Dear all, we have finally decided to take the plunge. I'm currently in rome and have thankfully found a school and a new home for us to move into in 4 months. I have been following threads but still have loads of questions and would appreciate any advice/ directions in the right path.

Welcome on board - where in Rome?

make a list of all questions, we are happy to help

Thank you very much all. We will be in Axa/ Casal palloco area. We have just found a house we like so
q1- what should we be looking out for in the hse? Or even the area?

2. Do we need a lawyer to help with contracts etc?

3. I'm slightly confused with what comes first- so in which order should we proceed- house contract/codal fiscale or residency?

4. In your honest opinion, Would it be easier to bring our car or just get one when we arrive.( we arrive during school hols so I suspect we won't need a car for a couple of weeks for school runs)?

Thank you for the suggestions and tips in advance.

Codice fiscale first, you need it for the Contract which in turn you need for the Residency.

Good luck with the move.

If I were you I would definitely bring your car if you are living out there "nella periferia" as you will needed it. Friends of mine live at Infernetto (the other side of the columbo from you) and they found life very difficult in the month they had until their car arrived.

I second all the good advice from modicasa and isakat. I rented my apartment through an agency so no lawyers were involved.

good luck

Thank you so much for the advice. Next question is how long does it take to sort out house contracts and collect the keys.... Since we intend to move in April, my husband will however move in February, so how else can we secure the house. As we have verbally expressed interest in the house, could the landlord still keep the house on the market? Hence my question of how long does it take to sort out contract as we will be dealing directly with the owners not agents.

Thanks Isakat and yes the 2 older kids will go to southlands but also looking for a bilingual nursery for the 2 year old. Any thoughts on southlands anyone?

I have sent you a PM.

If it is a standard 4+4 contract it should be pretty straight forward and resonably quick- mine was all done in a day. They will probably ask you to bring a cheque for the first months rent and 2-3 months deposit with you for the contract signing. Once they have the cheque and you and the landlord have done the inventory chec, the keys should be available fairly quickly; I got the keys that day and moved in the next day.

Thank you Garbatellamike.....waiting for the owners to get back to us now

Regarding health insurance, I suggest you check the forum, there were threads explaining how to get onto the Italian NHS, or Lorna can help you with this, she know a lot about the process of registering, etc.

Regarding car insurance, can you drive your car on a UK insurance for a year and then decide what to do? Legally, you can drive a car on non-Italian plates for a year. I believe you can not insure a foreign reg.car with an Italian company. Again, check the forum, there were threads about this too.

Hi guys, just a quick one,
1. is it unreasonable to get a solicitor to check the contract on our behalf
2. What's the law re: rental freeze on a 4+4 ?
3. Can we negotiate the deposit- I mean can we do 2months rather than 3?

Is it still a tenants market in italy? Or do landlords have more right/power?

School sorted for kids but not houseí ½í¸© Everything seems to be dragging now which is a pain as I'm now getting anxious.

Thank you Isakat......will message Lorna soon. Due to come back in the next half term so hope to sort more things out including car and insurance too.

I'm so grateful for your input.