{"id":2210,"date":"2020-05-18T07:57:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-18T07:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rosiemeleady.com\/?p=2210"},"modified":"2020-05-18T08:51:18","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T08:51:18","slug":"buying-a-house-in-italy-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rosiemeleady.com\/index.php\/buying-a-house-in-italy-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Steps to Finding Your Ideal House in Italy the Rosie Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Start Searching Online<\/span><\/p>\n

Search houses for sale online for about five years, dreaming of a \u2018maybe someday\u2019 possibility. Villas with pools and frescoed ceilings to caves which once housed three families during harder times. Castles to crumbling trulli, anything is game. <\/span><\/p>\n

Decide to make the move to Italy, life is too short to wait around. Or like us, when your country\u2019s economy crashes and you loose your income and have your home repossessed by the bank, decide to move to a country you can actually afford to have a nice life in, our No.1 choice was Italy. Rent for a couple of years and then consider buying when you are back on your feet.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Filter Your Choices to Suit Your Budget<\/span><\/p>\n

Become realistic and filter your search by the area you want. Try not to cry when you see that a modest three bedroom house in the town you love will cost about \u20ac420k. Try a different approach and filter your house search by price. You\u2019re left with the caves and crumbling messes. Maybe with a lick of paint, they would be okay? \u2026 Go back to looking at the pretty ones in the area you want with a pool\u2026 or at least some windows.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Arrange Viewings<\/span><\/p>\n

Take a leap and arrange some viewings. Just for the fun of it. Sure why not, it\u2019s okay to dream and you have to start somewhere. Don\u2019t disregard the houses the estate agent tries to talk you out of\u2026 ‘on the market for 10 years \u2026 ALOT of work to be done\u2026 I will send you photos of the interior\u2026 you still want to view it?? \u2026 Did you receive the photos?’<\/span><\/p>\n

Remain open minded and visit the ones with pools and the one with cobwebs worthy of a starring role in a black and white Tarzan<\/em> movie <\/span>\u2013 <\/span> the type of cobwebs the baddies got caught in just before they sank into the quick sand. Broken windows, tattered furniture left behind, scenic sky views through the roof, waist high grass that moves ahead of you. You\u2019ve progressed from Tarzan<\/em> movies to Jurassic Park<\/em>. Your husband walking a few metres ahead pauses and shouts back casually \u2018a snake just went over my foot\u2019. It suddenly feels like you\u2019re walking on Madusa\u2019s head as the ground moves beneath your feet. You laugh hysterically and run towards the electric gate that is no longer electric.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Be Fooled By TV Programmes<\/span><\/p>\n

Two weeks later be captivated by a new TV show, where a couple buy a chateau in France and do it up. She\u2019s cutting wallpaper shapes and sticking them on the wall, they\u2019re shining up copper pans and hanging them in the kitchen. They haven\u2019t fixed the roof but that does not seem to matter. They\u2019re laughing, having a great time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe could do that\u201d. Your mind goes back to the house of cobwebs. <\/span><\/p>\n

He knows what you are talking about, he hesitates but says it anyway. \u201cIt is a beautiful house.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

You may have renovated before and said \u201cnever again\u201d. You may, like us, have renovated homes twice before and said \u201cnever, ever again\u201d. It\u2019s sort of like childbirth, you are screaming \u2018Don\u2019t you ever come near me again\u2019 at your husband while doing the last push, but then something happens to your brain once the baby is born, you forget the pain of your body being ripped in half and something as simple as the smell of a new born baby\u2019s head, has you all doe eyed again and saying, \u201cLet\u2019s have another\u201d. It\u2019s how the human race has continued to go on, and how old houses manage to get renovated apparently. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cobwebs, snakes, we\u2019ve got this. \u2018It would be an amazing house.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLook at them\u201d, you point at the TV, “they never renovated before, we have, look how happy they are”. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe could do that.\u201d You don\u2019t realise you are basically smelling a baby\u2019s head and forget that this is TV. The screaming arguments of assembling furniture together, sewerage splashing in your face, the despair as a ceiling collapses and the horror of never ending bills for work that is not even visible, such events have been edited out of the TV show. You\u2019ve renovated before, it didn\u2019t end well, how are you seeing this through rose tinted glasses? You find yourself texting the estate agent to arrange another viewing.<\/span><\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 <\/span>A Second Viewing<\/span><\/p>\n

The estate agent is surprised at your choice, “<\/span>not the cute one with the pool?\u201d. She brings the senior boss, she is young and has never handled crazies before.<\/span><\/p>\n

While you are waiting for the estate agent, a woman in her late 70s or early 80s wanders into the garden. The viewing begins, she tags along. You try to quietly say to the estate agent that she\u2019s not with you, you think she\u2019s just a nosy neighbour until half way through the viewing you find out she\u2019s one of the owners. One of eight owners in fact. You are told her name is \u2018Uncle Francesca\u2019. <\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019re left to look around the interior by ourselves. The second time around the cobwebs are not noticed, the light plays through the shutters highlighting possibilities of beauty to be recreated. Built in 1923 some of the original furniture is still there, you\u2019ve never reupholstered anything but now you have a sudden urge to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

You return to the courtyard where \u2018Uncle\u2019 Francesca is collecting the caca fruit into an enamel po she has taken from the house. The estate agent is helping her with the fruit from the higher branches. He\u2019s eating one of the orange fruits, which you know is similar to trying to eat a water balloon. Between slurps he points out the features he thinks you will be amazed by, the lake view \u2026 you can\u2019t see it because the trees that have grown in the last 10 years block it, they are on public land so you know they will never be cut down but that is okay, a lake view was not the appeal, you know you can walk two minutes and be at the lake front. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are two wells on the land and he quotes their amazing depth\u2026. ah yes wells\u2026 the reason for many childhood nightmares and now possible death traps to your cats, they will be the first things covered up. You like the idea of your own water source but as you are not an Italian farmer, nor someone who has experienced massive drought, the appeal seems to have been lost on you. <\/span><\/p>\n

Planning permission for another house. While this sounds like a great investment possibility you are not a property mogul, you are looking for a potential home. There are 21 rooms in the house, there are three of you, so why would we need to build another house? <\/span><\/p>\n

He hasn\u2019t grabbed you on any of his big sale points but what he doesn\u2019t realise is the house has captivated you. As soon as you walked in you felt it was home. It wrapped it’s arms around you and made you feel safe \u2026 and happy.\u00a0 <\/span>You wanted to linger. The ceiling mould and rising damp, is more beautifully labelled in Italy as \u2018humidity\u2019 invoking tropical tones of rainforest rather than rain, floods and cold, which the word ‘damp’ conjures up back in Ireland.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. The Offer<\/span><\/p>\n

You are told the asking price is \u20ac240k which is down by over 100k from the previous year. They are quick to state it\u2019s negotiable. Uncle Francesca let it slip during the viewing that only one other person has come to view it in the three years it has been with this estate agent. <\/span><\/p>\n

You judge that there is about \u20ac150k worth of work to be done to make the house a home. It\u2019s a non-runner. The estate agent asks what price range are you looking in. You decide that this is a good time to practice saying numbers in Italian which you have just learnt in class this week. <\/span>You say for a house needing work, you can afford \u20ac120k.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2019Impossible!\u2019 he laughs \u2018the site with planning for the other house is worth that alone\u2019. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is he talking about? You were just telling him the price range of houses you are thinking about in the far off future, when you may decide to buy. You know the house when renovated would be worth close to half a million, but you do not have \u20ac250k to buy it and renovate it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018They can keep the site, we\u2019ll just take the house,\u201d states your husband to the estate agent. <\/span><\/p>\n

You nod… Why are you nodding? Oh yeah you are just cheering him on in this unplanned game. It\u2019s just a bit of fun. <\/span><\/p>\n

The estate agent goes back to Uncle Francesca who is swatting a wasp from her face and running around the tree but then is distracted by a plump caca. The estate agent\u2019s assistant is talking and you are trying to find a gap in the conversation so you say goodbye.\u00a0 <\/span>You\u2019re not listening to what she is saying as you are thinking about what to have for dinner.<\/span><\/p>\n

The estate agent returns, \u201cThey will accept \u20ac150k\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo we can\u2019t do, thanks anyway”. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cArrivederci\u201d. You wave at the old lady.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Offer Acceptance<\/span><\/p>\n

While sitting in the car on the way home, you\u2019re both laughing about the whole experience, but also talking about how amazing the potential is, it would be a fantastic space for someone to buy to host creative group retreats in Italy. <\/span><\/p>\n

You stop into the supermarket to buy your dinner ingredients. On the wine aisle you get a text from the estate agent. \u201cOn Tuesday come to our office at 11am to sign the sale agreement.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

You catch up with your husband at the fruit and veg section. \u201cDo we need bananas?\u201d he asks, holding a bunch in his hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEhhh I think we\u2019ve just bought a house?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHuh?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think they have accepted our offer on that house?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDid we put in an offer?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cApparently so.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor how much?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think I said \u20ac120k? I’m not sure I tried saying it in Italian.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Ohhh\u2026 For just the house or the house and the field with planning permission?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea, but it seems we are signing for it on Tuesday?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a great house for that price. A steal! But\u2026 what would we do with such a big house?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHost creative groups who want a retreat in Italy?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s really not a bad idea \u2026 Did you say, if we needed bananas?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

You go back to the wine aisle and buy a bottle of Prosecco, unsure if it is to celebrate or to block out the confusion. Have you just decided to buy massive renovation project plus start a new business, in the space of time it takes to decide if you are short of bananas? <\/span><\/p>\n

Apparently you have. It\u2019s exciting but there\u2019s also a creeping fear that there is quicksand ahead and not just a puddle, but a whole lake of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s how you find a house in Italy the Rosie way. It\u2019s all about being at one with bananas.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0SUBSCRIBE AND GET OUR HOUSE IN ITALY RENOVATION STORIES EACH WEEK FREE BY CLICKING HERE!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Search houses for sale online for about 5 years, dreaming of a \u2018maybe someday\u2019 possibility. Villas with pools and frescoed ceilings to caves which once housed three families during harder times. Castles to crumbling trulli anything is game. Decide to make the move to Italy, life is too short to wait around. Or like us, when your country\u2019s economy crashes and you loose your income and have your home repossessed by the bank, decide to move to a country you can actually afford to have a nice life in, our No.1 choice was Italy. Rent for a couple of years and then consider buying when you are back on your feet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[232],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a-house-in-italy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosiemeleady.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosiemeleady.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosiemeleady.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosiemeleady.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosiemeleady.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2210"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/rosiemeleady.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2218,"href":"https:\/\/rosiemeleady.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2210\/revisions\/2218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosiemeleady.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosiemeleady.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosiemeleady.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosiemeleady.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}