Posts Tagged ‘renovation’

Making a new opening in an existing supporting wall according the Italian earthquake law

July 14th, 2010

In a renovation project it often occurs that you’d like to create a new opening in an existing supporting wall. In England, the USA and most countries it’s mostly sufficient to put an architrave above the opening. This architrave can be in wood, steel, reinforced concrete, bricks or a combination of bricks and reinforced concrete.

In Italy however a new opening is much more complicated and a simple architrave isn’t enough. Only for a small opening of about 90 cm, an architrave can be used. Because Italy is a country with serious risks for earthquakes they have a very rigid earthquake law, the so called “legge antisismica”. Therefore it’s necessary to place a rigid frame around the opening. This frame can be in metal or reinforced concrete.

It’s obvious that for this type of intervention next to an architect also an engineer is necessary in order to project the structural part and to calculate the reinforced concrete beam or to determine the type and dimensions of the steel profiles.

Therefore the price for realizing a new opening in Italy is higher than in countries such as England and the USA

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A simple small investment of about 200 € can save you thousand of euro’s.

April 5th, 2010

Photo from fOTOGLIF

A question that future owners of a property to renovate, often ask is the following:

I’d like to buy a property to renovate but I have no idea what the renovating costs could be. What can I do to avoid a wrong purchase?

In fact: estimating the costs necessary to renovate a property isn’t easy at all if you don’t have any technical experience or background. You may have an impression about the needed works and costs but experience learns that mostly this impression doesn’t corrispond with the reality.

A building engineer, architect of geometra can answer your questions such as:

- what’s the cost for renovating the wooden floors?

- how much do I have to calculate for changing the windows?

- what’s the cost for realising another bathroom?

- Can I get rid of the humidity in the wals of the living room?

- etc.

I suggest future investors, buyers of a renovating property to ask advice to an expert before making an offer. This expert, mostly a building engineer, an architect or a geometra, can give you a more realistic image of the renovating works, costs and necessary time.

A simple, non detailed estimate of the costs of about 200 € can save you a lot of time and costs. Furthermore this small investment can be very important when you have to negotiate about the asking price.

For example: is the asking price 250.000 € but you can prove that the renovation costs mount up to 40.000 € indeed of 20.000 € (suggested by the agency) then you can make an offer of 210.000 €. Another advantage of the estimate, prepared and signed by an expert is that it has more value than your ownmade estimate.

A simple small investment of about 200 € before the purchase of a renovating property can save you thousand of euro’s. Money that you’d rather like to spend for renovating your property I guess!

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Characteristic cieloterra in tiny Tuscan village of about 200 sqm

December 10th, 2009

 

For those who are looking for a good investment or simply a second home at an excellente price, here’s your chance.

This property of about 200 square metres is available for the price of 230.000€.

The property on 3 levels is situated in a tiny Tuscan village close to the Chianti gate, at half an hour of Florence and Arezzo.

The house has been renovated this year and only need some internal finishing works such as floors, heating elements, doors, …

Also included in the price is 10.000 sqm of land.

The very interesting price is due to the fact that the actual owner has been moved to Rome for his job

For more information and pictures have a look at http://www.livingintuscany.eu/128/huis.php?id=128

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Useful tip for future homeowners

October 9th, 2009

For those who are looking since a while on the internet and willing to compare the houseprices of last year it may seem strange that the prices are more or less stable, regarding the recent crisis. It’s true that the real estate market in Italy hasn’t suffered like countries as England or Spain. The main reason however is that most agencies and/or private owners keep the prices high. However to have an idea of the real value of the property I consider to reduce the asking price with 10 to 15%. Of course for not Italians or persons strange at this business it’s impossible to be aware of this “strange” rule but it can save you a lot of money!!!

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Renovation tax benefit of 36%

August 15th, 2009

In Italy, for the renovation of your home, there are some tax advantages. In this first article we’ll talk about the 36% deduction.

The Finance Act 2008 (law 449/97), which has been extended until 31 December of 2010, allows home owners a deduction of 36% from personal income tax (so called IRPEF) for renovation works at their home in Italy.

These renovation works can be divided in:

  • manutenzione ordinaria: current maintenance works such as substitution of floors, windows, …
  • manutenzione straordinaria: extraordinary maintenance works such as renovating the roof, building of technical spaces, …
  • restauro e risanamento conservativo: restoration and conservative recovery works such as reparation of roof, floors without changing the original materials
  • Ristrutturazione edilizia: restructuring works such as demolition and rebuilding of some parts of the building

The benefit is available for each renovated property, has a maximum of 48.000 €, and is paid out over a period of up to 10 years maximum.

The deduction is valid for all people who have an income in Italy and who pay regularly income taxes, the benefit may be divided in case of more than one owner.

An example:

If a property owner has done renovation works for a total cost of 40.000 €, then he may deduct 14.400 € from his personal income tax over 10 years, which means a tax saving of 1.440 € every year.

Another advantage of the Finance Act is that the VAT amount (so called IVA) is fixed at 10% for the provision of services and supplies of materials, goods for renovation works.

How to obtain the benefit?

First of all, before starting the renovation works, it’s necessary to send a notification to the “Agenzia delle Entrate di Pescara (adress Via Rio Sparto 21, 65100 Pescara). It’s very important to send the notification before initiating the works!!

The notification, which can be downloaded on the website of the “Agenzia delle Entrate”, must contain the following items:

  • copy of the planning permission for the renovation works (statement of building activity beginning or DIA, concessione edilizia)
  • copy of the land and building cadastral survey (visure catastale)
  • copy of the payment receipts of the Municipal tax on buildings (ICI) from 1997

After the works

To profit from the benefit all the works done, need to be paid by bank transfer; a short description of the finished works is required and the data, VAT number of the contractor or builder needs to be indicated.

For a possible control after having finished the works, it’s important to keep all the receipts of the bank transfers and the receipts of the purchased materials.

For more information you can always have a look at the following link http://www.agenziaentrate.it/ilwwcm/connect/Nsi/Documentazione/Guide+Fiscali/Guida+ristrutturazioni+edilizie+2008/

pub-6562979134900911

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New investment projects in the heart of Tuscany

July 15th, 2009

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Two more investment projects in the heart of Tuscany at only 30 minutes from the beautiful Florence

Investment project n° 1:
Characteristic country house on two levels of about 350 sqm on two levels with 2500 sqm of land situated in the countryside at only half an hour drive from Florence. The restoration has initiated but needs to be finished, 30% has …
Price: 365.000 €
http://www.livingintuscany.eu/125/huis.php?id=125

Investment project n° 2:
Historical Villa, dating back to the 16th century, composed of a large main building of about 650 sqm on 3 floors and a smaller building of about 65 sqm on 2 floors. The Villa is situated on a hill which …
Price: 700.000 € (negotiable!)
http://www.livingintuscany.eu/126/huis.php?id=126

 

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Good news for homebuyers thanks to the “Piano casa”

July 6th, 2009

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If the “piano casa” (house project) of the government will be approved this could mean that times are getting better for those who are looking for a property in Italy.
The law provides an increase of 20% of the volume of the existing building in case of renovation and provides an increase of 35% in case of demolition and reconstruction of the building with modern, ecological materials and techniques.
With this law a lot of smaller properties have the possibility to be enlarged, which creates a new market of medium properties. This means that a property with one bedroom can be transformed into a property with two bedrooms, a property with two bedrooms in one with three bedrooms.

A simple example:
a property of 65 sqm on two levels has a minimum volume of 175,50 mc
an increasement of 20% means 35 mc or 13 sqm which is more than the minimum for a double bedroom.

Not only will it be possible to increase the volume but also the building cost will be reduced by 50% and of course are still valid the tax reduction of 36% for renovation, 55% for interventions that improves the energy efficiency and 10% VAT for renovations.
Another advantage of the law is that the building permit in the future will be replaced by a much more simple procedure, in this way reducing drastically the bureaucracy and accelerating the hand over of the permit.
Last advantage is the fact that industrial buildings, warehouses, … in the future could be transformed in apartments, lofts,… of course, that they have all the necessary requests to be habitable.
The law is valid only for existing buildings and doesn’t include properties in historical centres, properties of historical and/or artistically value and monuments.
Recording the Italian Constitution, the text of the government defines the general structure. It’s up to the single Regions to establish in which way and how they will apply the text to allow the use of these advantages.

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How to restore a wooden floor according Italian anti-seismic law

June 13th, 2009
Different from most countries not subject to earthquakes, the Italian law obliges engineers to use specific techniques to improve the main structures of buildings such as floors, foundations, roof, walls,….
In this first part we will explain how to restore an existing wooden floor.
A typically wooden floor in Tuscan style is composed of wooden beams and joists, “cotto” floor and ceiling tiles, bedding lime/mortar
The intervention required by the anti-seismic law is to reinforce the existing floor, substituting the bedding lime/mortar with a reinforced concrete slab, creating thus a rigid structure with the underneath wooden beams and the surrounding perimeter walls.
First of all the floor tiles and the underlying mortar/lime bedding need to be removed. In case some ceiling tiles are broken and joists have an excessive deformation these need to be replaced.
Second step is to realise a concrete slab of about 5cm above the ceiling tiles. The slab will be reinforced with an electro-welded mesh, connected to the surrounding perimeter walls and the underneath wooden beams by high tensile steel rods at predetermined intervals. This method is called the “metodo legno – calcestruzzo”.
The ultimate step is to replace the floor tiles.
The advantage of this method is the fact that a composite floor has been created with excellent static characteristics without any visible aesthetical damage.

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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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