We had been dreaming of the Italian life for many years before we
finally committed. Francesca is Italian and we determined that we would
not become one of those 'buying abroad disaster stories' that you
continually hear about, how could we with Francesca's knowledge gained
in childhood, of the Italian property market? Two years down the line
and I'm pleased to report that with the help of Tony and his builder
extraordinaire, Giuseppe, it hasn't happened. We managed to purchase
the house of our dreams and are well on our way to converting it into
our own Calabrian idyll. For us it's going to be our permanent home, not
a holiday home so we needed to be completely certain we were doing the
right thing.
I'm almost ashamed to say that we
bought the first house we looked at, but it's true. We had been
searching online from our home in Newcastle for quite some time. I
remember spotting the house in Tremoli one dull Saturday morning whilst
watching football focus on the BBC. Francesca liked the look of it as
well. The price was right, it needed some work but it definitely had
potential. Nothing happened for a year but we continued to look online
and kept going back to the house in Tremoli. We needed to have a look.
Arrangements were made and we visited Scalea to check out the area, meet
Tony and see the house. Suspicions were raised when I discovered he was
a Manchester United fan but as he had Italian origins Francesca said
not to worry and off we went past the skips in Villaggio La Bussola towards
the stunning mountains of Santa Domenica Talao and on to Tremoli.
First
impressions of the house were great. It was everything we hoped it
would be despite the fact that it needed work. Tony held nothing back
and told us everything he thought it needed. Daunting as it was we both
realised at that point that he could be trusted and decided that this
was the place.
A year later after much
deliberations we finally did the deed and bought the house. Cautious of
the fact that the house needed work we were concerned that much could go
wrong and we could be adding our names to the 'nightmare abroad'
articles. Tony introduced us to Giuseppe and the man has been fantastic.
All the work done so far has been completed as requested, on time, on
budget and to an exceptionally high standard. He knows not to listen to
me (why would he, I can't speak Italian?) but follows Francesca's
instructions most of the time and as a result our house is taking shape
and looking fantastic.
There's still a way to
go. Some finishing touches to the outside. We've had to have quite a bit
of stabilising work done, and a load of concreting, finished off with a
patio and paving in local mountain stone. Giuseppe has done the work to
last and we have no worries about completing the job. Both him and Tony
have really gone the 'extra mile' in helping us with not just work to
the house but in a whole range of other things. When we have needed
help and advice they have been there for us. We need a sport shop, we
call Tony or Giuseppe, we need information on residency, we call them,
best beaches, eateries, car hire, literally anything and we know it's
not too much trouble. Giuseppe and his wife have become friends. They
understand the difficulties foreigners face when buying abroad and have
for us made the whole experience as painless as possible. As a result
the dream continues despite the fact that Tony still doesn't realise
Manchester United will continue to have a negative impact on his
reputation...
- Brendan & Francesca
If you would like to find your own Italian dream, visit Calabria Property Consultants where you will find something to suit your needs.
- Brendan & Francesca
If you would like to find your own Italian dream, visit Calabria Property Consultants where you will find something to suit your needs.
