L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano S o, you have been d r e a m i n g a b o u t buying a proper- ty in Italy. Per- h a p s d r e a m i n g a b o u t i t f o r m a n y , m a n y , years but there has always been something stopping you from actually turning that dream into an achievable r e a l i t y . F e a r o f t h e unknown. Sound familiar? You wouldn't be the first! In my line of work as a lead- ing bilingual Property Con- sultant in Italy, fear is the biggest reason why people do n o t t a k e a c t i o n a b l e s t e p s towards buying property in Italy. Yes, it can be over- whelming. Yes, it can be a minefield of information and YES, you do need guided pro- fessional advice. But can it be done? Yes. A n d i f w e c o n s i d e r t h e USD is the highest it's ever been against the Euro for as long as we can remember, there really is no better time than now to start planning on purchasing your little piece of Italian paradise. There are a few things you will need to consider before buying property in Italy and I will outline these here for you below! O b t a i n y o u r C o d i c e Fiscale Having a Codice Fiscale or "fiscal code" is mandatory for purchasing property in Italy. You will not be able to exe- c u t e a p r o p e r t y p u r c h a s e without one and they are fun- damental for most services in Italy, i.e obtaining a mobile p h o n e , u t i l i t y b i l l s , b a n k accounts etc. It is straightforward to obtain a Codice Fiscale, you can even apply online or in person from your hometown to your nearest Italian Con- sulate. There is no cost for the application, and it can take several weeks to be sent to you. Property portals Now you know where you want to buy a property in Italy, but how do you find where to look? These portals below are the main search e n g i n e s f o r p r o p e r t y research: www.idealista.it www.casa.it www.immobiliare.it www.gate-away.com www.rightmove.co.uk/ove rseas A v e r a g e c o s t s p e r square meter If you want to find out what the average prices are per square meter in your desired location, then the search engine Immobil- iare has a section on their website where you can enter the name of the town you are interested in and it will give you the average prices per square meter for both pur- chasing and renting. You can find out more by checking https://www.im mobiliare.it/mercato- immobiliare/ L o c a t i o n , l o c a t i o n , location! If you are looking to pur- chase a property to use as a holiday rental investment, then location is going to be key! It is super easy to get drawn in by how beautiful a property can be, but if it's l o c a t e d i n t h e m i d d l e o f nowhere, with sketchy inter- net, far away from amenities, airports, and tourist attrac- tions then it may be harder to create a successful holiday rental business. A n y t h i n g l e s s t h a n 9 0 mins away from an airport is a plus. Internet coverage is also very important. According to s t a t i s t i c s w e b s i t e D a t a Reportal, as of 2021, internet penetration in Italy stood at 83.7%. Italy webcams I f y o u a r e n o t a b l e t o physically be in Italy and get boots on the ground with your research, then checking out some Italy-based web- cams and "exploring" the live streams of the regions is a great way to get a feel for some of the hotspots that your desired region has to offer. Check out: https://www. skylinewebcams.com/en/we bcam/italia.html and choose the region in which you are interested in buying and look at the live footage. G o o g l e M a p s a n d Google Earth I have helped many clients purchase property in Italy sight unseen just by using Google Earth and Streetview! Both Google Maps and Google Earth are essential tools for researching when you are looking to purchase property in Italy. While this is no substitute for an in- person viewing, it will cer- tainly give you a much better insight into the areas you are looking to buy Italian prop- erty. Both Google Maps and Google Earth will give you an idea of what a location is like, and they can often also allow you to take a 3d view. T h i s i s h i g h l y u s e f u l f o r checking out things like hills and valleys which may affect sunlight or travel. O n e h a n d y f e a t u r e o f S t r e e t v i e w i s t h e h i s t o r y function. If there have been p r e v i o u s v e r s i o n s o f Streetview you can go back and see the older versions. If you are researching specific properties and there are his- toric versions available, this is absolute gold! If, for e x a m p l e , y o u g o b a c k i n Streetview a few years and see the property was still for sale then or that the condi- t i o n o f t h e a r e a h a s improved /deteriorated, it gives you a useful insight for when you come to narrow down the potential proper- ties to view and gives you a more complete understand- ing for negotiations. Weather T h e w e a t h e r p l a y s a n important role in deciding where to purchase property in Italy. You can visit http:// w w w . m e t e o a m . i t / a n d search by region and area to see what the weather is like and make your comparisons between regions for each seasons. Local news To find out what is hap- pening in the area in which you are looking to buy, the portal www.thelocal.it is an excellent resource with all articles written in English. Hand-selected proper- ties chosen for you If you are someone that g e t s o v e r w h e l m e d w h e n looking for the right property to buy in Italy, you are not alone. Italy is full of beauty everywhere but buying in the RIGHT place is key and this is where local expert knowl- edge is fundamental. Just because a property is cheap with a sea view does not mean that it represents a solid investment. There are usually reasons for that. You want to make sure that not only your invest- ment is protected, but also that it is going to GROW in value and generate a solid return. This is the primary r e a s o n w h y I c r e a t e d m y online property magazine "La Dolce Vita Lifestyle Mag- azine" as I take out all the guesswork about where to purchase and give you the very best properties for sale each week in Italy. I h o p e t h i s a r t i c l e h a s given you some insight into the beginning stages of the process. It really is such an exciting time to purchase your dream home in Italy. When you are buying a property in Italy, remember t h a t y o u a r e n o t b u y i n g bricks and mortar. You are buying a piece of history and generations of memories, you are buying a house with a kitchen that has cooked thousands upon thousands of beautiful meals made with love. You are buying some- thing that you can pass down to your children and your children's children ... You are creating a beauti- ful space where people can c o m e t o g e t h e r a n d m a k e memories. Happy House Hunting! NIKKI TAYLOR A traditional view of the Tuscan countryside (Photo: Francesco Riccardo Iacomino/Dreamstime) Top things to think about when buying property in Italy LIFE PEOPLE REVIEWS ADVICE TRADITIONS

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