Restoring a farmhouse in Italy - the costs!

Following on from the last blog - all about the undoubted excitement of restoring a farmhouse in Italy - it's probably  a good idea to consider the cold hard facts of the costs. Some costs are very straightforward and fixed - but many aren't, and if you don't know your facts the Italians will see you coming!

The costs will fall into two categories - the cost of buying the property in the first place, and the cost of the renovation. The first of these is relatively straightforward, but will undoubtedly be higher than you are expecting. The second is a minefield, so I hope that the next few weeks of blogs will help just a little with some of the issues.

For most people, the easiest way of finding a property to buy in Italy is via the internet. There are a growing number of estate agents with shop windows, but in the more rural areas they are the exception rather than the rule. There are many derelict properties ripe for renovation if you look in the right area - but not many Italian owners bother to market these as "for sale".  They may be situated in the middle of a field, and have probably been in the family for years, and it is only when interested foreigners come to look that they consider these properties have any value. When we first started to look around eleven years ago, agents found derelict properties and sought out the owners to see if they would be interested in selling. In our area, somebody must have paid £100,000 for a derelict property at some point, because every one that we went to see - whatever the size or the state of the property  - had the same price tag. £100,000! Of course, this was open to negotiation. Things have changed a bit though, and many more derelict properties are actually being advertised - with the price already agreed with an agent.

When searching the internet, you will find many sites for agents. Do some research, though, because not all agents are registered - and the rewards for agents here in Italy are not inconsiderable, as you will see later in this blog! If you want a property to restore though, then basically your only chance of finding such a property will be via an agent - unless you know the area and the locals quite well. If, however, you are looking for a restored farmhouse, you could look at the Italy Magazine website. They have a section on their property for sale site which is not very helpfully called FSBO - which means For Sale By Owner. If you buy direct, you can avoid the agent's fees. The downside, though, is that then there is nobody to guide you through the process of buying the property!

However unappealing a property may seem when you first see it - obviously you need to have vision. And when you know what you want to buy, it is important to remember that the costs of buying go considerably beyond the purchase price and restoration costs of the property.

The first thing to consider is the agency fees. As mentioned above, being an estate agent in Italy can be an exceptionally lucrative business. They charge the property vendor at least 3% of the sales value - and they charge the purchaser - anything from 3% to 8%. I have even heard of agencies charging 10% - so before deciding on your agent, check out what they are going to charge you. Personally, I would try very hard to hang in there for the 3% fee, and get it in writing. Even at this rate, it means that for selling an average sized restored property for - say - €600,000, they make €36,000!  Obviously it is considerably less when they find a property for restoration, as the selling price would hopefully be a fraction of this.

The next cost to consider is the purchase tax - and the level charged depends on how you buy the property. If you plan on living in Italy, and can claim residency before you buy, you will be charge 3% purchase tax if this is your 'prima casa' - your main dwelling. If you buy as a non resident, you will be charged 10% purchase tax, unless you buy through a company, in which case the tax is 4%. The important thing to note here is that the tax is based on the 'cadastral value' and not the price that you pay for the property, and the cadastral value - certainly for restored properties - is always considerably lower than the actual purchase price, which is good news! But it is worth checking what this value is before you make a commitment.

There are a few other small fees - a 1% stamp duty (based on the cadastral value), notaio's fees (the notary who completes all the paperwork) which can be anything from 1-2.5%. The geometra - a cross between a surveyor, an architect, an engineer and a project manager (there is no real equivalent in England, but he or she is a very useful person) - will charge a fee which will depend on the work he does. It could be €200, it could be €2000. It's worth checking each and every one of these charges before you commit.

On the whole, a reasonable piece of advice would be to add 10 -15% to the purchase price - depending on the cadastral value, and whether you plan to live permanently in Italy or not. This is equally true whether you buy a restored property or a ruin. The only thing to watch

The next blog will look at the possible restoration costs - but trust me, to have a beautifully restored farmhouse situated in the heart of rural Italy - it is all worthwhile!

Restoring a farmhouse in Italy

Restoring a property in the centre of rural Italy can be huge fun - and it's certainly something we have enjoyed immensely. But if you decide to take on a project like this, never kid yourselves that it will be easy!

We were very lucky, because by the time we came to renovate this house - La Villetta - we were already living in Italy - less than a kilometre away. This meant that we were available to be on site every single day, and we were able to make all the quick decisions that seem to be essential, no matter how rigorous the planning phase.

There is really no comparison between this type of restoration and the renovation of a tired but habitable semi detached house in suburbia. For a start, it is very likely that the downstairs of the house has never been inhabited - by humans, at least! Almost without exception you will find that the downstairs rooms of these types of properties were used as stalls for animals, with the family living upstairs - hence the outside staircases which are so common on this type of building. And so the rooms may not interconnect with each other (each stall having its own external door) and there is every possibility that supporting walls will not be where you want them to be.


And then, there is the issue of the very strict Italian planning laws. Personally, I believe these laws are on the whole entirely sound. Properties have to be restored to look almost identical to the way they were originally. There is rarely an opportunity to put in anything inappropriate like a sliding patio door - which would look slightly ridiculous here. But this means that you may have windows of odd shapes and sizes and rooms that don't conform to your ideals. But what you end up with is a unique property, full of charm and quirkiness - if, and only if, you find the right builder.

There are many things to consider, and over the next few weeks this blog is going to focus on some of the issues relating to restoring a property in Italy - from an overview of the costs and legal aspects to how to choose your builder. But one thing which you must bear in mind is the language barrier - something that many people underestimate. Either you must speak pretty fluent Italian (including builders' vocabulary - which will often include speaking in local dialect) or you need a project manager who can speak both languages. You may think you will be able to get by - but any 'mistakes' made by the builder will inevitably be attributed to your lack of understanding of what he told you in the first place!


But getting the language right is just the start of it. For me, restoring property is a passion, and I love it. So this blog doesn't attempt to put anybody off - but just outlines some of the cold hard facts that have to be considered.

The next blog will cover some of the legal and financial aspects, followed by suggestions for what to look for in a builder - but as La Villetta is now for sale,  see more images by visiting the site - Property for sale, Le Marche, Italy.

La Villetta - restored farmhouse with pool

In case you were wondering, we haven't suddenly gone into real estate, or become estate agents for property for sale in Le Marche, Italy - but we have decided to move back into our lovely home La Chiesa di Santo Stefano which for the last few years has been used as a business offering luxury holidays, events and weddings.

As a result of this decision, we now find that we have two houses - and sad as it is, this doesn't make sense. One has to go - and after a great deal of agonising, we have decided that the one to sell is La Villetta, for no reason other than Santo Stefano is the one with the five golf holes!

La Villetta is a really beautiful house - and the name literally means a country cottage in Italian. It is a perfect description - albeit a country cottage with four luxury bathrooms and the best kitchen I have ever had! With our love of cooking and good food, the design of this kitchen had to be perfect - and with two ovens (one which can optionally be a steam oven), American fridge, no less than three sinks (one for food preparation only), wine fridge, dishwasher and washing machine - it really does fulfil a cook's dreams.

But however perfect it is inside, the thing we have enjoyed most about this house is the outside space. The kitchen leads directly out to the loggia - a large area completely covered by a tiled roof. It is perfect for outdoor dining, and for lounging in the shade when the sun gets too hot. And it's just a couple of metres away from the stunning swimming pool. This was another part of the property that was designed with the needs of family in mind - and it has a big area which is perfect for young children - being only 60 cm deep. It means they can play safely and keep their feet on the ground. Of course, there is plenty of deep water for everybody else - and an area for the serious swimmer to get those lengths in!

Set in the lovely Le Marche countryside, it is everything that a restored farmhouse should be. To find out more, visit http://www.real-italy.com/la-villetta/property-italy.html

And for the next few weeks, this blog will focus on changes we are making to the property to make it even more perfect - from new trees to new curtains! Contact us for further information.

Lovely Italian Risotto

First of all, I would like to you wish everybody a very Happy 2011. I think it’s going to be a good year for us here at Real Italy – and La Chiesa di Santo Stefano is already proving popular with returning and new guests. But as I said in the last newsletter, it is likely to be the last year that it is available for rental – so we’re going to make it the best ever.

And that goes for the food too. I am working on new recipes all the time – but as promised, I have written here about lovely Italian risotto. I nearly got sidetracked into writing about roast potatoes – because I worked out a way of making the most delicious ones we had ever had (taking advice from everybody from Jamie Oliver to the Guardian Newspaper – and choosing the best bits from each!) – but decided that isn’t very Italian. So risotto it is!

I have added links to three separate risotto recipes – but to be honest, once you have the basics right you can add anything you want and ring the changes. It’s a very versatile dish, and can be served as a starter or a main course, or also makes an excellent lunch. We even had a savoury strawberry risotto at a restaurant here in Italy during the hot summer months. It was unusual, but quite delicious.

Anyway, in my opinion there are some basic things that you need to get right. First is the choice of the rice. I always use Carnaroli rice. I have always used it in preference to Arborio – but never really knew why I thought it was the best. But thanks to Wikipedia, the truth has been revealed! It has a higher starch content, a firmer texture and a longer grain. It keeps its shape better, and is known as the ‘king of rices’ – so if you have a choice, why use anything else? There is nothing I hate more than soggy risotto that tastes like flavoured rice pudding. I like to feel that each grain of rice is separate, not all mushed up together, and that each grain is bathed in flavour. Of course, that doesn’t mean it should be hard!

The next thing is the stock. I always use Swiss Marigold vegetable stock. We can’t get it here, so it’s one of those things that I have to buy each time I am in England – and if necessary, I have some sent to me. Of course, you could use other stock – but give it a try. It’s easy to find in all major supermarkets.

And then there is the oil or butter argument. I confess to using butter. I think it adds to the soft velvety sauce that bathes the rice grains – but if the thought of that much butter appals you – change to olive oil if you must. And don’t use cheap wine, or wine that’s been open in the fridge for days, and that you wouldn’t drink if your life depended on it. Use something you like!

Now to the recipes. The first of these is a lemon and basil risotto that I use as the basis for adding other things – most frequently garlic and lemon prawns. But it goes well with any sort of fish – we had it last night with parmesan crusted salmon. The recipe provided does include the prawns (and sorry – but it’s in Imperial measures – it’s an old recipe!) – but take them off and serve with some other sort of fish and it will be just as good. You could try pieces of monkfish which you have wrapped in a basil leaf and a small piece of Parma ham and fried in oil – the ham will go crispy and the monkfish will be soft an beautiful inside its basil leaf. Or if wrapping each small piece of monkfish individually is too much hassle, lay a couple of pieces of ham down, put some basil pieces on top and then a whole fillet of monkfish. Roll the lot up and cook in one piece. You could then slice this and lay two or three pieces on top of each portion of risotto.

Next is everybody’s favourite – Red Pepper, Rocket and Goats’ Cheese risotto. This has never failed me yet – and is totally delicious. I would probably buy two types of goats cheese – a soft one which is easy to amalgamate into the risotto, and one with a rind to hold it together when grilling it. But you don’t need to do that. You can buy it all with the rind (and then either cut it off or don’t bother for the bits that are added to the risotto) or you can buy a soft one, and don’t bother putting the grilled slice of cheese on the top. The other thing you could do with this – which would make it incredibly quick and easy – is use bottled red peppers, or for a change you could use sundried tomatoes in oil (cut up quite small). You would have to add these earlier so that the become nicely soft – about 5 minutes before the end.

The last recipe is for a mushroom risotto. Fairly basic, you might think – and it’s certainly easy enough. But add some dried porcini mushrooms (soak them first, of course) and a few drops of truffle oil, and it will transform the dish. You could even serve this as a side dish to grilled meat or sausages.

There are a couple of other things worth mentioning. Before moving to Italy, my favourite risotto without any doubt was smoked haddock and coriander. I don’t know where I got the idea for this dish, but we loved it. I can’t get smoked haddock here, and until very recently I couldn’t get fresh coriander either, so it’s not something that we’ve had recently – but it’s worth thinking about. Just use the lemon and basil recipe (although without either lemon or basil, of course) and five minutes before the end, add some small pieces of fresh smoked haddock (un-dyed – about 300 gm for this quantity of risotto) – it will cook for a few minute in the risotto and be perfect. And then when you are ready to serve, stir in about half a tablespoon full of finely chopped coriander – more if you love it as much as I do.

And finally – parmesan crisps. Nothing goes better with a risotto. According to a chef friend, the most important thing is that you use parmesan from the heart of the cheese – ie don’t include any rind or dried up bits of parmesan. Heat your oven to about 200° and finely grate some parmesan (how much depends on how many crisps you want). Put a piece of silicon paper or other non stick mat onto a baking tray, and place tablespoons of parmesan spaced about by a couple of centimetres. Pat the parmesan down a bit, and put in the oven for only about 3 minutes. It all depends on your oven, but they should be very light golden when you remove them. You can be arty and make them into shapes when they are still hot, or you can just transfer them to a cooling tray to crisp up. When you serve them with your risotto, serve on the side and not on top of the risotto – because they go soggy.

I hope this has provided some inspiration – I think I might focus on a couple of good Italian main courses next – but any ideas or suggestions would be welcome.

To find these, and other recipes from Real Italy – please visit this page of our website, and follow the links to the recipes page. Enjoy your cooking!

Recipes!

As winter is now officially here (a bit of snow yesterday here in Le Marche), the Real Italy blog is a bit quiet – in fact, it has been for a month or two, I’m ashamed to say. But apart from taking bookings and progressing with the usual updates of the house over the winter, there’s not too much to talk about. We’ve already done olive picking, and the pictures are still available on our Facebook page.

But then I had an idea. Almost everybody who comes to La Chiesa di Santo Stefano asks for the cook service for at least part of the time, and almost without fail I am asked for some recipes at the end of the holiday. I have been putting these online in a Recipes section of the website, but I thought that over the winter I could write about some of the food we love, and that our guests have loved too.

Obviously the emphasis will be more on winter food than summer dishes – but hopefully you will enjoy them. I thought I’d start with some good old soups – just what you need for a winter lunch. I regret to say that I don’t have photos of everything, but I am going to try to do a few more pictures as the months progress.

So … soup recipes! Nothing better at this time of the year, and I’ve chosen three of my favourites. Undoubtedly top of the list is Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup. This takes a little time to make, but really is worth the trouble. Peeling peppers is a bit of a faff, so I’ve suggested another method for those who just want to be as quick as possible – and although the recipe suggests peeling the tomatoes, if you decide NOT to peel the peppers, you don’t need to bother with the tomatoes either – the sieve will see to everything for you! This soup has a lovely deep flavour, and I haven’t suggested any accompaniments, because I don’t think it needs anything! But if you were doing anything, I’d add some garlic croutons. The easiest way to make them is to cut small cubes of bread (any bread you like, really), and then put about a tablespoon of olive oil in a bowl with a sprinkling of garlic salt – depends how strong you like it. Toss the bread in the oil until coated, and stick on a baking tray in the oven at 180° for 10 minutes or so – until they are toasted all over.

The second soup is based on French Onion Soup – but with an Italian twist. One other twist that I haven’t written into the recipe, but tried recently, is to swap the dry sherry for a medium dry Marsala. That’s really good too – but the use of Fontina cheese and ciabatta does give more of a taste of Italy (although you can use the more conventional French ingredients too – both are included in the recipe).

And the final one that I have added is a Leek and Potato Soup which is significantly enhanced by some delicious gorgonzola croutons. It’s important to try to get gorgonzola dolcelatte because this is quite soft and easy to blend in with the olive oil that you need to coat the croutons with. The soup is delicious on its own, with some snipped fresh chives on the top – but do try the croutons.

Having said that I’m just doing three, I am in the process of making some roast squash soup which is smelling quite good – so I might just add this to the website.

The links above go straight to the relevant PDFs, but you can access the RECIPES PAGE from here too – where you will find other tried and tested dishes. It’s a bit difficult to find on the site at the moment, so I’m going to be working on that in the next week or two to make it easier.

And the next blog is going to be on risotto, I think … or maybe some lovely winter main courses like Tuscan Beef Stew. I need to think about that. All comments gratefully received!

Of course, if you fancy trying any of these dishes without going to the trouble of making them yourselves, we would love to see you at La Chiesa di Santo Stefano. Just follow the link to the Real Italy website.

Enjoy!

Four romantic weddings in Italy

I have been very remiss at updating the blog this year, and so much has happened! The 2010 season was incredibly busy, with four beautiful romantic weddings. Each had a very different style, and we were able to create a completely unique event for each of our happy couples.

For Lucie and Nick, the largest of the weddings, the sun shone down on a perfect day. Lucie wanted her day to have a romantic garden party feel, and this was achieved through a wonderful choice of flowers, table settings - and of course the glorious surroundings of La Chiesa di Santo Stefano.

The couple chose to hold their ceremony in the stunning town hall in Treia which adds a very special atmosphere to the day, and offers some wonderful locations for photographs. Then it was back to Santo Stefano for an incredible feast - canapés and Prosecco, antipasti around the pool, and then a typical Italian formal meal of a pasta course, main course, and a wonderful tiered display of desserts with up to four individual portions per person! A cake of Italian cheeses was served during the dancing, which lasted until the early hours of the morning.


The second wedding was the smallest of the year - for Sarah and Fergal. And another day of brilliant sunshine (just look at the colour of that sky!). Whilst simplicity was the order of the day, Sarah chose to have bright sunflowers as her main bouquet and table decoration, and the whole family dressed in glorious bright colours.

The ceremony took place in the villa's own private chapel, and afterwards guests were seated at a large oval table on the terrace at the rear of the property. As the bride and groom were both Irish, our chef had to master the art of making mashed potato - not a standard accompaniment in Italy!

For Carla and Michael, the style was elegant and sophisticated. The combination of the flowers in shades of ivory and dark green, and beautiful hand made stationery, set the tone for the day. And of course, the bride looked stunning! The wedding took place in the villa's chapel, and despite there being more guests than we would normally accommodate, Carla and Michael had asked for a gazebo to be erected at the front of the chapel so that all of their guests could experience the Santo Stefano atmosphere.

Dinner took place in the shade of a large gazebo, and the guests feasted on such delights as a risotto of zucchini flowers with thyme and Sauternes, ravioli of chicken with porcini mushrooms, salmon and turbot with a basil sauce, and guinea fowl with an olive herb crust. And those were just the main courses - all of which came after an amazing array of delicious canapés and antipasti.

And the final wedding was - once again - completely different. A 1920's theme was chosen by Becky and Sam for their special day - with all colours in shades of peach, white and green. Every little detail was taken care of, from beads and black feathers to adorn the candelabra on the tables, to every tree festooned with ivory coloured lanterns to light up the night. Even the music was perfect for the theme, with an excellent three piece jazz band that managed to get every single guest up and dancing.

Becky and Sam chose to have a private ceremony in the chapel, after which the bride and groom were whisked off to Treia to the mayor's office to complete the formalities whilst their guests enjoyed canapés and prosecco prior to a delicious wedding feast.

To find out more about a wedding at La Chiesa di Santo Stefano, visit the website and follow the links to Weddings and Parties - or click here to go directly to more images of recent weddings.

Learn Italian in Luxury … in Italy!

This month saw the first of this year’s Learn Italian in Luxury weeks, organised in conjunction with Real Italy at La Chiesa di Santo Stefano by Grand Tourist, a company which specialises in luxury travel.

These weeks are always a tremendous success, and this event was no exception. Guests have the opportunity to develop their language skills in the wonderful Le Marche countryside, whilst staying in a luxury Italian villa.

The level of ability and experience of speaking Italian varied from the novice to some who were wrestling with subjunctive clauses, but this really doesn’t matter. The atmosphere is one in which people are able to learn at their own pace, and when some of the more fluent speakers are talking to the ‘teacher’, it is excellent practice for the others to listen and then ask questions later.

Each day is divided into informal lessons – usually outside in the Italian sunshine - and trips to a range of different locations, from the stunning Basilica at Loreto to a lovely restaurant where the owner’s mother gives a demonstration on how to make pasta by hand (including rolling it out with the longest rolling pin you have ever seen!). All, of course, in Italian.

Food does tend to be a high focus for the guests, and each day they have a chance to sample some of the local restaurants (including eating some of the pasta that they have helped to make). All types of venues are selected to give a real taste of Italy – from very simple trattorias to elegant restaurants. In each case, the food is delicious – whether a simple plate of home made tagliatelli with tomato sauce, or a lovely risotto of truffle and courgette flowers. The other meal each day is taken at Santo Stefano, and lunch is a particular highlight with buffets of salads, savoury tarts, tiny Italian meatballs, freshly baked focaccia bread, local meats and cheeses - just a few of the choices.

And of course, there is always an opportunity to try out the local wines. A future blog post will focus on some of the wonderful wines in the Le Marche region of Italy, and most of these never see the light of day outside of this region. Italians like to keep the best for themselves!

The final day sees the ‘Treia Challenge’ – when each guest is sent in to the beautiful local hill town of Treia with a number of tasks to perform in Italian. From a complex task such as finding out about the famous ball game played locally (and only in Treia) to something simple such as buying 200 grams of cherry tomatoes from the greengrocer, the tasks are varied and test the conversation skills of the individual.

The next course is in October, and places are filling up quickly. More information can be found on our website, and you can follow the link from there to the Grand Tourist site.