Capo Boi's activity

 Hello Fillide, I'm not encouraging anyone at all to buy property in Italy. I'm not an estate agent and never have been. I do help out from time to time (mainly on translation matters) with local builders and agents who are friends of mine but I have never taken a single euro in compensation nor would I ever desire to do paid for any help that I can give. The point that I was trying to make is that currency fluctuations can have an enormous impact on one's financial wellbeing if you consider sterling as your "base" currency. The euro has pretty much been on an upward path since its introduction. Anyone buying a property back then would have seen a very big rise in the value of their property in sterling terms. Not because property prices in Italy have gone up (they have a bit) but mainly because of the strength of the euro. Likewise, anyone on a fixed sterling income, renting throughout this period, will have seen a big fall in their disposable income. Many people complain about how expensive Italy has become in the past few years without looking at the other side of the equation ie their property is an euro asset which has appreciated significantly against sterling.

  Still having to reply to my own post here..... It may not be obvious but sterling is actually lower since the start of the year despite moving up from €1.1255 year end 2009 to €1.1476 yesterday. What in fact has happened is that the euro has fallen by nearly 3.75% against a basket of major currencies as worries that budget pressures in Greece and also to some extent Portugal, Spain and Italy put pressure on the currency. On an effective basis (measured against a basket of currencies of the UK's main trading partners) sterling is 0.32% lower since year end. This is the main measure that the Bank of England and other central banks look at. The dollar by comparison is 1.26% higher. So what does this mean in reality? Well I don't have a crystal ball but these are my thoughts. (1) Unless there is a perception that the UK can bring its budget deficit under control, sterling is likely to remain weak. (2) Similarly, unless the EU provides more concrete support for Greece, the euro could remain weak. As I posted sometime ago, most people on here who own a house in Italy have been net winners from the euro's strength. (house price appreciation in sterling terms has more than outweighed the higher sterling cost of living in Italy). If (and I don't believe this will happen) Greece were to pull out of the euro and revert back to the dhrachma then it would be at a rate of exchange maybe 30% lower. Follow on to Italy pulling out of the euro and returning to the lire then the same would apply. For people who own a house here, an immediate 30% drop in its value in sterling terms. For people looking to buy, 30% cheaper prices. As with many things there are winners and losers but speaking out of pure self interest, I hope the EU can come to Greece's rescue.

 Following on from the above, your best bet may be to go with one of the local popolare banks (Italian equivalent of building societies). Many are owned by the larger mainstream banks and some have London offices. I'm not sure which region you are talking about but just google "banco popolare" and your "region". Also remember that Italian banks, similar to banks in most other European countries operate from a "transactions" based medium. ie you pay for every transaction made, whether it is taking money out from a cashpoint or paying a cheque into your account. Fees totalling €200 per year are not unusual. Again as Gala says, you can open an account fairly easily in the UK but you do need your codice fiscale. Also bear in mind that non resident accounts are usually more restrictive. (You may or may not, get a cashcard etc). The Post Office (Posteitaliane) is the other route to consider. Charges are normally cheaper than the banks but range of services offered is again more limited and (I believe) you can only open an account when you are in Italy.

 Monte dei Paschi London 6th Floor Capital House 85 King William Street Tele: 207 645 7800. Gala is correct. World's oldest bank and a real Italian institution. Generally not the cheapest, but your cheque won't be questioned.

I would say that it is better to link up with an Italian agent/partner and pay commission. (I've posted on this in the past). However, if you are going down the purely internet route then I would concur with tmattucci above. This site is very well known in Italy and northern Europe. Its language flipping options give it the edge on purely English language sites in my opinion. I have a number of Italian friends who book/take bookings through this site. The Italians themselves, Switzerland and Germany are the biggest market for rental property in Italy. In terms of visitor figures to Italy, the UK comes in at number five behind Austria. Bank of Italy statistics for 2008 show, (1) Switzerland (2) Germany (3) France (4) Austria (5) UK. If you are focussing purely on the UK market its going to be harder.

 We are the same. About every three years to give the walls and bottom a good scrub.

 No, I'm afraid that really is the water bill here. There are just over 40 houses in our area and we are all more or less the same. One of the things about not living on the mainland. Friends of ours did have a leak a few years ago which they didn't notice for 10 months and their bill topped over €6,000. Needless to say, I check on a regular basis. Don't want to be the merchant of doom and gloom though....(Its raining hard here at the moment by the way, so no need to water the l'orto).

  Gala, normally I would agree with you. But this was for a (defined) standard product. Everyone was quoting on the same thing.

  Hello Badger, no underfloor heating. House heating is by invertor air con units which use around 2kw per hour. At the moment, maybe on four hours a day and in summer about the same for air con. Hot water is by scalda'bagno (6 of these in total, all on in the summer). Two pool pumps, three pumps in the garden for watering., washing machine, tumbler dryer etc...I'm sure we could cut back but our lifestyle is good. If I took the running costs of a typical 200m2 house here, then total running costs are probably now just over €3,000 per year (whether electricity, gas or combination with wood fires). Thats why I said "it is what it is". I checked back on the previous year and our energy costs were 22% higher this year. Maybe I was just trying to make the point that utilities in Italy are a lot more expensive than in the UK. Water is very expensive here as well. (Last year our bill was €1,600). Anyone starting out on a new build or renovation project should definitely check out alternative energy sources. When you have an existing house, I would argue that it becomes more difficult/expensive to make changes. I'm afraid, and please do not take offence, but in my opinion payback times can be really hit and miss.

  sprostoni, we are pretty much the same....you at €4,100 in total, us at €4,700 for slightly bigger house.