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Interesting investment properties in Tuscany at reduced price

June 8th, 2009

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For those who are looking for interesting investment properties in Tuscany at reduced price, here are 3 proposals. The properties are so called “podere” which means a group of stone houses in typical Tuscan style, that once belonged to a farm. Some farms were so big that they could be described as small villages.
The structures are completely to restore but have all the potential to be transformed in a luxury residence or country hotel.

“Podere Vivaio” -Rufina (Florence)

the “podere Vivaio” is situated in the famous “Chianti” region, famous for its wine. The “podere Vivaio” is composed of 4 buildings, with in the centre a little square. The major building (298 m2) has, next to a big cellar and storage, the living function on the first floor and in part on the ground floor. 2 other buildings (98 and 106 m2) have got …

http://www.livingintuscany.eu/1/huis.php?id=1

Podere of 600 sqm – Talla (Arezzo)

The property is composed of 2 large buildings and a smaller building – former “essacatoio” – for a total of ca. 600 sqm, surrounded by 35 ha of land. The buildings, with the oldest part dating …

http://www.livingintuscany.eu/121/huis.php?id=121

Podere of 2000 qm – Talla (Arezzo)

farm situated in an isolated and unspoilt setting at about 20km from Talla. The property is composed of 3 large buildings, divided around a square with in the centre a smaller building. Two other smaller buildings of about 90 sqm are situated at short distance of the main buildings. The entire property includes 13 ha of land with possibility to buy more land. The property is completely to restore …

http://www.livingintuscany.eu/122/huis.php?id=122

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THE RENOVATION PROCES

May 14th, 2009

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Very often the new owners want to modify the newly bought property. This may go from a fairly small job as installing a new bathroom or a terrace, but it could also be that the building is in need of a total renovation.
Renovating is not simple at all and it may even take more time than building, starting from zero. However, the property will exactly look like as we wanted it to and it will also have more added value, in case we would like to resell it.
Obviously, after a well-done and professional renovation, the original charmes of the building will still be there.
Before buying it is important to have a technical valuation done of the property. Often this valuation is seen as an extra cost and is therefore neglected. However it is a small investment, it may save a lot of money in the future.
Firstly the stability of the property needs to be checked. As solving stability problems of buildings may turn out to be very expensive it is better to double check before buying. Cracks in the wall doesn’t mean necessary that the house is collapsing! A short visit of an engineer can take away all your doubts.
During the renovating several jobs need to be done: the structural part, the electricity, the plumbing works and last but not least the finishings. Usually more than one firm works on the same building spot, so it’s essential that a supervisor coordinates the workers and the supervisor can also keep an eye on the costs.
While renovating the owners usually live abroad, the best way is to take a professional to follow up the works and to keep them updated all the time.

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Buying a renovated property or renovate it yourself?

May 4th, 2009

If you are looking for a (second) home in Tuscany, there are 2 options: you can buy a new or already renovated property or you can buy a property to -
renovate.
If you decide to buy a property to be renovated then the way from the purchase to getting into it, will take some time and patience and not to forget some possible problems.
The fastest and easiest way is definitely the purchase of a new building or an already renovated property as you can get into it almost immediately. The time that passes from the purchase to the removal is minimum.
However there are some disadvantages:
-the price for a new building or already renovated property is mostly very high,
-the value doesn’t change much within the years
-you can’t decide anything about the project, from the layout to the finishing touch: everything has been set; the house is most of the time anonymous and has no soul.

On the contrary a property still to be renovated has the following advantages:
-it’s a good investing, the price can easily be the triple of the purchased price
-it gives you more satisfaction because you can personalise it, it’s up to you to decide everything, from the internal to the external design, from the layout to the finishing materials, …

Of course renovating your property is not so evident when you’re miles away and aren’t able to follow up the works. In the first place there’s the distance but there’s also the difference of language, of laws, habits, …
Questions come up such as where do I find an architect, do I need an engineer, where do I find a builder, what permit do I need, can I build a swimming pool, ….
You can indeed search for a geometra or architect and settle him up with the whole project, turn back to your own country and hope for the best. (for the difference between architetto, geometra ed ingegnere read article)
However my experience shows me that this is far from the best solution, if you have seen some adventures of people who put all their faith, trust in the hands of someone they don’t know and don’t understand in the BBC program “no going back” I think you do agree with me.
The point is that you need an architect – engineer, living in Tuscany, who speaks your language, who is used to the local habits and customs and who has a network of contacts and most important a person that keeps you involved all the time and keeps you up to date during the entire project.

In this way you will avoid a lot of problems such as: misunderstandings due to the difference in language, paying too much for unnecessary or not even realised works. This all results in exceeding your budget and planned finishing date
So you see that renovating your overseas property in Tuscany can be a complicated stressful adventure but with some patience and the right persons it becomes a positive project with a beautiful result. A lot of foreigners who renovated their property in the beautiful Tuscany can only confirm this.

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The difference between “geometra, architetto and ingegnere”

April 19th, 2009

With the start of a new renovation project my non Italian clients almost always ask me what is the exact role of the “geometra”? I must admit that there is a lot of misunderstanding about this term. The reason is that in most countries doesn’t exist such a profession as a “geometra”. Most clients think that a geometra can do almost everything, starting from the building permission, over the architectural project and finishing with the structural project. And in fact not so long ago this was almost true.
With the always more restricting “legge antisismica” (anti seismic law) the role of “geometra”, “architetto” and “ingegnere” has become more clear.
The role of the “geometra” mostly starts with the visit to the commune (local council) registry offices and the regional land registry offices (catasto) to obtain the necessary documents required prior to the sale or prior to the renovation works.
A “geometra” can also be asked to realise small renovation projects. In this case there’s no difference between “geometra” and “architetto”. The Italian law allows both to make the project.
However when for these small interventions a structural project is needed (for example realizing a new opening for an extra window) the signature of a civil engineer is necessary!
The fact is that in Italy with the “legge antisismica” (anti seismic law) the whole territory has become seismic and almost every renovation needs a structural project, the role of the civil engineer is very important.
In theory we could say that a “geometra” can take over the job of an architect in part but the “ingegnere” can take over the job of architect and “geometra”.
The reality is that for medium and big renovations and new building projects, the role of the “geometra” exists in the survey, the visit to the “commune” and the “catasto” and eventually the follow up of the work in progress.
The architect is responsible for the architectural project and the civil engineer is responsible for the structural project.
Other limits for the “geometra” is that he can’t be responsible for new building projects in reinforced concrete and that he can’t be responsible for the “collaudo” (approval of the structures when the building process is finished). This can only be approved by architect or engineer.
Also different to many other european countries but very important is that the “geometra”, “architetto” and “ingegnere” can only put their signature on the projects by them realised and thus take the responsibility for it after being registered in the “Albo o Ordine”. The registration can only after having passed the “esame di stato”, this is an examination after having finished the studies of geometra, architect or engineer.

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Posted in anti-seismic law, architect, engineer, geometra, renovation

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