Thinking about buying a holiday home in Italy?

If you are fortunate enough to be in the position of being able to afford to buy a holiday home, then as the lover of Italy that you are, you may think about buying a property here. Being part of the EU makes this process quite straight-forward for UK citizens, as long as your do your homework regarding all financial commitments involved and choose the best location, having considered all factors such as communications throughout the year for you and your family, and commercial letting potential if this will affect you.

Take time to explore Italy, or even just the region that you know you want to be in. Bear in mind that away from the already very fashionable areas such as Tuscany or the Italian Lakes, your money will go further. If you have time, try short rents in different places.  Such exploration will reveal new things about the country and also help you to focus on what you finally want. Italy has a good motorway and rail network, so you can access many parts of the country with relative ease. Budget airlines as well as the main carriers have opened up some of the regions at one time not considered reachable.

Exploring will also give you a better idea of which characteristics of a holiday home, and its location, would be important to you. You will discover compromises you might have to make; the convenience of the town for provisioning and entertainment versus the quiet and privacy of the countryside; a beautiful old building, with the maintenance and planning restrictions that owning this would entail, versus the convenience of a modern apartment for example.

For a feel of Tuscany, with its mountains, rolling hills and seaside, take a look at Abruzzo, Le Marche or Lazio.  Tuscany’s less feted neighbour, Umbria, has a Tuscan feel with many lovely villages and towns.  If you fancy Greek style heat and light, then look at Puglia, basking in the sunshine of the Adriatic and Ionian seas.  More unexplored, but still beautiful regions include Calabria with its wonderful coastline, lakes and rivers, or Basilicata an ancient land with vast mountains, pine forests and crystal seas on two sides. Various English-speaking estate agents advertise property all over Italy now.

In nearly every corner of this country, beautiful natural landscapes can be found, the land is steeped in history from prehistoric times onwards – through the Romans, the Renaissance and Counter Reformation, and many other eras besides. Delightful historic villages and perfectly preserved towns are everywhere.  Fabulous local food and wines are to be found in all regions.

Once you have found somewhere that you feel you would love to return to again and again, then you can look to buy, although do ensure that you seek out expert advice in Italian law from an English speaking and neutral source to guide and accompany you through this process.

Another important consideration, especially when you are a long way from your investment, is insurance of your property. The good news here is that it is very easy to insure holiday property in Italy, with specially tailored insurance, using a UK based company.  All paperwork is in English and any claim would be handled by English speakers. In addition, your insurance is covered by the strict rules that govern the UK insurance industry.