Our first house hunting trip, actually ends up likely being our only house hunting trip. We have never been people who agonize over a decision. Thanks to the internet, we had looked a many potential houses. And thanks to Street View, we had given the towns and areas they were located in, a close virtual inspection. We knew we did not want to be in the tourist areas. We were looking for either a nice village house, or, detached house with a small bit of land, near amenities. We set our budget at properties under 100,000 Euro and properties that did not need renovation. Those that came with furniture were a big plus as we were not going to be moving our household items.
We looked at properties in Loro Apurtino, Collidemezzo, Casalanguida, Celenza sul Trigno and Vestea. As soon as we arrived to see the property near Vestea [put_wpgm id=1]
we pretty much knew it was what we wanted. A detached house on a fenced and level plot of ground. A place to have a small garden, and put up a outside arbor with screens to spend bug free time outdoors. It was not the ‘quaint’ Italian style, but that was not one of our top priorities. Decent sized kitchen, nice living room area, two bedrooms downstairs. The upstairs is huge and completely open. The original asking price was 95K EU, but we were able to get it for 83K EU. (Just to give you an idea of where the Italian real estate market sits in mid 2016) We arranged for a detailed inspection prior to purchase, and the report came back yesterday indicating no foundation or structural issues, and the roof in excellent condition. Since these are by far the most expensive things that can go wrong with a house, we were quite pleased. A further, more detailed report will be coming soon that will list the full property boundaries, neighbor boundaries, and some additional information like that.
The property is just outside the Village of Vestea. The village is small, just over 200, but there are two very nice restaurants within walking distance, one pizzeria, two coffee bars, and a butcher shop. No market, which was curious, but the next village is only about ten min away and there is one there.
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We worked with the agents at Loveabruzzoproperty, Piera and Daniela are wonderful. After deciding on a property, the next step we needed to take was to get a tax number (Coda Fiscale) and open a bank account. With Daniela’s assistance we were in an out of the Muncipo building in about half an hour with our Coda Fiscale paper. A short walk to the bank, and a zillion papers signed later, we were set up with elementary bank accounts at UniCredit.
The next steps will be making the offer formal and putting down the Compromesso, which is a downpayment that sets a formal offer to buy. It can be 20-30% of the total price, but varies. This link http://www.knightfrank.it/guide-italy-property will open a good primer on the buying process.
At the moment, that is where we stand. I will have a good deal more to post eventually. Setting up utilities, paying taxes, how to have your property taken care of when you are away and more.
