em22

Hi,

Before Brexit we spent some time travelling around Puglia and looked at some properties. We'd like to buy a holiday home in Puglia. We thought we would wait for Brexit to see what happened with Brexit before going any further in the process.
When we were there we met a lovely lady who introduced us to her agent who helped her buy her property. He helped us with some tips and showed us a few properties but we wondered wether he was only interested in selling us one the properties on his books as we'd showed him some wed found online and he wasn't interested in arranging for us to see those ones.

Can anyone give us some tips on organising a trip out there to view some properties we have found on Idealista? What was your process? Do we need an agent? We don't speak Italian yet. Basically where do we start?!

I might add that we have seen a property we really like on Idealista.

Many Thanks

Geordieborn

Have a look at Modicasa website as he has a guide on buying. For a few pounds you can also buy a book on the subject. Don't worry about property you like selling before you get a chance, it is a buyers market like you have never seen in the UK. So a link to any property you are interested in would allow feedback on the "pros and cons" - absolutely no chance of anyone here wanting to jump in to buy The process is very different, but really very straightforward once it sinks in. For a holiday home I'd be looking at how you will get there and back each visit. Obviously a hire car is fine, but what would it be like peak time or the opposite - in winter getting if you wanted to go? Shops, tax and how you maintain the land (if any) when not there?

em22

Thank you for the reply. I'll take a look at the Modicasa website as recommended. Are you recommending a book specifically or is it just a general tip to go and buy a book?
I'm just trying to establish if we need a broker/agent or do we book appointments ourselves with lots of different estate agents? And if we book flights are they like to actually turn up to the appointments? And I suppose looking for people story's on how they have done it. What sort of fees a broker would charge and how would be a great insight.
I'd post a link to the property but I'm wanting to find out about the process in general first as its just a starting point so it would be digressing. We would be looking to book a trip and view lots.

Geordieborn

The book was just something else that we could carry around and give us another view on buying. It was also good as a reference point and did lead to other areas to research. Modi website will do the same as will any other you can find e.g. this guy here we also found useful. I think with agents they take little interest until you are there in person. You also need to to make sure they are registered to act as agents. I'm sure Modi's info will give details. We were looking to buy over circa 2 yrs and some we found at the start were still on sale when we eventually bought, some are STILL for sale now 10 yrs on....

philat98

There are some strange properties on Idealista. Palaces with black mould and broken tiled floors going for a million euros and trulli at the same price. A lot of ambitious vendors.

SanNico

It's certainly a European agency trait as they get paid by both parties, hence the reluctance to show other properties. I found it better to use a recommended agent, give them a list of the properties you want to see over one or two days only. If you're firm enough that you only want to see the properties you've listed and that you're seriously looking to buy at at the end of the trip then you should be OK.

Depending on where in Puglia, I can recommend La Tua Immobiliare. Francesco covers Ostunia and surrounding areas. La tua immobiliare Ostuni | Real Estate agency in Ostuni – Properties trading in Ostuni and Valle d'Itria

Moses2013

Have you actually contacted the agent through Idealista? At the end of the day it's a platform where multiple agents/private people advertise, so no point picking a specific agent if the properties you like are not with that agent.

em22

Yes. No reply...

em22

Great thank you for the info. Yes we are looking int the Ostuni region. I'll look up the link. I think maybe we could get back in touch with the recommended guy with a list.

C.2s

Things are very, very different here. Remember that people (especially in the countryside but also in cities) still expect to build a relationship with someone in any transaction. They want to be your 'friend'. They expect the 'expert' to guide the sales process. You walk into a clothing store and the owner will tell you what clothes you should buy! And things are slower. Perhaps one could think this is nice. After all it is part of the traditions that make Italy special. But it's often a bit strange to us.

We were baffled by the agents, but now I think I sort of understand it. Be prepared to find that the properties listed online are not actually available for sale. Both those on the big property sales sites like Idealista and also on the actual agents websites. And/or for people to be asking ridiculous prices for things. Or for things that aren't really safe to buy being advertised. There are a number of reasons for this. We came across properties we were really interested in, but nobody really wanted to show it to us, and they are still for sale now (years later). In some cases it's because the property is owned by multiple different people because of the inheritance laws here, and some of them want to sale, and others don't, and they're in this deadlock...you can imagine these family disputes are not always logical and can go on for years. Or maybe there is a question about if a property has the proper building permission. So it might be that the agents are using their local knowledge and are steering you away from things they know would be a nightmare for you, but without telling you why because if you repeated what they said they'd end up in trouble with their local community. And ultimately the reputation with the local community is most important to them.

On the other hand, we also had agents trying to tell us they had the "perfect, dream property" for us without us even telling them what type of property we were looking for. This was annoying, but if sort of happens here. Do as much research as possible, be patient and persistent. Show them you are serious and you'll find an agent that you like, and eventually you'll find the house that's right for you.

C.2s

Oh, and to add. You also need to be "friends" with the people you are buying from. Expect to meet them so they can vet you to see if you are suitable to buy their house. Expect to have drinks with them after the sale is concluded. It's kinda sweet!

Listen Very Carefully

And do not forget that you will only be able to spend 90 days in a 180 day rolling period in the Schengen area if you are not EU passport holders unless you get a long stay visa
I would strongly urge you to learn Italian and take everything you are told with a pinch of salt

em22

Thank you, you've given me a really useful insight!

em22

Yes, we know. We've got kids in school so we wouldn't be able to get there much longer but would hope family will use it.

em22

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. Its kind of what we expect but its great to hear it from someone with experience. I think the difficulty for us is that we are limited as to when we can go there and view properties with us having the kids. It seems daft to go and pin our hopes on this one property !