Looking for prices on 3 bedroom house

I advise you rent first .Then you can get to know the correct area , and the people too

Try http://casa.it/  to get a broad idea but to save massive amonts of time narrow your search down to a region then a province and then a commune first Good luck

There are no restricions if you are EU citizens. If you're not from the EU then it depends on where you are from.

HI TammyAs someone who is just getting to the end of a 2 year process of buying and renovating a property in Piedmont all I can say is that you do have to be prepared for lengthy periods of nothing happeneing, very different legal and building regulations to the UK, and many hidden costs and taxes.This is in no way a critisism of the Italian 'way of doing things'...(If I don't like it then I know what to do....etc) but it is different and you have to embrace it...I would consider the following basic advice:1. Exchange rate - I wouldn't be making a Euro investment at present but thats entirely your choice.2. As previous poster's have said - ensure you really know your destination down to commune level. I know nothing of your knowledge of Italy, but if its limited, please look at other places apart form Tuscany! Tuscany is beautiful but you will pay over the odds and there are lots of other lovely destinations.3. Employ the services of more that one estate agent. Look at lots of properties.4. If you see a property that you like and you feel after looking at lots of similar properties (item 3!) that its a fair price then do not put in a ridiculous offer that may offend. We found that especially in Piedmont a lot of proerties are just family assets that are on the market and there is no great rush to sell. An offensively low offer can sometimes close the book for any further offers.5. Consider extra fees that are required for purchase (10-20% of purchase price)6. If you plan to renovate, ask/pay for a Geometra (surveyor/architech) to look over the property before you buy so you can explain your plans and he can advise on building regs, feasiabilty, estimates etc. Get a local Geometra that knows the commune.7. Invest a lot of time in ensuring you are confortable with your builders and they provide precise quotes. Consider tax, and hidden costs(plans, site security, commune fees, geological surveys (for pools), tax, tax and more tax!) for the renovation.8. Finally factor in travel and accomodation costs during the renovation, and removal/purchase costs to furnish your house.As a new member of this forum I hope I haven't just regurgitated advice from elsewhere on the site. This is only my view, many would disagree or add other comments but I hope it gives you something to think about.Don't let it put you off! RegardsIan

Commune = Local Council     [in simplistic terms]

Hi Tammy,your British passport holding OH will have no problems but I'm afraid I don't know about South African passport holders. I'd suggest asking the Italian consulate in South Africa or the South African consulate in Italy. They will definitely know.If you need to work, I would recommend living near a big town or if it is here in Marche, near the coast. There is just much more opportunity for work. Unless you have some money in the bank and just need to tick along, in which case you might scrape by on teaching English to the local community.Tuscany is more expensive than a lot of other regions and as it has always been popular with ex-pats you might find there are plenty there already with contacts in the teaching world. I suppose this could be a good or a bad thing.A friend of ours taught in a school here and found the lack of classroom discipline very difficult to put up with. Good luck with it all and figure out where you want to be first (by doing lots of research and visits) as so much is different from area to area in Italy.

I think with all these things Tammy it depends on where you live in Italy.Our commune has been very helpful so dont be put off, as always it is best to be polite, get to know people, especially the mayor!. I think Italy is about who you know and who you make connections with. I hate the word networking but it does work. We live in a village of only 800 people but it has been good for us. I hope you have a positive experience.A

I think with all these things Tammy it depends on where you live in Italy.Our commune has been very helpful so dont be put off, as always it is best to be polite, get to know people, especially the mayor!. I think Italy is about who you know and who you make connections with. I hate the word networking but it does work. We live in a village of only 800 people but it has been good for us. I hope you have a positive experience.A

Wow,I am really just LOVING this whole website! The communication and advice you get is SO SO helpful! And it gets to you so quickly too!!!Well....we aren't completely stuck on the idea of Tuscany, but once we have hopefully visited in December, we may have a better idea of where we want to be.We will hopefully manage to get teaching positions in international schools.....not the local schools and I am guessing this would be better for us financially and behaviour wise :)If we purchase land or a house in Italy, it would be in my husbands name,l so with his British Passport, hopefully we wouldnt have too many problems.With him holding a british passport, does that make it easy for him to get into Italy (to live there)? I know its always more complicated with our South African Passports, no matter where in the world we go :SThanks again for all your help guys! Keep the information rolling! Im all for website referrals at the moment, so if you know of any good ones, please pass them on :) Regards,Tammy...x