What advice would you give ?

[deborahandricky]

What one piece of advice would you give people thinking about buying in Italy?

For my part, I would advise them to go and see the planning dept of there local commune before making the final decision.

[Nielo]

I would advise them to check things for themselves and not rely on advice on the forum because every situation is different and what happens for one person may not happen for others.

General advice is fine but, after all, a forum is nothing more than a meeting place and you wouldn’t pit your life’s investment in the hands of a bunch of people you met in the pub, would you?

Check everything, then check again and be prepared for lots of conflicting advice.

[NickZ]

Rent for 6 to 12 months in the area first.

[Bunch]

Watch out for the English.....
B

[Noble]

Remember that love is blind and that just because the Estate Agent speaks your language (English?), it doesn't mean that they will tell you the truth or that they can be trusted!

[juliancoll]

Originally Posted by Noble

Remember that love is blind and that just because the Estate Agent speaks your language (English?), it doesn't mean that they will tell you the truth or that they can be trusted!

Remember that love is blind and that just because the Estate Agent speaks Italian, it doesn't mean that they will tell you the truth or that they can be trusted either!

[Nielo]

Originally Posted by deborahandricky

What one piece of advice would you give people thinking about buying in Italy?

For my part, I would advise them to go and see the planning dept of there local commune before making the final decision.

Italy is full, why not have a look at Uzbekistan?

[Bunch]

NO, only joshing. My advice when buying here would be to do lots and lots of research BEFORE even looking at houses. I know that there seems to be so much advise, and sometimes this is conflicting. But you can never have enough info.
B

[HelenMW]

Get 3 quotes for everything (regardless of whether they tell you this is very unItalian or not) and get recommendations from other people in the area- we saved ourselves a fortune & got a better standard of work from people who understand that foreigners can be strange but are worth doing a good job for 'cos you will get more work. ( we used a "project manager" for 1 part of a project then did the rest ourselves)

[nigelaxis]

1) Start learning the language ASAP. Book a course and set study time.
2) Visit the area out of season. Some areas might seem great when full of people and the sun is shining. Check them when they are at there worst and things can only get better.