Category: Blog

We woke up excited on the first morning after very little sleep.

First things first. Coffee. Slight problem. No water. We searched around the house and garage and while there were plenty of stopcocks to turn, they all seemed to be on already and the water stubbornly refused to flow. Searching outside finally revealed the main water meter and stopcock so we were in business.

Coffee made and consumed, we looked round the house which appeared to be in pretty good shape but smelling a bit of damp on the ground floor. We threw open windows and doors. We worked out what the keys we’d been given were for and found a bunch more.

We soon realised that we’d not just bought a house with furniture, we’d bought a house with stuff – and plenty of it. Every cupboard was full of stuff. Every store room was full of junk. It seems that it’s quite normal for Italians to leave everything in the houses they sell and that certainly happened here.

The simple plan of attack was to concentrate our efforts on weeding and cleaning the kitchen and the two bedrooms we’d picked (all on the first floor). We decided to move all the stuff we wanted to get rid of down to the ground floor and then out to the stable for removal once we were out of quarantine and able to leave the house. One problem, however, none of the big rusty old keys we could find would open the stable door. We emailed Domenico to ask how to get into the stable and continued to accumulate junk on the ground floor.

We also both reported in via the Toscana health service web site so that they were aware we were here and quarantining. They phoned back pronto and told us to stay at the house till Monday and then go and get a test.

We had our first meal here at lunch time in the outside seating area.

After lunch I checked out the gas bottles for the cooker. One was completely empty, but the second seemed to have gas and I could light the cooker. Turned out different come supper time. Fenella had done the prep for our first cooked meal here. She switched on the stove and the flame lasted a few seconds before dying completely. Hugely frustrating and upsetting. We had 5 days of food in the fridge and no way to cook it.

We checked out the local pizzeria online. It does takeaway, but not delivery. We called and explained that we couldn’t leave the house and they very kindly agreed to deliver. The owner and her daughter came up about half an hour later with two pizzas. We had met the daughter when we ate at the restaurant last year. She was studying at Nottingham then and this year had just come home after finishing her degree.

Disaster was averted and we had a fine supper of pizza and salad. No leftovers.

We still had the problem of no gas however. I checked my emails and Domenico had replied. He had the key to the stables and said he’d pop over from Lucca to deliver it in the morning. We asked about the gas situation in case I’d just connected it up wrong and he offered to drop into the local agricultural supplies shop and order us two new gas bottles on his way over in the morning. What a lovely guy!

On Friday 25th June we lost our nerve and decided to travel as soon as possible. COVID-19 cases in the UK were rising fast – fuelled by the Delta variant. There were indications that EU countries might move to tighten restrictions for travellers from the UK driven by a hard line stance from Angela Merkel. We decided to rebook for Tuesday 29th in the hope we would still be able to drive.

The French entry requirements were a negative lateral flow test taken within 48 hours of departure, full vaccination and a written declaration that we were COVID-19 free. The Italian requirements were more stringent: a negative lateral flow test taken within 48 hours of arrival, a completed locator form and 5 days of quarantine (to be monitored by the local health authority who we would need to notify on arrival) followed by a further lateral flow test.

So the main challenges were to get across the Italian border within 48 hours of being tested and to stock up with 5 days of food before entering Italy (as we would need to drive straight to the house without stopping).

This is how it went. We drove to a test facility at Heathrow for 9am tests with a 1 hour turn around.

We continued from there to Dover and received the test results by email before we got there. We went through French border control before boarding the ferry. They wanted to see the negative tests and our vaccination status via the NHS app. They were not interested in the written declarations. At 2pm we set sail – first major hurdle cleared.

Never seen a ferry car deck this empty before

We drove till supper time and stopped in a hotel near the motorway outside Reims. We knew the next day would be a marathon so we turned in straight after supper.

Early breakfast and on the road by 8:30.  We had already filled in our locator forms for a 17:00 crossing via the Mont Blanc tunnel so that is what we were aiming for. We stopped to stock up on food at a Carrefour in the French alps and made it to the queue for the tunnel by 17:45.

5 days of food bought

The tunnel was only operating in one direction at a time so we had a lengthy wait. We watched our predicted time of arrival at the house ticking up and up. It was extremely frustrating and aggravating. After about two hours, it was eventually our turn and we were just waved through Italian customs without having to show anything.

The moment we hit Italy, we also hit roadworks – one set after another. The ETA kept on going up. Then we hit Genoa and found that the E80 motorway in the direction of Livorno (and more to the point Lucca) was closed. We tried heading down alternative roads, but our sat nav kept bringing us back to the same closed section of motorway. If you’ve ever driven round Genoa you’ll know how winding and confusing the roads are. It was near midnight and we were tired and fractious and were getting nowhere fast.

Eventually we switched from our sat nav to Google maps which seemed to know about the motorway closure. It took us along the old SS1 coast road instead. Half an hour or so later we were back on the motorway with another couple of hours driving ahead of us.

At about 2:30am we pulled up at the house, fished out the keys and let ourselves in. We then spent about 10 minutes searching for the main electricity switch with only the torches on our phones for light.

Once we had light, we unloaded everything from the car into the entrance hall and put the car away in the garage. We fired up the fridge and put all the food shopping away. We found beds and settled down around 4am totally shattered and pretty overwhelmed.

The signed compromesso and the keys arrived by DHL before Christmas. Domenico had agreed that we could go over and stay in the house between the compromesso and rogito, but the UK was in lockdown and Italy was only letting residents in.

So we just had to wait. In the meantime, we got on with whatever we could do. We took over the accounts for electricity, water and rubbish collection each of which was rather convoluted and time consuming (the Italians do seem to like their red tape). We opened a Euro bank account. We switched our car insurance, breakdown cover and travel insurance to Saga who are geared up to long holidays abroad.

We waited and we kept checking the rules for travel as they chopped and changed. We both got our first vaccination done in January as we were volunteering on the vaccination programme, but this did mean we would need to wait till the end of April when we would be fully vaccinated before we could sensibly travel.

At one or two points it looked like we might be able to go out using the house purchase as a reason for travelling. With Italy lagging far behind on the vaccinations, however, we decided that we would quite possibly get off to a bad start with our new neighbours if we rocked up at a time when their cases and deaths were rising. So we decided to keep on waiting.

Planning for Martin’s 60th kicked in and a date was set for the celebration on the weekend after the planned end of UK lockdown. We sent out tentative invitations to about 100 friends and family. We started tasting wine and finger food; we bought a gazebo and recyclable bamboo plates and cutlery. We also set a firmer date for our departure for Italy in mid July (a couple of weeks after the party).

Then the new Delta variant started kicking in. We stopped party planning and waited to see how it would pan out. A few times we thought seriously about heading off to Italy, but stuck it out hoping we wouldn’t have to cancel the party. Well, that didn’t pay off. On 14th June Boris announced the by then expected delay to the lifting of restrictions. The party was off.

So we are still waiting and hoping that travel to Italy will be possible on the date we have planned (14 July). We’re happy to take any tests needed and quarantine at both ends of the trip if needs be. The rogito is scheduled for 26th July. Here’s hoping…

We started planning for the compromesso. Our intention was that either both of us would go over in November for the signing or just Martin if needs be. There was plenty to sort as the whole process would need to be done in Italian and English.

We needed a notary who spoke English and an approved translator (to translate documents and to act as interpreter at the signing). We needed a geometra to assure that the property actually matched the details on file at the cadaster (land registry). We also wanted an engineer’s report (survey) to be sure the house was structurally sound as it’s in an area subject to earth quakes. Oh, and we had to get the money across to the notary’s escrow account.

We relied heavily on Martina to recommend the people to use and to help us navigate the processes. In Italy, the agent acts for and is paid by both the seller and buyer. They are also properly qualified and regulated. We did occasionally worry a bit and wonder if it might all be a bit too cosy between the Italian participants, but it has all been fine so far.

As the scheduled date for the compromesso approached, COVID-19 started interfering with arrangements. The UK went into lockdown and we could not travel. The Italian notary drew up a power of attorney so that Martina could act on our behalf. We had to sign it in the presence of an Italian speaking notary here in the UK and get it apostilled and couriered over to Martina along with the signed compromesso in time for the appointment. We made it – just.

Then the Italian notary contracted COVID-19 and had to self isolate. The compromesso had to be rescheduled with an alternative notary.

Finally the deed was done on 3 December. We were stuck here in London and just had to wait to be told when it was complete. It was nerve wracking, but the word came through at 3:51pm along with photos.

Handing over the keys. Domenico on the right, his sister on the left, Martina in the middle.

Domenico and his sister accepted our verbal offer and we asked Martina to draft a formal letter of offer. Exciting and a little bit scary!

The purchase of a property in Italy has the following main stages:

• La proposta: a formal proposal to purchase that is signed by both the sellers and buyers. A small deposit is paid and both parties commit to the transaction. The seller takes the property off the market.
• Il compromesso: equivalent to exchange of contracts in the UK. This takes place at the offices of a notary and is accompanied by a more substantial deposit.
• Il rogito: equivalent to completion in the UK. Again this takes place at the notary’s office and the balance of the purchase price is paid.

The plan was to sign the proposta when we got back to the UK and then return to Italy for the compromesso in November 2020. From that point we would be able to stay in the house and start planning what to do with it. The rogito was scheduled to be completed by the end of September 2021 with the expectation that we would complete in July.

We signed four copies of the proposta in the UK on 2 October and sent them to Martina by post and email. Domenico and his sister signed on 16 October and we paid the deposit direct to Domenico.

We arranged a second viewing and in the intervening days we visited the village and the surrounding area a few times. We ate at the village restaurant and the pizzeria. We had a drink at the bar and scoped out the shops. The village also has a church and a school. The vibe was good and the area attractive with a short and quite scenic drive into Lucca.

We went for the second viewing on 14 September and took lots of photos some of which you can see here. We tried to look at everything dispassionately as we were really there to decide whether or not to make an offer. Domenico was there again and we were able to ask lots of questions.

After the viewing, we met with Martina, the agent, in the village bar to discuss our situation and how to proceed.

We explained that we had never intended to buy on this trip and would not be in a position to do so until the summer of 2021. We also made clear how keen we were on the house and that we really wanted to buy it if at all possible. We asked her to discuss with Domenico whether he would accept an offer based on us paying about half on exchange of contracts (the compromesso) and the balance on completion (the rogito) next summer.

We held our breaths while Domenico discussed our offer with his sister and co-owner.

Fenella found an interesting old farmhouse online – quite different from all the other properties we had been to see. The marketing pictures looked charming, it was within our budget and it even had a swimming pool. It was about 20 minutes drive from Lucca, but not up into the hills to the north (an area we had already rejected). We thought it would be interesting to see what our budget could get us in a rural setting. So, after a drive by and a quick explore of the garden, we booked a viewing.

On 10 September we turned up at the house to meet the agent Martina and the owner Domenico.

Domenico guided us round the house and we could feel how emotional it was for him. It had been his grandparents’ home and he had spent many summers there as a child. Later his parents lived there and, since his parents had died, he and his sister had kept the house and used it for family gatherings and holidays. Now their children were grown up and the house was getting less and less use. Sadly for them, it was time to sell.

The house is big – much bigger than any property we had envisaged buying. While our heads told us it was too big and much more of a project than we had in mind, our hearts were telling us something quite different. We found ourselves feeling very much at home and the house certainly seemed water tight and habitable. We could see ourselves moving in and getting settled before having to undertake any serious renovation or projects.

The front door opens onto a couple of living rooms on the ground floor, but the business end of the house is on the first and second floor. There we found a sizeable kitchen / living room, about six usable bedrooms and two bathrooms (both in need of updating). There are also a couple of garages and a bunch of storage rooms full of junk. A couple of these could easily be converted to give even more living space and one of those would make a great extension to the kitchen with views across the valley to the hillside town on the other side. In total, the house is about 400 square meters (that’s about 4,000 square feet).

Domenico is an engineer and knew the bones of the house intimately. He wanted to show us everything and I think he could tell how much we were warming to the place. He told us he’d be leaving most of the furniture (and probably the junk too) and made a special plea that we keep the kitchen table that generations of his family had eaten at. We were, of course, happy to agree.

The garden was also very large – rising behind the house in terraces. The pool was a wreck, but at least the house would come with permission for one in place. The final terrace has a football pitch made by Domenico’s father for the grandchildren with a stream running along the boundary. The garden is about 3,100 square meters in total (that’s about 3/4 of an acre).

Massive, daunting, exciting, with all kinds of possibilities. We were smitten.

Just the short version I think.

We did a lot of driving around and looking at different areas round Lucca and further afield. Some were too remote, some too touristy, some too expensive and some too ugly.

We came back to Lucca in the evenings and developed a stronger and stronger feeling that we would be happiest in Lucca itself – just outside the walls. We viewed a fair few properties in Lucca. Our budget looked like it would only stretch to a flat with very little outside space (if any). Many flats seemed to be above a lower floor that was given over to storage. Some had converted that floor to living space, but those rooms were always height restricted and we are tall. Still, we were becoming more and more convinced that we would come back to Lucca the following year and continue looking for somewhere in the city. We felt very much at home in Lucca and it has so much to offer.

Then, about three weeks in to our trip, we went to look at a large old farm house about 20 minutes drive out of Lucca and everything changed.

We had a wonderful holiday revisiting parts of Tuscany we knew well and discovering places we’d never visited before. Of course we went to Bagni di Lucca and up to Benabbio to take a look at the house we had enjoyed so much in our twenties.

We also got to know Lucca so much better and both became convinced that this was the right area to focus future searches on. It’s so beautiful and full of history and culture.

We kept returning to Monte Carlo. The village was stunning and the food was excellent.

Life just seemed more normal than back home. Perhaps a touch too normal.

The apartment we had rented was a disaster! The idea was great: an apartment just outside the city walls so we could easily walk in to the hustle and bustle but have a peaceful place to stay. Peaceful my arse. We did not realise till we got there how close it was to the busy main road round the ramparts. It was so noisy we had to keep all the windows closed (and then needed noisy fans to keep cool) and we could not enjoy the outside space. There was a pond in the garden resulting in a veritable plague of biting insects which added to our misery.

We stuck with it for a few days as we’d paid for the whole stay up front, but in the end we decided we had to abandon ship if we were to salvage the holiday. We found another apartment one road back from the main ring road and it was like night and day. Disaster averted.