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If you request a preliminary consultation, I will email to you a detailed questionnaire so that you can tell me as much as possible about the specifics of the property you desire. After I have studied this, we can discuss (in person or via phone or email), your particular Italian Dream(s): What, Where, Why, How Much? If you are not already quite familiar with the region in which you wish to look, we can talk about pros and cons (Tuscany, Umbria, Liguria Le Marche, Piedmont, Lazio, The Lakes and The Veneto are the areas with which I am currently most familiar, but I will gladly research others). There are many micro-regions with particular assets or drawbacks, of course, which must be investigated carefully.
I can give you some tips for searching websites (Italian and English). (For starters, please go to "International Real Estate", listed under Links). We can discuss the going prices for various sorts of properties in particular areas, and for restoration, if you plan to buy an un-restored place.
You, with as much or as little help from me as you desire/need, search the web for likely prospects (I spent many weeks on this process, but have discovered some shortcuts which may help you abbreviate it). I can help you contact agents or private sellers for more information, photos, places not listed. You can also identify specific towns which appeal to you from first-hand knowledge or from information available on-line. Sometimes there are non-advertised places for sale, which can be discovered by inquiring around in person; this I am able to do at your request. We put together a list, as long or short as you wish, and make appointments with the vendors.
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Time, as they say, is money. For some, driving around little back roads in a foreign country, getting lost, talking with innumerable estate agents, and so on, sounds like fun. Others would rather have the chaff (and there is a lot of it) discarded for them. The initial search can be expensive (hotels, rented cars, etc.). Pieds-a-terre in both southern Tuscany and in Liguria enable me to do this phase more cheaply; knowledge of the area, to do it more quickly.
I ask questions (Is there city water, sewer, electricity? Is the town growing/shrinking? Is there any construction planned nearby? Is permission possible for a pool? For changes to the facade?). And so on.
I take lots and lots of photos (digital), notes, measurements.
All of this information (disc of innumerable digital photos; report on the general condition of the house, the surroundings, the locale; lot/house plan from local dealer, if available; answers to specific questions posed by my clients in the Italy House Scout Questionnaire) I send to you for each property investigated. This information is supplemented, when possible, by a personal presentation of my findings in order to explain details more clearly.
I am not, nor do I propose to become, a dealer in Italian real estate. I am your house-finder, your extension. My concerns are exclusively those of you, the buyer, and I receive no commission from any seller. This means that I have no incentive to locate for you a house that is too expensive or otherwise not suited to your needs. My fees are negotiable, depending upon the number of properties to be investigated, the territory to be covered, and the urgency of the quest. These fees may be subtracted from my commission as Buyer's Agent if you purchase a property for which the listing agent in Italy agrees to this form of compensation (very common). (For a more detailed explanation of how this works, please request the “clients’ questionnaire” and see “financial information for clients.”)
Because Italian bureaucracy is, in fact, baroque, and the wheels can grind slowly, sometimes it's easier if someone is in place to grease them. I have met with a good number of very nice, established and competent estate agents in various regions of northern Italy. They know the local players, and can smooth your way. A number of them are originally from the UK; some others speak English; those who do not can often provide an interpreter, given notice. If you buy a property through them, you will usually pay 3% of the purchase cost in agency fees, and well worth it. IT IS FROM THIS 3%, WHICH YOU WOULD PAY IN ANY CASE, THAT I RECEIVE MY BUYER'S AGENT COMMISSION
It is also entirely possible to buy a house via a private sale, without a dealer (I did). I can help you find a local "geometra" (part engineer, part architect) to assess the building's structural integrity; and a lawyer or a "notaio" (a public notary charged with determining that these transactions are proper) to help assure that legalities are observed. Many of the above-mentioned real estate agents will help you even with private sales, for a reasonable fee; in addition, some will oversee any necessary renovations.
So what next?