Those that have spent any significant amount of time in Tuscany know the draw that the region has. Anyone that has been a student in Florence or has soaked up the agritourism side of the most famous region of Italy understands the desire to return. The desire may be for an annual vacation, a farm holiday in Cortona with your family during the harvest season long enough to attend the annual truffle festivals.
The Tuscan countryside may have infected you with so much appreciation and inspiration that you may want to relocate or retire to your own villa with your own olive trees and vines. Whatever motivates the urge to live “la bella vita,” and find your own perfect Tuscan villa for sale; there are a few things that can help you along the way.
All the basics as far as real estate are essentially the same. If you are buying a condo in Miami or a property in the rolling hills of Tuscany you follow the same road. The road just meanders a little bit more when you deal with purchasing a house in Italy rather than the US.
The first step in attaining your dream is the same as purchasing in the US, find your agent. Just as in the US, real estate agents focus on certain areas or certain niche markets. There are actually a good number of agents and agencies that specialize in finding and selling properties to non-Italian citizens.
Unless you not only speak fluent Italian, but are familiar with the convoluted Italian legal system, it is best to choose one of these agents. You don’t want to be in a position where you think you have found the perfect Italian villa in Tuscany only to find out that the owner doesn’t want to sell to you or the improvements you envisioned won’t be permitted.
Time is an additional factor to consider. Communication will generally be just a touch slower because of the time difference. But if you always send emails or make phone calls in the morning it will facilitate everything and you will be that much closer to spending long, slow relaxing farmhouse in Cortona, dining al fresco.
You should allow a little more time for escrow than you would in the US, unless your agent has found a villa that is unoccupied. Another clarification you will want to make is whether the homes you are considering are furnished or unfurnished. If you have a strong preference, there are actually a lot of furnished homes for sale in comparison to the US; and if you are searching for the perfect house as a vacation home this is a great option.
Be aware that when a property in Italy is unfurnished in many cases that includes not being furnished with appliances and fixtures, even in the bathrooms and kitchens. If you take your time, work closely with your agent and make sure that you all of your desires for either a permanent vacation home or relocation to the land of Chianti and scenic vine covered hills are clear; then you will arrive in Tuscany with a smile that will only widen with time.
Editor’s Note: Also published here.
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Alice Migliorini is specialized on selling prestigious properties and she is one of the real estate agents working for http://www.intermediacortona.com , a real estate agency based in Cortona (Tuscany). Alice deals with Tuscan villas for sale and farmhouses for sale in Tuscany: Cortona, Arezzo, Lucca, Montepulciano, and many other Tuscan cities and towns. Learn more at: http://www.intermediacortona.com/home_en.asp
Read more articles written by Alice Migliorini
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