EXTREMESPORTSBOY

hi, in considering buying a property through a company called house around italy based in pescara airport,has anybody had any dealings good or bad.
my reasons for buying in abruzzo are im a big skier,an it boasts 20 odd ski resorts,also very fond of the beach an sea...im looking to buy a property 30 mins from airport,beach an pescara airport although from what ive already researched i think il be using rome airport more...anyone want to give advice please feel free.

andy

asik

Hi Andy,

I dealt with the House Around Italy. They are a nice bunch but I personally think their prices are too high. I looked at 5-6 properties with them but ended up bying through an Italian agency.

My house is in La Majella, 35 mins from Roccarasso and a few smaller skiing places. I highly reccommend it.

Using airports in Rome is handy, the drive to Abruzzo is very easy and only 2-2 1/2 hours. I do it all the time.

PM me if you want to know more.

Asik

EXTREMESPORTSBOY

well thanks for replying firstly...i might be going over in the next few weeks to view this property,how do you rate the skiing there...when does it start an finish,how do the locals feel about foriegn nationals living amongst them.

andy

chris120

I live in Rome and ski a lot at Roccaraso, although there are many ski resorts around the area only 2 are worth visiting - Roccaraso and Campo Felice, all the others have 2 or 3 lifts only. Roccaraso is far superior to Campo Felice, the only reason i go to CF is because it is much closer to Rome for a day trip. The season is short as the resorts are not high (very top is a little over 2,000 metres - lower at CF). You can ski from December to Easter in theory but on a bad year the season can be only 2 months with 50% of the runs closed. Like you i am into water sports and skiing, living in Rome means i can ski and surf on the same weekend (even the same day if i had a mind to). There are few foreigners at these resorts and most of those are Italian residents, i have never had any problems being a foreigner in Italy but i guess you would always be the outsider if you chose to live in a rural setting.
If all i was going to do was surf, sail and ski in Italy i would probably pick the coast near Pisa to live.

asik

I'll be in Abruzzo September 18-29. Let me know if you want to meet for a chat. I'll be happy to show you the area around my village.

Cassius

Hi

I used House Around Italy and was very happy with the property I bought - however I do think that I was very lucky. What I did like about HAI was that they helped me deal with all the paperwork, to open a bank account etc etc - although for all I know an Italian Estate Agent would do the same and of course they had excellent English speakers which helped. Other people do not seem to have the same experience as me so don't take me as gospel.

Good luck in finding a property - it is a beautiful part of the world and the people (and the food and wine) are great.

By the way I do occasionally fly to Pescara and run the gauntlet of Ryanair, but we are so close to Pescara that any other option is far longer.

C

EXTREMESPORTSBOY

hi, are there B & Q diy type shops there,if so what is it called...cheers andy

Cassius

Castorama - there is one at the Airport and one at Pescara Nord shopping centre but they are all around the place. I don't find them quite as depressing as a Wickes but they do sap your strength after a while.

EXTREMESPORTSBOY

thanks very much, the area where this house is,is navelli...do you know around there ?

Cassius

I don't know Navelli but honestly there are Castoramas all over the place - just ask around and I am sure that someone will be able to point you in the right direction.

wanabethere

Hi Andy,
Glad you are thinking of buying in Abruzzo. We bought there two years ago and it was the best thing we ever did . We have heard good and bad reports about HAI . We used Remax people in Lanciano or there is remax ability in pescara. They are not the same company but the guy we were dealing with moved to the latter. and found them excellent. They have a full range of properties and held our hands the whole way including the renovations, bank accounts and all the paper work etc. We got the most beautiful little house in the hills 23mins to the beach and about 30mins to the skiing Property is still very cheap where we are and we look down on a beautiful lake and up into the mountains. We will still pop in for a chat when we are over there. They are Italian auctioneers but both have English speakers.
hope that is of some help. Let me know if you need any more information or if I can be of any help.

EXTREMESPORTSBOY

thanks very much for your reply,you wouldnt know there web address would you,the house in looking at is in navelli,hai seem very slow getting back to me,id go as far as to say not intrested,lol

thanks

andy

wanabethere

I use remax people/ lanciano for the first one . (Lalia is lovely and speaks perfect English )and remax ability / pescara (Gian Carlo is brilliant and is the person that helped us so much). to get on to their sites and all the information is there. We bought our house in the Val di Sangro area.

sheilamarsco

hi there reading the posts i wondered if you would like some information on mountain biking as you seem to be the sort of guy who would be into that sort of activity. anyway for what it's worth i've just been for a trip(not biking too old for that!!!!) to campo imperatore and to roccacalacchio and there were several bikers there. the scenery is absolutely breathtaking and there are tracks for miles and miles no fences no houses just wonderful countryside. just thought you might like to know.

EXTREMESPORTSBOY

thanks very much, id like that....how are you today.

andy