I purchased a home in a village in

06/17/2018 - 07:11

I purchased a home in a village in Abruzzo. I love my house, I have spent a good amount of money updating it. I bought it in May 2017. Today, I was told by someone in town that the Government is going to refit all the houses and businesses in this town and I will be forced to move. It seems they had this knowledge before I bought my house. I spent my retirement buying this home and put all I had into renovation. I moved from California. I shipped my life here, I brought my pets. Now I find I will have no home. I am frightened and angry. Does anyone know if I have any recourse? The realtor must have known about this, and I am sure the notario should have known before allowing this sale to be finalized. I feel completely gutted and don't know where to turn..  I don't know anyone or if I have recourse. Any ideas ?

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I have not received anything in writing. I was in town this morning and  local woman who owns the restaurant and her friend told me what is happening. The lower part of town is under renovation because of an earthquake that happened a few years ago. But that is what I was told when I looked at this house. Just that renovations are happening with the damaged buildings. No word that my area was going to be force evacuated and you are on your own as far as a place to go.I am going to the city office in the morning and speak with one of the architects who seems to be in the know. I am devastated if this is the truth. I was told that the city had already put these plans into the works when I purchased my house. I don't know how Itallians handle fraud, but I was told when I bought my home, I was protected as a purchaser of my property. I hope this woman is wrong. But, I am afraid she is not. I am afraid to put another cent into this house. I just purchased new appliances, had all the wiring and plumbing refurbished. I had all the walls re plastered. I am sick at how much I have spent and will have lost. I have no where to go. Thank you for your kind words. I hope tomorrow brings me better news. The properties that are being worked on now are still not finished and the owners are not allowed to return to their homes and businesses. It's been over 2 years. This is not good news for people who live here. 

Katie, if it was Spain you were living in I would be worried. As far as I've read and heard, Italy is very good in this respect. Also, as my OH would often tell me, wait before you go through all this worry. I know it is easier said than done, but until you find out for sure try to not worry. Hopefully someone here will have more information for you.  

Hi Katie.Do you have a certificate stating the category of the damage to your house? If it is a low category, then I would not think you would have to move out for minor repairs.Here in Marche, ours was classed as a E-F, which meant we could not live in it, but we did have a temporary house delivered.If you only have some minor cracks or similar, then please do not worry too much, as sure they will not knock the house down and rebuild it. Many of the lightly damaged houses here are being repaired without people having to move out.Hope you get some clarification with the commune tomorrow.

In reply to by Badger

Thank you for your kind comments. My home has no damage. But it is a village house which is connected to hundreds of year old attached houses. I have no cracks in any walls or ceilings. I just spent 10k euros replacing windows and doors with double insulated ones. I also had the gas and electric turned on. I had a bathroom added. I spent another 15k euros on the bathroom and electric and plumbing. I am hoping this was jjust a bitter negative person ranting the hatred for this town. I must say, she was unpleasant and had nothing good to say. She yelled at me saying I bought it because it was cheap and thats what I got for it. I am trying to stay positive until I meet with the city tomorrow and hopefully get some answers. I have no where to go. 

Katie.Are the other houses you are linked to badly damaged?Please do not think on the negative side, as you will just keep worrying and it may be for no reason. The person you spoke to may just be jealous.Stay calm, have a glass of wine and hopefully tomorrow you will get some helpfull answers.

In reply to by Badger

Some of the houses on this row weren't damaged by the earthquake. They have just been neglected and gone to ruin. They are over a hundred years old, made of stone and no one has troubled to deal with them. I expect they belong to the original family. I am trying not to worry. I just flew from the west coast of America with my pets and my belongings. I am a bit nervous. Thank you. I may go buy wine and a glass tomorrow. lolKatie

Im sorry to hear about your problem, but yes, you do have protection in law.  If there was any such project known about before you bought then the seller and the agent have a legal obligation to tell you about it.  If they don't and you can prove they didnt, then the law says that the owner or the agent have to buy back your property.   Obviously this means that your agent should be written into the act of sale and have been paid all above board.   It also means a court case, lawyers and so on - but you do have legal protections if the worst comes to the worst. 

Thank you for the information. I do have a contract signed by the owner and the seller. It makes no mention of anything like this. I would not have purchased a house just to have to move out of it. I am off to the city office now and hopefully they have better news than the town crier did. Much appreciated information.Katie

Hi Katie I read your post and am also very sorry to hear about this stressfull news. Were you able to obtain any clarification of how this will impact you?Thinking good thoughts for you!Best,A fellow West Coaster  

In reply to by clickgail

This part of the  street was not damaged. I went to the City Architect, who speaks English and he took me to the city planners office. We spoke to them about what to expect. There are no plans to evacuate my house and the surrounding homes on my street. There are some ruins that will need to be addressed and shored up. But they will look at each house individually before making any assessment and forcing people to evacuate. I think I met the only negative person in Tocco that day, and she is the local nay sayer. I am feeling better about the move. I asked if it were a good idea to hold off on installing a new kitchen, and the city said no.  I should follow through with my plans. So very good news. Thank you Fellow West Coaster! Katie