Hi,Annie & I have been using the forums for great source of information, specific advice from people who've emailed and as well as having moments of wry amusement on how excited everyone can get electronically: good to see that the emotionally
It seems thjere is a real 'Catch 22' conundrum about cars used in Italian second homes for residents in other EU countries. As I understand it:-you must be resident in Italy to register a car in Italy-it is illegal to drive a UK registered car left for more than180 days in Italy-you must be resident in Italy to register a car in ItalySo there is no legal way to leave a UK registered car in Italy for multiple uses over the year even if you take it back to the UK each year for its MOT and keep it taxed in the UK, both of which we do. Conversely we would not be allowed to register a car in Italy as we are not resident in Italy.We also get special insurance that allows us to keep the car in Italy throughout the year. We've tried to be fully compliant with all laws but suspect that this is logically impossible.Compared with some of the dafter things the EU initiates, having a basic 'EU car compliance test' document based on a test which could be taken in any EU country and be recognised by all insurers and national road tax authorities would actually help us behave more like joined-up Europeans. Not holding my breath...
We had 36 extrenal windows and doors in walnut all double glazed with external shutters. Total cost when market was still busy was just under €1,500 each. Very happy with he quality 2 years on. Happy to give name of the supplier (near Ortezzano) if you email.
Over the years of differnt kitchen worktops, although initially expensive, I'd go for stone that doesn't stain. We've had over 20 years experience in 3 houses now of granite tops that have remained the same now as when they were put in. Wood around sinks tends to swell and age. Could just be that my father was an Aberdonian and the granite city holds a thrall...
On the power side I think we have 6kw which seems fine for c.400m2 house incl pool. If you want the convenience/lack of radiators on wall benefits of underfloor heating and at least put one arm around a tree, try water heated underfloor heating with solar. Our panels first heat our hot water system for showers and underfloor heating, then when that has reached the target temperature the panels divert heat to the pool. In practice means virtually no gas use in summer and reduced gas bills for heating in winter.
I concur with previous comments. Our renovation cost c.1,300 per square metre (including fees and kitchen, excluding pool). Had similar experience that, even as non experts, we kept pointing out items the geometra had missed, while he kept findng things that in retrospect were essential but hadn't been forecasted. A top down estimate seems best approach to budgeting. Bottom up, it comes down to material choices in many cases: easy to spend twice the standard unit cost on items such as tiles, etc depending on specific choices made. Best of luck.
Thank you all for the suggestions. We could use our place for the first time exactly a year ago and found the Comunanza Presepe cancelled due to snow: sounded like a Eurostar excuse but understandable given the 6 inches of fresh stuff we awoke to on San Stefano.
We had to put in new doors & windows throughout the house. There were 36 external doors/windows all double glazed with external shutters (also included a big glass entrance arch with entrance door in it). Plus all the internal doors (11 I think). All were in 'noce'. Total cost €52k before IVA
There are very helpful detailed posts on this topic already so worth a serach. These are by people who really seem to know the full ins and outs.I'm sure things have moved on, but the best I achieved when I went through this process at a town in southern Le Marche six months ago was getting a small external modem that plugged into USB port via a short lead. This was branded as 'Alice' and with it I buy month long PAYG top ups from TIM.This works for me as I am in Italy sporadically and wanted to avoid a fixed monthly charge.Critical first test is to use the network selection facility on your mobile in the location you will use it most to see which carrier has the most bars of signal. This should strongly influence your choice as signal we have at our house is very variable even with strongest carrier.
Thank you all for the comments. I love the idea of 'let it grow'.Our UK 'lawn' attests to the likelihood we will always let the side down with respect to 'prato inglese'. I am strongly in favour of horizontal (i.e. hammock-based) gardening where possible.We'd envisgaed 'pasture' over lawn. The land is mostly in full sun at 600m with expected moderate use as play/ sunbathing area.The flip side is that the ground is just light brown hardened dust over tufa at present. There are steep slopes at the edges and we want something growing ASAP to minimise the risk of erosion. We are planning on broom or similar on the slopes themselves.
Comments posted
It seems thjere is a real 'Catch 22' conundrum about cars used in Italian second homes for residents in other EU countries. As I understand it:-you must be resident in Italy to register a car in Italy-it is illegal to drive a UK registered car left for more than180 days in Italy-you must be resident in Italy to register a car in ItalySo there is no legal way to leave a UK registered car in Italy for multiple uses over the year even if you take it back to the UK each year for its MOT and keep it taxed in the UK, both of which we do. Conversely we would not be allowed to register a car in Italy as we are not resident in Italy.We also get special insurance that allows us to keep the car in Italy throughout the year. We've tried to be fully compliant with all laws but suspect that this is logically impossible.Compared with some of the dafter things the EU initiates, having a basic 'EU car compliance test' document based on a test which could be taken in any EU country and be recognised by all insurers and national road tax authorities would actually help us behave more like joined-up Europeans. Not holding my breath...
We used Micahel Murphy for basic advice which seemed very competent and reasonable. I think he's based in Barnes in SW London?
We had 36 extrenal windows and doors in walnut all double glazed with external shutters. Total cost when market was still busy was just under €1,500 each. Very happy with he quality 2 years on. Happy to give name of the supplier (near Ortezzano) if you email.
Over the years of differnt kitchen worktops, although initially expensive, I'd go for stone that doesn't stain. We've had over 20 years experience in 3 houses now of granite tops that have remained the same now as when they were put in. Wood around sinks tends to swell and age. Could just be that my father was an Aberdonian and the granite city holds a thrall...
On the power side I think we have 6kw which seems fine for c.400m2 house incl pool. If you want the convenience/lack of radiators on wall benefits of underfloor heating and at least put one arm around a tree, try water heated underfloor heating with solar. Our panels first heat our hot water system for showers and underfloor heating, then when that has reached the target temperature the panels divert heat to the pool. In practice means virtually no gas use in summer and reduced gas bills for heating in winter.
I concur with previous comments. Our renovation cost c.1,300 per square metre (including fees and kitchen, excluding pool). Had similar experience that, even as non experts, we kept pointing out items the geometra had missed, while he kept findng things that in retrospect were essential but hadn't been forecasted. A top down estimate seems best approach to budgeting. Bottom up, it comes down to material choices in many cases: easy to spend twice the standard unit cost on items such as tiles, etc depending on specific choices made. Best of luck.
Thank you all for the suggestions. We could use our place for the first time exactly a year ago and found the Comunanza Presepe cancelled due to snow: sounded like a Eurostar excuse but understandable given the 6 inches of fresh stuff we awoke to on San Stefano.
We had to put in new doors & windows throughout the house. There were 36 external doors/windows all double glazed with external shutters (also included a big glass entrance arch with entrance door in it). Plus all the internal doors (11 I think). All were in 'noce'. Total cost €52k before IVA
There are very helpful detailed posts on this topic already so worth a serach. These are by people who really seem to know the full ins and outs.I'm sure things have moved on, but the best I achieved when I went through this process at a town in southern Le Marche six months ago was getting a small external modem that plugged into USB port via a short lead. This was branded as 'Alice' and with it I buy month long PAYG top ups from TIM.This works for me as I am in Italy sporadically and wanted to avoid a fixed monthly charge.Critical first test is to use the network selection facility on your mobile in the location you will use it most to see which carrier has the most bars of signal. This should strongly influence your choice as signal we have at our house is very variable even with strongest carrier.
Thank you all for the comments. I love the idea of 'let it grow'.Our UK 'lawn' attests to the likelihood we will always let the side down with respect to 'prato inglese'. I am strongly in favour of horizontal (i.e. hammock-based) gardening where possible.We'd envisgaed 'pasture' over lawn. The land is mostly in full sun at 600m with expected moderate use as play/ sunbathing area.The flip side is that the ground is just light brown hardened dust over tufa at present. There are steep slopes at the edges and we want something growing ASAP to minimise the risk of erosion. We are planning on broom or similar on the slopes themselves.