you could inform people about the Overseas Guides Company so that they too can benefit from our services. All you need to do is ask your friend to click on the following link: http://www.italybuyingguide.com/italy.htm or email me their name, email address and phone number and I will contact them to see how we can help make the buying process a much easier and less stressful experience. I love to hear from you so please contact me on Gianna@OverseasGuidesCompany.com. Until next time... Gianna Gianna Williams |
