Buying on a budget in Italy? Read this advice on cheap houses in Italy
Q. My partner and I would love to live the Italian dream, but buying a second property outright is just not a viable option for us. If we pool our resources, we have around ?150,000 as a budget ? are there any options for us?
Nicholas Gardiner, email
A. For this size of budget you could buy a very small apartment or a small ruin to restore. Having said that, you would then ideally need a much larger budget for all the building work, interiors and landscaping. People often greatly underestimate the true cost of a restoration project and the time and devotion it needs ? many loose heart or run out of a money half way through the project, too.
It is, after all, quite difficult to project manage your own property from afar. If you are not on hand to oversee the work and keep an eye on the work force, it can be tricky. But luckily there are other options.
You might want to consider buying a share in a property, especially if you are only planning to holiday in Italy for a few weeks a year. This allows you to buy into a much larger and more luxurious property and all costs are shared between the owners. There are no worries about maintenance as everything is taken care of year round. This means the minute you arrive, you are on holiday, no pool cleaning, lawn cutting, plastering or repainting!
Fractional ownership also allows owners the chance to really immerse themselves into local Italian life. They not only buy a share in a unique property but also own a share in the wine, olive oil, lavender oil and truffles produced on the land. I wish you lots of luck and hope you have chance to live the Italian dream.
Dawn Cavanagh-Hobbs, Appassionata
Our experts are here to help with all your questions about Italy. Whatever you want to know, email your questions to italia@anthem-publishing.com, or write to our usual address ? Italia! magazine, Suite 6, Piccadilly House, London Road, Bath. BA1 6PL.