Client Beware of Property Rentals and other Tours in Italy

I just read an article yesterday on the New York Times webpage regarding property rentals and how clients have to be careful of what they rent. I have written a post on Property Rentals in Italy and I cannot stress enough how important it is to do your homework ahead of time. As the article states as well, nowadays it is so easy for any property owner to rent property and you do not always get what you are promised or think you will be getting. There is nothing worse than arriving at what is supposed to be this perfect villa in Tuscany and it turns out to be a nightmare. Unfortunately anyone can pretty much rent anything and the same is true for Italy.

The article goes on and states that renting a property where a third party is involved like a property management company is a good idea but I have to say that the use of these companies in Italy is still not so widespread. In fact I welcome readers to let me know of any good companies they know of in Italy and I am going to do my own research as well.

Also you really need to have referrals of others who have stayed at the property. Better if these are through people you know but this of course is not always possible. I am not saying that all properties are going to have problems but being careful and prudent is never a bad thing.

The same holds true for tours in Italy you sign up for. Again through the internet any Gianni or Sophia can host a specialty tour. Again get referrals from others who have done that cooking school, language school or bike tour. Be weary of activities that promise too much. In other words you cannot learn the Italian language through a four day course or become a culinary expert in a three day stint in Umbria!

As an American living in Italy I am very protective of my fellow American visitors. I always stop and try to help them out if they are having difficulty and if I hear of anyone being taken advantage of, I try to step in. I have been there and in the early days here I was ripped off a couple of times too. Italy can be a wonderful place to visit and it is up to you to come prepared and be prudent. I also welcome readers to tell me about any great or unfortunate experience they have had in the Bel Paese. Buon viaggio!

Renting a Villa in Tuscany

Since this is such a popular topic, I will be writing more and more about holidays and renting property in Italy in future posts. For one reason or another more and more people are deciding to rent villas in Italy. The many advantages are to avoid steep hotel costs, freedom to do what one wants to within the confines of your rental property, ability to lodge with many people and divide costs, and finally stay in a beautiful home with all the amenities.

The option of renting an Italian property is becoming so attractive among foreigners visiting Italy. Word of mouth has been the largest motivator. Foreigners return home boasting about the incredible restored farmhouse they rented in the hills of Umbria or Tuscany for instance.

How does finding rental property in Italy work? The toughest job is finding the one property that is right for you. There is a plethora of websites for those searching. I happen to have some favourites: http://www.agriturismo.net/, http://www.welcometuscany.it/, http://www.italy-vacationrental.com/.

I thought it helpful after you have found a few properties that interest you, to ask for recommendations from others that have stayed there. You can contact them to get some inside info on the villa.

You must of course decide on the city or town you want your vacation to be based in Italy . You will most likely need to rent a car. It would be nice to know how far the autostrada (freeway) is and where the nearest train stations are.

You should know what kind of a Italian holiday you want. Do you want to stay close to the villa and absorb the local beauty and bask at the pool the whole time or do you want to use it as a base and visit neighboring towns (and if so how far are you from these towns?). Will you be travelling with children? A villa in the middle of nowhere sounds romantic and peaceful to you but could be boring for a teen.

Amenities
Amenities in this Italian property rental may include pool, tennis courts, Jacuzzi, housekeeping services, pick up and drop off at the airport. If you will be with younger children, ask about high chairs, pack and plays, cribs, etc. Make sure you are clear (a written confirmation is best) which amenities, if any, are included.

Also be sure that you know if the villa is being exclusively rented to you. In other words you will not be sharing it with other guests or groups.

Cost
Most of the time villa rental costs are not per person but total cost to rent the premises. Rates vary per area and based on low or high season.Again always get a written confirmation.

Other Info
Find out who will be available if you need something while staying in the property. Is this person down the street or in another city? A pipe can burst or electricity can be cut off. Who do you need to call and most importantly, who will pay for the repair?

Be Informed
Get as much info as you can including of course pictures of your Italy vacation rental. Here recommendations will come in handy. You will want to ask past visitors about the cleanliness, overall maintenance, availability of landlord, amenities, etc. Lastly the more prepared you are before getting into the property, the more you can really rest and enjoy yourself once you are here!

Finding and Buying Property - in Italy

Well, here it is: my first post on my first blog. This is a first of a multi part series on finding property in Italy and everything related to moving to Italy. I will not go into detail on how I got here since you can read about that in future posts and on my profile. Instead let me tell you what I learned about finding and purchasing property in Italy.

How long will it take to find your home?

Let me first say that finding the right property can take as long as you want it to. I mean it can happen even before you leave your home country with a really good agent or it can take years. Personally it took us about one year to find our home and we were already living in Italy. I have friends that found their dream home in their first visit and others that are still looking after years.

Pinpointing the Region

Italy is made up of many different regions that differ in food, climate, way of dressing, employment opportunities, etc. I am not going to go into detail here as it would be way too lengthy. The most popular regions these days among foreigners to buy property are Tuscany, Umbria, Le Marche, Abruzzo, and Puglia. But let’s not forget the Lake region of Como ..made famous of course by an American celebrity (don’t know if I can name him George C.). Anyways I have ranked them in order of popularity and price. Tuscany has always been the most popular and property prices reflect this. Just in the recent years Abruzzo and Puglia have increased in popularity due to very affordable prices.

You really need to ask yourself if you want to live in the countryside, in the city, near the sea, near the mountains. Maybe you are not sure and so I would really recommend you pick a few regions and visit them. You may decide you are not so keen on living near the mountains since the winters can be brutal for instance. Next after deciding on the region you need to decide on the city or town in that region.

Agencies
Once you have chosen the region it would be wise to do some good research through the internet. There is a really great site called www.casa.it that although it is in Italian, provides invaluable information on names of real estate agencies, their email addresses, phone numbers and great photos and data on property for sale. I used this site repeatedly. The site is categorized by region. Although agencies request 3 percent commission I highly advise going with an agency instead of buying property directly from the owner. It will alleviate a lot of hassles later on. Remember that the same property can be with multiple agencies. I contacted ALL the agencies in the town I was interested in so they all knew what I was looking for. Also be very specific in what you are looking for as the agencies can really waste your time . I can also suggest you check out the agencies of www.toscanahouses.com (Tuscany), and www.immobiliareilcastello.com (Umbria) which I looked at during my search.

Type of Property
Ok here things get a little tricky so let me help you out. You really need to know what type of property you want. Do you want an apartment (apartamento), a villa, a farmhouse (casale). Do you want it to be restored (ristrutturato), in need of restoration or both? Do you want little or a lot of land (terreno)? Do you want a pool (piscina)? Do you care if you are near a railway track, the freeway, on a hill, in a valley? I can go on and on. Only after seeing many properties did I realize I had to be very specific in talking to the agencies. My personal suggestion is to ask yourself what you will be doing with this property? Will you be living in it fulltime or on vacation time? Will you be flipping it or renting it out? If you plan on renting it out when you are not in it I suggest you purchase something rural like an apartment in a restored farmhouse or an entire restored farmhouse, if money permits of course. Unless you have a lot of time, money and patience, I do not suggest you take on restoring it yourself.

Making an Offer, The Bank, The Notaio

Once you have found the property that really suits you, you can make the offer. It is difficult for me to tell you how much that offer should be in relation to the asking price but after you have seen enough properties you can tell whether or not you should be getting a discount. A contract to bind the parties is called the Preliminare di Compravendita which outlines woh the two parties are, the price agreed upon and the breakdown of how and when the amount will be paid. Usually at this first contract a deposit of about 10 percent is given to the seller of the house.


I should tell you that you do not need to have citizenship nor residency to buy a house in Italy. However I strongly recommend that you try to get residency because property taxes for your first home in Italy are much lower for those with residency. To get residency however you have to prove that you live in the house year round. The urban police (vigile urbano) actually comes by your property to make sure you live there.


Once you have found a bank that you want to work with (the agency should be able to help you with this), you will need to find a notary (notaio). Here also the agency should be able to help out. Mortgages are much shorter than in the United States and the average mortgage is 15 years.

Taking the Plunge

Finding and buying property in Italy is not as simple as it seems and I have given an overview of the first steps. I have to admit that for me it was quite a challenge and I did almost lose my patience on more than one occasion. Now I just laugh at all those really bizarre incidents like trekking in the snow to see a house completely isolated in the mountains and far from being ready to live in. This after telling the agency I want a home as close to the town as possible! We saw all sorts of properties and met all sorts of people. It was definitely a learning experience but in the end worth it as I love the views of olive trees and sunflowers (the reason we got this home) that I have every morning upon awakening. I await to meet you here as my new neighbors!