Lay My Hat

Good on them!

Having bought and renovated a property in Italy I would agree with Pambon about seeing documentation. I wouldn't take anyone's word for anything (and I don't mean for that to be seen as either negative or anti Italian). Do not be afraid to ask questions and triple check everything. I love living here but things are very different so don't be afraid to trust your gut and if something doesn't feel right question it. I know your vendors are British but it's amazing how Italian I've become since living her (I can even bear being late occasionally now ) so something they may feel is usual (and they may be totally correct about it) may not seem quite right to you and it is always worth checking for your peace of mind

I think if we do buy, it won't be this one. Has all the relevant paperwork and permissions ( which expire in 18 months), although some of them are not even close to what we would have liked to do to it. It has lots of character but too much renovation to be close to a comfortable home. Although the UK owners have had this for 2 years, it still has the remnants of the previous Italian old folks in there, even down to a cupboard full of firewood and old newspapers. It was reasonably clean and most of the mattresses were new, but that looked like all they had done. Roof and boiler have been replaced and it is now on mains gas instead of oil, but there are only 3 radiators in what is essentially a 12 room house. We would need nearly all doors and windows replaced, wooden balcony replaced. Railings on other balconies redone. House rewired and supply upgraded. At least two new bathrooms (only one very old one at the moment), although there are a couple of other loos around the place, so there is at least drainage there. Garden is not really a garden it is an overgrown nettle field with trees, and we couldn't access it at the moment without going through next doors land, as the doors at the back of the cellars were covered in corrugated iron.