Buying in Abruzzo

[Chico]

Some interesting discussions and great information. As has been said we are all very different and will have different needs and requirements. I have however been to Teramo and have to agrre with Adriatica, it is a lovely little busy town and being pedestrianised makes it feel very relaxing.

I am moving to Abruzzo in August and renting a place for 6 to 12 months to give us time to find our dream house. Judging by the comments it sounds like I need to view a lot of different areas prior to making any sort of decision, although I do need to be within 20 - 25 mins of the beaches and no more than 45 mins form the airport, mountains I'm not too bothered about but it would be good to be with 1 hour or so. (The kids are desperate for me to take them on a 'bear hunt'!!!!).

Looking at a map I thought L'Aquila would be perfect, but having read before it is known as the coldest city in Italy, did put me off a bit, but I am desperate to visit there. I have never been to South of Pescara, so will take time to explore.

My only concern I have, is there seems to be a lot of Brits and others currently house hunting in Abruzzo and I hope I just don't miss the boat with rising house prices?? Any thoughts?

Chico

[Anastasia]

Chico

You will not miss the boat. Your approach is to be commended.. take your time, find the right place and rent while you do it, as planned. Adriatica spoke wisely in his posts above and you will not fail if you bear his words in mind.

House prices do not rise so much and as you are sensibly going to rent first, you will find a lot more property is available within your budget than you ever imagined - whatever your budget is.

:) :)

[FRANTIANI]

Hi to everyone looking around Abruzzo for a property, thought you all might be intrested to read the article in the daily mail today in the overseas property section, titled, GET TO THE HEART OF ITALY,might help you all with some advise.

[nigelgh]

hi everybody,we have been to loads of different places in italy, up north where property is v. expensive, venice,....you all know these places.we recently bought a house in abruzzo and realized a dream, its near to sulmona and cost 17000 euros.We did it through hai and were very happy in the way they guided us.On returning we bought next door (never intended to!)directly from the owner with the help of a local geometra and notiao we got the house for a third of the advertised price.We are about to buy a third at less than half price.What i'm trying to say is we love abruzzo simply because its very italian the people are friendly,helpful without gushing less flashy than the northerners and in our experience not greedy or crafty.Yes, it has its down sides but so do all places.Go for it you've got nothing to loose and everything to gain and don't listen to the realists, houses abroad are for dreamers not pessimists -they say" Venice is nice, but the smell,the rats,and the bloody tourists not to mention the price of coffee in that big square........" only joking pessimists!;)

[stefanaccio]

I have a house in Teramo and a good friend of mine just bought one in Introdacqua. Possible to get property for around 1100 euros/sq mt with a bit of effort. Agree that personally spending time in area of interest is the key to success.
Free Abruzzo Adverts
http://www.abruzzovillas.com

[adriatica]

to justify some of my old statements...this thread started a fair while back me thinks.... carunchio or however you spell it.... we spent an hour in the bar there waiting for this estate agent to turn up.... we looked at the masive old communal mayors office...very nice building ... the estate agent wouldnt come up to the top of the place with me because he was worried about the massive cracks in the building and the 20 metere drop through.... i reckoned if an earth quake hit whilst i was viewing the place and it all came down i would be maybe the most unlucky person in the world... and i think i am not..... so leapt across the cracks with not the slightest worry... my father in law a geometra wouldnt even come inside the building... but it was cheap to buy... something under thirty thousand euro i think...

whilst waiting in the bar my wife and father in law got talking to the locals... a lament was that the place is dying, the children have nothing to do here...its important for italain families that their children can work and it was all very depressing...see we planned to live where we bought not just visit for holidays....

the other place we saw...had masses of land...again big cracks in the building but rediculously low prices...maybe its all changed now but reading the prices paid in this thread not much... and thats fine i dont want to upset anyones choice but there are and always will be reasons for low prices...its nothing to do with being jealous .... i was there long before you anyway ... i could have bought a small town for what i payed here down there ...but i had things to think of like education and schools, closest university and how on earth to arrive at an airport other than pescara from there....

and so you just dont think its the south of abruzzo i have considerations against because i planned to live a normal life here ... if i look out of the window today...its raining ...in most of italy its raining...but anway the whole of the mountain is covered from 1500 meteres up with snow...yep in june... stretching from here all the way to the molise it snowed...liguria too and perugia i think.... if you think the last three weeks have been plus 30c or so and today its only 18c ... it feels cold here... but on the mountains its pretty near zero...aquila and most of the province on the western side 5 c with a lot lower a snow line than here....

now i like looking out at the snow... and in reallity i find the 18c not too uncomfortable... but if i was to put myself in the shoes of someone coming down here for an early spot of sun and i was coming to anywhere along the eastren side of the mountains i would be saying well ... its a bit grey but its nice to feel warm ...and by sunday the temps will be up and the clouds gone.... but if i was heading to that western side and i got out of the car in my T shirt the first thing i would look for is my jumper then my coat...of course not packed because whoever thought it would be so cold here in june... and i might be slightly peeved... and worse if i want to go to the coast i have to drive round those damn mountains everytime... so i could have picked up a small village in that area for the same as i payed here... but i didnt...


so there you have it... the choice is there... and it comes down to what you want and what you can afford... i bought one house in a place which suited me... payed far more than most of you seem to pay... because it was never planned as a holiday home... but its where i knew i could live easily ... it had all the important things ... transport, airports, schools heaps of restaurants and shops, work a thriving economy ... a view of the mountains with the snow and a view of the sea with the beaches... cold but not too cold winters... hot but not too hot summers...

so i actually applaud all your choices of places to buy at least unlike some you got on and did it and i wish you all as much luck as i have had with my choice

[Wishful Thinker]

John, mate,

Have you been skipping your medication again? This is not the John we all know and love...far too calm and reasoanble....though glad to see the dots creeping back in...:)

perhaps you need a quick twirl in the spacehip to get you aggitated again? sadly however the crew's not all here this afternoon....Anastasia has been arrested for tax evasion, so is indisposed at the mo...but don't worry, her cousins will sort it all out by tea time....and then we're off..

OK? ;)

[Anastasia]

'Twas not tax evasion 'twas the VAT man cometh. I spiked his tea and he only managed to find a discrepancy of four quid! :D

Am I in time for tea? Me thinks John is up to somat - still not enough dots.. but fire up the spaceship anyway Tinks and lets have a look at this Teramo place he keeps spouting on about. Must be somat in it.. if it calms him down this much!

Unless he drank some of my tea.. :D

[Wishful Thinker]

Ay ay ...coming up on starboard

hmm....looks lovely....

[manopello]

Oh god John I hope it warms up by next week or 2 weeks 'camping' out in our place will not be as idyllic as I thought!Should I pack my thermals .I only put them away yesterday as in Cornwall we dont cast our clouts till July is out and we put them on again in September!

So at least I dont have to worry about the water being turned off.Just give me a few buckets and I'll soon have eough for my cuppa!