Micheledunn

Hi my husband and I are retired and are thinking of buying a property in Abruzzo, we travel out tomorrow and have viewing on 7 properties over the next few days could anyone who has recently moved that way give us any tips or advise that may help us, we are feeling a little daunted.

Geordieborn

It is a buyers’ market, don’t forget it! Chieti is very different from Teramo. In fact all 4 provinces are very different. Think about how often you would want to come back to the UK or just fly somewhere else. How would you get back and forward to the airport for such trips – twice we were snowed in when due to fly. Check the internet reception on your mobile, nearly all internet will be via wifi. Very seriously think about renting first or just! Don’t think UK as many assume things like contracts for mobiles etc will be as in the UK – they are not. Little things like direct debits are more of a bind. Saying all that it’s a great place and such a beautiful experience, especially if you try to understand the “Italian way”.

Micheledunn

Hi Geordiborn, thank you so much for your post, from your name I presume you are from the north east, My husband is from just outside Chester le street, many moons ago.
we are looking at properties in the following areas, Scerni, San Buono,Cupello, Ortona, Orsogna, Canoa Sannita. Is there any of these areas you know or may avoid.

Geordieborn

I don’t know Chieti that well as we decided on the Teramo area after a day looking around Chieti province. Houses are cheaper in general the further south you go and for a reason! There are many, many old houses for sale, most needing a lot of work, work which is very costly. A quick look at Rightmove at San Buono and there are a number of cheap properties for sale, so I had a look around on Google Street view here (as we did many a year back when looking). I’m sure you will know you can double click the road in front and in effect drive along it. The place looks high, too high! With lots of little roads surrounding you, so if you access any of these when you view, think how you would get out in 2m of snow!! Check out anything the agent tells you, as they will tell you anything “the comune will sort it”. Likelihood is if the school bus goes down it they will, else not.
Yes, many a year ago we lived in the north east near Whitley Bay and know Chester Le Street well as we still pass through it on the train when we visit “up North”. Italy in a lot warmer and of course much nicer!

janeturner65

Hi Micheledunn
We are also buying a property in Abruzzo. We have had two visits and viewed over 20 properties so far. We're due to go out again in a few weeks. The first visit was to narrow down area really. As Geordieborn says, Teramo and Chieti are very different. We still aren't 100% on which we prefer. We found it helpful to just drive around and visit various towns as we do know that we would like to be in the countryside but close enough to walk to a town. Do LOADS of research on the process of buying and what to expect. As for the areas you mention - we viewed in Scerni but didn't like it much - not as pretty as other areas. Ortona and Orsogna are nice though.
It would be good to compare experiences and swap tips!

MrsTeapot

Hi, I love Abruzzo.

A couple of things: You do know there is a fault line running up through Abruzzo? A few earthquakes over recent years have caused some serious problems so think about whether your building has earthquake proof footings and if your home insurance will cover you if not. Obviously the big one in L'Aquila but also there was one, possibly in Chieti a few years ago.

What are you after? Warm climate? Stay closer to coast then. Is it true Geordieborn that if you live in front of the Majella (spelling?) mountains (ie between the sea and the mountains) you have some weather protection? It can get very cold with deep snow in Abruzzo. Its a stunning under visited place though.

If its cheap properties you are looking for there is also Basilicata and Calabria to look at. Also Puglia. I'm pretty sure only Puglia (also cheap) and Sardinia don't have fault lines for earthquakes running under them.

If its a do-up property it could cost you a lot of money.

Have a look on gate-away.com and immobiliare.it to see what there is for sale and the prices. If you use a laptop and google chrome you can get automatic translations if you don't speak the language.

If you are buying an apartment I don't think damp proof course is used much in Italy so ground floor is often damp.

I honestly agree with the idea of renting somewhere first as what you see isn't what you always get. Some people think they will love it then realise they wished they hadn't opted for countryside and had moved to a village or vice versa. What is the noise like at night? Is there a nearby dog that barks all night long? (Common in most of Europe). Do you need to walk to shops? Will you always rely on a car?

You can use Rome to Rio on a computer or as an App to find out how to use public transport to get to places (ie from airport etc)

Let us know how you get on.

Geordieborn

Yes, I would certainly agree the nearer the coast the better the weather, except in extreme heat whereby the mountains would win! Also I believe earthquake risk is less near the coast, but there is a seismic map rating out on the web if needed. Personally I would only look at houses in the area where the SS150 meets the SS81 outwards towards the coast, take a line down through Penne as far as you wish, but remember how far out you are from the airport. Getting down to personal details I would avoid the Pescara basin apart from perhaps the Sulmona area. Chieti I did not find as attractive, but that could be one of those “where you land first” things, certainly the water supply seemed a bit more uncertain and is one thing that certainly should be checked (and not just asking the agent). Bisenti has been mentioned, and it is a lovely area, one we first rented in. But for us is was simply too far out and knowing what we do now, we would never look to buy that far inland. Even in the area I mention, for any town I would check the height above sea level. I would think twice about anything over 300m and not even look at anything above 500m.
Do hope you enjoy your wedding Mrs T.

philat98

I think anyone thinking of retiring in Italy should look first at Portugal. No tax on the state pension or investment income. Quite a contrast with Italy. The money you save would pay for endless holidays in the Abruzzo.
I suspect it would be easier to sell your property if you wanted to move back too.

Nand

I lived in the small mountain town of Fano in the mountains on the east side of Abruzzo, not terribly far from Aquila. It is mainly a place where Romans own summer homes as a place to get away from the summer heat .
It has heavy snowfall in winter and that is very beautiful to live in.
We looked at houses there and didn't find any at that time. There were a few for sale but out of our price range, ones that needed a lot of work. The ones in our price range were not much more than caves, so after two seasons, we moved on. There was a lot of remodeling and rebuilding going on in Fano, so now days there may be more residences available.
There was a little grocery shop open mornings only in winter, and for full days in summer. The shop had all the basics, even a few fresh fruits and veg. and frozen fish, lots of canned goods, pasta, bisquits, tinned things, and a cold sliced meats and a cheese counter. The main street has a picturesque bar wher locals hang out and further down a more modern bar. There were also daily bread and veg trucks that came up to the village.
The montains all around there are stupendous, beautiful oak tree forests.

One house was cracked by the Aquila earthquake and was undergoing repairs.

Micheledunn

Hi Janet thanks for your reply to my post, I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you before, we viewed quite a few properties and spent nearly a week driving around Chieti area which we quite like, we decided that somewhere near the coast with street lighting near by, was best for us, just because the further inland we went, the roads seemed to get worse, steeper sheer drops with no barriers, massive pot holes in the roads, we have four children all grown up and I fear when they use the property that rainy days and nights would put them more at risk, not to mention the snow. And us for that matter, we live rural here in the uk and it doesn’t compare to the challenges in Abruzzo😯 we did find a property we liked and made an offer but it was sadly turned down, but felt we couldn’t increase it because of the work needed to update it and I am a firm believer if you have a budget stick to it, it would be so easy to get carried away😬
Due to family commitments we are unlikely to get back till the summer, for round two!! When are you due to go back again? I would love to hear about your experiences so far, what kind of thing you are looking for etc please keep in touch
regards Michele

Micheledunn

Thank you for your reply.

profsid

Hi
We bought a property in the Chieti area and love it but it was our 4th attempt at purchasing a house. There is one estate agent we dealt with twice who has a very bad reputation and we managed to escape unscathed luckily but fell lucky with the one based in Scerni who was excellent. If you want to send me a private message I'll tell you the one to avoid.Good luck.

Russford

Hi
was reading your post with interest. I am thinking of buying in Chieti later in the year and would like your thoughts on agents to avoid
thanks
Russell